Vodkaman

Very nice job KB. I would like to see a write up on how each performed. Yes, a lot of work for you, but something for us all to learn as the results are debated.

My thoughts are that, each type of coating to be dried on the wheel, will have it's optimum rotation speed for even coverage. As Dick Nites is thinner than epoxy, I would imagine that it requires a faster rotation. A simple experiment could be set up to establish the best speed if the drying wheel operated via a 'motor dimmer' switch.

If elmers is mixed with very fine sawdust, it makes an excellent wood filler for the deeper jobs. Sands easy after 24hrs. If the repair is showing through the paint, why not apply another coat. I have found that at least two coats of white are required. Beware of using a filler that is harder than the body material. While trying to feather the joint, the abrasive paper will tend to cut the softer wood, creating another ridge for you to repair.

Welcome OhiO'. Sorry I can't help with your question, but you seem to have it well 'covered' with the clearcoat solution. I would, however, like to see a full size pic of your avatar, that looks a really interesting bait.

It is usually either insufficient mixing or the proportions are wrong. This is a link to a recent discussion on the same problem, it should give you all the information that you need. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7759&highlight=sticky Good luck.

You may have to make a tool for this job, as you are cutting double curvature. If you are going to be making a few of these, It could be worth the effort. PM me and I'll write a method sheet.

No problem. I suggest two small circles for the epoxy holes and one for the line tie, I find this easier to position the drill than cross hairs, but what ever people decide. Just tell me how far in you want them.

Not at all fatfingers. I looked into this a few weeks ago, with a view of doing something like you suggest, but quickly realised that the numbers were astronomical. Personally, I know to the millimeter, exactly what I want and I designed this series of programmed CAD files to give it to me quickly, with a minimum of effort. Publishing a handful of patterns is unlikely to satisfy anyones exact requirements and that service already exists. With a minimum amount of information, I can give you exactly the size lip you want, imperial or metric. I expect at the start, to have to draw a few new drawings, but once they are done, producing diferent sizes is seconds, I just type in the numbers, press refresh and the lips are drawn. Save to pdf and e-mail it, job done. Publishing a jpeg gives poor quality, out of scale results with very jagged lines. You then have to fiddle about with plotting scales to get what you want. It's up to you guys, the offer is there. Sorry about the hijack Skeeter Jones.

I agree, time is money. That is a much better price than 200 x 0.49 = 98USD. (can't believe it, no dollar sign on this keyboard).

I offered to produce pdf files of lip templates (with centre lines) to your own exact designs. These can be printed out accurately without having to scale. Every windows based computer has a pdf reader called acrobat. No takers so far. Maybe everyone already has CAD! The work involved from my part is minimal, call it a little bit of pay back to TU for what I have learned. If you want to test the idea out, PM me with basic sizes, body width, max width, length and a description of the shape, or email a photo of a hand made sketch. folicallychalled@aol.com

I cannot believe you are not making your own. You have the contruction skills to manufacture a work of art, too good to feed to the fish and then spend your money on peg board hooks! They Can't be that dificult to make. You could probably knock two hundred out in an hour.

In England, if you go to any DIY (hardware) store, you will generally find it fairly close to the paints section. It is called PVA on the containers, it is also commonly known as wood glue. It is produced by many companies, none of which I can recall. Most large stores will carry their own brand name PVA for a reduced price. This stuff is so cheap, as someone else mentioned the other day, it is easy to think, 'well, at that price, it cannot be any good'. For porous materials like wood, it cannot be beaten. Many on TU use it for POP molds, which I will be testing out next week.

Thank's spare tire, I'll give it a go. Fatfingers, good one, it's even cupped!

I really like it! Question, I'm just about to have a go at making a prop. Like on the brush minnow, I'm going to solder a copper or brass blade to a piece of tube, to stop the blade from flopping about. Are their any other issues or tricks that I need to know? I was thinking about a very small washer glued to the end of the body to act as a bearing plate at the front and glued to the hook eye at the back. Any advice would be appreciated to cut down the learning curve.

Very useful info. Thank's Graphics'.

Yes, had a look at this material some time ago. The only problem I had was the density, It is very close to buoyancy, a fraction lighter than water. This complicates the issue by having to introduce extra buoyancy, but it is possible. As for strength, it is ideal.

I found this yesturday. http://213.222.12.205/Default.aspx?tabid=141 It looks like it uses a dremel as the spindle. I would not like to attempt aluminium with it, but for making prototype molds from a soft wood, it might work. The price could have been better, but still cheaper than anything else that I have seen. If you are already modelling on CAD, could be a solution.

Bamabass. I'm thinking on the same lines as you. An integral lip will cut away a lot of tedious operations. If the mold is perfect, then every lip will be perfect with no alignment problems. I intend to support the lip face by tapering back to the body line and blending in. If you leave any thin bits sticking out, I would imagine that they would soon get damaged. I thought about inserting some ss wire around the edge of the lip profile, inside the foam, kind of like rebar in concrete, but decided it was overkill. The extra buoyancy from the taper will effect the balance point, but that it all part of the design process. I have seen one piece lures but have no links.

BobP. I totally agree. The design is always going to be a compromise and as fishing is the purpose of the whole excercise, then the fishing attributes have to come first. I will keep searching for a solution to both though. The hinge may not be it due to its comparative fragility. Hoosierdaddy, did you get my PM.

Because you are talking about a lot of waggle, I will assume you are looking at a lot of lip. The lip slot is steep, necessary for the waggle, but, aerodynamically a nightmare. All the attributes that make a good lure action in the water ie turbulence, cause major problems in the air ie turbulence. I've had the same problem, as I like lures to waggle. Moving the weight rearwards helps, but messes up all your balance, if that is important to you. Also, by moving the weight rearwards, the pivot point of the waggle moves rearwards, giving the effect of the lure shaking its head rather than wagging its tail. I solved, or should I say, reduced the problem by making the front lip hinged. The lip follows the airflow rather than fighting against it, thus dramatically reducing the turbulence. Once in the water, the pressures immediately snap the lip into its operating position. I increased my casting distance from 32m to 45m, with a 70mm length, round body, balsa lure, weight 18g, 25mm fan shaped lip at 70deg, centre weighted.

I would say that the fish would forgive you this time, as long as you remember in future. The extra coat of epoxy on a 3 inch long, 3/4dia round body lure is about 1 to 1.5 grams. This equates to a fair proportion of the total weight and could seriously affect the balance of the lure.

I spray glue computer printouts of my lip shapes onto the lip material. After drying on a radiator for an hour, this is usually stable enough to take the rigors of shaping. After peeling, the glue residue wipes off with alcohol.

We really need a tape of fish sounds. I wasn't aware that their was much noise going on. But it does make evolutionary sense, as sound travels further and louder in water than air. Once we have the sound pattern, it is not too dificult to reproduce electronically, even fairly complicated patterns. I think sound has more potential than flashing lights. Even magnetic pulses are a viable option and it is fairly common knowledge that electrical discharge occurs and is used for sensing prey. Again, do-able. Flashing lights are mainly used for catching fishermen, fisherwomen obviously being less gullible than men.

For fibre optic eyes, you would have to have a light source in the lure and then run a couple of hundred lengths of fibres to the eye sockets. It is just not worth the effort. You might as well just fit two lights in the eye sockets. LED's (Light Emiting Diodes) have progressed in leaps and bounds in the last few years. Finally, white and blue led's are available. In the past, lure builders have used the common red led as an eye. But, as discussed several times on this site, red is the first colour to disappear with depth and blue the longest lasting. Probably explains why most fish tend to be coloure from the blue end of the colour spectrum. Led's are water proof, give off no heat and can be epoxied. The new led's are not cheap and are fairly power hungry. But using a strobing circuit to switch the lights on and off very fast, the 'on' time can be 2% of the 'off' time. Thus, with this power saving, a small battery can be used. It would also be possible to build an automatic switch so that the lure only operates in the water, utilising the conductivity of the impurities in the water. The electronics for all of this, are fairly simple (for an electronics guy). I am surprised that no one has produced a sealed unit selling specifically to the lure building industry. The same circuit with a few timing mods could be used for producing an array of click sounds, or both sound and light. I've been away from the electronic hobby scene for too many years and my eyes are failing, otherwise I would have taken on the project myself. Maybe you know someone.

Let me explain. It's all down to timing. I had just made a fool of myself on another thread and deserved a slap on the wrist. About five minutes after that, your post arrived, in big bold letters, about the High council and referring to the GB with the poly.... I had just unfairly treated someone. So, with the bold letters meaning angry (in my head), high council meaning who gave me the right to explain site rules, I'm GB, I posted the poly pic.... I haven't been here long enough to know who you were really referring to, I missed the fact that part of your signature is bolt typing (should have picked up on that!). I guess I just made a fool of myself again and am typing this from the kitchen carpet, where I am wearing out a large bald patch. Sorry Husky! real bad timing.