Vodkaman

The last batch of silicone that I bought was too soft and resulted in distortion under clamping. A lesson learned the hard way. If I was casting solid bodies then this would not have been such an issue, but I was casting thin walled hollow bodies. I am now looking for a stiffer silicone locally. The life of the mold is not an issue for me, as the molds are cast from a master. Also both halves of the mold are identical, requiring only one half master. Dave

Yes - They obviously can't print starting in thin air, so the assemblies are actually joined with thin filaments. These are easily broken when the joint is forced to move for the first time. Another example - if you are printing a sphere: at the start, the overhang is too great and cannot be printed. The post processor takes the sphere model and adds in support pieces that after printing can be cleaned off. This applies to any structure with overhangs. This is were the designer must have knowledge of the manufacturing process and design accordingly. There are many examples of the difference between drawing a part and designing a part. Here are three examples: Mold design - the sides of the part must have draft angle, so the part can be removed from the mold. spot weld design - the parts to be welded must allow access to the spot welder. Bolted design - the parts to be bolted must allow access to the bolting tools/spanners/sockets. Dave

JR - your swimbaits are coming along very nicely, improving in leaps and bounds. I just checked out a few of your videos, your new testing pond is wonderful. Under water camera box next Dave

I am getting to a point were I am seriously considering the investment. Lures is only a small part of it though, but outsourcing the printing is just too costly. I am toying with a new, light design of a bicycle frame, but to print it out, it would have to be in something like 16 pieces that plug together. But it is a prototype, NOT a saleable item. Having my own RP printer would open up a lot of ideas that previously would have been extremely expensive to prototype and so the ideas collect virtual dust. Dave

The forums are for learning and instructional posts. You can post as many images as necessary to get the information across. But, if those images are used to gain admiration on the bait or advertising under the guise of discussing a process, then the thread rightly gets closed. There is no limit to instructional images. If you want to show your lures then post in the gallery, that is what it is there for. TU has a reputation as being one of the most informative lure building sites on the internet. This is largely because you don't have to wade through the plethora of 'look at me' threads to get to the information. Membership numbers are irrelevant. The people wanting to build lures can access all the information without having to join. Once they have built a few and feel that they have something to say, then they join. Many never join and that is OK too. Some join from the outset and will probably ask the most basic of questions and that too is most definitely allowed and should be encouraged. Bring on the repeat questions, dig up the old threads, go ahead and ask which is the best top coat. Each time these golden oldies is addressed there is a chance of new information, new ideas, new perspectives discussed and our collective knowledge advances a step. I have joined and participated on a dozen or more lure sites, but I have removed them all from my tab folders and now only use TU because in my opinion it is the best. A few years back, the moderators relaxed on the image rules and very soon the forums were plagued by 'look at me' threads. The moderators do a great job of keeping the forums clear of non-learning threads, advertising and spam. Long may it continue. Dave

The first image was acceptable and within context. The subsequent images were superfluous and (to me) became more about the lures than the glass beads. No, I did not report the thread! I think the thread would have been more useful if the images were close-up of partial lures, showing salted and glass side by side. More images the same showing other color variations, showing the contrast between salt and glass. As the images are, it is impossible to fully see the effect. I think it is a useful subject, and suggest that the subject be re-posted WITH close-up, side-by-side images of partial lures. This I am sure would be acceptable. Dave

So sorry that thing have got so bad. You have made contributions of quality. I wish you all the best. Dave

I think Pete has nailed it with the lip width to body width. I wish I had my tank setup as this is something that I would definitely experiment with. Dave

Very interesting observation. I cannot explain it, yet. Dave

I have designed baits with the same straw idea. I use the plastic tube from cotton buds. Good job. Dave

Sorry to read of your chronic pain condition. What a lady, what a gem. Give her an extra hug from the guys at TU DAve

Ha! - good job JR Dave

The feature that makes a lure hunt, namely the lip length to body ratio, cannot be patented. It cannot be copied either. It can only be found by experimentation and the knowledge of what you are looking for. Dave

You do actually have a good point. My background is engineering design, aircraft and automobile. In the car industry, the axes are labeled as quoted in my post, with the vertical axis being Z and the thickness axis being Y. However, from a machining point of view, the thickness or depth cut is always the Z axis, as per your preference. Because of this difference, I always had to mess about with the axes when I used to do work for Bob LaLonde. It got confusing at times, but we sorted it out in the end. From a layman's point of view, axes are always X:Y with the third, depth axis being Z, the same as the machinists axes as it happens. Dave

There are lots of old wives tales regarding patents. If there is a possibility of you going BIGTIME with this idea, then you will need a patent. You will need to talk to a patent attorney as soon as possible, because there are limitations as to when you can take out a patent. If you have a patent, you also have the option to sell the idea to a large company. They will not entertain the buy without a patent. If you have no plans for the above, then you do not require a patent. Seek proper advice, our barrack room lawyering advice does not count. Dave

The numbers may well seem low to you, but 1% is enough to justify the ban. Dave

Another very cool video, with a dynamic presentation that holds my interest. The 6 minutes is gone in a flash, which is a sign of quality presentation. Dave

That reminds me, I have a dog friend that needs unhooking. I refuse to have a conversation with a dog, especially when things get political. Dave

60/40 solder has a density of 8.5g/cm3 which is roughly 25% less than lead. Here is a useful link. Dave

I took part in that discussion. I have just done all the relevant word searches and can find nothing. There were some posts lost in a crash, so this may have been one of them. DAve

Great pic. The lure looks like 4" length. It all depends how far out the lip sticks and how wide is the lip and I am assuming polycarbonate (Lexan). If the lip sticks out 1.5" or less and the width is 3/4" or more, then 2mm thick would be fine. Longer or narrower and 3mm would be better. Dave

Because I do my initial design on computer spread sheets, this is the kind of information that I have to collect for myself. Great posts Clemmy. Dave

The theory is that the 'hook' forces the water out the sides, preventing flow over the top. This generates more power for the wiggle. This is why regular lipped lures work so well, as the water is hooked by the intersection of the lip with the body. Early on, I prototyped some lipped lures with the lip on the front face. The action was very poor. Dave

Poplar is quoted as being between SG 0.35 and 0.5 and if fresh out of the kiln, could well be even lighter. Let's say your poplar is on the light side, at SG 0.3 and your final lure weight was 40g (1.4ozs) then the weight of your ballast and hardware would be 28g (40gx0.7), so a ballast of 23g sounds about right. With an SG 0f 0.3 70% of the lure's weight is the heavy stuff. Dave

More MB's and more lead gives your bait vertical stability, in other words, it stops the bait from flopping over or rolling. As for keeping the bait down, that is the bait design, lip angle tow eye position etc. Good comments by Mark, again promoting vertical stability. Dave