pvc cranks ?? where to get the pvc?

[MSBASSCHAMP]

where do yall purchase the pvc to build cranks, and do yall carve them with ??? ( what )

[Fishwhittler]

I get mine from Vintage Woodworks. They sell both smooth and textured PVC, so make sure you request smooth PVC in the comments section of the order page.

A box cutter (utility knife) works well for carving, but just about any knife will work as long as it's sharp.

[EdH]

Check out Home Depot or Lowe's if they are in your area. I just found some PCV Case trim in the wood trim/molding department.  1'' Thick and some other trim work that is thinner.  It used for rot free trim work but sections can be cut down to minimize shaping.  I used a band saw to rough cut outline.  Haven't shaped the pieces yet but was planning on using a micro plane cylindrical in a drill press. If that doesn't work I'll use knifes and rasps.

[jr1945]

Check out Home Depot or Lowe's if they are in your area. I just found some PCV Case trim in the wood trim/molding department. 1'' Thick and some other trim work that is thinner. It used for rot free trim work but sections can be cut down to minimize shaping. I used a band saw to rough cut outline. Haven't shaped the pieces yet but was planning on using a micro plane cylindrical in a drill press. If that doesn't work I'll use knifes and rasps.

carves easily with a sharp utility blade. i think you'll have problems with melting if you try a rotary tool.

[Hooligan]

Check out Home Depot or Lowe's if they are in your area. I just found some PCV Case trim in the wood trim/molding department. 1'' Thick and some other trim work that is thinner. It used for rot free trim work but sections can be cut down to minimize shaping. I used a band saw to rough cut outline. Haven't shaped the pieces yet but was planning on using a micro plane cylindrical in a drill press. If that doesn't work I'll use knifes and rasps.

carves easily with a sharp utility blade. i think you'll have problems with melting if you try a rotary tool.

Not really.  You can use a router on it, as well as the Microplane.light passes high rpm and you're golden.

[MSBASSCHAMP]

so when yall get you shape that you want do yall seal it with something first before you lay your paint on with the airbrush?

do yall epoxy the hook eyes into the bait, and do yall drill small tap holes to insert them?

any and all info is needed

[triglet]

man i would love it if someone would show a picture write up of one of these they did.  I'd like to see how you attach the hooks and everything to the body and the bill also..

[MSBASSCHAMP]

Me too, I'm raring to build some cranks this way.... I went and bought some PVC !!

[jr1945]

so when yall get you shape that you want do yall seal it with something first before you lay your paint on with the airbrush?

do yall epoxy the hook eyes into the bait, and do yall drill small tap holes to insert them?

any and all info is needed

pvc is waterproof so no need to seal it. you'll have to primer it before painting.

it will hold screw eyes well. drill a pilot hole first, thread the screw eye in, remove it, use a pin to put in some 5 min. epoxy and thread the screw eye back in.

here are some i finished a few weeks ago.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1298330721

[.dsaavedra.]

i got some pvc trim board and i didn't really like it too much.

i cut it into sections and then shaped it with a tungsten carbide bit in my dremel. the sawdust irritated my skin and the smell gave me a headache. also i couldn't get it smooth enough to paint no matter how much i sanded it. it always had an almost fuzzy texture.

maybe i need to give it another chance.

[MSBASSCHAMP]

What epoxy or sealer do y'all use to seal the paint on after the last coat ?

[MSBASSCHAMP]

Also what bill lenghts = certain depths..?

[Vodkaman]

Also what bill lenghts = certain depths..?

The length of the bill has very little to do with the depth that the lure will swim to. The depth is all about the angle of the bill or lip.

The closer to 90 degrees to the body (vertical), the shallower the swim, the closer to zero degrees, the deeper the swim.

On deep divers, the lip length is generally longer and the eye is positioned on the lip. For deep divers, the eye position is critical. For maximum depth, there is a sweet spot for the eye position, so be prepared to experiment. For a starting point, examine proven deep divers and start there, but every lure has a different solution, there are no formulas.

Eye position is also critical on shallow swimmers. If the lure has little or no action, move the eye down towards the lip. If the bait rolls out, move the eye up away from the lip. Again, be prepared to test.

Don't spend hours painting your first lure. Seal it, top coat and fit the hooks. Find some water and test it. On my first prototypes, I deliberately fit the eye sticking out a few millimeters, so that I can bend the wire up and down. This shows the range of possibilities available.

Dave

[jr1945]

i got some pvc trim board and i didn't really like it too much.

i cut it into sections and then shaped it with a tungsten carbide bit in my dremel. the sawdust irritated my skin and the smell gave me a headache. also i couldn't get it smooth enough to paint no matter how much i sanded it. it always had an almost fuzzy texture.

maybe i need to give it another chance.

how smooth does it need to be to paint? i never use anything finer than 120 grit to sand with. i prime it, light sanding and paint.

yeh, the dust will drive you nuts! i hand carve everything to avoid the dust as much as possible.

[.dsaavedra.]

i go up to 400 grit with my wood baits. then 1 dip in polyurethane, sand with 400 grit again, then another dip and i'm ready to paint. this produces a nice smooth surface to paint on. i just can't get this with pvc.

[Fishwhittler]

I've never had any problems from PVC dust, but if you do there are several things you could try. A hat, dust mask, safety glasses, apron and a long-sleeved shirt should keep most of the dust off of you. Also, using a knife for initial shaping will vastly reduce the amount of dust generated.

i go up to 400 grit with my wood baits. then 1 dip in polyurethane, sand with 400 grit again, then another dip and i'm ready to paint. this produces a nice smooth surface to paint on. i just can't get this with pvc.

If you want a smooth PVC bait, you're going to have to do a lot of sanding. Here's my technique:

I start by carving the blank bait to a more or less rounded shape with a knife. A utility knife works fine for this, but any knife you use should be sharp.

Next, use a dremel tool to rough-sand the bait all over. There's no need to try to get it very smooth at this stage; you're just trying to get it a bit smoother than the knife left it.

Hand-sand with 80 grit sandpaper. All sanding subsequent to this will be done by hand.

Now put a couple drops of water on the bait and wet-sand with 80 grit sandpaper.

Now repeat the hand-sanding process above with 120, 220, and 500-600 grit sandpaper. It helps if the sandpaper you wet-sand with is a little more worn than the piece you use for dry-sanding.

Now if you want to get the bait even smoother, use a piece of paper to polish the bait. I don't always do this step, but it does make the surface a bit smoother.

Finally, I spray on a clear water-based sealer just before painting. I generally use a mix of U-40 Color Lock and Seal Coat Lure & Jig Finish, but any clear water-based finish should work. With this coat I just build up enough paint over the bait to make it as smooth as possible for the final paint. This coat is not actually sealing the bait; it's just there to provide a smooth surface for painting.  It also helps prevent the PVC from expanding while heat-setting paint.  I didn't have many problems with PVC baits expanding, but since I started sealing before paint I've never had any problems.  Actually all that happens when PVC expands is the surface gets a bit rough; the bait is still perfectly functional, but it affects how the finished bait will look.

There you have it. It takes a bit of elbow grease, but the end result is a smooth PVC bait that is easy to paint.

Ben

[EdH]

Ben -Thanks for sharing some of your tips and techniques. I'm just starting out doing some PVC cranks and these will help with my learning curve.  Been looking as some of your work and their top notch.  You've become one of the masters of pvc bait creation!

[drivr8]

How does the pvc compare to balsa in buoyancy, do you use same amount of ballast in same size pvc bait as you do balsa?

[whittler]

In most baits it will require about 2/3 -1/2 less weight with PVC as opposed to a balsa bait.

[Fishwhittler]

What epoxy or sealer do y'all use to seal the paint on after the last coat ?

I've used Flex Coat Ultra V, Envirotex Lite, and U-40 Duragloss with good results.  Of those, Envirotex is the cheapest and most readily available, but it's also the brittlest and the most prone to cracking.  It's still a good topcoat, and very popular among lure builders and painters. 

Ultra V is basically a somewhat tougher version of Envirotex, and it costs a bit more.  Duragloss is the toughest of the lot and my personal favorite, but it's also slightly trickier to master.  It will fish eye unless you use U-40 Color Lock as a pre-topcoat, but once you've gotten comfortable with it you won't have any problems.

Any of these is a good topcoat for lures; it's mainly a matter of personal preference.

Ben -Thanks for sharing some of your tips and techniques. I'm just starting out doing some PVC cranks and these will help with my learning curve. Been looking as some of your work and their top notch. You've become one of the masters of pvc bait creation!

I really appreciate your kind words about my baits, but I can't claim to be a master lure builder!  I've come a long way from when I first started, but I still have a long way to go.