Vodkaman

Welcome to TU Spoopa. I don't really like smileys, but they do help sometimes, as people do not have a face to read. So maybe I will have to start using them . Swede and Palmetto are the experts on prop. Here is a link to a post by Palmetto with the relevant information and lots more for you. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/classified-ads/14010-propionate-wood-sealer.html Read it all, but your answer is in post #4. Dave

Yes, I had one in my last apartment, for the same reason. I was quite happy with it, a mere whisper. The down side is that the tank is very small and so you cannot do sustained work of more than a few seconds. This is fine for lure work, which is generally a dab here and there. I used rattle cans for the base coat. A lot more expensive but solved the critical noise problem. I cannot quote you a price, as I was paying way over the top in Malaysia. I think the guy saw me comming. Dave

Diemai. Another thing to consider with compressors is the noise. I mention this because you mentioned having to keep your lady happy. Depending on the size of your house and its ability to absorb sound, you should start to plan its location. Go to a store and get them to give you a demmo, to get an idea what you are dealing with. The noise is not constant, it just kicks in for a minute or so, to top up the pressure, as you use the air. This issue has been discussed here on TU in the past. I am not trying to put you off, just want to avoid surprises. This issue IS resolvable. Dave

I make that 0.6g/cm3 density. Nice. Dave

Yes, thanks for clearing that one up. Now I have to go through the rubbish bin to retrieve mine. I did make the mistake of adding a drop to fix a ballast weight in the body, before the lead had fully cooled. Man! nearly choked to death. That's what you get when rushing. Dave

Such machines are used to carve cricket bats and table legs, so I guess the answer is yes. I would probably turn the feed rate down and stand well back for the first run though. Dave

DeHeron, nice one. That sounds good to me, I think you may have found the explanation. Dave

Pete. I just made a prototype out of wooden dowel. Angling the end construction at about 20 degrees gave me the automatic spacing of the spirals. I am sure that this is what you meant. This exercise helped me understand what all the angles are for too. Dave

Riverman, re-post No6. This is the notch idea I had in mind. You would have to experiment with the size and angle of the notch. Dave

Velcro! Another good addition to the pool of drying wheel ideas. Nice one. Dave

Alumilite has a density of 1.05g/cm3, this means that it is slightly heavier than water and will sink. Silicon microspheres can be added to reduce the density, but the more spheres you add, the thicker the mix and harder to pour. The viscosity without the spheres is 190 cps. Smooth-on feather lite has a density of 0.67g/cm3, so floats. It is an equivalent density to beech. It has a viscosity of 400 cps, so is much thicker than standard alumilite resin. This will not allow much room for adding additional spheres, if at all. As for your questions, I have not used either of these products yet, just done the research. I would not anticipate any problems with either. All the work that you did setting up your bait for your required action, may well have to be repeated, unless your prototype wood was of a similar density. Here are a few links: Alumilite: Alumilite - Products - Casting Resins Feather lite: http://tb.smodev.com/tb/uploads/Feather_Lite.pdf Wood density: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COMMON WOODS I would say the feather lite was the way to go. Less hassle mixing the microspheres (not healthy, mask required), also the density will be (or should be!) consistent, which is the whole idea of casting. Dave

Thanks for the update Pete, gonna make me one of those as soon as I find some aly bar. I experimented with both types of twists. I found that the haywire twist pulled out of the resin filled hole at 20Lbs. The loose barrel twist is still holding Close to 50Lbs. The barrel twist gives the glue a lot more to hold on to. The wood used is 0.23 density, which is the same as a heavy balsa. Don't know the name of the wood, it is called albasiah here. Couldn't find anything on the web, but it is great for lure bodies. Dave

Ah yes, disappointing. I was not looking at the studio pics. Well, with the current interest in photo finish, maybe it is time that TU members started taking quality close-ups of fish and post links to decent size images on a photo hosting site. The standard TU upload is just not going to cut it either. This thread would be a good place to store them, the thread name is correct. Dave

This two piece resin/filler mold allows me to fine tune the end result. Also, I can adjust the bolts to suit the ballast of a different lure, still using the same mold. I have only done one pour with it, to test it out. It seems to work well,but My pouring skills will need some fine tuning. The threaded cast is somewhat difficult to extract. I found it best to back off the bolt a couple of turns, then flip the casting out with a small screw driver. The burnt appearance is where I burned off the excess wax release agent. Didn't want to risk any explosions. A better solution would be a plain steel slug in front of the bolt tail, thus removing the threads from the cast. Would work great as an aluminium mold. Just something for you all to chew over. Dave

Mine printed off OK. But still, a great reference for the lure artists. Dave

My first test with the wax, was a very thin coating, using pure resin. It popped apart so easy. When I poured the first half, I had the binding to the box problem. So when I poured the second half, I crapped out and put a much thicker coat on. The clean flat surface of the mold probably does not need such a thick coating. Your teflon idea would work, as the sheet would be a constant thickness. But I have never seen it on sheets. Thanks for the idea. Winding the tape around my box sections is a good option. feels messy when everything is coated with wax. Dave

Pete, you are the man! I have only just recently been experimenting with twisted wires and realised that I need a tool for the job and here it is. Many thanks. The only different thing I do, is to make the first twist regular, then switch to barrel. This presents the eye straight rather than to one side. Both will work perfectly well though. It it possible to make the tool so it will do a loose wind, as shown in my pic? Dave

The speed of the oscillations is proportional to the lip width. A narrow lip has a faster action than a wide lip. On a lipless swimbait, the vortices are generated along the back of the front section, this is much longer than a lip, hense the action is slower. Dave

I just made a two piece mold, using the 75/25 filler/resin combo suggested by MDC (post #11). There was no shrinkage and detail was good. You have to be generous with the wax as a release agent on the mold box. My first attempt tore chunks out of the box with just a thin wipe of wax. I laid it on thicker for the second half. This solved the problem. I did get a little flash, probably due to the wax, so next time I will reduce the wax on the mating face. Handling the materials and the molding process was clean, simple and very quick. Organisation is the secret. Thanks MDC, good one. Dave

Fernet. Balsa is by no means the standard wood, there is no 'standard' wood. Just about any wood can be used. Setting aside all the build advantages and disadvantages of the various woods, the only attribute of the wood that affects the swim of the lure, is its density. For a lively lipped crankbait with a lot of action, a light wood is favourite. If you want a more subtle action, go for something a bit heavier. The light wood allows you to group the ballast in one place and control the centre of gravity, the pivot point for the action. The tail of the bait, being very light, has less inertia and moves easier. With a heavier wood, the tail would have more inertia and would give less movement. Gliders have different requirements. As I don't know much about gliders or other types of lure, I will leave that to someone else to explain their density requirements. There are many other attributes of wood to be considered in the selection process. How easy is it to work with, how easy is it to drill, seal methods can vary too. I'm sure I have missed a few points. There have been several threads discussing wood selection. Try a search on the name of the wood you are considering, to find opinions. Got carried away again. Yes, it is a wobble thing. Dave

Great looking lure! I'll leave it to the devcon sales staff to answer your questions though. Dave

Which would be stronger, a dry screw eye installed with the correct pilot hole. Or a hole drilled larger than the maximum diameter, so that the screw eye pushed straight in, only loaded with epoxy. I suspect the latter would be stronger. I have a twisted wire eye on pull test at the moment. It has been supporting close to 50Lb for three weeks now. I now have a severe algae and mosquito lavae problem. It is all about the surface area of the contact. The larger the hole, the larger the surface area of grip. As I have said before, if you are not sure of something, exagerate the dimensions or parameters. Imagine a hole of 1" diameter, filled with epoxy. It would be stronger than a 0.05 dia hole. As for a dry screw hole, I would not bet my life on it. On the various pull tests that I have conducted, any failures have been the wire pulling out of the epoxy and not the wood failing, even though I am using a wood of very low density. This is because the surface area of contact of the wire is much smaller than the surface area of contact with the wood. Contentious with popular opinion, but food for thought. I hope. Dave

Sorry BobP, I have re-read your original post. I was a little confused when I read it originally. I assumed that a lure god like BobP could not be talking about a deliberate misalignment. lol. I cannot account in my theories for any advantage in this deliberate missalignment, except to say, it will be stronger on one side. Offsetting the eye will pull it back straight, but theory suggests the overall action should not be greater. It is obvious that we all still have a lot to learn. I hope you continue with your investigation and report back. I in the mean time will spend countless hours trying to explain your findings. Thanks!!!! Riverman, unfortunately no. All my early proto work is in a shopping bag somewhere in UK. I will try to Make a CAD model of an example, but don't rush me, lots of projects on the go at the moment. I just don't seem to be able to finish anything. Dave

When I first discovered the notch, I was very excited, thought I had found something new. Then Dano showed me a pic of a 70 year old bait, almost identical. Bummer. Dave