what tools do I need? Hopefully something I dont have to buy besides wood

basswood and balsa are awesome for carving (balsa would be better if you're stuck using a knife).

my favorite carving tool is my dremel with a tungsten carbide structured tooth grinding bit. this thing takes off wood like nobody's business. after i do the rough carving with the tungsten carbide, i go back over it with a 150 grit sanding drum, then after that i do final shaping with sand paper by hand.

but a combination of a sharp knife, coarse file (for harder woods like basswood), and various grades of sandpaper will give you a good result too.

you could go to a craft store and buy a wood carving knife, which is basically a small sharp blade on a large wooden handle. this gives you a lot of control over the blade, versus a regular pocket knife where the blade is just as long as the handle. i've found one of those folding box cutter knives work great for a wood carving knife because they have big handles compared to the blade, and you can put in sharp razor blades and then flip them when they start getting dull and then just replace them when both ends are dull.

If you have a knife, sandpaper and wood you are set to start carving. A scroll saw or band saw will make cutting out blanks much easier however and is essential if you plan to make multiple lures of the same type. There are several tutorials in the articles section of this website that will help you get started.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/crankbait_making.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/crankbait_making_2.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/lure_making.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/lure_making_1.html

Another tacklemaking website you can try is http://tackleunderground.com/community/.

Hope this helps.

Ben

Kind of a general question, carving things. Do you want to carve something like this?

Or are you wanting to carve something like this?

Have been carving wood and ivory for a lot of years and I think I can help with some of your decisions on what basic tools you might need and how to get started carving. PM me and I'll be happy to share anything I know.

I love that bluegill!  Yeah, carving knifes work great.  I prefer a smaller box cutter, with the blade out just slightly, maybe an inch or two.  This gives you a nice long handle, for control.  I spend a little bit of time on the dremel, but that is mostly shaping.  A scrol saw is great for making the shape you want, quick.  if you can get away with it, you could also use a table spindle sander...