Vodkaman

I find it is best to mark the centre line on before shaping. I glue a print out of my body to the wood blank. Cut out and sand to the line. I then cut the lip slot, which is also marked on the print out pattern, as are the eye locations. To mark the centre line, on a flat table, I hold a pencil on a suitably thick block of wood and slide the shaped blank along the pencil point, scribing a line. I then flip over the shaped blank and repeat. This leaves two parallel lines, the centre of which is the c/l of the blank. I then transfer the hole positions for drilling operations onto the shaped blank and peel off the paper template. The holes could be drilled at this stage rather than after shaping. I don

Jio. Sorry the answers to your problems have not arrived yet. The problem is that this is an unusually large bait and I suspect that only a few members will have the expertise and experience to be able to help you. So be patient and I am confident the answers will be forthcoming.

Minesapint (I like the name). welcome to TU from a scouser. As mentioned previously, there are few articles that take you through the entire process here on TU, but there are one or two. But all the individual steps are covered and discussed to death, so everything you need to know is within the pages of TU. Unfortunately, the learning process is one of trial and error. But narrowed down with the guidance of TU reading, you should not go too far wrong. Check out the gallery and look at the lips, shapes and sizes, some good lip threads to read too. Steep lip angles (70 deg to body axis) make shallow running baits, shallow angles (10

Snax. I have experimented a lot with the polyester resin (used in fiberglass). But I have not used the glass fibers in combination. Probably made around 200 bodies with it. There are two issues that will concern you: 1. Density, you already mentioned. Polyester resin by itself, has a specific gravity (SG) = 1.2 (water SG = 1.0). This means that it is heavier than water and will sink. To solve this problem, I added silicone micro spheres or micro balloons (MB). But in order to get down to a SG=0.7, I had to add a considerable amount of MB, This changed the once runny consistency of pure resin, to that of thick mustard. This introduced two new problems, air bubbles and pouring. I found that with creative stirring techniques, I could get rid of most of the air and filled the rest with a household filler, after casting, flash drying with a hair dryer. A better and quicker solution would be a vacuum. Secondly, pouring the mustard paste is impossible. I overcome this problem with a plastic cake icing syringe, using the long nozzle. It worked well. 2. The material, with or without MB is very brittle. I deliberately dropped a 3" body onto a tile floor, it snapped at the lip slot, the weakest part. The addition of the glass fibers might solve this problem for you, but only testing will reveal the answer. Also, I do not know what effect the fibers will have on the density. The problem I can see with the fibers, is mixing and pouring. Because of the mustard consistency, the resin may not penetrate the fibers. If you plan to place the fibers in the mold and then pour, the pour will probably just push the fibers to one side and not mix and permeate. Another solution would be to separate the fibers and cut into short lengths and mix into the resin prior to pouring. This seems to be the only workable solution, but the brittle test will reveal all. I abandoned the resin, mainly because of the density. My target SG was 0.5, the equivalent of pine wood, in order to keep my lipped cranks lively and give me room for maneuver with ballast. I quite liked working with the material, once I got my system of tools and procedures sorted out, can get messy if not organized, everything must be to hand. Used with RTV molds, it works well, looks like plaster. Another advantage is that it is ready for working in an hour. It was not necessary to through wire as it drilled very easily and tidily. Wear a mask when drilling and handling MB and good ventilation required for wet resin, gloves and mask required when handling the fibers. That

Always room for another hinge discussion. How did you do the pull test? Did you use fishing line or tie it to a tree and pull with nylon rope. It sounds to me that you may have over tested the joint. As long as the pull load exceeds the actual breaking strain of the line, then the test is a success, as the line will always break first. I only mention this because you stated that wood was stripped out with the fixing material. A simple, more controlled test would be to suspend a 5 gal bucket from the lure and gradually add a known quantity of water. Measuring in litres works well, because 1 litre weighs 2.2 pounds. This way, if it fails, you will know the exact load it took to break the joint and will be able to make a direct comparison with other fixing products or methods. If it takes all 5 gallons, you could leave it hanging for 24 hours and use it in your sales pitch. I know I get technical sometimes, but this is a very simple test to perform, using stuff you probably have laying around the garage anyway. I did a pull test using polyester resin. Not in wood, but a resin body. It took 24 pounds for 24 hours. It was the only bucket I had. But this should be more than strong enough for any bass lure. Regarding the joint. I don't see how you are going to get away from cutting slots and still keep the segments close together, but the slot will look tidier, as it will be cut into both segments. I am about to start a swimbait in the next week or two. I am going to use a nylon (or similar) thread as the joint, setting it into a slot, top and bottom. This method will allow me to get the segments very close without having to cut the large slots associated with the eye method. True, an extra filling operation will have to be done, but the clean appearance should compensate. I don't think it is any more labor intensive anyway. It will be tested for strength, but I am not anticipating any problems. Other than the usual, keeping the top coat off the joint.

Mad eye. I like your attitude, striving to design your own original lure rather than copying another designers work. Although HJS makes a valid point about starting simple and build up some experience, I would encourage you to stick with plan A. you will gain all the experience you need to produce impressive lures, much quicker. The down side is, that you will have to cope with a few disappointments on the journey. The last thing I want is for you to sling the bag of PoP and broken masters in the bin and march down to the local tackle shop to buy another bag of senkos. If you can handle a few problems, then plan A is best. Your question regarding professional looking lures with details, is all down to craftsmanship, which comes with great care and practice. The master that you make is going to produce hundreds or even many thousands of clones, so it is worth taking the time to get it right. Even if it means starting over a few times. To get a shiny finish, a coat of D2T epoxy or some similar product will do the job, as suggested by Hawghunterbaits. I suggest that you don

YJ, looks like it was a great trip. Especially good as both the boys got hooked up with some nice fish. Great pics, thanks for sharing.

Diemai, your quote from another thread, http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/13538-new-banana-lure-9.html#post106342 re-post No88.I wouldn

KB, welcome back and happy that you are feeling better. The handles look great. I particularly liked the spiral job. Dave

Sorry Pete. Since the pic, I have had a good tidy up session and dumped all the rubbish. Bench and shelve building next.

May have over done it with the ballast a little, but nice even distribution. Should get down deep.

I just can't find a thing in this mess.

Crankbait Maybe there is more to it than just a photo finish. The baits certainly look amazing. But I have seen photo finishes Done by TU members looking pretty good too. I'm not a patent expert by any means. But if it is just a photo finish, I would not have thought that a patent on the method would be possible, as surely, it has been around for years. For the same reasons, how can you patent a picture of a fish? There must be more to it. The patent guys are not that dumb. Has anyone found the patent?

Salmon smolt

Keep applying the 50:50 mix. It WILL take several coats. Be patient, expect the first two or three to get soaked up, but eventually, you will start to get a smooth, shine. Then you are done. Applying a thicker coat, you are risking losing detail and possibly separation of the seal coat. This method does take more time compared to other methods, but the results are quality.

Piscivorous. Now your enthusiasm for pouring is renewed, might I suggest that you attempt some difficult pours. Now that you have broken the ground of vacu-venting. You will find that this method will pour shapes that are not possible with normal gravity pours. Leggy critters, skinny tails, etc. You need only search the word difficult in softbaits forum to understand what I am talking about. It was because of the plethora of threads about difficult pours that I developed the system in the first place. Also, multiple pours in one shot. Think about a double funnel arrangement for two color pours. The two sprues merging into one. Should produce interesting effects. It could be even taken further by intruducing a vane after the merge point to 'turn' the flow for a different mix. Use your imagination. I feel sure that you will have the TU plastics community gasping at your lures in the near future. Take it to the next level. PM me if you want to discuss any ideas further. Good luck.

The one thing missing from Hazmails shop, is the tool outlines on the wall, with no tools attached. That made me grin.

Great post. I learned a few things while reading it. Thanks for sharing.

Finally, somebody tried it! Thanks Piscivorous Pike.

True words and in my opinion, the best way to learn. You might want to consider making your first one without paint and use it as a learning tool. Still apply the top coat and hardware (hooks et), as weight distribution is important. I usually make the tow eye a little longer on prototypes, so that I can bend up or down and test the effect of shifting the eye position. Once again, true words. But if you've done the reading, you won't go far wrong. If it does go wrong, DO NOT THROW AWAY. This should be seen as an opportunity to learn. Post a pic and explain what happened. The answer will be forth comming. I addition to the above answers, any moisture inside the bait after top coating, will be trapped. It will give poor adhesion and before long, the paint/top coat will separate (delaminate). Always keep the baits out of direct sunlight. This causes expansion and contraction of the trapped air and moisture inside, which makes things worse.

As you are just starting out, I am not going to tell you to buy half the hardware stores tool infantry. I have managed perfectly well with just a Dremel mini drill and an assortment of attachments. Doesn't have to be dremel, but do not skimp on quality, the cheap drills will not last. Tackleunderground - Search Results The above link is a search result on 'tools dremel'. The list of results give a comprehensive selection of articles on tools and lure construction. Read through some of these and you will find most of the information you are looking for. Other search words that will bring information are: sealing, top coat, devcon, etex, propionate, createx, nites, acrylic. A final warning, lure building is addictive and there is no known cure, so beware and be safe. Good luck.

Both the above replies are valid. If you go for a cheaper digital stills camera, it is vital that you make sure that it has the macro facility. Without it, the closest you'll get to your bait is 3 - 4 feet away. This will make a poor photograph. The macro is usually a flower symbol on the camera display. My video camera is a fairly cheap enviro. It is digital with a built in hard drive. It can take 7 hours of vid (I think), about 2 hours on a single charge. BUT, the picture quality is not brilliant. For better quality, you have to pay a lot more. For stills or video, you will need a tripod. Does not need to be very fancy, but will make life much easier. A cable release would be nice too, for the stills camera (not expensive).

Thankyou LKN, the picture along with the video has helped a lot and clarified a few things for me.

Mark, would be happy to discuss the subject. But first, I am confused about terminology. Please explain the difference between glider and swimbait. I know what a swimbait is (well I think I do!), but on LKN's recent vid, he referred to his bait as a glider. This discussion possibly belongs in a new thread.

LKN. Congratulations on your creation. I totally agree with you, this slower, less pronounced action seems a lot more life like. I would like to see a side view picture, if you don't mind. Frome the vid, it appears to be symmetrical top to bottom. This contradicts some of the current thinking, that a big difference, top to bottom is required. Again, I learned a fair bit from your excellent video. Many thanks. Dave