Vodkaman

I see BOB got in there before me, he types faster than me I have worked with Bob on a few lure projects and you should listen very closely to what he has to say. Bob - hope we get to work together again real soon. Dave

There is a plethora of CAD software out there that is capable of doing the job. I use CATIA V5 and so that is the only software that I can talk about. CATIA V5 is an engineering world industry standard, usually sold by time license and extremely expensive. However, to promote the software and encourage engineers to learn the complex program, the company actually puts out a lot of pirate copies, after all, if no one could use the software then it would fail. If you are a man of few scruples like myself, there are ‘torrents’ of free downloads of this software, but make sure you download some training manuals and be prepared to spend many MANY hours of learning. Having someone to spend a few hours to show you the ropes is the best way to start. Check out any engineering friends that you have, they may be able to put you in contact with a CATIA user. Something else to bear in mind – if you do not use the program for many months, you will likely have to start the learning process over again. If you are not going to use the CAD regularly, then CATIA is probably not a good choice. See what others recommend, do some current thread discussing cheap machines. I would be wary of going this route, unless you are going to be making hundreds of molds, then you would be better off producing the CAD master and handing it over to a machinist. Another option that I have been meaning to try, is to send the CAD model to a company that does 3D printing. Quality has come a long way in recent years and these plastic printouts could be used as masters for making RTV molds. This would be the route that I would recommend at least for a start. If you like the result, you could then send the CAD model to the machinist to get an ally mold cut. Just a few thoughts. Dave

JB - try it with just one baffle first, may not need the second. Dave

Excellent idea and well written tutorial. It is all about the glued surface area and Moby Dick couldn't break this one Dave

I used 1/16" brass for my eye pins. Not as pretty as SS, but easy to work with. Dave

Just found this video, which shows the . At 42 secs, you can see the pin/eye construction. Dave

Just read Mark's post, who just pipped me. Good advice and a good place to start. I did a video of so you can see the difference. Dave

I have only done 4 segment baits and for those I used a 2:1:1:1 ratio. The front section should be larger than the rest if for no other reason than it looks better, but I suspect that it is important for function too, but I haven't proven that yet. I would start off with a 3:2:2 ratio and see how it goes. That is a very fine carving, but you are at the first prototype stage. I think the smart thing to do would be to put this masterpiece in the draw and cut a few simple lures of the same profile for testing purposes. Once you have the bait swimming how you want, then you can finish your masterpiece. Using the pins as eyes is a very space efficient method. Nothing wrong with it and it does work, I have made a few like that. My decision to go for larger diameter pins is the only reason that I don't do this any longer. In fact, a new idea has just come to me, I could use stainless tube and insert the eye wire into the tube. The prototyping stage is very important, especially as you are new to the art. Even now, five years in, I still make a dozen prototypes. If you don't try a few variations, you will not get the most out of your design. Believe me, if your masterpiece does not swim first time, you will be well gutted and it will destroy your enthusiasm. Good luck with the project. Dave

I use CATIA V5 for all my design, one of the top engineering industry design tools. It would be fairly easy to get a free copy as I believe Dassau (the owner) put free copies out there, so engineers can learn the software, thus improving its popularity. The problem is that it is complex and difficult to learn unless you have someone to show you the way. Dave

Atlasstone - Yes, I saw that vid - very impressive result. Dave

I like the clamps. They look like fly tying hackle pliers. Dave

I agree with Hughesy, this sort of caper needs money thrown at it. Others have been down this road, sorry cannot remember user names. You are limited to machining two halves, to be glued together, which may not be a bad thing. But, the main drawback is the machining time and you are still left with surface finish problems to solve. If you are mechanically savvy enough to be thinking this route, then you are probably capable of designing and building a duplicator. Yes, you have to make the master by hand, but the reproduction times are down to 2 or 3 minutes. You can probably make the machine for a couple hundred too. Dave

Go with RTV for the mold material. The cast is likely going to get locked into the PoP mold. Resin does shrink, so you could get away with it. Resin is clear, but heavier than water, which is why micro balloons are added, but these will make the resin opaque, so your see through lure idea is not going to happen. Dave

Great thread and great progress made. So glad the Wchilton was right and there was more to it than just the pump rate. Have you tried a lure in there yet, to see if you are reaching the minimum flow to start the lure action? Keep up the good work Dave

I guess you could roast it, but was too impatient to try that. In theory, it would all convert back to the original formula. Dave

Wchilton - I put your numbers into my spread sheet and get the same, once I had converted to US gallons Dave

JB - thanks. I am really hoping my numbers are wrong for you Dave

Mine seems to be working fine today. Sometimes it is difficult to tell, as my system is not exactly lightning fast. Dave

JBlaze and Anglinarcher - I have done the sums over and over and only get a flow rate of 0.8" per second. A good flow rate would be 18" to 36" per second. For a flow rate of 18"/sec a pump rate of 28,000 GPHr would be required. This is all based on a full tank with a divider plate down the center with the pump on one side and the test lure on the other. If you reduce the depth from 20" to 10" the flow speed doubles to 1.6" and the pump rate halves to 14,000 GPHr. It all seems like a lot of pump. Maybe someone could check the numbers, I may have missed something. Dave

I just checked my records; last time I did any PoP work, I used 5:4 PoP/water ratio by volume. I sprinkle in the powder by hand and mix with my bare fingers. I use a moisturizing cream after I am done. Keep notes and do a test mix with any new batch of PoP. It is all practise and experience. Note - PoP ages and becomes unusable. If your mix seems too lumpy, gritty and have problems setting, then it is probably past its sell by date. Fresh PoP makes such a difference. I did a lot of experiments about drying PoP but cannot find the files. Over drying in the oven can ruin the mold, as once all the water has evaporated, the mold starts to increase in temperature. Once the mold passes a particular temperature, it starts to change composition and will become powdery on the surface. As the casting dries it loses weight. You can monitor this with a simple kitchen scales. When the weight loss stops, you are done. You only have to do this once and make a note of the time. After a few goes, you will be able to pick up a mold and tell whether it is dry or not, again, it is just experience. Dave

Possibly a block with two or three pointed pins/needles set at about 1mm. You press down the block, onto the blank and manouvre around the router plate. This will keep your fingers away from the cutter. I had a little go at this solution but was not successful, the pins were too thick. Something like sewing pins would probably work better. Keep the block short, you only need to be deep enough to keep your fingers comfortably clear, this will give you more control. By the time you have sealed, sanded and undercoated, the holes will not be visible. Depending on how well the blank slides on the router plate, a dusting of talc or fine sawdust will help. I made a polycarbonate plate cover for my router. This was tighter on the cutter and gave more stability for the smaller stuff. If you try this route or find another solution, don't forget to feedback both positive and negative. Dave

I have the lip problem on all of my baits. I solve it by cutting a slot in the lip, but if you are molding in your wire harness then this won't work unless you can mold the lip in place, which would not be easy. Also you would have to be supremely confident in your lip location. I think the solution is to run the harness as high in the bait as possible, this will solve both problems. This will probably make the setting of the harness more fiddly, as it will become top/back heavy and tend to tip up, but not difficult to solve. Dave

Funny - Mine was fine before, but now painfully slow (Firefox 18.0.1. Dave

Certainly an interesting concept, but I get the feeling that this was designed by someone who has never built a crankbait. I have just written a page of text but decided not to post it. Great design skills, but a non-starter, JMHO. Dave

Brilliant! This is something that has been discussed at length, but no one got around to building anything. Congratulations on a very successful build. DAve