BIG M

To make a balsa crank suspend is royal pain in the butt. First the crank needs to have a nose down attitude in the water, don't try to change that. I would weight the bait for a very slow rise then paint/finish. Then I would use suspend dots to fine tune the bait out on the water. At different water temps the bait may float or sink. jbass has a pretty good system in his post, print that one off so you have on hand for the build.

You have to find what works for your baits and style of building. Another trick I've found to make the props spin free is to use buzz bait rivets pressed into the prop. Only problem with that is you cannot use a twisted wire hanger. I use a thru wire method with spinner bait wire for that trick.

Ben, you have been busy and the baits are outstanding. You might want to try a dumbell prop on your baits. I find those spin more freely than the others. That what I use on my small wake bait and bang-o copies.

I use a coat of super glue, then coat with 2part epoxy. The super glue makes balsa wood rock hard but is not totally water proof and raises the grain. The 2part epoxy is waterproof and gives a smooth finish to paint on.

I can see where my comment could be misleading. Let me say he doesn't mind putting his partner in the good spots first. I've always caught fish with this guy, no matter the conditions.

Beware, he's not kidding about fishing hard. Daylight till dark but he's a good guide and will put you on some fish. I've had the pleasure of fishing with Nick several times a yr for the past few yrs. Nick, I'm working on the plans for the mid Dec trip.

That is a big girl, very nice catch.

Very nice job on both baits.

The carving is outstanding and the finished baits look great. Just 1 question, are you trying to scare the fish to jump in the boat or what? Those baits look mean:)

That is a very cool bait but my fingers hurt when I think about building 1 that small.

I've never used that product but if it dries clear and is water proof then it should be fine. I would dip and hang the bait first to see if that method works. I think a drying wheel might cause problems due to the viscosity of the product. I'm also thinking you will need at least 2 coats. You might want to scuff the baits with steel wool between coats. Sorry I can't give you better answers. After reading the product info again, this stuff looks very much like Dick Nite's product. Should be just a dip and hang process for your baits. BobP will be able to help with this one.

Sharp looking baits, very nice job on the construction and painting.

I'm not Bob but can help. If you have soft balsa wood, give the bait a couple of coats of super glue this will make the wood hard as a rock. The seal with epoxy for a smooth finish to paint on. DN will work just fine for your top coat but you might want to do 2-3 coats of clear. Good question.

jbass, it was my understanding that Poe's cranks are made from white cedar not balsa wood. WEC puts a screw eye in the tail of their baits but they insert a piece of hardwood dowel rod to screw into. I know of other builders that use the same method as WEC.

I'm on fire this month, cranks are flowing. Here is a batch of round and semi-round square bills with a couple of little flat sides. Having fun now.

I twist my own hangers and line ties from SS wire and never had a failure. I did a test some yrs ago and it took all of my 270lbs to break the bait in half at the tail section. Now I will say that a thru wire system is by far the strongest way to build a bait but imho it's over kill.

Glad to see you back in the paint shop, still got the skills. All those baits look great.

Thanks for the kind words.

Here are a few baits I've finished recently, mixed bag of shallow runners. Flat sides and round bodies with a square bills and some round bills. Kind of pic heavy.

Great looking baits 1 and all. I really like the square bills.

I'm not talking about a feathered hook, just go with say a #2 short shank hook for a little extra weight. I don't like feathered hooks because of the drag that's created. Jig that's not a argument, it's a discussion on how and why. That's how we learn from each other. I do lots of trial and error to figure out what works for my baits. Any adivce I give is based off of my findings and you will find there are many ways to skin that cat.

For a walking bait you want the ballast in the last 1/3 of the bait. I want the line tie to be approx 35 degrees above the surface of the water. That's a very nice walker, try wrapping some lead tape around the rear treb or going to a bigger hook to add some weight.

Those baits look good to me. The colors are outstanding.

Thanks guys Iwata Revolution and Eclipse both gravity feed.

Here are a few shallow runners. Flat sides and round bodies, square bills and round bills, all painted in some very good simple color patterns.