Vodkaman

Sorry for the distraction, I shouldn't have done that. But I will say; don't be so judgemental to the homeless as you do not know their story. Most people are two or three bad decisions away from the streets. Be grateful for what you have. Issue closed, let's move on Dave

The tools are stored in a mate's garage, but the two lure duplicator machines, table saw, bench, router table and shelves had to be abandoned. I was basically made homeless. I lived in a one-room, one light-bulb with communal washroom for six months or so after that. Hard times living on a dollar a day, but character building stuff Dave

Loved the video and you are a true craftsman. There are certainly opportunities to build in some action if that is what you are looking for. Dave

JD - you sold me, the fridge is on order Dave

I know you were only joking about the beer fridge, so I won't say any more on that idea Dave

Yes, the body volume is automatically extracted from the density and the weight. You can choose to use the carved body for the Archimedes test or choose a separate piece, it is up to you. Because the spreadsheet could be used by someone making a 12" body, I had to make the tool usable by all. Dave

I totally agree. a round-over bit is fairly harmless but forget about profile cutting. If using the router table; roll sleeves up and do not use gloves. I built a router table, it doubled as my glue station. Here is a vid of my old workshop (tear running down my cheek) Dave

Agreed - stick with the hobby set-up, plenty adequate. Dave

I would say Minwax the body if that is your chosen sealing plan. Then start up the spreadsheet once the seal is dry. The CA is only to keep the water out for the few seconds it takes to determine the volume. BUT, actually, the spreadsheet does not require you to use Archimedes on the body (I forgot how to use my own spreadsheet). People who make large bodies will find it impossible to measure the volume because the container of water will be too heavy for the gram scale. All you have to do is enter the weight of the carved body. The density of the wood is determined from just a sample (1st section of the spreadsheet) so it is all a little simpler than I described. I guess that it is possible that the minwax could affect the numbers. Let me know if you have any problems. Dave

I agree with all the above; as a hobby no, if you go commercial then yes. You guys make me wish I had my workshop back, I had the belt sander, drill press, band saw and a table saw. The table saw would probably achieve everything you want for a more commercial application, allowing you to set the blank width. But the table saw is an expensive piece of kit at this stage. Dave

All will fall into place when you see the spreadsheet, but let me outline the process for everyone. If the lure was a cast body then the density and volume would only have to be determined once. BUT, with wood, the density can change from different areas on the same block. Also no one can carve accurately enough to make the volume repeatable to even one decimal place, so body volume is measured for every build. Fortunately, this step is done BEFORE drilling holes. Simply carve the body, add a temporary seal coat, I use thin Superglue (CA glue), then do the Archimedes test. Input the information in the spreadsheet. You then enter the hardware information in the hardware section, play about with the ballast weight number until you get the float percentage that you require. Then you can drill the holes for the hardware and ballast and finish the lure. Nothing is sacrificed. Dave

Well, the basic answer is that you 'wing it', but obviously there will be more scientific ways to determine neutral buoyancy with a top coat. Personally, I do not apply topcoats to my lures as I only build prototypes. I am not a regular fisherman so I do not concern myself with hook rash and other topcoat issues like aesthetics. If I were to apply a top coat then this is how I would do it: First job is to consider 'knowns' and 'unknowns'. What information can we easily access about the top-coat. The density of the top-coat material is fairly easy to determine. We can pour a sample, weigh it and use Archimedes to measure the volume, divide the two numbers to calculate the density (g/cm³), or read the top-coat specifications. We can weigh the lure body before and after top-coat application, assuming that you consistently apply the topcoat the same every time. So, now we know the weight added to the lure, the volume added to the lure. We could even determine the surface area of the lure but this would not be necessary. If I were using top-coats, I would add this information to the spreadsheets. The reason that I did not is because I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. I have sent you the spreadsheets as requested. Have a play with them, adjust the numbers and get a feel for how they work. THEN, if you want a top-coat section to be added in then let me know and I will produce a special. It is something I will eventually do for my own use as I do have a lure under development that I may take to the next stage. Love the movie clip from 'Pi (1998)'. I did not rate the movie high enough to keep. Dave

I have been guilty way more than once or twice myself

Good article. Your idea of a clear-coat that can be lightly scuffed now seems promising. The scratch marks will not be visible. The few times I use an epoxy top coat, I really scrub it into the surface hard, before smoothing out with long strokes. I cannot think of any more ideas, so good luck Dave

You do seem to have all the bases covered, you have done your research and covered all the rules. Also good advice above. I was reluctant to wade in here as I am NOT a painter, but I have been reading these posts for 13 years. My first observation is the compressor; does it have a water trap fitted that is working. Test it; from a safe distance, direct the air onto your hand. Is there any moisture, dampness evident? Secondly, what are you mixing the Etex in; a plastic cup, a paper cup, glass vessel, etc. Some throw away cups have a wax coating in them, particularly the paper cups. Again, try a test; pour very hot water in the vessel, stir, and see if anything floats, like globs of oil, or is there an oil sheen on the surface? The same goes for the gloves but less likely, but test in hot water just in case. We WILL get to the bottom of this. Dave

With my CAD system you can set up variables for all the measurements that you use. So, for example, I can change the length of a fin simply by adjusting the fin length variable. The same goes for all the measurements; length, depth, thickness and so on. I use variables a lot in my design. For a simple lure body, I can increase the length, thickness and depth components and generate a new body shape in a minute or two. The problem comes when something goes wrong, then you have to pick your way through the build to find the problem, this is very time consuming. For a simple body it was fine, but when you have spined dorsal fins, pectoral fins, ventral fins, caudal fins, gill plates and eyes, it can all develop into a nightmare, and I haven't even begun on scales. Building from scratch is more reliable but very time consuming and there are no time savings with the next build. I dropped the project, but may well revisit the idea in the future. I just need a new idea spark before I delve in again. The possibilities are huge. Dave

A basic CAD body shape from scratch can take a couple of hours CAD work, but once you start modeling gills, scales, fins and other details you can add a zero to that time number. Personally, I don't bother. Dave

That is a very kind offer, thanks. The problem is the postal service. They always charge me some fee or bribe, on top of the already ridiculous cost of postage. This is why many organizations will not deal with Indonesian customers. I don't source anything overseas any more. Dave

Good start information, but not enough for an accurate reproduction. I could import the images, but scaling from images is a long haul. I am not prepared to do that much work. I use Catia V5. Dave

Good post. I attempted to collect hook information a few years ago with the intention of generating a CAD hook library for the use of members. Unfortunately only one or two responded and so I abandoned the project. Perhaps now, the CAD community has expanded some more and more information will be forthcoming. I would even extend the project to split-rings and any other hardware items. If anyone is interested in taking part in this exercise then I will open up the project again. You do NOT need CAD for this project, I am only asking for vernier measurements. I can post a data sheet to help with the measurements required. I am prepared to do the work, all I ask is a few measurements. I have: VMC 32786-40. -50, -60, -70, -80 (image below)MUSTAD 91768-30, -40, -50 Eagle Claw 777-4 VMC barbarian-6 (image below) I will share these models on request, simply PM me your email address. If anyone has a vernier and wants to contribute, PM me your email address. Dave

Loved the video. Good personality, very entertaining with great skills. And, he followed up with water time. knowledge was shown in the conclusions regarding the weight distribution hampering the crank action, this all made perfect sense. Personally I cannot work like this; hacking two pieces of wood together not knowing if they will float or sink. I would have to do numbers first, but that is just me. Your plan is good, including some ballast adjusting options. I am sure you will have success. Dave

I haven't tried a hard twitch in my test tank, but a light twitch will make the lure turn 90 degrees. Dave

Let me add that this stuff is not intuitive, it is not obvious or easy. If anyone who has been sent the tools is not grasping the idea, PLEASE contact me by PM or post here for public viewing, and allow me to help you understand how it works. I am good at the technology but not so good at the interaction. Please allow me to redeem myself Dave

Sent. Dave

It is one of those strange things that has been around for all time. We have all experienced it at some time. Everyone who has ever picked up a table tennis paddle has seen the effect when they toss the paddle up in the air, watched it flip over and then caught it again. So well was the movement known that science forgot to look at it and come up with an explanation. Dave