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BIG M

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Everything posted by BIG M

  1. very nice looking jigs and a great idea on using the zip-ties. Now where's the hand carved cranks? No fair holding out
  2. a pair of Finney textile scissors and 2 different files to clean up the edges.
  3. LBH, what is the brand name of the product you are using? I use devcon 2ton on all my baits. You will need a way to rotate your lure as the epoxy sets up. On my jointed baits I paint and clear each half separate. Then once the epoxy is cured I put them together. If you are trying to protect the finish on a store bought bait then spray polyurathane might be something you want to look into. 4-6 light coats would give you pretty good protection and not clog up the joints.
  4. dsaaverda, all of my wood baits are handcarved. That's my fav. part of bait building. I'm getting better at painting but that's my least fav part. Jimzee, thanks I've been working pretty hard to get that pattern down.
  5. Well these are large wakers by my standards, 6 inches long and over 2oz. A few med sized baits thrown in just for fun.
  6. Looking good. Where did you put the balast weight? The reason I ask is that you need the bait to sit level in the water. That will give it a good wake action on long casts.
  7. BIG M

    Micro cranks

    Hookem, it depends on the amount of balast weight I use. I would say 90% of the time I thin the devcon. That way I can use 2 coats if needed.
  8. BIG M

    Micro cranks

    J-row, #10 and #12 Thanks String
  9. You can cut a small piece of dowel to fit the hole and epoxy in place. Then just sand down flush to the bait. Make sure you seal that piece of wood or water will soak in after a period of time.
  10. My good friend Whittler has me hooked on building these little baits. The dig. scale needs new batteries but I would guess these are around 1/16-1/8oz. The little jerk baits look really nice in the water and I expect to be yanking some creek smallies in with these.
  11. Brian, I fished the single jointed baits more and I find those have a lot of action. The single joint makes a real loud clacking sound during the swimming action. The double jointed baits seem to have a lazy action and don't make near as much noise. I build the single jointed baits from 3.5 to 6 inches long. I have not built enough of the double jointed baits to decide which sizes I like the best.
  12. Thanks for the kind words. The bottom crank in the pic is a craw pattern that's why the eyes are towards the tail (Hookem). I have no idea how many baits I make per week or in a year. I do as many as my 3yr old daughter allows. I have a job that allows me to sand about 4-5 lures per day. I'm a rec. fisherman and when it's hot I don't fish. So I'm at home building and painting baits. I get a real kick when someone sends me a e-mail about catching fish on my baits.
  13. Here are a few I've finished this week. Kind of a mixed bag here from wakers to a deep diver.
  14. I mix it with a transparent base and spray. It's kind of a pain to shoot but I like the finished product. Looks really cool in water.
  15. Starting to play with microflake in paint. What do you guys think of the finished product.
  16. Scroll saw, drill press, carving knife, sand paper (100,150,320) That will get the baits to the point of sealing. I learned most everything by reading the net and trial/error with a lot of the error part. I been building cranks for 5yrs and the first 2yrs were spent learning. Now I did make bait that ran well and caught fish but those did not look like the baits I'm making now. My first suggestion is pic a couple of your fav. cranks and go to a copy machine. Make some profile copies of the baits and start trying to reproduce them exactly. That way you have the master in hand while working on your version. Balsa wood is by far the easiest to use for carving and weighting. Make sure to cut the lip slot first while the wood is still square and then cut the bait out. Measure and make the center line around the entire bait (wheeled marking gauge) works great for this. Now drill out the hole for balast, line tie, and hook hangers. Mark how wide you want the bait on top and bottom and then start carving (exacto wood carving knife and some extra blades). I would start with some flatsided baits made from 1/2 stock. Those are the easiest to carve and finish. 20gauge stainless steel wire, lip material (garolite/polycarbonate), balast weight (worm sinkers/egg sinkers, finess weights).
  17. Bassman you are going to need a lot of weight to sink that bait. Looks like 3/4 inch stock there it so it will float like a cork. You will have a much easier time making a floating wake bait with a lip. Look at basswood for a sinking version of that same pattern. I'm not sure that pattern has enough room for all the weight you are going to need. Great looking body style.
  18. Does the line tie move when you attempt to turn or bend it? If so then the bait is defective and you'll never get running ture. I just looked at fat free shad and you can bend or turn the line tie in any direction that you want to. I'm sorry but that's the only option for tuning that bait.
  19. The line tie is sunk down in the lip right. If so just bend the top of line tie to the left and see if that corrects the action. Sometimes you get a bait that just won't run turn no matter what you do to it. You may be able to send back and get a new bait.
  20. A crankbait that leaks fish juice, it's been done many times. You can drill a hole in the belly of a wood bait and insert a piece of sponge and do the same thing.
  21. BIG M

    Cedar

    You would need to put in a shop or something, stacked so that air can circulate around it for approx 1 yr. I've heard that you can dry small pieces in the microwave. I don't know the details of that little trick. The best wood to use is kiln dried when you can find it.
  22. You've been holding out on us. That is a great looking bait. I will give you an idea to try on the next one. Move your lip slot forward toward the line tie just a bit. Make the lip angle 78 degrees and it will wake on the surface much easier. The max depth will be less than a foot.
  23. Thanks for all of the kind words guys. If ya'll don't mind looking I'll keep posting the pics.
  24. BIG M

    Cedar

    It's great for carving and sanding. It's tougher than balsa and at times will want to splinter when carving. I prefer that wood for my deep divers due to the higher density. You need to make sure it's dry before doing all the carving and finish work.
  25. That is very good for the first few baits. You are way ahead of me when I first started. On plastic baits you can use polyurathan or auto clears from a spray can. Just do 3-4 coats and make sure each coat has time to dry.
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