Vodkaman

Jeep, I agree with Diemai, massive action. Great job. Diemai. The lure fits theory nicely. Even the 180 turn can be explained. Dave

Mark Poulson was the culprit. See link, post No13. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/14691-few-epoxy-clear-coat-questions-2.html But Riverman is right, if your design allows, rounding the corners is the best solution. Dave

Pete, it is perfectly feasible that I could be way off base with this idea. It fitted in with holes in my theory, but unless it explains what actually happens in the real world, it is just hot air. So far, the idea does not look too promising. I am obviously missing something. I will keep working on the ideas. I experimented with crank bodies with high curvature on the back/belly. The only explanation I can offer is that it is giving a kind of aerofoil affect. So the highly curved back is lifting the lure, pointing the lure downwards. If you reversed the shape, it would hit the surface and stay there. So another arguement for amending the shape, that is if you don't want to to dive. Dave

Pete. The ballast is performing two functions: 1. When the lure is not moving, the ballast keeps the lure upright, as long as the centre of buoyancy is above the centre of gravity. The tow eye does not play. This is stating the obvious. 2. When the bait is moving, the ballast has to counteract the roll. The roll is caused by the water forces across the back, they impart a side force, causing the bait to roll. Because your bait is now being towed, the lever principle comes into play, force x distance. The roll energy is the force and the distance is from the tow axis to the top of the back. This has to be balanced by the force x distance of the ballast. The ballast mass is the force and the distance is from the tow axis to the centre of the ballast. In your diagram, the tow eye is in line with the ballast weight, therefore the distance is zero, so the ballast is having zero effect at counteracting the roll force. Your design problem is the opposite of bbduc’s, your tow eye is too low. If you fitted a temporary eye up the back a ways, it will probably start to swim without the hooks. Try attaching a twisted wire eye in a 1/16 dia hole. Have the eye sticking out from the body surface by about 1/2”. This will allow you to experiment with eye location, by bending the eye up or down. Bbduc is correct, there has to be some movement for the vortices to work. With the eye position too high, the ballast suppressed the roll forces and stifled the vortex induced action. BUT, by bbduc increasing the speed, the roll forces increased, the ballast remained constant, therefore the action started to become evident. Although your bait swims with the hooks in place, I bet if you increased the speed, it would roll again. This theory may also explain why heavier woods make better swimbaits than light woods. The extra ballast over damping the roll, for a constant eye position, thus requiring a lower eye location with a lighter wood. I’m sure that it is more complex than my over simplification and conflicting arguments are welcome, but this new idea fills a big gap in my swimbait theory and explains a lot. This is what I gained from this thread. Thanks to all. Dave

Pete, From your post, do we assume you got it to swim and/or is the excessive roll still a problem? Theory tells me you still have a roll problem. Dave

Probably best to anticipate the problem and epoxy the corners first, then epoxy the whole bait. Dave

I'm not a big user, but I can think of two advantages. The D2T should go on smoother with the warm body, thus saving time. Secondly, the epoxy chemical action is exothermic, meaning that heat is generated. This will cause the air in the bait to expand and can cause air bubbles. If the body is warm, then the body will start to cool with the application and remove this problem. Because D2T reacts fairly slowly, especially compared to 5 min epoxies, which you should not use for top coating, this exothermic thing is hardly noticable, but it is there. I'm sure the epoxy experts will jump in here with more instructive explanations. Dave

Welcome to TU and good luck with your projects. I would pop round to give you a hand, but the music would have to go. I'll bring some Rachmaninoff, Bartok, Vivaldi, Paganini, got some interesting Didgeridoo stuff that is great to work to. Dave

I know that the chrome paint dulls with a D2T coating. My question is what is the effect of D2T on a properly plated chrome? I guess the simple answer would be to find a chromed item and apply some epoxy. Has anyone been down this road? Dave

Rod, I do agree with your post. I have been keeping a close watch on swimbait posts. It seems that anything from centre and downwards works. Having the tow eye below centre is a safe bet. Ref post No33, I have re-examined the after pic. The back width is wide and square towards the first joint, this is plenty to generate vortices, so now I feel less confused about the whole issue. The apparent success of the taper could be an inertia thing, but the pics that Rod posted were parallel bodies. It could be down to the wood choice. Dave

Mark. My thoughts were that a blunt nose and along the back of the first section was required to create the vortices, as the flow could not turn the blunt corner and started turning. But this lure, with the front edge taper kinda' goes against this idea. Well, we are all learning with every post. Thanks bbduc for teaching us all a little more. Dave

That thing Swims, congrats. Seems you may have solved it yourself, with that taper, I never thought of that. I would have thought that tapering to the nose would have had a negative affect, but aparently not! I'm sure the fish will like it too. Dave

I had to have a cold shower, then burst into tears, as I cannot find Envirotex over here. The static observation was very interesting. Would mixing in a metal container with a metal rod, minimise this problem? Dave

Sorry, but putting a lip on a swimbait is cheating. Do the work and solve the problems. A lip is not necessary. Dave

I think the signature is a TU club member privilage. You will need to get your wallet out. Dave

Jim I have to agree, power to zoom. There is a whole lot of bait out there to be discovered, so why copy. Be original guys, forget about the 10% rule. "customer demands.." not a good excuse. Dave

I did the same with D2T, it felt dry to the touch after 8 hours. I assumed the lure was finished and handled it, as you do. Big mistake. 24 hours later, the D2T had a matt finish. Warning, do not handle for at least 24 hours, 48 hours would be safer. Dave

Balsa board is good. You can cut two identical halves. Cut grooves for the through wire harness and space for the ballast. Then glue the two halves together, then shape. Lots of possibilities. You can even pin the two halves with 3mm dowel. Shape, then glue later. Dave

Jim, welcome to TU. I know Swede does a bit of salmon and sea trout work. Hopefully he will jump in here and help out. Not sure where he is from though. Lol. Dave

Pete, why do you bring me into it, I have not built a swimbait yet! But I have already sent a few PM's out. I agree with Diemai's assessment, the apex of the nose needs lowering, along with the tow eye. I am not a great believer in the hinge joint effect, but like I said, why should my opinion matter. I have my theories, but they are not proven yet. I wish you good luck with your swimbait. Most importantly, report back your trials and tribulations. Tip, change one thing at a time, or you will not know what worked. You have the right attitude for prototyping, this was clearly obvious when you posted pics of an unpainted body. Dave

I get your point, that is a tough one. A good tip that has been posted a few times, is not to over load the pyrex cup. 1/3rd full pours much better than 2/3 full. Build up something to rest your pouring arm on. A stack of phone books will bo for a start. Once you find a comfortable pouring position, build a custom arm rest. Dave

Presentation is not everything, only about 99%, were new business is concerned. Customers will pass over your bait if the finish and presentation is not professional. The 50c clamshell, or the $2 molded box, makes a statement, that you mean business. Knock 50c off the price and sell it in a plastic bag, see which sells more. Given that your bait is a proven fish magnet, repeat business will not be that bothered, they come back because your bait works and they have confidence. But NEW business is required for success, to expand your repeat business. Go with the clam shell. Dave

I guess it could be molded in RTV, but the cast material density would not match your choice of wood. The density of cast materials is a bit limited, either too light (foam) or too heavy (resin/microspheres). I agree with your theory of familiarization. As long as the fish do not communicate bad experiences from generation to generation, then your idea of basing new designs on the old favourites is a good one. I would like to know what the density of the wood was, my guess is on the light side. Dave

My concern is, that if you seal your PoP mold all over, as I do, then heat the mold, that blistering could occur. PoP molds are full of air which expands upon heating. If you only seal the working cavity, then all should be well. I would like to hear from an experienced PoP mold builder to confirm or deny this though. I could be way off on this idea, as the hot plastic would have the same effect as pre-heating. Secondly, aluminium cups are probably the worst material you could use for your transfer cup. Aluminium has one of the highest thermal conductivities, only exceeded by copper and gold. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html This means that it sucks the heat right out of your plastic, lowering the temp and causing your cold cracks. If you need to transfer, use a ceramic material or another pyrex, but why transfer? If you are pouring in such a cold enviroment, consider making a PoP jacket for your pyrex cups. Ghost baits wrote a very good artical on this, about a year ago. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/11472-keep-your-pyrex-cup-plastic-warm-dipping-multiple-color-pours.html Make sure the PoP is fully cured before use. PoP is an extremely good insulator. Dave

Very nice design. Do you have a video of the action? We did discuss curved bait design ideas, with the intention of fishing parallel banks on canals. I built an experimental curved bait, just to see, about 2 years ago. I did not persue it, but learnt from it. Dave