Vodkaman

Cool story. Next, the lure building tool kit.

You would think they would have replaced the whole lure though.

I agree and they still beat me. Sometimes I think they occasionally jump on my hook, just to keep me interested!

Every trip to the shopping mall in Bandung, Indonesia, I find locals with caged wildlife, lemurs, snakes, baby owls etc. selling for next to nothing. Some stuff you only see on David Attenborough documentaries. I find it frustrating, as they will all be dead in a few weeks. You would expect in a tropical rain forested country like Indonesia, to have a dawn chorus like Australia (just incredible). Not so, apart from cockerels of course, the pain in my butt, I don't like being woken at 04:00 and they always seem to crap on my porch, not the owners. What was the subject, oh yes, good luck with the boat Pete!

Kajan, no one is calling you, from what I am reading. I thank you for sharing your experience. I find it a bit scary that such a small change can make such a big difference in catch. It would explain the vast number of blank days that I have had. I will certainly explore the idea, with a spread of shades, next time I fish. I have noticed that red is essential when I fish for perch, black and silver produced a lot of trout for me. But I have put all my design effort into action, so I was just hoping that the color thing was just for catching anglers. This subject has been aired before. Sometimes action wins, this time color. I guess we have to accept that both are important on their day.

A hot water jacket would reduce the heat loss and increase your working time significantly. But, like you said, you have to find some way of keeping the two mediums separate (and cheaper).

I agree Mark, they are terrible. I just hope I get that bad myself one day. I fear I may have lost my bag of lures from the early days. The rented house where they were kept was shut down and cleaned out a few months back and I completely forgot about the bag, kicking myself, as I did intend to keep them. Some really wierd and very bad prototypes of ideas. I may even re-visit some of them, as my knowledge increases.

For me, the cat is the cats wiskers. The action is just right, just what I would be looking for.

You are not doing yourself or anyone else in the hand made industry by selling yourself short. The way I look at it personally, is that my time and effort is worth a dollar figure per hour, the number that my previous employer paid me is a good starting point. That is the number that I am looking for. Now I would accept slightly less, as I would be working to my own terms and enjoying my work for the very first time in my life. In many cases, the buying public (even members of this site!) needs educating as to what is involved in making these piscatorial masterpieces. If they want personalised quality, individual fine tuning etc, then it has to be paid for. We are not competing with rapala and the big boys, we provide a superior product. The big boys are competing with us. Daimai, a 5% difference in the hand carving volume can make a big difference. Carving to this accuracy is about the limit. So you are right, if you are looking for a specific result, like a slow sinker or floater, each one will have to be individually tuned for ballast. I estimate a required accuracy of +/- 0.5% for making suspended (or close to) lures. This fits in with the above discussion. I am thinking of offering a suspended lure option, guaranteed to rise or fall within x seconds per foot. But for this level of fine tuning, the cost would increase significantly.

Bruce has had more titles than Prince Charles, but is doing a great job, keeping everyone in line. Thanks Bruce.

For one off jobs, a lump of soft modelling clay might work. Use cling film between the clay and your body, to prevent contamination. Tis will allow you to adjust the angles by eyeballing at your liesure, before going near the drill.

I don't understand why you are fishing someone elses product, when you have a bag of your own little gems. You will not catch fish on your own lures and thus build confidence in them, unless you get them wet. Congrats on the fish. Bigger than anything I've ever caught.

I like the top one and, of course the 3rd one. Did you use a photo technique for No3?

Thanks Mark, good story, reminds me of a very old fishing movie, probably from the sixties. About the 5 min epoxy. I don't have a problem, as the lure will probably spend no more than 10 minutes in the water. I never throw a dud lure away unless I can explain exactly what the problem was and prove it with the next. If not explained, I display the lure in the living room, to continually remind me of the problem, until I make it go away. I always extensively prototype, as I have to accept that despite all my engineering talk, trial and error still rules. In my engineering defense, this knowledge provides an insight into solving the problem of the non-swimmers. Plus, most of the stuff that I do is new, expanding the envelope lures. This would be impossible without the theories, which point me towards the new possibilities. For example, theory driven Bullrider, has involved probably close to 200 prototypes. Yes, this sounds ridiculous to me too. But I have been working on the idea for about 18 months. It is very close now. If I put it on the market, this extensive design work and patent costs, will have to be reflected in the price. On the subject of duds. If you cannot find the problem, you should post here on TU. Lots of good ideas and suggestions usually result. You are guaranteed to learn something.

Type in these three words into the search function, SWIMBAIT WEIGHT POSITION. The result brought up three of the main swimbait construction threads (linked below). http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/13713-swimbait-very-first-attempt.html http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/14074-need-help-making-jointed-swimbait.html http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/13952-swimbait-making.html There is far more information available, just adjust your search word list, eg SWIMBAIT HINGE. This search brings up a list of 37 posts. These should give you much of the information you require, but at the end of the day, as Jamie says, it all comes down to trial and error. There is no swimbait recipe, you have to test. Report back on your progress, not just the successes, more importantly, the things that do not work. It is the failures that teach people. I intend tackling a swimbait design myself very soon. My plan of attack is to make a rough prototype. This will not be used for fishing, just testing. I will cut out the profile and chamfer the edges, rather than spending an hour shaping. The hinge will be made from simple twisted SS wire. I will fit several tow eyes to test the effect of different positions. I will cut several ballast holes and fix the ballast with a rubber glue, so I can easily remove it and try a different location. All of this can be done at the waters edge. It is important to attach the hooks and eyes that you intend to use, as these do affect how the bait performs. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time getting the lure perfect, only to attach the hooks and end up with a stick. I will also represent the top coat with a coating of 5 min epoxy, this is important too. From opening the tool box to dipping in the water, generally does not take much more than 45 minutes, including the epoxy coat. Once I have a good swim action, then I will think more about the hinges and make a pretty one. Good luck with your project.

You obviously need to know for sure what the problem was. Because lexan and plexiglass are different materials, then a scratch comparison test with a sharpened nail should give you the answer, if you compare with a known piece of lexan and plexiglass. I don't have any myself, or I would do the test to confirm a difference. Also, closely examine the broken edge. Is the break clean? If rings are visible, this would indicate a flaw in the material, at the centre of the rings. Does anyone know of another method of telling plexiglass from lexan?

That tells me that there is no transformer involved. The motor runs directly from the mains (120V 60Hz). The 2.8W is the power rating of the motor, which is quite small in comparison with say a hair dryer running 600W, but that includes the heater. Sorry, I rambling. It is always a bit scary wiring up to the mains, but you have no choice. The plug should be a low fuse value, say 3amp (I don't know about US plugs, but UK plugs carry a fuse), a protection fuse should be involved somewhere in the circuit. Because you don't know the condition of the motor, make sure you know where the circuit breaker board is and have a torch at your side, before switching on for the first time. I would wait a couple of hours before trying, to see if anyone else on TU has anything to say on the subject. I am an engineer with a little electronics background, NOT an electrician. Please post the results of your endeavours and good luck with it.

Use a drop of oil with the last go with the fine abrasive paper, or soapy water, if you don't want oil near your lure. Cutting compounds like T-cut (for cleaning up car paint blemishes) or brasso work well for the next stage. If you use the dremel wheel, go very careful, or you will end up with an uneaven surface, which will not look good. The dremel wheel works with brasso too, but do it outside, as it sprays everywhere, but it does work.

Good question. I recently took a microwave apart and the motor power was supplied from a transformer. Hopefully, you still have the microwave shell. If so, you need to extract the transformer and use that. The problem here is that there is no standard construction of microwave motors. If there is/was a transformer, then the motor is almost certainly a DC motor and you could start off with 12V or better still, extract the transformer and use that. If no transformer is present, then the motor could be using mains AC voltage. Is there any text information on the motor.

Zbass, I second your comments. Since reading this tip, my molds have improved dramatically, both PoP and RTV. I use a soft brush and work the PoP into all the corners and creases that can hold trapped air and wet the surface of the master.

Mark, if more people posted their screw-ups, more people would learn. You haven't lost anyones respect, just gained more.

Tater, I am inspired. I hope this stuff washes off!

KK, it does make sense. On the surface, the forces causing the movement are prevented from acting on the whole bait. Once submerged, more force hits the bait and pushes it beyond its stability. Like everyone else has suggested, you need to increase the vertical stability by adding low ballast. Try taping various amounts of lead to the belly. Try different ballast locations too. Once satisfied, you can start cutting.

We have to accept that it does take new members a while to get into the swing of things. Personally, this was the first web forum that I had ever used and it did take me some time. King, I totally agree with your arguements. Long time members know how to access the required information very easily, from knowledge of the posts and experience with the search function. It only takes a couple of minutes to do a quick search and post a link or two, along with a list of the search words used. This way, the new member gets his/her information and a quick lesson in how the information is accessed. It is not enough to simply refer the member to the search function. There is nothing wrong with airing the common subjects again and again. The general example in these cases is D2T. Despite all the whining about the regularity of its discussion, new information does frequently emerge, for example, the discussion on water resistance and the very current discussion on hardness. This site should promote its reputation for being helpful. If a member does not wish to do the answer search, just move onto the next post, someone will do it.

The best solution for peace of mind, is to test your construction. Hang a bucket of water from your lure. Fill the bucket gradually with a measuring jug, until full. This will give about 20lbs of load. Leave it over night. One litre of water weighs 1Kg. This load far exceeds what the lure will have to take, even during musky fishing. The only time the lure really gets loaded up, is when it is hung up and you have to break the hooks or the line. If you do try this test, be sure to report back.