Travis

If these are going to be limited pieces then carving isn't too bad of an option. As mentioned just look at as fish carving and good to go. I know that some companies have contacted individuals to carve master replicas for their realistic swimbaits. The issue with carving and realism on smaller baits is the the true thickness of a fin and trying to replicate that in a carving medium. Larger fish much easier as the rays are thicker. I am a hack when it comes to fish carving and never have actually finished a piece as I loose interest and they sit for a long time. I was able to get the fins thin enough (too thin) that I had use the super glue/baking soda technique to fix many areas as they broke through. A light can be shined from behind and there is translucence in many areas. Any of the "wet" looking areas on the fins have superglue/baking soda mixed in, it works as an instant hard set resin. Drop of superglue then spring with the baking soda and give it a few seconds and good to carve or sand.

Trick work pretty much generic term for that shape bait flat or round as long as I have been fishing but things change and may not be that way now. I do always think of flat however and still fish flat way more than the round. Del's diamond tail mold is also very similar to what you are looking for. I still have one of the molds floating around. Did have a pic of some of the baits also.

Nice looking foil work. You will find quite few use the foil tape on lures. Some will carve the detail in the lure and then burnish the foil on then some like to imprint the pattern on the foil and apply to the bait. Using spray adhesive and placing tule onto the bait then foiling over also works. I have done a lot of jerk baits that way. I have made quite few cranks from Paulowina. Not my favorite to use (mainly use basswood) but may just be the stuff I have. I still have a little left in the shop. The craw crank in my pic was a paulowina bait.

Just found it humorous that the time and effort was taken to make mold then the pouring method used. Someone new to pouring might think this was normal. I agree he would be best off making his own mold if an exact replica is needed. As mentioned making a mold is easy to do but some guys just can't do it.

How much you want to spend. Can order from the usual places but it is very easy to make your own that is more than adequate. Presto pot, drill, brass valve/fittings. Overhead stirrer from McMaster Carr, shaft coupler, shaft, riveter, brass flange sleeve bearings, knobs, and sheet metal for stirrer. You will also need a hardwood board, angle iron, etc.. to make a top to span the presto pot and support/affix the stirrer to and appropriate tap and dies. While mine isn't near as nice as many out there but has been in use before they were being sold and was near 100 bucks including tap/die stuff I bought to thread the shaft and other odds and ends. I think could would have been closer to 75 if I wanted not to fidget.

If one is having to cut your baits out of a sheet of over pour you need to reevaluate your procedure.

If you are dead set on it being the same then molding your last two lures is the best bet. Various trick worm style molds out there.

Tip of the iceberg in regards to hydro dipping (water transfer printing). Easy quick way to do things like car rims and grills, guns, bows, etc... I have done some of the above type things on some wood turnings. Neat stuff for sure.

Yes you can mold silicone and various other products. Smooth on has a lot of different products that will do the trick. I would carve a master from polycarbonate.

Will catch a few anglers for sure.

I have been using spikes to dip tubes for a long time. I round the point off on the bench grinder first. You can dip them really quick and once you get the hang of it no drips and nice smooth tubes like the ones in the photo. With a little practice you get a feel for the plastic temp and spike temperature and can adjust on the fly to get consistent tubes very quickly. I hang my dipped spikes on a piece of modified egg crate. They slide into place and the nail head keeps it from falling through. When I was doing this a lot I would dip out a cup of plastic out in one heating. One can really knock out a lot of tubes. I used a the spaced stack of razor blades to cut my tubes and just pressed with a hardwood backer. I have a lot of rotary blades now but just haven't made the cutter yet. A decent rotary set up you can really knock out some cut tails quickly and at a very cheap price in regards to materials. I used one similar to the one Bonjon used in a clip he sent me and think a little over a second was need to cut a tail.

I see bondo molds as disposable so not too worried about the longevity. That being said you can turn out a lot of baits in them. Two piece molds aren't difficult. I prefer to use vasoline or Mann's Mold Release. Have used Pam also just seams it ends up getting sticky and gumming things up over time (mold box or the legos I typically use). I use the pink bondo stuff as just quick and easy. It will pick up detail just fine from my experiences. The molds will flex once they get hot but if you make enough of them you doesn't become and issue. I have messed with putting various other things in to strengthen the mold from skewers, mesh, and other resin. Just never seamed to be worth the effort for me. I figure if I can get a thousand soft plastics out of them good enough. For foam crank baits I think I have a few that I managed to get 100 plus cranks out of before they started chipping enough on the end that clean up warranted just making another mold since the stuff sets up so quick it is really is effortless. I usually over poor the half and sand back to the midpoint of the bait so the mold is perfectly flat. I then drill 1/4 holes for keys. Devcon epoxy to seal and good to go. You can use oil and get rough finished baits also if that is the goal. Overall there are better mold material options but bondo is great for prototypes and hey I want this for the next day sort of thing. About 12 years ago was the first bondo mold I made for a guy needing some 3 inch senkos fast. The initial test pours came out fine and became useful tool to add to the mix. You can mold and use those to make molds and reduce the size of bait. Go through some bondo but some guys want some strange things...I want a 2 inch version of this bait type requests.

Air is being trapped. Plastic is generally too cool to allow the bubble to rise up the tail and cavity. Either go warmer plastic or cut a very small vent (like a micro sliver of material) to allow the air to escape and the cavity fill. Both may be needed and I always preferred venting than trying to push plastic hotter especially with neon or light colors.

I really don't get too caught up in matching things exactly and find overall color representation more important. White bass/shad/alewife etc... means white to silver color palette. Specific paint colors... I use mainly Createx bud don't pay too much attention to the name . More important is just being able to understand how to lay colors to get the look you are wanting. White bass really have a lot of color variation. You have some that have a lot of green/yellow hue, some very pale, some darker gray, iridescent green over steely gray with deep green stripes, etc... For something like juvenilles I typically spray the body white, Then I will take some light gray and mist the upper back from front to back. Then some metallic gray or silver and hit the back and blend. I will then add a little yellow/green near the heat and lighten up going towards the back. A little gold over spray (very light) near the front. Then with some black highlight the eye socket and to get the stripes. You can go black first then spray a metallic and then build on that also . No really right or wrong way just fire up the brush and remember you can always start over. As mentioned find a picture and just work or replicating what you see.

Hey much better design for sure! In all seriousness congratulations Dave, very impressive results. The one thing we have complete control of to increase our quality of life and so many of us just piss it away . Takes some dedication to make the changes to drop that sort of weight. Definite motivation and something many should think about. My kick in the pants was seeing pictures of myself on vacation and then looking at the records I had saved on my yearly blood work. Numbers slowly rising along with the weight. Started cutting things out, walking, etc.. and slowly have been dropping the weight and should be about where I want at the end of the year.

You are good to go. One of those things that success is more a reflection of the user not the product. Plenty of old posts on making rock puddy molds. Like most things everyone has their quirks and "reasons" for doing things. I am a huge proponent of keeping it simple.... add water...mix until the correct consistency.... pour the mold....let set up overnight... air dry.....seal with thinned devcon. I see no need for weighing of material, measuring volumes, adding additives (milk or vinegar to retard not needed or glue), baking, mold, etc.... I have several simple design molds (jig trailers, reapers, etc..) that have been in service for over a dozen years with thousands of baits made from them.

Where's the fun in that.

As far as plastics in acetone being the same...not really but really just depends on what you are wanting to achieve and how technical you want to get. As far as a seal coat they all will do fine for the most part. The main issue I had were paint/top coat compatibility issues. I used plastic solo cups dissolved in lacquer thinner for a lot of baits with relatively no issues. Plenty of propionate also. Also used plexiglass dissolved in solvent. I switched to shellac a long time ago however for sealing baits. I have had no issues installing ballast/testing with shellac sealed lures.

For me the issue is usually thin and smaller pieces. Easy to catch and pull you hand into the belt as most of these pieces are being free handed so no anchor point before contacting piece to the moving paper. Usually the shape of the piece forces it to be done in this manner.

Ain't that the truth. Just a few weeks aga week managed to flip the knuckles into a spinning wall of 80 grit. Didn't think much of it till I got to work and having to stuff my hands into nitrile gloves all day long.

I usually don't use power tools with balsa for sanding. After a few passes with the knife just quickly round the edges with a sanding pad. Have used other means just didn't find the to add much speed to the process or accuracy. As suggested many ways to do things. Yes some are superior to others others equal. I like my dremel, especially the "pumpkin carver" dremel kit as no cord, batter operated.

For balsa I run 120 and 220 grit also. I find 120 plenty aggressive for the most part.

Hard to find good videos of hunters. To many are short pulls next to a dock, swimming pool, etc... and don't show enough of the lure travel. The real Waddle Bat video around 1 min 8 seconds shows a few good retrieves but they are having to work the crank at very high retrieve rate and I think most that have used this bait have come away disappointed when looking for a hunting crank. The S wave video also has a very limited segment showing some potential hunting action but then most of the under water footage doesn't appear the bait they were using for that shot was a hunter. I do believe a hunters is a very specific action/definition and anything deviating from this is not a hunter. The action was defined a long time ago, way before many of us made a crank. To make something that does not exhibit these traits and call it hunter just further complicates the scene . Very hard to have discussions or give instructions if everyone is using a different definition of hunter. Throw in companies tossing the description around becomes clear why one can buy a dozen "hunters" from guys and not have a bait that really doesn't hunt. These discussions are helpful in moving towards everyone on the same page and information.

Sisson and other well known lure makers have long mentioned raising the ballast higher in the bait. These are baits that they don't alter bill geometry or length on. I honestly believe these hunters are different from some of the "hunters" I see now. "Hunters" have also become tainted in regards to what I see as classical hunting action. I see "hunters" today that in no way really resemble what I recall guys searching for when I started fishing cranks more in the late 80's. Companies and individuals started calling all sorts of stuff hunting action. Hunters that most I knew sought were not a repeatable pattern. Many "hunters" today when viewed from the top have a sinusoidal pattern and are not hunters. They have a wiggle that is constant and then have that larger sinusoidal tracking pattern the crank follows. Hunters were erratic and may kick out to the right a few times, times then left, return to center, then kick left,, track straight for a few, etc... The bait always returned to center just was all over the place (not in a cadence) on the way back. Hunters very much were about operating on the edge of instability. Maybe what I have always considered hunters is incorrect. I also ran into a few guys over the years that make a buck or two cranking and talked briefly with them. They may have been dishing some BS but their definition also was more in line with what I believed. I have seen some of these same guys however talk about their sponsors baits hunting and they don't in anyway "hunt" as they discussed at the time. I see a lot you tube videos of claimed hunters and know it has been common practice for some manufactures to slap "hunters" on their description onto baits that track about as tight and regular as you can get.

At 1/16 you will have difficulties drilling holes with most bits and drill presses hobbyists use. Run out on the quill and sloppy manufacturing of drill bits will be an issue. Proper feed rate and getting rid of the swarf becomes important. Usually casting the wire becomes a lot easier. A pull pin works well typically. Initially for the master and just drill holes to secure shorter pins out of the master, in the correct locations, and extend them out through the mold box. You typically have a little give with the pull pin so the holes don't have to be dead on horizontally aligned but the closer the better. You have some give with the pull pin so not critical. I typically make a loop at the end of the wire large enough to get my finger through on the molds I have made this way. I make the blank then once set just pull the pin. I would rather mold the connections in or just drill and glue in shorter ties however.