makin' crankbaits

[ILfishinman]

ok you guys make it look so fun. i was thinking about starting to make crankbaits. and i was wondering what all i need to get started. i have a dremel and there is a bench is the garage to do this all. and we have butt loads of tools out there. my list looks like this

Wood
sandpaper (100-500 grit)
hook eyes
split rings
lexan or plexiglass
line ties
and painting supplies

is that alll i need? also where you do get your wood. (hehe thats funny)

[crankybait]

for sandpaper- try finding some 36 grit, much easier. or 60. but other than that you are fine. i get my wood online (haha) well seriously, go to nationalbalsa.com and buy wood that is like 2 feet long and 1 or 2 inches thick

[ILfishinman]

they have alotta wood (hehe) can u get blocks of balsa at like home depot or meards or do you have to get it online?

[crankybait]

you will not find balsa at hardware stores. its too soft and light for any home improvemnt uses. you can get hardwood... itll be harder to shape though. much harder. you can get balsa at crfat shops but the good sized ones come in 7 dollar packs. there are like 4 usable peices and the rest is all small sticks and sheets. for a buck 50 online you can get one peice of wood big enogh to do at tops 10 lures, at least 6.

[ILfishinman]

ok sweet. just wanted to see if i could get it instantly instead of having to wait a week
also um the natioanal balsa place has a minimum of $25 per order. thats a lot of wood! (hahaha)

[crankybait]

yes it does. but it will last you a very long time. ive had mine for atleast 3 months and with all the wasted lures, have barely even finished half

[ILfishinman]

awesome. i think i will order some wood and make some bodies and get some screw eyews and junk and later i will get painting stuff after i have a few bodies made. also how much does lexan cost?

[crankybait]

lexan is like 25 bucks. i use plexiglas... its brittle but it gets the job done for like 3 bucks

[ILfishinman]

awesome i think ill get plexiglass

[crankybait]

yeah plexiglas will work... but just be careful. if you make like a crazy deepdiver do not use plexiglas. especially in cold water. itll snap like a twig. dont let it hit against rocks too often either. if one breaks it can be replaced but it will really be annoying. you can also try circuitboard. carolina chip uses it... i think it is called micarta

[ILfishinman]

i heard abou thtat. would sheet alluminum work also?

[crankybait]

yes it does... well i know sheet metal does. im thinking aluminum may crunch up if slammed into a structure. but i dont like metal bills anyway... just doesnt seem natural.

[ILfishinman]

well aluminum is light campared to steel and stuff. but i have a few older cranks with metal lips and there good

[crankybait]

yes well it depends... are those older cranks with aluminum lips?

[ILfishinman]

yes they are

[crankybait]

ok you know what pm me iit will be much quicker.

[bassking22]

Yeah a dremel and good sandpaper is all you need for balsa, I am working on some pine, and basswood blanks, and me and my dad use an band saw, a drum sander, and a belt sander for harder woods. I usually use 220 for the final shaping, after the dremel, then I go all the way up to 630. But cranky would naturally know more about this cuz hes more experienced, so dont listen to me

[crankybait]

no bassking got it down, dude dont bash yourself. im not so experienced either. yeah i guess i did forget to mention the final sanding with the extremely fine sandpaper.

and you dont use a dremel or disc sander for shaping do you? it is incredibly hard to get it nice and rounded with those because you tend to make it bumpy or take too much off.

[lizardsrule]

Go to www.carolinachip.com and ask the same question, and read some of his info on it.

Lizards

[ILfishinman]

okay i made one tonite it started as a minnow bait but ended up a spook. i used a white primer and sealer on it. then colored it with sharpies. and got some split rings and screw eye off of some old trolling of my grandfathers. found some hooks, sharpened them and put them on. i cant post pics now but i might get some up later and if not they will be up saturday after my little b-day fishin trip to shelbyville.
also the tools i used were a bench grinder and sandpaper. its made out of basswood because i couldnt find balsa wood blocks at micheals

[ILfishinman]

Here are the pics!

[crankybait]

very nice, it looks pretty good... and if you are going to talk to chip, ask on tackleworkshop.com... he made that site too.

[TackleTester]

Dude, you need to get some Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy and put it on your baits ro else the paint will just come right off once submerged in water...Other than that...nice start...I've been making baits for a bout 3 yrs not and it's easy to learn, hard to master type thing....lol.....it's a heckuva lot of fun tho....good luck

Btw, if you start using the harder woods, you might need a wood lathe and a band or scroll saw..

[crankybait]

oh yes i forgot about that... was goin g to say, use epoxy. not anything else. try avoiding the 5 minute kind, it turns yellow over time. and like i said, order balsa online. lathes and bandsaws run a ton of money.... i was looking at a jet mini lathe and after seeing the price i totaly forgot about it.

[TackleTester]

i got my lathe for 59.99 so that wasnt too bad and the scroll saw for 89.99....that one kind of hurt...lol