Want to start making hardbaits...

[Bassboy15]

What are some of the easier one's to start out with?

What tools am I going to need?

How much is it going to cost to get started?

Thank you all

[.dsaavedra.]

blazik, talk to me some more on aim, i'll help ya out

[Hookemdown.]

Run away while you still can.

[BIG M]

You can get started pretty cheap.   Scrollsaw or bandsaw, drill press, compressor, airbrush, paint, carving knife, sand paper.    If you buy cheap equipment then that's what you will get.   I figure I've got 500 invested in tools, another 100 worth of wood, and 300-400 in paint.

The easiest bait to make is an exact copy of a bait you have.    Put it on a copy machine and get a profile of exact size.    

[The_Natural]

Flat sided baits are the easiest to make and require the least amount of sanding. You can buy a 2ft section of 3/8" balsa at your local Hobby Lobby, after you stencil a shape onto the board; cut out the baits via a small saw or dremel tool. I recommend using a template such as a flat sided bait you already love (I just used the Zoom Hicky for several of my flatsided baits). Use a pen to outline it. After you cut it out, just smooth/round off the edges and then you will be ready to start making hook hangers. Using a tip that I read on Tackle Underground; cotter pins (available at Home Depot) are the easiest way to make hook hangers.

You have to insert a weight into the belly of balsa baits to make them castable, so you have to incorporate a weight in with your bottom hook hanger. Tru-tungsten sinkers worked beautifully for my bottom ballast weight. The opening was large enough to put the cotter pin (hook hanger) through. Tru-Tungstem bullet weights are expensive, but require less drilling in the belly of your bait.  Just stick the cotter pin through the bullet sinker and bend the ends so that the cotter pin can't pull out to create your lower ballast/hanger.

Now you drill a hole in the belly large enough to accommodate the ballast weight/hook hanger.  After inserted...you need to fill the empty space with devcon epoxy.  

For the tail hook hanger you need to drill a small hole through the tail section, and insert a cotter pin. You need to bend the cotter pin at the end so that it can be forced in...yet can't be pulled out.

The finished tail section...

Let that epoxy dry, and then you need to seal your balsa. You can use thinned out devcon epoxy (thin it with acetone until the balsa can absorb it). Also, Dick Nite's lure coat thinned with acetone is another option. After sealing...you are ready to prime your baits. I apply two coats of good ol' Krylon white primer available at walmart. Paint them and then clear coat them with either Devcon epoxy or Dick Nite's lure coat. If you use Devcon, you will have to make a drying wheel. For a quicker job you can just dip your bait in Dick Nite's and hang it by the bill to dry.

I admittedly have over 20 baits that I have made and primed, but haven't installed lips or painted yet. I need to get motivated!  When you plan to make more than just a couple of baits; you must make a drying wheel.  Search Tackle Underground and you will find instructions on how to make one.

[Bassboy15]

Hey thanks everyone! Good posts

[.dsaavedra.]

good post The Natural !

i noticed you used the word "need" a alot.

you dont "need" to do anything in lure making. the lures you make are totally your own and thats the beauty of it. go ahead and do something nobody else has, see if it works! you can do whatever the heck you want with them. be innovative, be creative! have fun!!!

but, the natural made a very good tutorial for a beginner bait maker. very clear and easy to follow. proven technique.

[whittler]

Bassboy, start with a plan, like BigM stated pick a bait you like and get a pattern. As you check various bass sites tacklemaking sections you will see some very good bait makers work and you will find a few who are mediocre at best, duplicate the work and take the advice of the better makers.  Word of CATUION it has been my experience that the makers putting out the most advice know the least and have the least experience, again look closley at their work. Most of the good baitmakers will help you if you ask, I would reccomend you PM those whose work you like.  Check the featured articles on this site, there are several crank making tutorials.

As you progress you will make a ton of mistakes, and turn out some junk but learn from your mistakes and do not discouraged, the best make their share too. One last thing don't try to make evreything you see, stick with one style until it right then go to the next.

[Stringjam]

Flat sided baits are the easiest to make and require the least amount of sanding.  

I might add, they're also some of the most effective cranks!  

Glad to see some progress pics, Natural!  Looks like things are coming along!  

[.dsaavedra.]

Bassboy, start with a plan, like BigM stated pick a bait you like and get a pattern. As you check various bass sites tacklemaking sections you will see some very good bait makers work and you will find a few who are mediocre at best, duplicate the work and take the advice of the better makers. Word of CATUION it has been my experience that the makers putting out the most advice know the least and have the least experience, again look closley at their work. Most of the good baitmakers will help you if you ask, I would reccomend you PM those whose work you like. Check the featured articles on this site, there are several crank making tutorials.

As you progress you will make a ton of mistakes, and turn out some junk but learn from your mistakes and do not discouraged, the best make their share too. One last thing don't try to make evreything you see, stick with one style until it right then go to the next.

blazik, take this guy's advice! 8-)

[Bassboy15]

Bassboy, start with a plan, like BigM stated pick a bait you like and get a pattern. As you check various bass sites tacklemaking sections you will see some very good bait makers work and you will find a few who are mediocre at best, duplicate the work and take the advice of the better makers.  Word of CATUION it has been my experience that the makers putting out the most advice know the least and have the least experience, again look closley at their work. Most of the good baitmakers will help you if you ask, I would reccomend you PM those whose work you like.  Check the featured articles on this site, there are several crank making tutorials.

As you progress you will make a ton of mistakes, and turn out some junk but learn from your mistakes and do not discouraged, the best make their share too. One last thing don't try to make evreything you see, stick with one style until it right then go to the next.

Hey thanks

[Castamasta]

im kinda feelin like getting into making hard baits seems like a lot of fun.

[Captin Obvious]

just a quick tip. since you are just starting don't start with balsa wood.Start with ceder, good luck

[judgefamily]

Just curious, cause I was starting on something too...why cedar over balsa?

[.dsaavedra.]

balsa is VERY soft.

its easy to carve, which is good for beginners,

but its so soft that any hardware you try to screw in it will not hold and it will rip out. balsa baits usually require through wire construction (a wire that runs through the bait with loops that come out of the bait for hook hangers/line ties).

with cedar, it is harder, and you can use screw eyes instead of a through wire. the screw eyes will not pull out (if you put epoxy on them when you screw them in).

i personally do not use balsa or cedar.

im not sure what kind of wood it is that i use, but i buy it at walmart in the craft dept. it is a 5"x7" plywood sheet. it costs 97¢. i think the wood is basswood, but i dont think basswood would be that cheap. whatever it is, it is great for lure making. nice and hard but not too difficult to work with. its cheap too!