I see a lot of cool crank baits on here and being a artsy fartsy type I would like to see what I can do.  Do you guys carve them or are there blanks you can purchase and customize.  I am pretty nice with an airbrush and have a couple sitting in my art room collecting dust and I don't think I have turned on my compressor in a year.  I would like to play around this winter, can anyone shoot me in the right direction.  Thanx.

here are some places that sell blanks

www.jannsnetcrat.com

www.lurepartsonline.com

and theres another that sells LC RC and DT blanks but I cant remember the name

here are some places that sell blanks

www.jannsnetcrat.com

www.lurepartsonline.com

and theres another that sells LC RC and DT blanks but I cant remember the name

thats www.predatorbassbaits.com you're thinking of.

also try www.crankbaitcomponents.com <-- they sell some pretty neat stuff, including a few swimbait blanks (magic swimmer, king shad,)

here are some places that sell blanks

www.jannsnetcrat.com

www.lurepartsonline.com

and theres another that sells LC RC and DT blanks but I cant remember the name

thats www.predatorbassbaits.com you're thinking of.

also try www.crankbaitcomponents.com <-- they sell some pretty neat stuff, including a few swimbait blanks (magic swimmer, king shad,)

That's it...thanks

I carve my own blanks, but you can buy them at jannsnetcraft.com or crankbaitcomponents.com.

I don't know if they're still in business or what since I cant get a return call or email but these are the nicest wood blanks I have found to date.

http://lurehardware.com/Lure_Hardware/index.html

Some of us carve, some buy and I imagine that some do both. Since you're starting, go with premade blanks. There won't be any fussing around with carving, shaping, or sanding.

Can you just repaint ones that you already own? Like colors that do not produce as well as others, sand em down and repaint.

Can you just repaint ones that you already own? Like colors that do not produce as well as others, sand em down and repaint.

you don't even have to sand them. just prime them so the paint adheres better.

Can you just repaint ones that you already own? Like colors that do not produce as well as others, sand em down and repaint.

you don't even have to sand them. just prime them so the paint adheres better.

Experience has told me that the sanding really help's in the long run. Just a little scuff! Help's the primer adhear much better..

Some of us carve, some buy and I imagine that some do both. Since you're starting, go with premade blanks. There won't be any fussing around with carving, shaping, or sanding.

What type of wood is used?

you could use any kind of wood you want. you could go in the woods and get some nice wood and dry it out completely and use that.

probably the most popular choices for wood lures are balsa, basswood, cedar and poplar.

i prefer basswood myself. its a hardwood that has a VERY fine grain, it shapes easily and well, and i like the density of it.

Some of us carve, some buy and I imagine that some do both. Since you're starting, go with premade blanks. There won't be any fussing around with carving, shaping, or sanding.

What type of wood is used?

Looks like D answered quite well. I have used basswood and balsa so far. I plan to try both cedar and pine some time soon.

What type of wood is used?

I use whatever I have on hand, usually pine.

BASSWOOD:     It is a very soft wood, similar to eastern white pine, but without the strong grain structure. It does not bend well, but does dry easily with little downgrade. It does shrink alot on drying though, but remains stable afterwards . This info from the woodbox.com

I've done alot of carving and found that basswood is probably the best for me. Shapes easily and also when setting ballast weight, it also glues very well.

Yep, there are lots of species you can use.  But the most popular are balsa, cedar and basswood.  I also like paulownia, introduced from the far east.  It has buoyancy between balsa and basswood but is a hardwood so doesn't require thru-wiring like soft balsa does.  My advice is to start out with kiln dried basswood.  It's widely available, has no bad grain effects, shapes nicely and sands beautifully. Balsa makes the best shallow baits due to its buoyancy but requires thru-wiring and substantial reinforcement to make a durable bait.