Vodkaman

You can certainly keep the parts from fusing, with a release agent. Lots of options for this, do a TU search on 'release agent'. The issue is you will be using a hard master with a hard mold. The problem will be removing your master from the mold without damaging it, as you will want to use it more than once. Obviously the same goes for the casts too. Depending on the size, curvatures and angles, you may be fine, or you may have to introduce a pin to push the cast out, which will give you a little cleaning up sanding to do, or you may lose your master or damage the mold at the first attempt. Yes, it is cheap and worth a try. Maybe make a quick, rough master for testing the idea, before committing to your true master. The master needs to be as smooth as possible, a coat of epoxy always works well. Another issue is shrinkage, resin shrinks a fair bit, especially if you don't use any fillers. The shrinkage on a 2-part mold will be in your favor, away from the master, but you will end up with a larger cast than the master. You can reduce the shrinkage some, by mixing say a 50/50 of resin and automotive filler. They are both resin based, but check that they both smell the same. You can use either hardener, but I use the liquid hardener, as it is easier to mix. In conclusion - definitely possible, as long as you are aware of the problems and address them effectively. It may take you a couple of trial practice runs to get it to work, but well worth the effort. If you crack the method, you may not want to bother with the RTV. If you do have a go, it is important that you report back. We all want to know how you got on, success OR failure, especially after me doing all this typing Dave

I always had a desire to travel, but other than a two week holiday every year, it never happened. Then at age 34, I quit my 9-5 job and went contracting, and travelling soon followed. Unfortunately, wife was not prepared to move, so the marriage didn't last very long after that. Of all the countries that I worked, I liked Indonesia the best, which is why I settled down here. I now live the life of a recluse. I don't have to talk to anyone, I only go out for supplies. I can do what I want, when I want - I have never been this happy in my life. I wish I had more money, but that is just a minor restriction. Travelling is certainly not for everyone though. I guess my point is that you only get one life, blah blah blah. Dave

Great thread. When I read the first post, I expected to see a barage of negativity. I am so glad I was wrong. I have nothing to add except to say that I have tried lots of methods and like the Archimedes the best. Like Bob said in post No2, it is all about writing the information down for future use. I use spreadsheets on the computer for all my notes. It is clean, tidy and you can get a bit fancy by building in a few simple calcs too. This thread has made my day Dave

This early in your lure making experience, it is hard to tell what will swim and what won't, especially if you are looking for a specific movement. I think you should bite the bullet and carve out a master and make some molds for testing your design. With your background, I am sure you know all about rapid prototyping and the companies that provide the service. Use the 3D print-out and make a mold, if you are not comfortable about hand modelling. Of course, if money is no object, then throw it out there and see what comes back Dave

I use floor tile wax, purely as I had it in the house. Worked very well. Looks similar to post No3. Dave

Well done Pete, looking very good. Concider making the center panel adjustable, at least until you test the tank. I feel that varying the parameters may make a difference to the performance and help you get the best result. It will mean more messing about, but you have come this far Dave

So funny Dave

Nice video. A hint of hunting in the action too Dave

Like Mark said above, 'You've done the hard part' and got stuck in. You have learned a lot from the experience. Now you need to put that knowledge back into the project. I am sure you can work it out. Dave

Mark - corners cause turbulence because the flow cannot change direction so suddenly. This creates a dead zone on the lee side of the corner, think of it as a vacuum. This low pressure pulls the flow back towards it, creating vortices or turbulence. The bigger the radius, the less turbulence. The formica idea is good, that would do the trick. The flow probably doesn't have to be perfect anyway. We may be anticipating problems that simply aren't there. Dave

Reelentless - The way I read the rules, is that if the images are relevant to the discussion, then they go in the post. You intend to post a series of the build and discuss it. Like you say, it would clog up the gallery, which is for finished lures for everyone to admire. Just don't post them and ask for feedback. Write about what you learned, give opinions, new ideas, short cuts, techniques etc. Dave

A-Mac - I like your thinking. The only thing I would change, would be to remove all corners by rounding off with large a radius as possible. All sharp corners will create vortices, which we are trying to avoid. Using your drawing as a reference, I would still go straight across, from the top of the triangle (right) to the top of the hump (left), keeping the test position the same. Jdeee - The finless brown is called a Mersey trout where I come from Dave

The flow will be very slow at the lure, but it is a question of how fast does the flow have to be to tune a lure. The design looks like the inverse of a tank that was successful that I remember seeing. If your design doesn't get the job done, you could possibly reverse the triangle and swim the lure in the shallow portion, which in your design is running along the bottom. I didn't explain that very well, but I am tired and it's time for sleep. Dave

X4 Very original and effective idea - well done. Dave

This problem kept me out of TU for many months. As I was using internet cafes, I could not do anything about it. Glad you found a solution. Dave

I would love to get my hands on one of these. I have so many applications, in many other fields as well as lures. But alas, I am never going to be able to afford one. If any of you are considering this route, before spending your money, sort out the CAD side of things first. You can spend many hours, even with CAD experience, trying to model a compound curvature shape of a crank lure. But, that is nothing to the time you will spend modelling the scales, lips, fins and all the rest of the detail. Twenty hours of modelling would not be an exaggeration. True, with practise and designing similar models, the time scales will come down some. I have been working professionally on CAD since 1985, on cars and aircraft. I can tell you that the most difficult and challenging shapes I have ever tackled were crank bodies and that is without all the detail - so be warned. Master the CAD first. Paustin - very nice modelling. Dave

Even I had to dig the quilt out, as it has got down to 20C in the night lately. Dave

Gosh! - I've only got two - I need to work harder Dave

When you buy trebles by the thousand and keep running out. Dave

Here is a link to the patent. The 20 year patent cover has expired. Dave

In my early days of TU, I too was living in apartments. To get around the mess thing, I bought a battery dremel. Not as powerful as the mains version, but it solved my problem by allowing me to go outside to do the shaping. Also it allowed me to make adjustments at the water's edge. As for the shallow running, yes, you could shorten the lip and move the tow eye forward and it would swim shallow. BUT, the whole point of this lure is the nose down heavy throbbing action caused by the large broadside of lure being pulled against the water and this would be lost. I don't think you can have both. Having said that, you can get the lure to run shallower by moving the tow eye further back. This would make the lure swim closer to vertical. The throbbing action would increase and the lure would lose its diving ability. It might look a bit strange, but it is all about the vibrations in my opinion. Whether you could get it to run without blowing out is a big question - you will have to build one to find that answer. I have built a couple of prototypes with big lips that swam in this vertical style. They didn't blow out and the action was so strong, I swear I could actually hear it. Not so sure I would want to pull one of those through the water for 8 hours, but could be worth experimenting with. Dave

I am pretty sure that lexan will not score and snap like you are expecting it to, at least the polycarbonate that I have won't. I understand your lack of power tools, believe me, I have been there. But, you have to be sure you are going to continue with this before splashing out. Perhaps a Dremel drill might be a good investment at this stage. It will serve many purposes, hole drilling, shaping, cutting etc. Without breaking the bank (too much). Dave

J lure - terrific vid. So realistic. Looks like a killer lure. Dave

I just modeled it on CAD. Like Fatfingers says, the belt sander radius is perfect. Easy to see how the original was designed. DAve

Pro - I think you made a mistake with your link. It took me to the front page of your web site and not the J lure. Dave