Vodkaman

. The main tools that I used were: band saw, belt sander, drill press and router. From first cut to sealed, completed bait is around half an hour. Dave

Good job JB and Ben. Stensil making doesn't get any easier than this Dave

Resin, even with micro balloons is much denser than cedar or basswood and shows the effect of density on a lures action, with a SG of around 0,7. I gave up playing with resin because I like a lot of action. But, a wide action is not always the fishes choice. Dave

Red cedars score high on the allergy scale, but this should not be a problem, as like a good woodworker, you are always wearing a quality mask Here are three links to pages from the same site. The shrinkage numbers kind of explain why you are having problems. The red cedar numbers are a lot lower, so should reduce your splitting problems. The red cedar is denser, so is not a direct replacement and you will have to do some more testing to get the ballast right again. basswood southern red allergies Good website, worth saving. Dave

I guess it depends on whether you have anything to hide. I don't sell anything on Ebay, so maybe I am being naive. To me, buying from someone on Ebay feels like a gamble, relying on a total stranger to keep his/her end of the bargain after I have paid. My view would be that showing visibility amongst tackle related forums would allow people to see what kind of person you are and give first time customers more confidence in dealing with you. JMHO Dave

I watched the video earlier today. Great job. Dave

Pity it took so long to join. I am sure you would have had something to contribute. You're here now, so welcome. Good luck with the business venture Dave

Ohio angler - PM is fine. Maybe you should start a new thread for the other questions, as the subject is moving away from the original. DAve

Here is a selection of some of my models. I have not included any of the sold models as that would not be fair to the customers. All models drawn using CATIA V5. I have left the surface joint lines on the first two, so that you can see the basic construction plan. Sometimes I use circles but the best results come with splines. The hardest parts to model are the nose and tail. I use a lateral line to shift the buoyancy up higher. The second was a swimbait idea. I decided that it looked too lumpy and so never built it. The CAD model allows you to see a realistic image without leaving your seat. The craw was modeled just for my own interest, to see if it was possible and how long it would take. I had a buyer interested, but he was not prepared to pay for the time. Even though it was already drawn, I would not give it away for peanuts. The fourth image of the Bawal is a recent project, to design a quick and easy to build lure. Build and assembly time is less than 30 minutes. A great hunter and it catches fish, one of the few lures I have actually fished. The green swimbait was an early design, to test the effect of joint directions. Result – the joint needs to be reversed. Cad was very useful for planning out the hardware layout. Dave

You need to have a sit down with a machinist and find out how he wants the data presented and in what format. Looks great to me, good job Dave

Ref AA's post No132 - move the lure instead of the water. That would solve all the laminar flow problems and the motor would be considerably cheaper too. Dave

Pete - Point taken. I have an idea that I have surpressed due to real estate. I hope this thread picks up pace again. Dave

Pete - I think the thread works very well. I quote the very first sentence of the opening post, "I have been searching for a small test tank design so that I can check the action of my baits prior to going out to the lake etc." Nuff said Dave

Quickdraw - great information. You did not mention the mold material, I assume that you use RTV. Dave

Sallystrothers - good points made. DAve

You can get to those temperatures with a wooden box and a couple of 150W bulbs. Dave

Good luck with it. Post it up when you build the solution. DAve

Laser maybe the way to go, eliminating the lens requirement. Don't know how you would do it though. A fixed laser, lure carriage and a back screen. If the slot is not straight, the thickness of the laser dot will be reduced. It is really all about the carriage, making sure the lures sit in true alignment. Dave

Interesting question. Other than college, I have no experience of comparators. What did you have in mind? Dave

Ah, I get it now. Didn't really understand the first time around. Certainly nothing like that here, unless you count billiard halls Dave

I think your link is screwed up. Is this what you meant to post ? Dave

I haven't used featherlite. I experimented with PU and MB's, as explained by Redg8R. I did drop one on a tiled kitchen floor and it snapped. I then did a test and cast a few on a concrete carpark and none of them broke. The trailing line slows the flight velocity down a lot, lightening the impact. You have a couple of hooks too that will likely prevent a full contact. Plus, a top coat of epoxy will also add integrity and some damping of the contact forces. If the lure strikes a sharp edge of a rock, it will likely be damaged or even snap. Best cast into the water I had a lot of success with the PU and MB's. Using a gram scale, I could get consistency and accuracy of my required buoyancy. It is most important to keep records or you would be wasting your time. It doesn't require much effort to arrive at the required mix. To measure the density that you have is so simple, do a TU search on Archimedes, here is my post on the subject. Dave

I don't know about the links that you are using, but the hinge design is excellent and is how all my future swimbaits will be designed. Dave

Customers - Ha! I don't even fish mine - I just build, test and store in a plastic bag. Just for fun and the challenge for me Dave

Pete - I like the second one. Big though, would work as a simple static tank. Dave