Change In Plans

I was supposed to have received tagua nuts in the mail this past week to use in my project. Well I did not get them yet, and this week i had to finish the lure I started last week. I had yet to paint the one I completed last week so that is what I did. I was not happy about the way the last lure looked so I decided to spend a little more time on the paint this week.

I painted this lure to look like lures I found in this issue Field and Stream magazine. I did not get as intricate as most of the lures, I just used basic color schemes and patterns. This specific lure I painted a mixture of yellow and green with black stripes on the back similar to a perch. I designed this one to be bright and to be easily seen on darker days.

Next week I will continue with my plan to turn the tagua nuts. In contrast to the lure I made this week, I will not paint the tagua nut lures. I will substitute color for shape and detail. I think this is comparable to the Japanese pottery we looked at. The first lure I made is more like the fine pottery and the one I will make is like the more rough natural pottery, but they are still both crafted well.


By the way! I made a posting mistake on my last two posts. I have two blogs and I posted my last two to the wrong blog. They are up and in the correct place now with the exception of them being reversed in order.

Thanks.

One down!

I finally got one lure done, it is not much to look at but I am proud of the way i got it put together. It took me a really long time to find out an effective way to attach the hook and the eye for the fishing line to go through. This is really my pilot lure; now that I have created a process I can perfect it some to make it more ascetically pleasing.

These are the steps I found worked best to make a lure in your dorm room with a pocket knife as your only tool.

1. I whittled out a basic body shape for my lure. This time I had to use relatively soft wood so it was easy to shape.

2. I carved a groove all around the center of the lure to attach the hook.

3. I took a wire and threaded connector for the hook to attach onto it.

4. I then wrapped the wire with the hook connector into the groove and twisted it off at the top. This left me with a place to put the hook, but an ugly groove in the surface of my lure.

5. I then filled the groove with wood putty to make the surface flush.

6. Next I drilled a spiral hole with a corkscrew in the nose for the eye to attach to fishing line to. The spiral shape of the hole I drilled will hopefully hold the eye in better. I used super glue to make the final attachment.

7. I then went over the lure once more with the knife to level everything out.

8. Finally I painted the lure in layers. I started with a red base coat, added green spots, then added a mouth with yellow black and white. I also added the goggle eyes in this step.


I was hoping the lure would be more ascetically pleasing because of the time I took to carve it, but I will improve it on the next lure. After finishing it I did feel a sense of accomplishment. I would relate the my feeling to the women who canned food in the first article we read. I tried to make it ascetically pleasing and functional. This fishing lure is not something absolutely necessary but it is something I enjoyed making. I plan to deviate from this process on my second lure. I will use more tools next lure. Since I will go home this week, while I am there I will pre drill a few wood pieces so the hook is easier to attach and the eye will be more sturdy. Hopefully this will make the lure better looking and more practical.

A little help from machines

This week I took my materials to my grandfathers workshop to use some small woodworking tools to help me expedite the process of making my fishing lures. The tools I chose to use were a belt sander, a drill, a band saw, and a high speed pneumatic carving tool. All of these tools still required me to have a plan and a design, but they helped me create more functional, stronger, more ascetically pleasing lure. The more specialized tools took out the problems I had while making the lures with only a pocket knife and a scalpel. I could more easily attach the hook and line eye. It also made the attachments stronger.

In my machine assisted process I made a few changes to the way I designed the lures and the size of the lures. Before, I felt I needed the lures to be thicker if they were going to have any durability. This was mostly because I was using a softer wood for carving. The machines helped me use a more dense wood for a stronger lure. I could also make the lures smaller and more functional. The process I used in the the machine assisted process is as follows:

1. I drilled he holes in a square blank of wood for the line eye and the hooks.
2. I shaped the lure very roughly with the band saw
3. I used the belt sander to refine the shape I wanted.
4. I used the pneumatic tool to carve eyes and details into the lure.
5. I then attached the hook
6. I finished by using wood filler to fill the holes and painting.

Next week I have a new material I am planning on using. I will use a wood turning lathe to turn tagua nuts into fishing lures. The tagua nut is an actual nut that is dried for crafting. When turned an polished it looks like ivory. It is extremely strong and will probably last for a long time.

Design and Research

Ive started the beginning phases of my fishing lures. I have been drawing lures that I want to make. I am also trying to find information on the internet about certain colors that attract different kinds of fish. So far for I have based most of my color information on the article I found on http://www.squidoo.com/lurecolors. Because most of the information you will find on fishing lures and fishing techniques is based on people's own personal opinions, I have decided that non scholarly articles are fine for my research. I believe fishing is more about trying a lot of different things and finding your way of doing things. That is why it is ok for the sake of this project to use articles that could be unreliable. I have found in this article that I will need to make lures of both bright and dark colors. According to this man, water clarity comes into account when choosing a color. The darker the water, the brighter the color, the clearer the water, the more natural the color. Taking these color schemes into account I have drawn roughly what I would like them to look like.

Now I will actually start trying out techniques on wood and paint colors on paper. I would like to try painting techniques that I have thought up and read about. I am also trying to find the most effective way of making some of my lures. I haven't decided on what tool I will use yet. I own a Dremel tool that is perfect for small detail work such as this. I would also like to try a more rough looking whittled lure. I haven't decided which one I will test out first, but I am planning on going from the more basic tools, to the more complicated ones. I also have access to a airbrush. It will also be interesting to see what I can get done with that tool.

This week was all about getting supplies for my fishing lure project. I have been collecting various materials such as small pieces of wood, paints, hooks, small amounts of fishing tackle, and a book and a few lures to use as templates. The book 365 fish was given to me as a gift this year for my birthday, which is on Wednesday. I thought it would prove invaluable when designing the lures. By using the book, I can proportion and color the fish more accurately. I purchased the rest of my materials I plan to begin with at Wal-Mart and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Unfortunately I did not make it to the class last Thursday. Obligations conflicted with other classes in my schedule and I was not able to attend. I will search for a second class to attend and call my grandfather for ideas. I think the obvious next step for the next week will be to start testing techniques and possibly drawing a few of the lures out on paper. I will try to design each of the lures I make before I physically create them.

Project Introduction

The project I am choosing to pursue is handmade fishing lures. I chose this project for one main reason. I can use the fishing lures after I make them for the project. I do a lot of fishing during the summer months and am always looking for new techniques. I am taking a class to help me begin my project on January 28 at the peoples university. I have also asked my grandfather about several different lures he has made and seen made. I will spend the semester not only learning how to make fishing lures, but trying to create my own, with my own techniques and materials. I will get most of my materials from hobby stores, and Dick's sporting goods. By the end of the semester I hope to have several functional lures I can use for both bass fishing, and fly fishing this summer.