whittler

Beautiful work, Cliff.

Jon, like the action on that bait looks like a winner. One question, does your future wife know you fish in the bathtub?

Man those are some fantastic looking baits, I like them all.

Help me out here. After looking at your original post, are these pictures of crankbaits you have painted or painted pictures of crankbaits?

ToledoEF, if you want some really good info on fishing crankbaits go no further that these pages. Do a search for crankbait threads by Chris, an abloslute wealth of information by a very knowledgeable fisherman, who is not selling something.

Bob, the hot glue works fine for testing, just a small drop on each corner of the lip and if it sticks a little too much just run your Exacto blade under a little heat and a couple shallow slices will remove it. I'm not sure but I think thats what Bagley and Rapala uses to attach their hardware. The lip on a DT can be very easily removed by cutting shallow, just through the topcoat around the lip, then just lightly twisting and pulling straight out. Bagley I think just uses their topcoat for assembly as most of those are very easy to remove. For the newbuilders again, keep notes on each design, no sense to build a great bait and then not be able to duplicate it. "A short pencil is better than a long memory"

One of the best threads on here in a long time, thanks Jon. To the new builders read all the posts the read again, you can get this information almost knowhere else.

I think you will find it easier to have the holding fixture in your hand while painting/topcoating then putting it on the wheel, an alligator clip could be attached the the shaft however. A couple more pics of some of the various wheels and holding fixtures are included here but the combinations are endless. Most of my holder shafts are 3/8" dowell with the exception being the Exacto handles which are 5/16". Alligator clips, paper clips, different size screws and small spring clamps are all used for various baits. The wheels just slide on the square shaft for easy changing.

Here is a picture of mine, depending on which wheel used and holding fixtures it will turn up to about 48 baits at a time. Also pictured are a few of the various holding fixtures I use.

Some great looking baits Mike, I like them all.

Nice work there Jon. I think you will like the Sintra, drills straight and shapes easily. One other advantage is you can use a small drop of super glue to assemble for testing and not have to worry about sealing. I use super glue on PVC for final assembly, talk about a time saver.

Fantastic looking paint and on Marty's bait to boot, all I can say is get the net.

Like you Jon, not a big fan of the baby bass pattern but that is one of the best I have seen.

WOW, those are some great looking baits. Nobody would ever guess those are first timer baits, exceptional work. I Have those pics saved for reference.

"Amen", Bobp

ToledoEF, It is in the exterior trim section, I get mine at Lowe's. If you will ask for brick mold, exterior door trim, it is about 1 1/2" thick and 2 3/4" wide or facia trim which is about 1"x4", its white all the way through. Dave, that is the exact stuff I use.

Both these swimbaits are made from PVC, stainless steel hardware and Lexan tails. The first is a 7" Shad style and the second is a 5" Bluegill that was foiled and painted.

Barry, E-tex does not get as hard as Devcon and can be dented with a fingernail but that is not a bad thing. E-tex will stand up to some hard hits in rocks better that Devcon because it is not as brittle. On a light crankbait it does not make much difference but on a 2oz. or so swimbait if you hit a rock or hard object on the cast it can crack. I usually apply 2 or 3 coats (E-tex) with about 6 to 8hrs between then about 3 days cure time. I think you will find Flexcoat very similar, at least I can't tell much difference between them.

Ben, I have some baits that are three years old that I fish with and no problem with it turning yellow. When I ordered Flexcoat UV it was about the smallest amount you can purchase for testing and I really can't tell much difference between E-tex and Flexcoat, would not hesitate to use either on baits. Make you a heck of a deal on some Target, its great stuff if your refinishing a coffee table.

Ben, have tried all three and untold others looking for that perfect topcoat, I do not think it exists. E-tex and Flexcoat, at least for me, are very similar both in application and final finish. I use E-tex the most because it is available locally. The post you put on a couple weeks ago by Fatfingers is the bible for using either product. The problem I had with DN was with storage and waste, I liked the finished product. Will probablly be getting another quart along with some bloxygen/argon gas and try it again. I have not tried spraying it but Barry's baits look great so that might be another option.

I use a bandsaw except for my mini crankbaits then I use a scroll saw. Just slower on the scroll saw and a little more difficult and on larger material but it works fine for the job.

Fantastic colors, can't pick a favorite.

Neat bait Ben. Oak, you must be a glutton for punishment.

ToledoEF, I get the material at Lowe's, but a lot of other places carry it. I do use a pattern to outline and then bandsaw out the blanks. After sawing the blank out I put a centerline completely around the blank, all holes for hook hangers and hardware are drilled while the blank is still square. After that the blank is sawn into three pieces, I then reconnect them temporarily and the carving and details are carved in.

Some fine looking baits, especially like the alewife.