1st PVC Crankbaits

[EdH]

My first try a making PVC Crankbaits.  Used Brick Trim boards for PVC.  Layout a pattern. Cut slot for thru wire hook hanger and line tie eye. Roughed out shape on band saw,  Hand shaped using micro file.  Inserted thru wire and sealed with J&B Kwik Platic (water proof) I got from HD. Next sanded lure down to 220 grit.  Used 1/8 in lexan for bill.  Hung on the hooks and use the water displacement method to determine amount of lead to ballast.  Primed and airbrushed using Createx paints.  Then Devcon 2T for clear coat.  Thanks to all for posting their methods, pics and tutorial.  You guys are great inspiration. 

[Buzbait88]

sounds interesting but I can't open the pic for some reason.  Can someone help me out here.

[BigBassMan]

Those are nice for your 1st home made cranks!!

[jesse1378]

Those look awesome for a first try. Pretty soon people will they you are just posting pics of Rapalas. Good work.

[fishinfranklin]

Very nice looking baits!!!

[EdH]

Thanks everyone.  I'm still on the learning curve.  Took me seems like forever to build them and I'm not showing the other side of the crankbaits.  They don't match and there are warts and weird stuff on em.  Starting to build baits is kind of like ridin a bicycle -it takes practice.  There are a lot of very good examples posted here to get inspired by.  And lots of support too.  Agains thanks everyone for contibuting.

[Fishwhittler]

Very nice, especially for your first try!

[EdH]

I learned alot doing these.  For example I found some 3 mm jewels with sticky backs in assorted colors.  Took a dremel tool with a small burr and hollowed out the centers after mounting the little boogers onto a scrap piece of polyurethane cutting board. (so I could remove them without detroying them.)  Then took some black testors paint and filled in the hole carved out the center to make up the pupils.  Turned out relatively easy and looks OK for eyes.  What I learned was that I should have carved out the baits for eye sockets 'cause the jewel eyes really are too tall.  Kind of buggy.  But hey maybe this will attract a fish bite even thought the paint colors aren't true fish colors.

Another thing I learned too was that PVC is really bouyant and it took more ballast weight than I thought.  I got a piece of 4"x 3" lead pipe transition at a local mom-pop hardware store.  Then cut the thing open and flattenend.  The sheet was about 1/8" thick.  Used tin snips to cut strips that I could weigh out, then roll into cylinders to insert in the body for the ballast.  Found I had to ballast in two places to get all the weight.  Using the archmedes technique you guys posted I could make up the cylinders for each bait.  Inserts were covered up with the J-B Kwik Plastic and sanded smooth. I was going for sinking crankbaits.  The lake I fish has fish in deep water 15 + feet. 

Part of the enjoyment was trying to find all the materials.   Found out all kind of things I might need for house fixing by wondering the isles. Just hope I remember where.