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Posts: 4266
| I have probably ASSEMBLED, WEIGHTED and PAINTED hundreds of gliders in the last 4 years or so, but I never made my own blanks before. Well after I painted the Kingfisher Brown Trout, I thought that I would look around for other fishy-looking lumber and make some more lures with a minimum of paint. I can tell you right now that my Dad may have been a wood-worker, but he didn't pass those genes or tools down to me.
I borrowed a band-saw and already have a belt/disc sander, so I wanted to see how far I could get. Not too freaking far I'll tell you. Not too far.
I found some great wood though. So far I have- Big Leaf and Birds Eye Maple. Lacewood that has built in big fish scales in the grain. Figured Purpleheart, Zebrawood, Snakewood and Figured Moabi all from Africa. And different types of Cedar blocks with the tightest grain that I've ever seen and California Redwood that is tougher than any Cedar.
Anyway, all of the woods from Africa are very hard and heavy, and some of them may not even need any weighting. But trying to form a lure without a planer or router table is really a tough job. Hobbys were made for you to enjoy, but I think that the hobbyist in me is more of a painter than anything else. I cut every pattern different, trying to utilize the shape of the grain where ever I can. But after cutting, they go straight to the belt/disc sander where I stand and twist and turn and contort myself and the wood until I can't stand any longer. With my back the way it is, 45 minutes is about the limit. I'm either going to have to outsource the blank-making process, or buy myself some tools.
All of you do-it-yourselfers, what tools are the most necessary when it comes to making your blanks? Which ones can you do without?
At the rate that I'm going I might have some lures to use for fall fishing. (Port Orford Cedar will make a very nice Cisco/Whitefish pattern with just the addition of some silver scales and a mist of blue along the top.)
Beav
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Location: Des Moines IA | I've tried to cut blanks with a bandsaw and sander as well. You really need a router. I spoke with Mr and Mrs. Kingfisher at the Chicago show, and they have the best lure building wood shop I have ever heard of. If you need answers, you need to talk to them. |
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Posts: 1530
| beaver. i build lots of blanks. my top machine. table saw
band saw. lathe, 3 different sanders and of course a 5hp dust collecter..
depending on shapes ans styles router also. then comes the paint.
who said making baits is easy??? |
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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | I have made a few lures for friends and family. I have a band saw to cut out the rough shape of the lure. I then use a table sander from Craftsman that has a belt sander/disc sander combo to smooth the cut edges. Next I round the edges on the router table. The router I bought used and the table is again a Craftsman product. I then clamp the lure in the vise using wood blocks to prevent marks on the wood and sand the routered edges with strips of sandpaper. Watch the fingers on the router! I think I need all of these tools and more. Now for the real trick. Buy some of Beavers lures and use them for patterns! I have several of your lures and wish I had the painting skills you have.
Ken
(new president of the Beaver fan club)
Edited by muskyhunter63 1/21/2009 6:54 PM
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Posts: 4266
| I didn't get to the show, but talked to Mike for over an hour and a half when he got home. After I saw the blanks that he made for me, I was very impressed with his work. I had never seen a thru-wire lure blank before.
I always got my lure blanks from Leeiacocoanuts (Hawaiis Best), and I love them. They were all made from quality hard maple, and every one was exactly like the other. I pray every day that he gets well. Not only for him and his family, but for my own greedy selfish reasons too. Until he gets better, I am on my own, and can see that a router table is a must for making quality lures. I have a mouse that I can sand out imperfections with, but trying to round off the edges of hard wood with sandpaper is no fun at all.
I'll talk to Lee and Mike from time to time when I get in a spot, but when I talk to either one of them it turns out to be an education and an hour-long yuck it up phone call with one of your buddies. I call Lee "my best friend that I never met", I have to put Mike on that list too. I'll make sure to have rolls of gauze hanging from a dispenser in my lure room until I feel comfortable with the table router.
Keep the tips coming boys.
Beav
Edited by Beaver 1/21/2009 7:19 PM
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Posts: 2068
Location: Appleton,WI | Beave,
I can cut them in the cnc machine at my work for you.Would need a fixture to hold them and we would be good. |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | muskyhunter63 - 1/21/2009 6:52 PM
I have made a few lures for friends and family. I have a band saw to cut out the rough shape of the lure. I then use a table sander from Craftsman that has a belt sander/disc sander combo to smooth the cut edges. Next I round the edges on the router table. The router I bought used and the table is again a Craftsman product. I then clamp the lure in the vise using wood blocks to prevent marks on the wood and sand the routered edges with strips of sandpaper. Watch the fingers on the router! I think I need all of these tools and more. Now for the real trick. Buy some of Beavers lures and use them for patterns! I have several of your lures and wish I had the painting skills you have.
Ken
(new president of the Beaver fan club)
Where can I join this Fan Club? :D
Anyway, as quite a noob myself, Ive found that I need bandsaw, belt/discsander and a router and a drillbench. What I would like to have is a planer(?) to make the hard maple the correct thickness. I do this in the bandsaw now, and it takes a little while 
Routering is dangerous business, Ive now (after my older "know-it-all brother, showed littlebrother how its done... blood all over...) made a jig, to hold my blanks.
Michael
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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | I would like to see the jig as I kinda need all my fingers and everytime time I use the router I feel like I won the lottery when I finish with all my fingers intact. Do you have any pictures of the jig?
Ken |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | muskyhunter63 - 1/22/2009 7:12 AM
I would like to see the jig as I kinda need all my fingers and everytime time I use the router I feel like I won the lottery when I finish with all my fingers intact. Do you have any pictures of the jig?
Ken
I hear ya After my brothers incident, I kindly asked someone else to router for me, even tho it wasnt my finger, you get scared
I didnt come up with the idea, but I snitched it from a swedish baitbuilder.
http://www.fiskesnack.com/forum/showpost.php?p=225421&postcount=37
The images are pretty selfexplanatory. But you might not see (and dont understand Swedish) it uses another blank at the back, as a counter..."weight"
Michael
Edited by Pikopath 1/22/2009 12:18 PM
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Beav, at least you didnt go my route. I once tried to whittle a bait with an exacto knife. I was much younger, and still have the scar from where the knife hit a knot and popped out and took a chunk out of the top of my finger. Pretty humorous looking back. I have no artistic ability and have given up any thoughts of drawing, painting, crafting anything of any sort. |
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Posts: 212
| Beav you could always cast them and save yourself time sealing them!! But then you totally eliminate having the ability to work with the grains in your painting.... If baitmaking were as easy as fishing then we wouldn't need the challenge!!  |
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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | Thanks for the reply. That looks like it would be easy to build and again a lot easier on the fingers. Now about understanding Swedish! All I can do is sit here and think about Swedish like,,, meatballs,,,,bikini clad....... never mind, thanks for the link.
Ken |
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| beaver good luck please keep us updated |
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Posts: 4266
| Well, I spent about an hour outside sanding some blanks that I roughed out with a band saw before I broke the blade. Buying a new band saw soon.
Anyway, I took a pile of blanks that I had cut from Lacewood and sanded them to size. Then I took them and went on the belt sander and basically rotated them 360 degrees and worked my way around the lure starting at the head and going toward the tail. There were obviously spots that I couldn't get to, and I left some kind of wavy pattern on the top and bottom of most of them. I took one and ran the belly on the disc to flatten it out, and was about to do the same to the top when I stopped. I thought,"This actually looks kind of cool." I like the bottom flat for several reasons, but thought the imperfect top would look cool....especially after a couple of coats of Envirotex. I didn't do many before my back cramped up and I came back inside, but if I keep at it, I might actually make a lure one of these days.
I'm going to splurge on a new band saw, and maybe a router table, but you guys have me gun shy. Hell, I put a drill bit through my hand and 2 fingers just drilling holes for weights. Not all at once, I got to do it 3 seperate times. Those new bits really grab.
Anyway, since I figure the purpose of the task was to make some lures that were naturally figured, I guess that can pertain to the top as well as the sides. None of them are going to look exactly alike anyway, and as long as I get them to run like a glider should, maybe the shape really isn't the most important part of the lure. I'm sure that muskies eat deformed fish as well as healthy ones.
Beav |
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Posts: 67
| Beaver,
I too am using high density hardwoods like Purpleheart, Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany, Brazilian Ebony and Ekki. You can check out the hardness of these woods and others here:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_Wood_Hardness_Rating
Unweighted, these types of woods tend to sink tail first,( path of least resistance) so I had to add some lead to make them sink horizontaly.
I recommend you buy the best blades you can afford for your bandsaw. I used to use American Vermont, but switched over to Tufftooth. There's absolutely no comparison with these blades when cutting into these types of woods.
I tought about buying a combo disc / belt sander rated at 4.5 amps but decided on a 7 amp belt sander mounted on a work bench would last me longer since my sander works the hardest of all my tools. I start off with a 36 grit and then move to 80.
My router bits are Freud. They are expensive but so far I'm getting my monies worth. I'm looking at experimenting with a bullnose router bit which would allow me to round both sides at the same time.
I must say, that the tool I dread the most is my router.
Good luck and enjoy
Joe
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | Router is the only way to go Beav but they are dangerous, very dangerous. I have a way I do the blanks and I never change the router procedure no matter how many I do. I make sure I never router when I am tired or daydreaming......it would only take a second to lose a finger.
I can cut out the blank in a minute, router in a minute, and rough sand in another two minutes or thereabouts. It doesn't take all that long to do 25 blanks but of course this is only one small part of the total build.
Jed
Edited by RiverMan 1/22/2009 6:02 PM
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Posts: 4266
| I wish that there was someone who I knew who had experience on a table router that I could watch for a while and see how it's done. Shaping softer woods isn't that bad, but hard woods really takes some time. I must say that I'm very impressed with a block of California Redwood that I bought. I'm saving that one for lures for me. Heavier than Cedar, and a real tight grain that you can't even dent with a finger nail. It cuts easily and shapes with sandpaper, but it really isn't readily available....from my experiences. I have enough wood to keep me going for a while, now it's time for new tools, when I can afford them.
Now I have to go to my daughters school and show her art class how an air-brush works. Her teacher asked Taylor what I painted. When she told her that I painted fishing lures, the teacher was less than impressed. I'm going to do my best to impress her for all of us!!!
Beav |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Beav,
Keith uses lots of woodworking equipment, drop him a PM. I know he uses a scroll saw alot, that may work for you. What you really need is a Shopsmith! |
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Posts: 226
Location: W. PA. | If you are putting drill bits through your fingers you for sure need a jig for the router table! That's a dangerous piece of equipment, I cringe every time I use mine but I can round over two dozen hardwood blanks with a router and a roundover bit in the time I can do one with a wood rasp and sandpaper.
If you need some good router bits at a price that won't break the bank try here, http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/ pretty widely recognized in the woodworking industry as the topshelf of low priced bits. Another good bandsaw blade that you don't hear much about is MK Morse out of Canton Oh. If anyone around you carries them, they are on par with lenox for half the price. Timberwolf makes good blades too and are probably a little easier to find. |
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Posts: 4266
| What is it about a table router that makes it so scary? The razor sharp piece of metal spinning around in a blur, or something else. I'm getting afraid to even go look at one. Somebody say some thing good about them, please.
The school trip was cancelled, but better yet, after talking with the teacher she wants me to do a "how to make a fishing lure from start to finish". First, you buy blanks |
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | Beav it is good to be afraid of the router because this will make you pay attention to what you are doing. I can remember that my hands were shaking the first time I used mine.........I was that nervous about it! Now though I don't even think about it. I would be happy to make you a short video clip of how I do them but I have no formal training and I'm sure that a professional would probably find my method unorthodox and perhaps incorrect. I have done thousands though without a single mishap of any kind. I tried a couple different jigs for holding the wood but they were too slow and I eventually went back to using just my fingers again. Just make sure you always go against the direction of the blade.........check youtube, there is a probably a couple of videos that show how to do it correctly. Also, start out with a soft or medium wood like western red cedar or poplar. Hard maple and oak will sometimes catch the blade and want to throw the piece so start soft. Make sure you buy a router with an adjustable speed too....the speed makes a difference.
About the redwood, it is hard and I know Novak used to use it some but I found that as you sand it there is portions of the wood that are very hard and others that can be a bit soft which makes getting an even surface difficult. Get yourself some poplar or basswood, these are both great intermediate woods with a smooth and consistent grain that works well for cranks or gliders.
Jed
Edited by RiverMan 1/23/2009 12:32 PM
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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | Router is the only way to go. I have been using mine without a jig to hold the wood. Go slow and don't force the wood into the bit. Hold the wood on the end opposite where it is going into the router bit. Remember when you first started driving or talking to girls you used to be a little scared too. Now the driving is easy but the girl thing can still be a little scary!!!!!!!!!
Ken |
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Posts: 32892
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | beav was never scared of girls. They are, however, sometimes scared of him....alittle. |
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Posts: 39
| I don't have a ruter table, only a hand held ruter. So I made a jig to round over baits. It is just a frame that is the same thickness as the blank. The blank is held in place by 2 nails, thru the back off the frame(thin plywood). The ruter bit moves between the frame and the blank, while the hand held ruter rests on the blank and the frame. I have tried to draw it, don't have a picture 
http://www.sportsfiske.nu/foto/arkiv/29067/73089_s.jpg
It takes some more time, but you can't hurt any fingers.
Oskar
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Location: Oregon | Good idea Oskar. |
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Location: Richland Center, WI. | Hi Oskar,
Stupid question but how do you keep the bait in place when you are using the router?
Ken |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | If Ive understodd Oscar correctly, he has explained it to me before.., so is it something like the img Ive attached here, in an exploeded view.
The nails will make a little mark in your blank, but nothing that epoxy putty cant fix...
Michael
Attachments
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 routerjig.GIF (38KB - 127 downloads)
routerjig2.GIF (20KB - 116 downloads)
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Posts: 39
| New drawing, hope this explain's how you fix the blank.
http://www.sportsfiske.nu/foto/arkiv/29077/73115_s.jpg
Edit: Spot on Michael! That is how I do it.
Edited by Norway pike 1/23/2009 3:32 PM
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Location: Richland Center, WI. | Now I get it. Thanks for the pictures.
Ken |
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Posts: 4266
| OK, because I'm an idiot......Has the blank ever come loose during the middle of routering? How deep do the nails need to be? What if you are routering the top and bottom different sizes? Little bit of filler to plug the nail holes and fingers that still work. Looks cool.
Beav |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | BTW all the talk about protecting yourfingers... goggles and earmuffs is also a must, if you ask me. Maybe a helmet
First time I tried one, the bit grabbed the wood, and my fingers followed, went clear of the bit, phew, but the blank shot thru the air at 100mph, and hit the wall right next to some old lead windows, which are over 100 yrs old, and irreplaceable...
Michael |
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Posts: 39
| "How deep do the nails need to be?" 5-10mm, it will depend on the hardness of the wood. To shallow and the blank may come loose.
"What if you are routering the top and bottom different sizes?" Just stop at one side of the bait and change ruter bit, you may need to sand at the ends.
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| If a router seems scary, (did to me first time) try using a router bit in a drill press (if this is available). This way you can see what the bit is cutting at all times. I make walleye baits as small as 3" in length.
rjlures.com |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | Another baitholder Ive used. Made with a piece of broomstick, a piece of wood and 2 small nails. See image.
Michael
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routerhandle.GIF (36KB - 149 downloads)
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| enjoy http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=zQLwXu6qTwI |
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Posts: 4266
| Thanks Mota! You da man!
I think I can handle that. He did a good job of keeping his hands well away from the cutter as much as he could.
Is it just me, or does he sound Canadian? I love the way he says, "Rooter"
Beav |
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| Beaver - 1/24/2009 7:15 AM
Is it just me, or does he sound Canadian? I love the way he says, "Rooter"
Beav
LOL....I'm going with Minnesota.
Regardless of the accent, it's a great how-to video.
jeremy |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | I have that DVD where that clip is from. Its canadian, allright. Im 110% sure that he has done that alot more than me and its not as easy as it looks in the beginning. Maybe I should consider to make MONSTERBAITS just to feel safer by that devils machine...
Michael
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Posts: 169
| I too have his DVD, very, very good. Covers spinnerbaits, bucktails, crank baits (from a block of wood all the way to finished lure) here's his website
http://www.geocities.com/out2llunge/
Brad |
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | It looks like WRC is being used in the Youtube Demo which is probably the easiet wood out there to router because it is so soft. Keep in mind if you are using hard maple that the wood will want to jump alot more so go slow when you first put the bit to the wood.
RM |
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Posts: 3
| Beaver,
Another alternative to the jig would be to use the handheld router (cheaper than a table router) and lock it in place point up in a vise. I know it SOUNDS like a redneck accident waiting to happen (Hey y'all, watch this!), but I've never had any problems or accidents. In fact I still have all seven fingers....
Once it is locked in place, you can router very much like they showed in the video by manipulating the blank rather than the router. I got a fairly inexpensive router at Menards (Tool Shop brand) and it has worked great for four years. They also market round over bits in a four pack assortment ranging from 1/4" to 3/4". The bits do eventually burn out, but at $13.00 a four pack it's manageable.
If you still don't feel comfortable routering, let me know and I could do some blanks for you. |
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Posts: 4266
| Well, it got warm enough on Wednesday for me to spend some time in the garage cutting and sanding and other lure related stuff. My hand feels great when I'm not doing anything, but when I attempt to do any grabbing, pushing, pulling etc., it feels like I just had surgery a week ago, so I have to slow down. I'm getting the other hand done on Wednesday the 11th, so it will still be a while before I'm fully active. You may have noticed that last week I sold a bunch of lures. Well that was for a reason. Today I purchased a Craftsman 2hp router and table combo and 6 roundover bits, so when I'm ready, the shavings and the dust will be flying. Also ordered about 100 - 1/8" thick Lexan lips in various shapes and sizes so I can use some of the thinner left-overs to try my hand at building crankbaits. Maybe the timing is good for once. I should be fully healed just in time for the first permanent warm-up to show up.
Nobody said that it was going to be easy I'm actually looking forward to being busy. This winter has been hell on me. I'm ready to go and do something.....like take a nap.
Stay tuned for updates and pictures of exotic wood blanks, without much paint on them.
Beav |
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Posts: 727
| Wow sounds like you'll have your work cut out. Keep us posted on how the routering goes. |
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Posts: 388
| While I don't claim this to be safe, I have my router mounted upside down in my bench vice and a piece of plexiglass mounted to the router base to form a poor man's table.
After routing, I find an orbital palm sander hard to beat. A belt is too harsh and tends to flatten out the contours. A narrow 1" belt with no backing plate would be about the only thing that I think could be used to smoothe over the lure. |
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Posts: 4266
| I have a very nice paln sander with all fine sandpaper to take out any seams or wrinkles. I'm looking forward to doing something new.
Beav |
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Posts: 393
Location: Kawarthas, Ontario | That's me in the video. I produced it several years ago and used to have it for sale here.
If you're going to router (not rooter) hard maple I would suggest minimizing the cutter height and doing several cuts each at increasing cutting depths. It's important to have respect for any tool and a little fear will help keep you alert. You need to be extra cautious when cutting many blanks of the same shape. The repetitiveness makes your alertness wane and leaves you more prone to accidents. |
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Posts: 393
Location: Kawarthas, Ontario | 100% Canadian! |
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Posts: 4266
| I'm going to start with the cedar that I have cut first, then some California Redwood to get the feel for it. Good advise using several cuts instead of one with hard wood. I'm just doing this for the love of it, so I don't have any quotas to meet or customers to satisfy, so I can work slowly. I tend to get a little anxious with new projects, but I know from running lots of heavy equipment as well as a myriad of different power tools, that bad things can happen if you are not focussed. I plan on practicing on all sorts of scraps before I ever touch a lure blank.
Thanks for your input. I learned much just by watching that clip.
Beav |
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| out2llunge - glad to see you finding a little time to post!
Alex |
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Posts: 4266
| Well, I got the stitches out of my left hand today and am happy to report that all went well and I can feel all of my fingers.
When I can home I assembled my router table and ran a bunch of scrap wood and a few cedar blanks through it and I love it. I'm going to have to rig up some different suction hoses on my shop vacs to make hook-up easier, but I always have the option of going out and securing it to my picnic table and let the wind do the work for me.
Like I said before, I have a greater appreciation for the guys who made the blanks that I weighted and painted, because there is a lot more work to it than meets the eye. I'll always have something to do that is lure-related all year long now, and isn't that what a hobby is supposed to be?
Now I have a supply of blanks from 6-10", gliders and crankbaits both. With all of the different styles and woods, I'll be spending a good deal of time at the launch ramp just south of Milwaukee, checking out my work and letting the dogs swim. Now I need spring. We had one day that was almost 70, now I need a whole month of warm weather to get some lures made....unless I take a few weeks to head out to The Mississippi walleye and bass fishing. I'm glad it's not a race. If I ever get a lure made, I'll make sure to show you guys.
Beav |
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