Maybe some day I'll make lures. Just for me and my close personal friends. Of course I would have to charge them for materials but the satisfaction I get out of woodworking and then to see someone catch a fish on your work. Well it's just fun. You get the drift. Of course I am projecting into the future again...
Costs wouldn't be too much for me anyways. They would be the lures I want and I wouldn't go into customizing with colors and heavy weights. I have no use for lures over 2 oz.
Basically all it would be are through wired
Dani types and pencil poppers in 1/2 oz, 1 1/4 and 2 oz.
Pencil poppers in 1 and 2 oz.
Darters and Needlefish in 1/2 and 1.5 oz.
Little neck/Polaris/Solaris type in 1 and 2. oz
And possibly lures with grooves just for rigging eelskins. I've never used an eelskin rig but I've heard only good things about them. I would probably make them with multiple grooves so if you wanted to, you could make the eelplug a variable size. Also, what if the eelskin plug had dual holes in it? One where the through wire went, but the bottom one was just left empty so water could pass through and give the skin a better dimension. If you look in the Surfcaster catalog, they have a jighead made like that for eelskins.
Now I know John, you've said to me "Don't re-invent the wheel", but if someone hadn't reinvented the wheel, we wouldn't have the tire and you fellas couldn't drive around on the beach.
I like casting swimmers but I don't think I could make them because I would have to buy a bandsaw. The rest of the lures can be made with just a lathe with the exception of to the darter which would need a coping saw and a beltsander, two tools I own already.
As for colors of my plugs. Well that's simple. Black over white of course. All black, all yellow, and all white. The Yellow ones and the white ones would probably have red mouths. Probably an undercoat of white, then two coats of paint unless it's going to be white anyways. Then a spray lacquer, a coat of epoxy (west marine probably. That stuff is tough as nails) and through wire assembly.
Then of course the Needlefish will have to have an eel type finish.
I keep hearing good things about the Parrot color as a searching lure but that color would be hard to produce out of a can unless I could be proved otherwise.
Then of course eyes that last. Not those painted ones. Either oversized doll eyes or oversized prizm eyes before the epoxy coat. Honestly, I don't see how people over look the eyes. The lures that I have that produce for me, from bucktails all the way up to Windcheaters have that in common. Eyes.
Of course I don't have the means to go into full scale production but I could create enough lures during the winter to keep me in stock for years. Then of course I need some testers.
On a side note, all those chips that come off the while you're spinning the lathe, you can recycle those. All you have to do is melt some parrafin in the oven with a few other ingredients plus the chips and you have some great firestarters for campfires or fireplaces. Good for emergencies. The chips are also good for the compost pile.
Anyways, that's in the future.