JawjaBoy

Sad to say, but what you speak of is not remotely new. Ask any artist, singer/songwriter, inventor, etc. The copyright and patent offices have been in existence for a long time for a reason. I do understand your point to a degree, but even the big boys deal with it everyday. I remember when Strike King brought out the "Sexy Shad" pattern. Almost overnight EVERYBODY was turning out the same pattern with similar naming. My only complaint in the whole thing is I don't agree with calling an airbrushed, mass-produced plastic blank a custom lure. "Custom Painted" is fine, but that's it. I freely admit that most of the lures I make are copies, but of classic lure models and paint patterns. And they all start off as a chunk of wood that I turn and/or carve into a lure. Hell, in many cases I even cut the tree down and use a froe and wedges to split slabs out that I resaw into the blocks I turn/carve. I just don't get the same satisfaction out of catching a fish on a plastic blank I painted as I do on a lure that I made from scratch. I do this purely as a hobby. I do sell a few when I've got time to make some, but I know I'll never get rich at it. Hell, if I make enough to break even on parts and paint I consider it a win. However, if I ever decided to make lures as a business, it would be with the understanding that there are myriad people out there who won't think twice about ripping off any design or paint scheme I come up with. I'd just have to put out a better, more consistent product that I could call "The Original" with a clear conscience.

That's nice! Hadn't thought about an oscillating belt, and it's a but more than I'd planned to spend, but I might have to look into it. Thank you!

Thanks for the info! That's one of the few complaints I had heard was that the belt was difficult to change. As for the starting, it may need a new starting capacitor or need one added. Not a huge concern as I'm a maintenance tech and deal with that regularly at work.

I was wondering about the Harbor Freight sander. I've got their 8x10 lathe and love it! Might have to give the sander a try! Has anyone had any issues or trouble with changing belts or discs? Or stability issues?

I'm looking to add a belt/disc sander to my shop and was wondering what models everyone was using. What pros/cons? Not looking for a professional model or to spend a small fortune. I'm just wanting a benchtop model for shaping and some finishing, and maybe odd jobs on my RC cars. Not really concerned about brand. Thanks in advance y'all!

I know what you mean! I'm trying to get back into lure making but seeing some of the paint jobs here make my best efforts look like caveman art. Makes me look at my old Paasche H with somewhat lessened enthusiasm.

This sounds excellent! I use a lot of cedar as well. And my local Wal-Mart has it for less than $20/gallon. Also like the tennis ball can idea! Think I'll go this route and maybe use pearl white over this under the transparent and fluorescent colors.

You've grabbed my attention with the 123 primer! How well does that work? Is it plain water base or does it have latex in it? I used to dip lures in acrylic enamels but the dry time was awful!

I just ordered an Auto Air transparent basic color set because it had 4 oz. bottles and the price was good. I know I'll be using a lot of white so I'm going to definitely look at the Golden brand white. Probably get some fluorescents or iridescent next.

Waaaay back when I first got into making lures seriously (or at least as seriously as a fishing obsessed 17 year old could be), I used oil based enamels as that's pretty much all I could easily get ahold of in my rural area. I had black, white, red, blue, green, yellow and orange. I would mix those to get the color I wanted and then mix in enough thinner to get it about the consistency of milk and it worked fine through my Paasche H. Cleaning was a pain in the posterior though! So, yeah, I'm planning to start with mostly basic colors and maybe some fluorescents and transparents or candies. How much thinner do these paints require and how hard is clean up? Thanks again!!

I'm slowly expanding my lure making capabilities, and was wondering which airbrush paint would be best to start out with? I searched the site and Createx Auto Air and Wicked Colors, and Testors Aztek seem to be the go to brands. I'm planning on buying a couple of different sets to get started, i.e. basic, fluorescent, transparent, opaque, etc.. My real questions are, 1.) What brand would be best to start with? And 2.) What colors/categories (flo., trans., pearl) would see the most use to start with? I will be adding to my palate as I go, but don't have a huge budget right now. And I'm not sure if this helps, but I'll be using my trusty old Paasche Model H airbrush that I've had for some 20 years now! Thanks!!

Can't recall the maker, but one of the big companies marketed a plug with a valve on the belly and included a syringe that fit into the valve so you could add water or suck it back out. As I recall it didn't last too many years.

I got into lure making when I had a lot more time to invest in it. I spent a lot of time on the water as well. Ah, to be a carefree teenager again! Even then, though, I was a bit of a dinosaur and preferred wood lures to plastic. Making my own lures was a way to get wood versions of some of the plastic lures I liked. And there's NOTHING like the feeling you get when you catch a fish on a lure that was just a branch on a cedar tree before you took a knife and paintbrush to it! Now, after many years away from the hobby, I'm getting back into it because I enjoy it. I love tinkering and doing things with my hands. Am I out to create the next "big thing"? Not really. I'm still a dinosaur, just a little older with better tools and resources at hand. I like recreating classic lures with fairly simple paint schemes, but with a few modern touches thrown in. Better hooks, realistic eyes, etc. I do intend to sell a few lures. Mostly in hopes of helping to fund the effort. If I do make a little extra money out of it, that's great. But in the end it's a way for me to connect with fishermen and craftsmen of days gone by when one couldn't just walk into a store or pull out their smartphones and have literally anything they wanted at their fingertips. That, and the feeling I still get when a fish slams a lure that I made from scratch. Nah, I'll never get tired of that!

I would just go ahead and replace them. Cheap insurance.

Good luck! You're gonna need it! My issue is I've got not one but TWO 10x16 workshops, and they're both so full that I can't find room for all of my luremaking stuff! Now I'm trying to figure out what's gonna go to make some space.

I kinda figured that, but figured I'd ask. Sweet gum is a "weed tree" around here. Not really good for anything but firewood, and ain't really great for that! Might look into cutting and drying some of the poplar trees behind the house though. They need a little thinning.

I appreciate y'alls thoughts! My plan is actually to do the sweet gum and poplar the same way I've always done cedar: cut it up into short lengths with my chainsaw, use a froe and wedges to split it out into slabs, band or table saw it to rough size, dry it out, and finally saw it square. I've always hand carved my lures before, but I'll be sizing future pieces of wood up with my lathe in mind. I don't know of any small mills near me or anyone with a portable mill, and I've got enough of my Grandad in me that I really enjoy going out in the woods to get wood to use for all kinds of projects instead of going to the store.

I had a lot of free time on my hands at work tonight (control booth officer - basically means I get to open doors and watch inmates sleep) and got to thinking. Always a dangerous prospect, but I digress. I've used my own locally harvested cedar for my lures for years and I've seen where several makers have used poplar with good results. But what about sweet gum? Has anyone ever used it for lures? Our property runs from the top of a hill all the way down through a deep bottom which is eat up with sweet gum (and poplar) and I'd love to be able to be able to put it to some use. So what say you? Doable? Not advisable? Let me know what you think!

Simply wind a small diameter copper wire around the outside of the pipe and ground it. Same setup used around dust collection pipes in woodworking vacuum systems to keep static from causing sawdust to stick to the pipes.

Thank y'all! I'm quickly finding out that, while I've had success with the lures I've made, I've got a lot to learn just yet! Especially when it comes to finishing and weighting. I'm fairly certain now that the few diving lures I attempted in the past didn't work due to improper weighting. Definitely gonna look into trying some more divers in the future!

Those look great to me! There's nothing quite like catching that first fish on a lure that you made yourself! And I'm going to have to try Mark's idea as well!

I know, and that is so great! I've dealt with some forums and sites where folks treated knowledge like it was classified, top secret, I'd-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you information!!

Thank you! Yes, the "Search" function is not as easy to locate on this board as on others! And yes. Lurepartsonline and Stamina before that have been my go-to parts stop for many years now. I do find it helpful to have other catalogs handy as not everyone stocks the same parts or in all sizes. But I'm definitely grateful to Lurepartsonline for this site!

Thank you! And I appreciate that!

I second the worn pawl/wormshaft opinion. Over the years I have replaced several for folks that were doing the exact thing you describe. Good thing is that the parts are easy to come by and fairly easy to replace.