I've been doing  research and watching videos about making wooden lures, I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for starting this new found hobby. 

Check out "Tackleunderground". Good Luck.

Check out "Tackleunderground". Good Luck.

And all this time, I thought this was a tackle making forum.

The first few lures are going to be a learning process, so don't think about paint until you can get them to swim.

Always swim test with the hooks on and preferrably, a top coat. These two things affect the action of the lure.

Choose one type of lure and stick with it, until you can make it swim like you want, every time. Only then choose the next model to work on.

Don't spend money on tools until you know that you are going to like this hobby. Once you spend money on tools, it is no longer a cost saving exercise, but a very enjoyable hobby.

If you hit a problem or have a query, ask away. Try to stick to specific questions rather than 'how do I make a lure' type questions. Specific questions are much easier to answer and more people will be prepared to invest time for you.

Dave

There is a very good lure-making tutorial in the articles section of this website: Making Crankbaits Part I & Making Crankbaits Part II.  That covers the basics, and from there you can experiment with different materials, construction techniques, etc.  But for starting out, just keep it simple.  If you have some scrap wood laying around, it will probably be just fine for lures.  You'll want to avoid Walnut or Oak as both are difficult to carve and not very buoyant, but most scrap wood should work.

The only tools you really have to have are:

Pencil

Carpenter's Square

Knife

Drill

Coping Saw

Sandpaper

Those are the absolute necessities for building lures.  There are many other tools that will enable you to build lures quicker and more efficiently, but when you're just getting started there's no point in spending a boatload of money on expensive tools.

Ben

P.S.  I couldn't agree more with what V-man said about this being a tackle making forum.  If someone posts a question and all he gets is a reference to another forum, what's the point of having the first forum?