It's my turn...Starting first Swimbait. (Update: Video Added)

[NEBassMan]

Here's the outline drawn onto the balsa wood. This bait will be about 5 1/2" long after tail fin is added. Thinking about adding a lip as well, but have not decided for sure yet. I will need to add quite a bit of weight to get it to sink slowly, but i'll play with that as i go along. Going to start rough shaping and sanding this evening, and hope to have a finished shape to show by tomorrow afternoon. Modeled after a threadfin shad.

Jason

[.dsaavedra.]

lookin good 8-)

[BIG M]

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.

[NEBassMan]

As i have thought about it some more, i think you are absolutely right.  I will incorporate a lip to make it a wake bait, then work on a sinking style for my next one.

Jason

[NEBassMan]

Pictures of some progress.  Got the shape pretty well figured out.  Next will be to cut the segments and split it in half to install the hardware.

Left Side

Front View

Right Side

Rear View

[Avalonjohn44]

Very nice, can't wait to see more pics.

[NEBassMan]

Progress is slow, as I have a 15 month old daughter to look after during the evening if i'm not working.  Got the hardware installed in the head segment, will get the rest of it installed in the morning as i don't have to be to work till 2 o'clock.  I will also be installing a lip and making a floating wake bait as suggested by Big M.

[.dsaavedra.]

lookin good!

i like watching progress. its fun.

cant wait to see this thing with some paint! how do you plan on painting it?

[BIG M]

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.

[Captin Obvious]

Nice bait man! If you want to make one that dives make it out of ceder. I only use balsa  when I want to make a bait that I intend to fish in the 1' to 7' range. Anything that goes deeper I make out of ceder, it doesn't take all that weght to sink it. Good luck

[NEBassMan]

Thanks guys!  I put ballast weight on the bottom portion inside the bait on both the front and middle sections.  I will test it soon to make sure it balances before i epoxy it all together.

[.dsaavedra.]

you will want a smaller ballast in the tail portion too.

on my first bait, i didnt put any weight in the tail and when it restedin the water, the tail laid flat on the water instead of vertical.

[kb929cdx]

Hey,man I've made a few,I drilled holes in the seg. and poured lead into the holes,just kept anding till I got the action I desired! Got one of them to run around the 7'-10'ft range!!Hope this helps  

[NEBassMan]

Got the rest of the hardware istalled.  Next will be to seal the wood, then test in the bath tub.

[NEBassMan]

i should have added that the bait is not epoxied together yet, going to seal inside and out before i epoxy together

[NEBassMan]

It's done...Been done for a little while, just getting pics now.  Have not tested it yet in a big water application, but in the tub it seemed to work pretty good.  Will hopefully get some video of it tomorrow.  The second pic i tried to show the flake in the blue, kinda hard to see.  Also you'll notice i had some problems with the epoxy not wanting to flow out very well.  Oh well, i'll take my time on the next one.

Jason

[.dsaavedra.]

look nice! that one should catch some fish for sure.

i used to have the same problem with the epoxy not going on smoothly.

here is a tip that i found that has worked pretty good for me:

thin your epoxy with denatured alcohol until it is a viscosity that is easy to brush, like the thickness of acrylic paint.

you will find that it brushes on much smoother, and it is much easier to completely cover the lure so there are no little missed spots like you have here. and it will flow out nicer too. i also think that thinned epoxy is a bit more glossy than straight epoxy, but im not sure

let us know when you catch some fish on that!

[whittler]

Jason, looking good.  When using Devcon 2T for a top coat do not thin it, instead mix enough do do a section at a time and your problem will be solved. If you will sand the surface lightly with about 400 sandpaper, just enough to give the surface a little tooth, then recoat it is really going to smooth it out and make those colors pop.

[BIG M]

Lightly sand or you will hit the paint on the thin spots.   Do 1 section at a time and all will be perfect.

   

[NEBassMan]

thanks for the tips, i was def. going to do another top coat, and i will sand it lightly first.

[BIG M]

I also ment to say great looking bait

[FishingBuds]

NeBassMan looks killer

Kinda wondering what is the skill level on something like that, say a scale  1 to 10 10 being expert?

I gotta 10 year old boy I keep occupied with the good stuff in life

[.dsaavedra.]

as long as you do the research and know how to do all that you are about to do, it is not that hard to produce a working bait.

the bait might not be pretty, but it will work.

most of the stuff in bait building comes with experience. he will get better the more he does it.

but you could set your boy up with a block of basswood and just let him carve away, and then when it comes time to use tools and make precise cuts and stuff, just help him out. he might enjoy it, he might not.

[ptomacbass]

how did you guys learn to make swimbaits?

[.dsaavedra.]

trial and error buddy