Vodkaman

Have you noticed how the birthdays just keep comming at you faster each year? Of course, I have a theory about this Have a good one. Dave

Very good question, had not considered that one yet. I am thinking an open box, made of 1/4" acrylic. Glued together with neoprene, fish tank style. The fillet of glue on the outside, so that the air pressure cannot blow out the seal. Fit a nipple for hose attachment. A flat rubber sheet, glued to a board. Place the mold box on the rubber board and pour RTV. Place the open box over the mold box and start pump. Press down on box until vacuum takes hold. Would be interested to hear what others use. Dave

This is the thread. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/16170-crank-bait-final-coat.html Dave

LP, I have a similar motor on my bench. Could you tell me the specs written on your motor housing. Mine is 220V 3.5W, 5 rpm. Not too sure if this is going to be powerful enough. Thanks. Dave

The pic shows the patch work of surfaces involved. To achieve the cross section shape I wanted, all the surfaces are driven by conics (elipse shapes). Lots of head banging involved to get it to work. Lip removed, the world is not ready for that yet! Dave

The hard part about CAD modelling is getting the system to draw what you want and not just accepting what it gives you. That simple little lure in my avatar, took me about ten hours to model. But now that it is modelled, I can quickly alter the parameters and change its size and even modify its shape. The plan was to use it to model up the aluminium molds and get them machined. But I have decided to stay with wood. I still use the model to work out the final weight of the lure and centre of gravity, before starting to cut wood. All non-essential, but I enjoy. Think hard before starting the CAD route. It sucks up a lot of time. You would be much better off carving a good quality master and making RTV molds. Dave

This is a link to the last discussion on the subject. It is over a year old now, so it is probably about time to air the subject again. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/10601-applying-hollow-bait-dipping-techniques-other-baits-2.html Welcome to TU. Dave

Yes, CAD files can be processed to cut molds. But many machinists will not use CAD data, unless it has come from a trusted source. I had this discussion with DelW, a machinist who advertises on this sight. I myself am a designer using CAD. Photoshop files do not contain 3D data and so cannot be used for mold cutting. There are examples on the web, of photo data being used to cut photo's into the wood surface, using shades of grey as depth commands, but no good for molds. Dave

Of course you cannot feel it, your rear end no longer belongs to you! Really sorry for your problems. Dave

I am not an expert by any means. As I understand it, copy right is about the name you give to the bait, patent is the engineering of the bait, or the physical attributes that make it unique. Yes (I think) you can buy a mold and sell the baits. But if the resultant bait is in conflict with an existing patent, then that is your problem, not the mold makers. It is my firm belief that there are a ton of baits to be discovered out there. Those that believe that it has all been done before are living in a pessomistic dream. only a week ago, I discovered a new bait. It can be made in soft plastic or hard bait. It has an undulating up/down movement, rather than a side to side action. It will represent a craw or squid. It has not even been prototyped, but I am confident that it will work. The point is, carve some wood, make a master and be original. You will not make big waves in this market place by copying. Dave

OK, for de-gassing RTV. Instructions for RTV often recommend vacuum de-gassing, but they never stipulate the vacuum required. I guess any vacuum is better than none. I can think of a couple of vacuum systems on the non-specialised market, fish tank pumps and clothing storage bags. I've never used a vacuum, but plan to in the near future. So would be interested too, in what others find useful. Dave

Here is a link to an identical thread from a few weeks ago. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/16133-bouyancy-after-paint-top-coat.html Bob has basically covered your options, but one tip that came out of the above thread was post No9, he held the bait upto a strong light and was able to locate the ballast! Nice one Macsmallie. Dave

I don't understand the need for the vacuum. Are you talking about the 10Lb expanding foam, often talked about on TU, or something different? Dave

What top coat did you use for that puppy? Dave

Brothers, you have all got it wrong. It's all about sandwiches. Reach for a snack and the fish will bite. Armed with this knowledge, you can trick the fish into bighting, with a decoy sandwich. Never fails. Dave

Way too expensive for making bodies. But would be perfect for making masters for RTV molds. The fact that it will take an indentation without springing back (no memory), makes 3D scales very easy to produce, by making a scale tool to push into the material, rather than having to carve each scale. Good find. Dave

Husky, I tried PoP with the foam, what a waste of several days that was. It was that experience that prompted my post above. Dave

Braveveiper, I would not like to try PoP for resin casting, it would be easy for the resin cast to get locked in and ruin the mold. The "hard cast - soft mold" rule definately applies here. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried casting resin in a PoP mold. Dave

Come on Dubs! Twenty rules! Takes five minutes to read them. 600 x 400 pixels is a lot bigger than you may think. Plenty big enough to get a color across. We don't need to see the whole bait either, just the color. If this thread grows and becomes successful, then at a later stage, all the inbetween, non-contributing posts (like this one) could be stripped out, leaving a very useful and functional tool. So as JD said, lets keep it going. Here's a perfect example I borrowed from Pitbull, 500 x 239. Nothing wrong with this pic. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/16391-need-help-another-color.html#post121567 post No2. Dave

I was thinking the same as Papa, belt/pulley. Not difficult to make. What is the speed? I guess it is about 60 rpm. Dave

Great idea for a thread, to pull together all the various lure turners, drying wheels etc. But 5 posts and still no pics! If I was going to build one, especially a larger one, the wheel would look like the image below. The reason for the cutouts, is that they reduce the weight in the heavy wheels, thus reducing inertia and less load on the motor, especially at start up. This allows you to dry more lures without killing the motor. But I am going the propionate route, so I no longer require a wheel. Dave

Density and specific gravity are basically the same information. Except density has units, like Kg/m3 ( kilograms per metre cube) or Lbs/cu ft ( pounds per cubic foot). Specific gravity is dimensionless and is a direct comparison with pure water. So your sg is 1.05, which means that the cured resin is very slightly heavier than water. By the time you have added hanger wires, split rings, hooks, paint and top coat, it is going to sink, fairly fast. The solution is microspheres, I think most guys use 3M silicone microsperes (or microballoons). Mixing these with the resin will reduce the sg to around 0.7 before the mix starts to get too thick to pour easily. Plenty has been written in the TU threads on microspheres. Try a search on resin, microspheres, microballoons, try different combinations of words. You should find plenty of reading. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but all is not lost. Dave

John, I can see what you were thinking with the broom thing, but with swimbaits, usually too much roll is the problem. Pit you finished it, but if it is not fishable, you might as well experiment with it. You probably won't be able to split it open now, so don't know what to say. It is scary the difference a thick top coat makes. I have been caught out by this in the past. Now, when prototyping (basically this is all I do anyway), I always add a top coat, so that the tests are realistic. Also attach hooks and splitrings, they have a profound effect also. When you start the next one, start a new thread with it. Dave

Any type of paint works on cured resin. I used a rattle can spray flat white as a base coat (long time ago). Some recommend letting the cast stand for a week before painting, because of de-gassing issues. But if you are just building for yourself, well, let's say, the most I waited was 24 hours. I tried googling this resin and could not find it on Alumilites site, nor could I find a density figure. Does the packaging give a density number in the specs sheet? I am concerned it may sink like a stone, as regular resin is heavier than water. Cast a test piece and see if it floats. Welcome to TU. Dave

That weight looks way too high. I don't remember suggesting putting weight that high. Sorry! Do you have a link? Dave