A few disclaimers, to start. I’ve been making balsa crankbaits for about a year now. I’m by no means an expert, but I have been able to make lures that swim properly. A quick look around the Interwebs will produce as many opinions on this topic as you care to read.
Secondly – I make balsa baits for myself, not for resale. These are handmade. Each one is slightly different. I like that about them. You may not.
I’m a minimalist in the tools department and not a previously experienced woodworker. This process is heavily informed by the tools I had on hand when I first started. It is also informed by the way I found I liked to work with wood. My methods embrace these constraints.
My job down at WeAreMammoth is extremely detail-oriented. Making crankbaits is my escape from hardcore measurement. These instructions are more like getting a recipe from your grandmother than a schematic from an engineer.
In closing, this works well for me but your mileage may vary.
That being said… off we go.
1. Make a template. Some folks trace a crankbait that they want to emulate. I find that a good shape is fairly easy to free-hand. I like to cut mine out of manila folders. In addition to the shape, I’ve made a few marks for the lip slot, ballast and where the line & hook ties will go. You don’t have to do this.
2. Mark your profile shape on the block. I don’t worry much about maximizing the number of baits I can get out of a chunk of wood, but you certainly could if you wanted.
3. These are my tools. The little coping saw came from American Science & Surplus in Geneva. Great store. The x-acto knife was inherited from my grandfather. I sharpen it before I use it.
4. Cut the block. Not too close unless you’re quite skilled with a coping saw. Balsa is soft so go slow.
5. I took a few more whacks at the balsa to get closer to the profile shape. You’ll notice it looks lumpy and imperfect. It is. That’s OK.
I need to decide how thick I want the bait. I work in millimeters. I want this bait to be 40 mm thick, so I’ll cut it to 44 to start. The thickness is based (in part) on how I want the lip to fit. I measure the lip with my ruler at the point I want it to emerge from the bait. From there I settled on 40 mm.
Acrylic lips are a pain to make so I buy mine. Some people custom cut Lexan lips. They are also difficult to make so I don’t bother.
6. I cut the block to 44 mm thickness. Give or take a millimeter.
7. Sand the profile with 180 grit sandpaper. Not too close, though.
8. The curve on the underside of the tail is the hardest bit to sand. I tear off a smaller piece of sandpaper and wrap it around my finger. I use my finger like a file. I have used other objects as a sanding block before. Balsa is very delicate. I’ve found my finger gives the best control.
9. I sand the flat, cut side of the bait down from 44 mm to 40 mm. I take the bait and gently sand it in a radial motion which helps with uniformity. Don’t press down too hard. 180 grit eats balsa very quickly. I get it down to a uniform 40 mm quite easily this way. (This method allowed me to be imprecise in step #6.)
10. Mark the lip slot for angle and depth. It takes some practice to know exactly how this will affect the bait. This is one of the most important decisions you have to make. Look at baits you like and how they run. Try out something similar until you understand how this works. You may fuck up a few baits based on this decision. That’s OK.
11. I cut the lip slot with my x-acto. You can use a saw if you like. You’ll notice it’s not perfect. That’s OK. This gets fixed later.
12. Mark the center line. That’s 20 mm for this bait. This is a visual reference when you start to sand the profile. It doesn’t have to be perfect but should be close.
13. Mark the profile. Again, this is just a visual reference while you sand.
14. Give her a good sanding with the ol’ 180. Get the rough shape you’re going for and then… stop. Don’t go too far. You’ll be refining the profile with 240, 320 and then 400 grit. That’s when I get a tad more concerned with exactness. I like to pop the lip in at this point and hack on the lip slot if necessary.
15. Old Milwaukee Time. This is as far as I got and probably a good place to stop and let you think about the process. I’ll post a follow-up soon where I finish the bait profile and get it ready for sealing. If I’m not stopping to take pictures I can get a bait to this point in about 20 minutes.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned. Questions? Drop ‘em on Twitter. @NPRneck