Vodkaman

This is a jig that I have been meaning to build for some time, but ideas work on a different schedule to desires. I am fairly happy with the jig. It is easier and faster than winding by hand, but not as fast as I was hoping for, at least two per minute. There is room for improvement in the design, but this was the first attempt. The uprights need bracing, a bit rickety as they are. The wire retainer plate mechanism needs redesigning, to eliminate the screwdriver operation. I was hoping for a tidier eye, but that did not work out as planned. The initial plan was to load the wire from the rear, but with the twisting, this turned out to be both messy and dangerous, with a couple of feet of wire flapping around. It turned out to be more efficient to load the wire from the front and feed the bulk of the wire from the side. The jig is efficient, with very little waste. The jig looks cumbersome, but a turn of the vice crank and the jig stores under the bench, out of the way. As it is, the jig will easily fill my needs, so I doubt that I will take the design any further. Dave

By setting a hard master in a hard mold material, you are definitely risking your master, so make sure you know how to recreate your master, should things not go to plan. Some people use petroleum jelly, but I did not have much success with it. I use a floor wax, the kind used for polishing floor tiles, where I live, it is readily available and very cheap. It is more substantial than PJ. After applying, I flash over with a flame torch to smooth out the coating. I am hoping others will jump in and maybe give you more confidence in PJ or offer up a better release agent. The big problem is locking the master in the mold cast by setting too deep. Even if the master comes out easy from the first half, it will probably get stuck in the second half. Even if the master is not locked in, it is not going to just fall out, it is going to need persuasion. So you must plan how you intend to remove the master, maybe a brass or steel rod in the nose, where you are going to pour. If you have any thin, delicate parts, they are likely going to break while removing the master. In this case it may be more efficient to build the master as separate parts and soft glue them together. You may have to dress the mold at the joints, but not a big deal. With wooden masters, I find it best to give a coat of epoxy. This self levels, gives a very smooth surface and hides the wood away from the wet mold material. The best material for masters in a resin mold are soft plastic. All the problems go away. It may be better to try and work out what is going wrong with the RTV mold that you already have. For example: maybe you are clamping to heavily and the vents are closing. I found that the best way to clamp the mold is between two plywood plates, cut to the size of the mold. This spreads the load from the clamps evenly. If you cannot find the problem, it may be best to post up a picture of the mold and the failed cast. Maybe someone here will recognise your problem. Of course, if it is a secret project, then this is not an option. Dave

I just read this study, so maybe PTFE is not a good solution. Dave

PTFE is used for microwave liners, so it is safe. Dave

I think there is a teflon spray for repair of non-stick pans. This, used on your regular divided cup materials, might solve the clean-up problems. I have never used the stuff, just remember reading about it. Dave

I do something similar for removing bubbles from plaster molds and it works, but never thought it would work for RTV. I will definately try it out next time. Thanks. Dave

The lure looks great, nice carving. I'd like to stick a very large hook in a real one at the moment, as I spotted one nibbling at my food, a few days ago. Now everything has to be covered and clamped. I hav laid some poison, so hopefully, it will die a slow death. I just don't have your patience for using BLO. Looking forward to seeing the results and possibly a video. Dave

The problem is the plastic melting and gumming up. From what I have read, two straight flutes are best. You need slow spindle speeds and higher feed rates. I haven't tried cutting acrylic or lexan with a router, but plan to in the near future. Quite a few posts on the web if you Google router acrylic. One of my projects is a lip cutting router, it is a 2D/3D copy machine, still at the CAD stage. Here is a good discussion on the subject. Dave

Very innovative LP. A strong welcome back project for sure. Should you decide to make several of these, I can see an easy system of router templates, but I know that mass production is not your game. Great project. Dave

Cost is going to be an important factor for most people buying this kit, so a lot will depend on the cost of the display. I really like the stepper motor option. It is the more expensive solution, but for an all singing and dancing turner, I feel that it is the best solution. The rotation speed is probably going to be between 1rpm and 10rpm. The duration is probably going to be between 1 and ten hours. To satisfy both of these control and display conditions, I would be using a single push switch and a single 7 segment LED array, in conjunction with a decade counter. The push switch will increment the count (0 = 10) and rotate back to 1. Either two sets can be used or a function switch. Probably two sets would be simpler and clearer. This solution is cheaper, but it would obviously involve labor to assemble and solder the components. The circuit board would be slightly more busy, but that only gets designed once. But at the end of the day, a modular display will look more professional and the labor saving may well make it the most cost efficient solution. In addition to the : on/off : speed : run time : controls, I think a pause button would be a useful addition, allowing the user to temporarily pause the wheel, to add a lure. Given your markets resistance to tech, I suggest you keep things as simple as possible. This design will obviously appeal to rod builders also, without any changes. But the basic design could well be adapted for those interested in duplicator machines. This application would require more switch control, but possible. Of course the market for this application would be very small and may not worth the effort. Dave

If you have an old pair of scissors, this could work. I used what materials that I had available on my bench. You may have to experiment to get what you need, but this idea has possibilities. Dave

Very cool video. Great share, thanks. Dave

I am trying to design an easy to make, easy to use jig for doing these forms. My personal challenge is to make 3 completed forms in a minute or less. I am getting there but still nada. I did see a video of a guy who made the barrel twist between two blocks of wood, but I cannot find the video link. If you want to see some really cool machines, youtube 'wire bending'. Dieter - I was hoping someone would ask about the block of wood When I cut the wires, the block stops the twisted wire from escaping to my cave floor, where it would never be seen again. I have lost a lot of small stuff to the floor, but my wire twists are now safe. Dave

I use the CA glue for sealing the pin holes on my swimbaits. I like it because it soaks in so well and only adds a small surface growth. But after the first coat, the grain will raise, so after the first coat, I re-drill and coat again. Re-drilling may not required for your application, it largely depends on the clearance you have for your moving parts, my swimbait pins are a close, sliding fit. On the second coat, I use a brass rod as a spreader, to evenly distribute the glue. Yes, there is a danger of the glue grabbing the rod, if you linger or take too long. I have lost one lure segment to this and put it down to valuable experience, you have to find the limits at least once, to develope a good, safe procedure. The sticking problem occurs when you try to apply 'just enough' glue to do the job. If you apply too much glue, you get more safe time for the spreading operation and you have a better chance of not leaving any spots unsealed. I place mine in a box, heated with incandescent light bulbs. Ten minutes in the box and the glue is guaranteed cured, even if the glue pooled. Dave

I was originally going to post it as an amusing thread, but soon realised that there is nothing funny about it. This is a very serious threat to the ecology of American waterways. If it makes it to the great lakes, the battle is lost for sure. Dave

Good project. I like the rubber wheel drive idea and the threaded drive on the stepper motor. The problem is always interfacing with the wheel spindle. I have a stepper motor that I have wanted to use for projects like this one, but never managed to get it working. Do you have a drive circuit diagram you could send me to try (must be readily available passive components, no PIC controllers)? The motor is a 4 wire bipolar, so requires a H bridge driver. I am OK with the control circuitry, just the driver is stopping me. Good luck with your project, I hope you get plenty of interest. Dave

What you are describing is play in a square drive and an unbalanced wheel. When the heavy side passes the top of the rotation, it 'freewheels' to the next flat on the drive, this gives the falling effect. When the heavy side passes the bottom of the rotation, the wheel stalls, as the square drive catches up with the wheel. Check for play in the connection of the shaft and the motor. Here is a link to a recent discussion on the subject. Dave

Left handed engineers are wired differently which makes them all a little strange. I am OK with this. The wire in the video is quite thin, 0.031" diameter. I am building a bunch of small cranks at the moment. I am not absolutely sure what the spec of wire is, either SS 304 or 304L. The grades of Stainless Steel wire that you should be looking for are: 304 : 304L : 308 : 316 : 316L all these SS wires should be fine for lure building. If your wire has spring back and seems overly stiff, it may be 400 series, which is the wrong choice. The 300 series wires are more corrosive resistant and soft. Here is a very recent discussion on wires that contains a lot of useful information. Dave

The material is generally used as a stencil. But it can also be glued to the body and foiled over with thin aluminium foil, burnished with a blunt object, to bring out the scale pattern. This also creates a 3D effect on the bait. There are a few builders that use this method. Welcome to TU. Dave

I just watched your posted video and the introduction video on your web site. Your art is very impressive and I loved it. Great video too. I can really see why people would suggest lure design as an outlet for your art. Soft plastic molding would be your area for your creations. Your leggy designs would have movement in the water and this is what soft plastics are all about. If you can design your lures to create movement then you could reap success. Check out the soft plastics gallery to see how others attain movement. I am not suggesting that you copy, but just get the idea of movement. There are a few videos of soft plastics in water too, so you can see what is expected. The biggest hindrance to your free thinking forms, is going to be how to produce them. Soft plastics are cast from molds. When you design your creature, you have to be constantly thinking about production and the constrictions of the molding process. It kind of limits you to 2D forms, but it doesn’t necessarily have to, but the mold creation becomes more complex and expensive if you are considering CNC aluminium. Molds can be made from other materials such as plaster of Paris, resins, RTV rubber and more. You are already up and running with creating the masters, using rapid prototype technology. Learning molding skills is not overly complex and should not take long. The engineering design process is mostly about being able to remove the master from the mold without it getting locked in. I hope you follow through on this idea. It would be nice to see some original work for a change. Good luck and welcome to TU. Dave

Here's a video of how I make the loose barrel twist eyes. You will have to reverse everything, as I am left handed. Dave

Crankbaits, like spinners, have a minimum start speed. Once they are running, you can slow them down, but there is a speed lower limit were the action stops. This minimum speed is totally dependant on the lip width, the narrower the lip, the higher the speed limit. If you prefer to work your cranks slow, then consider building with a wider lip. Dave

Both can be done easily by hand. The twisting pliers are good for the straight twist, but no use for the barrel twist. Here are some useful links on the subject, twisting pliers: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/17086-twisting-wire/page__p__129366__hl__barrel__fromsearch__1#entry129366 I did a barrel twist thread, but the pics are lost, I'll have to do a video. Hazmail designed a tool for making barrel twists: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/14333-question-wire-former/page__p__107605__hl__barrel__fromsearch__1#entry107605 I say again, both methods are good. You choose. Dave

Your pull numbers are similar to mine. Did you find that the straight twist left the glue behind? Dave

The ballasting of the lure seems a little light. You are adding 3.5 grams, but I just calculated the volume of a similar sized lure and weighed some hardware and I get the ballast to be closer to 6 grams. Too much buoyancy may not be helping. If you have an accurate gram scale, I can walk you through a method of finding out exactly how much buoyancy your lures have. Let me know. Dave