Vodkaman

Firstly, I have never 3D printed a body, I always 3D print the mold, or a master negative to mold a mold (which has never really worked for me). The reason for this is that I don't own a 3D printer and so my prints are from a shop and very expensive. For hanger holes, I would model slightly small and run a drill through, but that is just me. I am sure the lure will be repeatable, certainly as good as the best carvers could achieve. My concern would be the weight of the infill for the density of the plastic that you are using. I would be going for two half bodies glued together, therefore any infill will be stripped out for a genuine hollow bait. Ballast and hole positions will be absolutely repeatable for sure. You need to hear from other members who have actually printed bodies, for their experiences and advice. Dave

Heat distortion is a major problem for 3D printed molds, so plenty of depth to the mold halves. Not solid, but filled with a hollow matrix. The 3D software will take care of this. Lots of clamp holes, too many in fact. They don't cost anything and you can leave out a few if not required. I still have more development to do. Expect to take a few goes before you get it right, it is a learning process for sure. I need to get back to it. Dave

Your carving and art work are top shelf, and if you are catching fish then ignore my advice. Personally, I would stick to one bait and learn as much as possible before moving on. But you seem to be well on top of things, so it is just a mild suggestion. Glad you learned the painting thing, investing time before proving a bait is a very painful lesson Great work, keep it up. Dave

For my earliest prototypes I used copper sheet snipped into strips and glued on to the bottom of the balsa bodies. I was living in Sweden at the time and could not find any lead in the big stores. I was living in an apartment with limited cooking facilities and a VERY sensitive fire alarm hooked up directly to the fire brigade, so heating lead was out of the question. My one attempt at cooking sausages did not go well and was not enough to go round the crew of the two fire engines that was called out. Also they were the most expensive sausages of all time as I was billed some $2000 for the service. Dave

I have melted lead in a kitchen spoon before now. The best I found was a deep stainless steel coffee measuring spoon. I wound string along the handle for heat insulation. I used a calor gas type torch to heat the spoon. I also made a wooden frame to support the spoon during heating for convenience. For the ballast mold, I pinned and clamped two slabs of hardwood and drilled the required diameter down the joint. If you don't want to heat lead, you can fold lead sheet and hammer into shape. You can also obtain thick lead wire. Lead is so easy to work that the possibilities are endless with a little imagination. Dave

Awesome video and great technique. You taught me a little bit more about Photoshop which is a HUGE program and often difficult to find what it is that you want to do. The cutter/printer is a fantastic tool, I will have to keep an eye open for that for sure. If I ever start painting, I will be coming back to this video - thanks. Dave

Carver GLX - the predator expects to see eyes were they are expected to be. Large false eyes give the impression of a larger prey, probably beyond the capability of the bird. The false eyes work as I have plenty of images of Lycaenidae hairstreaks with their rear ends bitten off because the bird went for the wrong end of the butterfly. More examples of the importance of eyes; when you get the attention of your dog, he/she looks into your eyes, not your mouth were the noise is coming from or your hands which are directing. Same thing with cats, horses, cows and so on. If a lure is representing a fish, the predator expects to see eyes. The predator does not expect to see eyes on a worm, neither does the worm move like a fish. I am not saying that eyes are essential, only that they can make a difference. In my opinion; movement and vibration is most important, then eyes, and a distant third would be paint. Dave

21xdc - True, in fact I don't put eyes or paint on any of my lures. BUT, just imagine how much more effective they would be with eyes Dave

Nature gives us a clue as to the importance of eyes on lures. My prime example is butterflies. I quickly scanned through my collection of 90 species photographs and determined that roughly 30% display distinct eye patterns on their wings. These false eyes are developed by evolution, natural selection. When an anomaly or fault occurs, if it gives the insect an advantage, then the good fault is passed to its offspring. More faults can occur that enhance the original fault, giving it more detail. If an advantage is gained, it is also passed on. Some butterflies have developed false heads with antennae that actually move. Another butterfly has developed a snake pattern. All of this to ward off birds, to make the bird see something different than a meal. My point is that the appearance of eyes is a key part of the predator’s recognition of the meal. If the predator expects to see eyes and the eyes are not there, then the meal may be rejected. The evolutionary false eye is also developed on some species of fish. These could be to make the meal seem larger than it actually is, or to fool the predator into attacking further back and missing the meal. Predators are not attracted to actual patterns on the fish, but they do expect to see eyes if their chosen meal is supposed to have eyes. My opinions based on observations in nature. Dave

I use Catia V5 Dave

Before hardware is added (plain blank) it is the centre of buoyancy (CoB). After adding all the ballast and hardware it is the centre of gravity (CoG). If the two are the same distance from the nose then the lure will float level. I use this information when designing a lure on CAD, arranging the ballast locations so that the lure is predicted to float in the attitude that I want. Dave

When a lure is floating stationary, the CoB is ALWAYS directly above the CoG. This relationship determines whether the lure is nose up or down depending on where you fit your weights. To find the CoB you can find the balance point of the plain, unweighted blank, over a knife edge or just your finger. Dave

That was the first article that really grabbed my interest. Dave

I simply pull the wire over a wooden dowel at 90 degrees. Works well enough. Dave

I was once given a 3D scan to work on. In my experience; the files are massive and unworkable. Dave

Water ingress aside, I would say yes. But you must fit the hooks in order to see a realistic look. Dave

It would be easy enough to design a plywood frame mount with a foot switch operation. If I painted, this is how I would do it. Dave

In my experience, hunters are shallow to medium swimmers with lip angles around the 50 - 70 degree. The water I fish is 4' deep, and at the start of the retrieve I have to keep my rod tip up to stop the lure scraping the silt bottom, so I reckon around 6'. This post is about triple point, something beyond hunting and at this point is still an unproven hypothesis as I have not worked on this project for several months. To keep the instructions simple for you: Use a shallow swim lip design. Make the lip too long. Slowly trim back the length until it hunts. Dave

I get the same size bottles (20g) here in Indonesia. It is imported from China, named Kenko. I buy 5 at a time for $1 each. Yes, they last a long time, showing no signs of going off. Dave

If you expect your lures to fall apart then yes, through wire is going to bring the fish home. What is your experience fishing for these monsters, have your lures disintegrated? Personally, I have never made a lure with a screw eye. All my lures are made with home made barrel twisted eyes. I have never had an eye failure, or a failure of any kind, catching aggressive fish up to 12Lb. If your wood is strong enough, with an eye penetration of 25mm (1") I would not anticipate any problems. Dave

CA is cyanoacrylate glue. it is what Super glue is. CA comes in thick and runny versions. Some lure builders use thick for fixing hardware and eyes. I use runny CA for everything. Dave

I like runny superglue, especially for lightweight woods like balsa. It soaks in and fixes the hairy surface, allowing it to be sanded to a smooth finish. A second coat is required to seal any areas that the sanding operation may have disturbed. CA glue (super glue) dries fast, but I would still give it time. I am not a painter so I am just being cautious for you. I would be interested in any comments on time before painting after CA application. Dave

CD's will work. I have not tried myself, but they are made of polycarbonate which is the perfect material used by many builders. Dave

Just to clarify the difference, an old video of mine. Dave

Great minds Liz - next time it would be best to start a new thread. This is not a reprimand, just advice on best practice for the site. I agree, great story. BUT, get back to school young man Dave