Vodkaman

Great posts. Vortices are much harder to assess in the complexities of the softy world, but make no mistake, they are there, causing the curly tail to flop around, just like the flag on top of the town hall. The wacky rigged worm moves under the same rules, as does the falling Senko. Dave

BIlly - I do think it is worth opening up this subject again. Yes, there has been lots posted in the past, but time has marched on and work has progressed I am sure. I would certainly be interested to read about what people have been working on, and any new ideas out there. Which duplicators are your favorites, link to some YouTube videos, articles etc. For those that have built machines, what problems you had, what solutions did you make, what problems still need solving, and so on. Dave

Travis and Hillbilly Voodoo basically cover all that I have to say. If you have managed to make a body, the easy part is making the lip. It is just a simple profile cut, even the finish is just not important. What IS important is the need to experiment with your lip size, and if you buy pre-made lips, you will be unlikely to experiment. You will either be happy or very disappointed. The whole game of lure creation is about experimentation. It is the fundamental process of learning. Get stuck in my friend. Build, test, and make notes for future reference. Dave

I have no doubt that the parts that you have in your possession will be useful for your chosen adversary. They are all ferocious predators, but salmon require that extra skill of enticement, as they do not naturally feed in fresh waters. Good luck, and don't be afraid to experiment Dave

Tungsten source would be a more correct title for your thread. Follow the rules! Dave

No video and the large view feature did not work. Cannot see much from the straight side view. Not a good website. I did find videos on YouTube, but had to watch a few before I found a legit hooked and landed LMB, 4Lb13oz. There was a vid that only showed small fish being landed, but I suspected was a promo thing. The glide action looks good, with the middle flash from the spinner. Dave

The problem with the molding solution is that the density of the cast material will likely be a lot denser than your prototype, so you cannot expect the lure to swim the same. I learned this from personal experience. The likelihood is that the wiggle action will be reduced. You may well be happy with the new action. Worth a try at least, for the experience. You could mold the eyes and ballast in the mold, but keep in mind that you will have to figure out the new ballast weight which will be less than your original. Personally, I simply molded the body, drilled holes and cut the lip slot after completion. If you want to stick with carving, you could make some templates to follow. You will become more skilled, it is just practice. Dave

Inject some runny CA (super) glue. Hold the lure so that the ballast is in the right position. The glue will flow to the same position. Clamp and wait to solidify. Dave

Bockscar - I have never bought a knock off blank, come to think of it, I have never bought a crank either. But, testing should not be that difficult. All you have to do is increase the pressure inside the lure so that the air blows out from any faults rather than being sucked in. Submerge lure in a cup of warm tap water. The heat will expand the air inside the lure body, and will seep out of any holes. Mark the hole and repair. Start with a lure that you know has a problem and experiment with the water temperature. Dave

Yes, the human brain is a wonderful thing. If you do the experimental work and build enough lures, the brain develops 'a feel' for what is correct, without you ever really knowing why! Dave

I spent a lot of time trying to math my way out of trial and error, some of it very good, some not so good. When it comes down to really understanding something, trial and error is most powerful. Dave

@Hillbilly voodoo - I really like that learning idea. Good reply. Dave

You can find the volume of the lure (with hooks attached), the method is outlined here. Write down the number. Weigh the lure in grams (always use grams for everything for density calculations), write the number down. 1cm³ of water weighs 1gram. So, the volume number is also how many grams that the lure needs to weigh to be neutral. Volume - weight = ballast to be added in grams. Personally, I would find some small ball bearings or lead and drill a hole. Easy enough to patch up, as Travis outlined. Dave

I had hoped that a lure manufacturer might have contacted me, for my experience between the fields of lure design and production techniques. I contacted a company in the distant past but no reply. Now I fear it is too late. My PV cancer is getting to grips with me, and I accept that my days are numbered. However, I still have some work to do. Enthusiasm is however lacking, as well as funds. Exploring the possibilities of plastic manufacture is not cheap. My wife needs my funds more than you do! Dave

Well said @Hillbilly voodoo Dave

I could have posted this in either of the current monster threads on the go: Why does everyone paint now? Any "REAL" custom crank bait makers left? I chose the latter because it seemed more appropriate for bait designers. KennyP posted a very good balsa crank post above, romantically covering some of the rich history of quality lure builders of Tennessee. In fact, it was such romantic articles written on TU that really sparked my interest, particularly in the field of hunting lures. I loved the article and read through it a couple of times to soak it in. I do question some of the romantic notions. Basically we are screwed when all the old master builders pass away into lure history - I believe there is a younger breed of lure designers already alive and kicking out good quality fish magnets. The young breed has the advantage of time because much time is saved with the knowledge of quality bait building techniques available online with sites such as this. Yes of course, building solid quality baits is only a part of the art, but still an important part and the rapid knowledge available will save years of learning, time better spent on producing designs that work. The article hints that once the lure masters die off, the secrets of how to make a lure hunt will be buried with them. This also is simply not true. The fact is that the masters could only build hunters with a 20% success rate at best. The reason for this is that they did not understand the fluid dynamics of what causes a lure to hunt. The new breed of lure designers already has this information available online. Quality lure building is not just about hunters, this is just a small element of the skills required. But, I do feel that the future of quality bait design is safe for at least another generation or two. I give the impression that I hate plastic lures, actually this is not true. I simply hate were plastic lures are at this time. Classic lures are digitized to get the correct body shape. The shape is then converted internally to facilitate injection techniques. The problems are many with this process, the biggest problem of all is that the people doing this internal design have no idea about lures, they are engineering technicians. All lure builders know that rarely does a new design work on the first attempt. We tweak the design parameters until we get it perfect. The problem for the plastic industry, not that they care, is that the injection tooling costs many thousands. The tools will have to be scrapped and redesigned for the tweaks required to improve the lure performance, just like we do in our man caves. What I hate about the plastic lure industry is that they neither have the lure knowledge nor the desire to do the work necessary, or spend the money necessary to achieve what the master balsa builders achieve in their garage. Some may believe that producing a plastic that performs as good as a classic balsa is just not possible. Well I believe that it is most definitely possible. All it takes is a team; a master lure builder, a design engineer who understands both worlds, and a LOT of money and patience. If you decide to put such a team together, don’t take it to China, use local injection. The China injection teams will obtain lures and try to copy, but they will be unsuccessful as they will not have the knowledge to tune their designs nor the patience. Also, keeping manufacture local, you will have better control over quality. Yes, the blanks will cost a lot more, I am guessing $10 a piece, but tooling costs have to be recovered. You want a plastic lure that performs like a master, this is what it will take. Dave

Rhahn427 - sent. Dave

Justinakers - Sent. Dave

The first thing to do is fit wooden jaws. Sometimes the original cast jaws can be unscrewed and replaced with wood, or they can be glued in position. If slipping is still a problem, you could add a layer of rubber sheet. Dave

Ballast calculator sent. Dave

The calculator has been sent. You should protect the surface by sealing. I use 2 coats of runny CA glue (superglue). Dave

As a professional designer; I look at all the 'what if' scenarios and build in solutions for everything. But, as I discovered with previous duplicator designs, there are always unforeseen problems. But, if I were to design a lip router, someone else would have to build it. I no longer have a workshop or a need for the product. I might still go ahead purely for interest. Dave