Irukanji
07-25-2011, 04:22 PM
Anyways I have recently moved inland, near a nice sized lake. And of course, I have already lost 2 lures in there(in the span of 10 minutes in 1 day...). So, naturally, if I could make my own for, say, 50c each, then I wouldn't care if i lost 2 or more every time I went fishing since they are cheap and easy to make.
Materials required;
Balsa Wood - A block of it, I have found 300mm x 100mm x 50mm blocks are around $11-12.(assuming the lures are <100mm long, and less than 25mm deep and 25mm long, you could get around 24 lures per block, not allowing for wastage or smaller/bigger lures. Bigger than 100mm long will require you to go lengthways, and you may only get 5-10 depending on how many you make of whatever size.
Scalpel - make sure it is sharp. Use this to cut out a rough pattern, to make bits roughly rounded, whatever, before sanding. It is much, much easier than sanding through 10mm of balsa wood.
Sandpaper - 360, 600 and 1200 grit wet and dry(or higher, I only had these. any sandpaper will do the trick)
2 pins. The longest you can find. I have a small pack of 48.5mm long, maybe 1mm thick pins. They are only just long enough for the lures in the picture. A piece of brass rod sharpened/pointed at one end might work?
Wire - I'm only using trace wire, probably 20lb, maybe 40lb. Most people who make lures use stainless steel wire ~0.75-1mm thickness. They just cut a notch down the middle and stick it in with some glue. It is probably better, since you can twist the wire to keep the hooks/rings attached, instead of using trace crimps(small metal cylinders to crimp to trace wire to keep it in a loop)
Pen, paper, internet, favourite fishing lures, etc. So you have something to copy/use yo help your imagination.
Bills/bibs - I don't know yet, havent made one that far yet.
Weight - if required, can just be small split shots stuck into a drilled hole and covered/glued in with some epoxy.
Epoxy - to cover/make it hard and not adsorb water.
I think thats all....
Before and after.
http://i53.tinypic.com/2hhoio3.jpg
You can see the basic side profile which has been cut out with a scalpel. It's rough, but it does the job. The top one is after a bit of loving care with the sandpaper. Maybe 10-15 minutes work.
Before sticking holes through
http://i56.tinypic.com/2hmcyad.jpg
To give you an idea of the size of the lures being made.
Hole through the lures.
http://i56.tinypic.com/13zzx3c.jpg
The reason they are facing different ways is sometimes the pins overshoot the other hole, and so if you insert the wire from one end, it will just get stuck in the hole and not go any further. If this happens, draw a little arrow indicating which way the wire is to be inserted. It will save you having holes all over your lures and making it a nightmare for the wire to be passed back through.
Example of what happens when you don't be careful
http://i56.tinypic.com/34rd7cp.jpg
If the holes are touching, then it should move easily from one to the other without pathing through any of the wood. Remember, balsa is very soft, and i cut along the grain because it is easier with a scalpel. But, this makes it easier for the wire to poke holes like that. If you are only using your hands you can feel when you aren't pushing through a hole, but into solid wood instead. To achieve that picture, I used a pair of pliers to force it all the way through. When I stuck it from the correct end, it went through with no trouble. Sometimes both holes will over shoot, and so you will just have to play with it until it goes through properly.
Thats all for now, I should probably try and get some araldite(5 min epoxy) and paint/cover them and see how shiny I can get them.
As a thought, heatshrink tubing might work, if you can find a piece big enough. But then you will have the ends to deal with. But if you can seal the ends with, say, epoxy, then you wont have to worry about water getting in. But then you'd only have one colour....so you could stick some of that holographic fish scale looking stuff? Whatever.
Materials required;
Balsa Wood - A block of it, I have found 300mm x 100mm x 50mm blocks are around $11-12.(assuming the lures are <100mm long, and less than 25mm deep and 25mm long, you could get around 24 lures per block, not allowing for wastage or smaller/bigger lures. Bigger than 100mm long will require you to go lengthways, and you may only get 5-10 depending on how many you make of whatever size.
Scalpel - make sure it is sharp. Use this to cut out a rough pattern, to make bits roughly rounded, whatever, before sanding. It is much, much easier than sanding through 10mm of balsa wood.
Sandpaper - 360, 600 and 1200 grit wet and dry(or higher, I only had these. any sandpaper will do the trick)
2 pins. The longest you can find. I have a small pack of 48.5mm long, maybe 1mm thick pins. They are only just long enough for the lures in the picture. A piece of brass rod sharpened/pointed at one end might work?
Wire - I'm only using trace wire, probably 20lb, maybe 40lb. Most people who make lures use stainless steel wire ~0.75-1mm thickness. They just cut a notch down the middle and stick it in with some glue. It is probably better, since you can twist the wire to keep the hooks/rings attached, instead of using trace crimps(small metal cylinders to crimp to trace wire to keep it in a loop)
Pen, paper, internet, favourite fishing lures, etc. So you have something to copy/use yo help your imagination.
Bills/bibs - I don't know yet, havent made one that far yet.
Weight - if required, can just be small split shots stuck into a drilled hole and covered/glued in with some epoxy.
Epoxy - to cover/make it hard and not adsorb water.
I think thats all....
Before and after.
http://i53.tinypic.com/2hhoio3.jpg
You can see the basic side profile which has been cut out with a scalpel. It's rough, but it does the job. The top one is after a bit of loving care with the sandpaper. Maybe 10-15 minutes work.
Before sticking holes through
http://i56.tinypic.com/2hmcyad.jpg
To give you an idea of the size of the lures being made.
Hole through the lures.
http://i56.tinypic.com/13zzx3c.jpg
The reason they are facing different ways is sometimes the pins overshoot the other hole, and so if you insert the wire from one end, it will just get stuck in the hole and not go any further. If this happens, draw a little arrow indicating which way the wire is to be inserted. It will save you having holes all over your lures and making it a nightmare for the wire to be passed back through.
Example of what happens when you don't be careful
http://i56.tinypic.com/34rd7cp.jpg
If the holes are touching, then it should move easily from one to the other without pathing through any of the wood. Remember, balsa is very soft, and i cut along the grain because it is easier with a scalpel. But, this makes it easier for the wire to poke holes like that. If you are only using your hands you can feel when you aren't pushing through a hole, but into solid wood instead. To achieve that picture, I used a pair of pliers to force it all the way through. When I stuck it from the correct end, it went through with no trouble. Sometimes both holes will over shoot, and so you will just have to play with it until it goes through properly.
Thats all for now, I should probably try and get some araldite(5 min epoxy) and paint/cover them and see how shiny I can get them.
As a thought, heatshrink tubing might work, if you can find a piece big enough. But then you will have the ends to deal with. But if you can seal the ends with, say, epoxy, then you wont have to worry about water getting in. But then you'd only have one colour....so you could stick some of that holographic fish scale looking stuff? Whatever.