crank4bass

Try hand-crafted balsa cranks. More expensive but well worth it.

Most hand crafted balsa's don't not have rattles. legacylures.com jawjackerlures.com ...to name but a few. There are many out there.

Buy an Iwata. It'll last you forever and is the most reliable.

Sales are down I'm sure and manufacturers are not innovating. I'm buying more hand-crafted type baits that are unique from "Mom and Pop" lure company's. Still like getting my catalog though.

Ditto. A great site dedicated to us crankers.

I built a lure duplicator a few years ago that will create an identical match every time. A great machine but I replaced it with a more sophisticated machine. A hobby that turned into a business so I needed something that was faster and more automated. I mention this because I would sell this machine if anyone is interested.

Hand crafted balsa. Expensive but well worth it.

Really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. I too discovered many lures in my grandfathers tackle box some years ago. My grandfather was Fred Young, famed for his creation of the "Big-O". His box was loaded of course with highly prized Big O's but he had many of the old lures you show here. Couldn't tell you much about them though I enjoy seeing them.

With today's materials and topcoats they can last a long time, though not indefinitely. I would keep them in a dry environment when not using. I still have many of my grandfathers balsa lures, I don't fish with them of course they are Fred Young "Big O's" but they are still in great shape from the 70's.

Get a ultrasonic cleaner. You can find them on ebay easily and for a good price. I have two and they are hands down the best way to clean your airbrush. I'm shooting lacquers and they can be stubborn. Lacquer thinner and the ultrasonic makes them shinny and new no matter how long the paints set up. I do disassemble the brush so that it cleans deep within the brush and cleaning 4 at a time. Also if you are using solvent based paints be careful not to let the thinner get to any o-rings as it is not very friendly. I'm using Iwata's that are are solvent safe so no worries for me.

We started with a product made by Delta Labs. These are industrial coatings that all the big boys use. Problem is you have to buy in volumes. They made a pretty good moisture cure that we used for a while but then came across this McGrevor product and we could get it locally in Knoxville and not have to pay the hazmat shipping fees. Turned out we like it better, it's expensive, I think around $70-$80 a gal. We normally let each coat dry a full 24 hrs. It will continue to cure harder and harder for weeks but we will package after a fews days of curing. I would say it's water-proof, but our process uses 10 dips of different coatings, all contributing to it's durability and water proofing. Humidity will cause it to cure faster. There are some good 2-part epoxy's out there but we needed something that would be more suitable in a production environment and would not cure too fast. We store in an air tight vat with a top off of nitrogen.

Try this one: McGrevor Coatings cure 80 polyurethane (non-yellowing). It's a moisture cure, we dip lures 3x. We're producing large quantities so it makes sense. This stuff once exposed to air starts curing so it needs to be used. Very good stuff and it's what many large manufacturers use or something similar. We are using this on balsa baits so it has to be tough.

Nice. Iwata clearly the best in my opinion. I was an airbrush illustrator for many years and swear by them. I'm using siphon feed for lure painting mainly because I'm painting volume. Also using lacquers.

Zoom Fluke Pop R Spinner bait (Shad color) Balsa crank bait Purple worm (texas rigged) These always produce some type of bite.