SlowFISH

I've never filled baits but have toyed with foams for different uses including bouy markers. Two things.... most expanding foams that you could use will continue to expand ALOT... I mean ALOT.... after you spray/squit/pour so don't use too much.... I was insulating around windows and had the interior frames/molding pushed off the wall that was half way nailed in place. With that being said, a small amount goes a long way - so you'll also want to make sure your opening/hole is large enough to allow the expanding foam to ooze out as needed - otherwise it can put enough pressure elsewhere to make an opening while it's gassing off!!! Second - you'll want to make sure it's a closed cell foam - which I'd think most 2 part or spray can foams are... this way water can only seep as deep as the hole (from teeth) and ajoining pores in the foam. If it's very porous it will fill with water and you'll never get the water out... you'd probably be better with no foam in this case. J.

More important that the total cost will be your time. Bigger CAD packages (Pro E, Solidworks, Alias, Catia) alone may take years to really get a handle on what you doing... granted if you want to make fairly basic stuff - you can do that fairly easily. But if you want to make highly detailed and controlled surfaces of your lures, you'll need to put the time in to train yourself and alot of it. Nothing will beat seat time just making things to learn CAD. You can take courses... but sitting there every day and working at it is the only way to really learn and become efficient. That will be the same for CAM programing and the machining portions as well. Each of those take considerable time and effort to learn. I started machining my own molds over a year ago (already had CAD experience).... I'm still breaking bits and making mistakes and that's using a prototyping material nowhere near as hard to machine as aluminum. I figure after a few years of this I'll gain enough experience to have a good idea of what I'm doing... but it's a process and sometimes a frustrating and expensive one. Best bet if you're really serious about it is to start with learning a good CAD platform.... with that - you can begin designing and CAD'ing up your ideas. Then you can send files out to have aluminum molds made or rapid prototype parts created and your off and running with silicone or POP molds. Trust me when I tell you having someone machine a mold or make parts is way cheaper than doing it yourself... plus you'll have your stuff made much quicker and more than likely of a much better quality than you can do yourself. After you get enough experience and you know you still like the process you an spend for a CNC if you'd like and start building up that knowledge base. J.

In a pinch last summer I used WD-40 as a release agent.... worked fine... no issues. If you are just going to clean molds you shouldn't have any problems. J.

I have a small CNC Taig I use for cutting baits and molds... It takes alot more time than you'd think between CAD modeling the bait, programing the machining of the parts and then actually cutting them. The Taig is a pretty good all around machine and there are a few people selling them ready to connect to a computer that would cut balsa baits with no issue. You'd still need software (CAD) to generate you baits, plus software to run the CNC mill, a computer and mills, clamps, etc. You can probably get a pretty good setup for $3500... if you check EBAY you might find something used for a bit cheaper.... 1400 would be real tough unless you went with something fairly cheap and small like a MAxNC 5.... but you'd be limited with a machine like that. The real benefit of CNC is repeatability.... otherwise it's fairly time consuming and with smaller machine speed and size is an issue. J.

My opinion wou;d be that you're best bet if you go this route would be to find a "smaller" company or local pourer to work with.... maybe even talk to them before going through all the effort. Fishing shows/expos I would think also be a good place to meet a bunch of people and feel out any likely possibilites, make contacts. Not too be too negative... but I'd bet most larger corporations wouldn't even talk to you.... as if they are working on something similar they'd eventually have a lawsuit on their hands... even if you have the patent they'd still likely balk.... becuase odds are, they'd launch whatever they have been developing and just fight you on the utility aspects of hte patent figuring with their size they can do what they want. Most of the corporations I work for as a matter of principal will not talk or work with "individuals" who have ideas to aviod any issues in court later on.

Personally I wouldn't rip guards out of jigs that already have them.... going to be alot of work... I buy alot of unpainted heads with the wireguards molded in from Lurepartsonline..... simplest method is to buy some thin aluminum tubing from a model/hobby store... I think the one I use is 1/8" diameter. Cut a bunch of 1.5" sections... flare out one end a bit just a bit to allow you to easily slide it over the guard. Then heat the head and apply powder - and then bake. Don't remove the aluminum tubing until you cure the paint and remove it from the oven and let it cool for a couple minutes. If you remove the tubing the guards will warp. Two key things... don't push the tubing all the way to the bottom onto the head... leave it up a fraction of an inch (1/16" or a tad more) to allow the powder to cover the head all around the guard. Second and many have stated you'll need to find a good temp to cure everything without melting the guard. I can't recall what the temp I use is (I have it marked on my oven).... but it's around 300 from what I can remember of hand. I tried tape, alum foil, etc... this is by far the easiest method I found... I keep reusing the tubes, don't sweat taking off powder unless its loose and you can chip it off, it will not effect the next jig if you give yourself that little bit of room between the head and tube when you slide it on. J.

I'm not a patent attorney.... but the Strike King lure patent above is a "design" patent not a utility patent... so under claims you'll notice it says... ornamental design.... that means you can't make one that "looks" like this, but you should be able to make one that functions the same as long as the form/shape is different. If there were a list of actual claims, then that's basically telling you it's a utility patent and you'd need to understand what they are claiming is there unique invention and not mimic it in form or function. You'll notice utility patents are much more detailed, lengthy and a PITA to read and understand. J.

I agree.... I bought a Waddle Bait last year after reading a few "hunting crank" threads, becuase as always, I had to know what I was missing taht would cause fish to jump in my boat... I was not able to get the lure to run like the video (maybe I just suck). I found it like most unstable cranks to be, well.... unstable..... when burned it I could get it to roll, it seemed to need a constant retrieve (not too fast, not too slow) to work best. Between that and picking weeds off the trebles I put it back in the box and figured I'd bust it out this spring before the weeds come back up. I tried to roughly mock up my own by using a LC knock off crank from one of the popular unpainted lure vendors. I removed the rear hanger and added one under the tail with a small colorado blade. There is a delicate balance you'll need to work out as most of the blades I tried made it sink (backwards) as soon as it hit the water and were basically un-usable.... I found using a very light / small blade solved this, but didn't get the hunt. In the end I figured I wasn't worth figuring out.... but should this info help someone else with the energy, go for it. If I tried again, I'd make sure to use an aluminum blade to start with or cut a few different shapes from plastic or very thin sheet aluminum and swap them out till you find a good combo. You may also want ot start with a very boyant bait... the plastic knockoffs probably didn't help me, probably woudl have been better trying a balsa type bait that could have suspended a bigger blade. It's definitley something challenging, but you'll have to put your time in.... good luck J.

You have to read the patent.... usually a good attorney will try to lockup as wide of a range of possibilites as they can with respect to a utility patent, more times than not - that's not possible do to other patents already in exisitance, item already determined to be public knowledge or expanding the scope to and unreasonable level that it gets rejected. More times than not a detail like you describe is locked to a something specific - bumps with the raised edge - if the raised edge is elimiated bumps may be fine to use.... but unless you read it you won't know. Use google patents.... it's free, easy and you can search/read all you want. J.

This is very good info regarding infringement/etc. I've always laughed at the 10%-20% logic.... As a package/product designer we deal with this all the time and you wouldn't beleive how some companies have patents locked up.... some to the degree that you can't even use a common manufaturing process in the same product category!!!! For those who want to read patents.... you can also use Google patents... type in a key search word and read away. It is important to note the difference between a design patent and a utility patent. Real top level - design patent is a "looks like this patent" so you may be able to make an item that works the same functionally, but the form / shape needs to be different. Like crankbaits - most fuction the same, but all look a bit different. Utility patents cover the items that make something function a particular way or manufacturing process etc.... as as stated above the details for Zoom knot/ridges mentioned are likely a utility patent. A very good patent covers as many variations/possibilites as possible. Also note that patents DO EXPIRE.... I beleive it's (17 years for patents before '95 and 20 years since) after filing date.... so you may want to check when a patent was applied for if its a older design, as it may be close to expiring and being public knowledge. J.

Thanks... So I'd assume I'd dip in the paint white... dry, then dip the color... may not be that big a deal for dipped things (worm tips, ends of craws, etc), for painting/airbrushing that would seem to eat a boat load of time that using two plastics may be a better option. J.

Hey all, Searched for awhile and saw alot about Spike It soft bait lure dyes/dips/paints..... curious if anyone has used them on darker baits? Most info I saw talked about adding color to white baits. Curious to know if you can easily color tips/ends of a black craw to red or something in a green pumpkin to chartruse.... etc. Logically seems like it's not very feasible just based on using lights to cover darks in painting but haven't used any of these products so figured I'd ask. I know I can mold the baits with different colors, but was hopeful after seeing Frank's swimbait molding/painting video that I could mold a one color (dark) bait then accent it (dipping tips or airbrushing it) with a second/third color if desried instead of dealing with cooking two plastics and injecting/pouring them. Thanks, J.

Wouldn't you lock the bait in place if the runner/sprue isn't on the parting line? Granted I assume you can cut the sprue at the bait very quickly and easily and then just pull the bait from the mold and then the runner/sprue from the backside of the mold... but my guess is that process isn't typical of most "molded products" and is probably why you dont see it often. Also agree with Mark.... you'd have to flip and machine from the back whihc takes time, programing and effort..... machineing everything from one side is much easier as well. J.

Many ways to attempt this.... if I am using a "hard pattern" that I can remove and reinsert into the mold easily, I pour first half, after it sets up for an hour or so (hard and starting to dry but not fully cured), I remove the part and clean the face of the mold up.... wet sanding it down just a bit if need be to get a nice flat face and clean parting line (just don't remove too much that you lock the pattern in on the second pour). I'll then drill "domed" holes with a grinding bit to form alignment pins in the cavity. I reseat the pattern and then use petroleum jelly as a release agent. Smooth it all over paying attention to not fill in too much around the part... sometimes you have to use a pointed object to clear some out near the partline. Then like Mark... I mix the second batch, first add some just near the pattern and brush it in places that may likely trap air, then pour enough in to cover the pattern and the shake/vibrate it real good to insure there are no bubbles next to the part.... after that I just add more plaster to fill the mold out and let it set. If you are using a soft pattern with alot fo detail/ribs (think ribbed swimbait or drop shot worm) I do not remove the pattern... it's near impossible to get it back into the mold after you remove it..... in this case I clean up as much as I can by hand and use the same process but never remove the pattern until both sides are made. Once the halves are done, I cure them at 100 degree in an oven.... this seems to evaporate most of the jelly, although I give them a good wipe to remove as much as possible before I cure them. If they still feel greasy, I've "washed" a mold after it was dry with dish soap and water then dried it again..... didn't seem to efffect the mold. After this I then seal (Elmers / DT or even used the water based DN a few times with decent results). Not the fastest process, but seems to work for me if I need plaster molds. J.

The issue will be that you will not get a uniform wall thickness and you'll likely have a heavy spot "somewhere" as the resin finally kicks and stops rolling around the inside of the mold. This likely would mean multiple baits would all look the same, but react very different in the water. I made a small machine when I was in college with some leftover gears and steel that you could mount in a metal lathe to rotate a mold in 2 axis.... it was pretty cool and I thought I could roto-mold small parts with it.... it worked to some degree, but all parts where heavy one side and that's with a machine turning the mold for 15 minutes... by hand you'd likely never have a chance. J.

I have a big 60 gallon compressor..... I removed the little stock drain plug and installed a ball valve in it's place with a fitting that connects to a short run of aqaurium tubing pointed towards the drain in my basement..... after a real good day of use, I'll crack the ball valve open until it finishes spitting out any water in the tank and close it back up.... takes like 10 seconds to do so and I don't worry at all about what's building up inside. J.

Not much you can do about compressor noise. I started out with a 33 gal Sears (Air cooled)..... you could hear it down the block. I then got a great deal on a Ingersol Rand 60 Gallon oil cooled. Much quieter, but I still don't fire it up at night with the kids sleeping 2 floors up as it still makes a good deal of noise - just a much deeper sound. With that big of a tank, I can fire it up and airbursh for a couple days before kicking it one again - way way way overkill if all you plan to do is airbrushing though. Best options for minimize noise are bigger tanks (less kicking on off of the motor), padding the floor where it sits to minimize vibration/noise and loosly enclosing it so it still breaths (big closet or box with good ventalation) so you can drown out some of the noise. J.

I'd agree with Mark that injecting plastic lips could be VERY tough without the proper equipment/molds/etc. With that being said.... there are probably a couple ways you may be able to do something close with 2-part resins instead of trying to work with hot plastic. If I were to take a crack at it, instead of trying to inject.... I'd likely make a two part mold that I could pour down into... let cure - demold and then cut off the sprue. Issues will be you'll likely need to vibrate to get air bubbles out, choice of available resins/materials and other things like shrinkage and curing times.... but It's totally feasible this way and shouldn't cost a ton of money to make some molds and try it out. J.

Try to get it back on track here.... (to some degree) After having a can of DN harden on me after storing a few months (with Bloxygen) I tried most of the other coatings mentioned on this site including the water based DN. Needless to say I'm back to othe orginal DN... but this time tapping the can and spraying. I bought a real cheapo airbrush from Harbor Freight - "Quick Change Brush" and drip a few CC's of DN out at a time from the can... thin with Acetone and spray. Seems to be working well but you will definiely use/waste alot compared to the other methods of using DN. When I tapped the can I did two things.... one - grind a portion of the tap screw away so when I back it out to that portion it dips faster/more.... otherwise it can be painful waiting to fill a few CC's of DN into a jar. Second is I drilled and tapped a second smaller screw into the top of the can that I open as well when I need product. I sprayed Bloxygen into that hole as well. My thinking is with a small hole up top... as the product dips out the bottom, air is brought in up top and not forced to "burp" through the botttom pour hole and then rise through the DN to the top. This provides a faster pour and with the bloxygen being on top.... hopefully the air/oxygen I let in the top will never reach the DN below. Basically I vented the top like they do with big water jugs and stuff like that. So far so good but it's only been a month. And FYI on spraying that mixture with the cheapo airbrush.... 1st you'll have to remove the small o-rings on the jar tops under the metal venturi (they melt) - and you'll want to use a glass jar from an airbrush instead of the styrene ones it comes with (they melt as well) - third - I found drilling the metal venturi hole in the jar top slightly larger (I think I used .025" or .030") will provide a much more forgiving spraying action as it will not clog easily, and sprays alot more product. I use a 50/50 ratio of DN to Acetone which is more than Dick Nite recommends, but it's very watery like this, sprays almost like a thick paint and doesn't harden in the jar/brush during the short time I use it, you will not have air bubbles after shaking to mix and I aviod the "cotton Candy" effect you'll have if the DN starts to kick whie airborne from the brush tothe bait. When it hits the bait it gets real tacky fast (like syrup) with all that air pushing it, so minimal to no runs (within reason) and you can hit second coats (a few mintues later) if need be if you notice you missed a spot somehow. Hope this helps. J. Oh yeah.... do it outside or with a filter system and make sure to wear a good mask and gloves.

You may want to lower the ballast in the body if possible.... I don't build cranks from scratch (yet), but had purchased a few plastic bodies with the variable weight system (RC 2.5 knockoffs) that I painted up.... each one rotated when burned or even reeled at a decent speed. After messing around with bending the line ties for hours (which didn't fix the problem) I started opening them up and adding/removing the ballast. Even though that failed to solve the issue, I noticed the lures with 1 weight were working better than with more or no weights.... so I tried one last thing by lowering the ballast in the body. I shaved down the "plug" in the belly that is used to add/remove weights... took it down to barely enough to start the thread and then took a worm weight the diameter of the hole and flattened it into a cylinder shape in a vice which I substituted for the ball bearing weight. This mod got the ballast weight a good 3/16" - 1/4" lower in the body.... I then glued everything in place. This solved the rolling issue and after some minor tuning with the line tie I got a few to work reasonably well unless I try my best to burn it as fast as humanly possible.... which isn't really fair!!! LOL!!! So... try to keep that weight low and see if it helps.... maybe even glue/screw/tape weight to the outside of the belly and see what happens.... if it fixes the issue you then know weight placement is the factor and can aviod touching your line ties. J.

If you can buy foil from a "dollar store" or one of those type retailers you'll find it's usually thinner than your typical name brand foil like renoylds which you'd find in a standard supermarket.... the thinness helps you lay it flat/smooth easier. The drawback is you have to be gentle as it will tear easier... but I still find it easier to use `as I'm trying to minimize wrinkles and the seem between halves. J.

I'm using the clear PVC solvent/cement used on PVC pipes fro plumbing.... like 4 bucks at a hardware store... smells real bad, but seems to work just fine. If I used anything else, it would be epoxy. J.

I probably have a good 8-10 hours into the CAD.... after that probably another 2-3 in the machining programing to get parts cutting correct... now I can make mods, update the machining paths pretty quickly. I run the machine slow so it takes about 2 hours to cut one (both halves), but basically none of my time besides flipping the part once and changing to a smaller cutter. So I can come home form work, start one up, eat dinner and play with the kids and have it done, lightly sanded and bonded in one night with minimal effort on my part. If I had a more powerful computer my CAD time would have been less but I'm using an older workstation we were tossing from work, so I can't complain too much!! As for how it works.... I tested 4 today with different weights. All but one worked (the lightest one did nothing). Two had slightly more than I wanted worked ok.... they bait with just slightly less than the LC lure I have worked best.... I'm making some minor adjustments to get the weights further back and adding a hair bit more meat on the belly to help this thing turn a bit... shoudl be done tonight and hopefully I'll test i and be done tommorrow. Then the finishing will begin!!! J.

I realized I had a few shots of my topwater in progress... testing to follow... I've made 4 with different amount of weight in each of the chambers to see which gives the action I'm looking to achieve. At this point I used really small screw eyes to hang the hooks, but may insert/epoxy a small 1/8" dia solid dowel material (acetal) in the hook hanger area then put the screw eye into that as testing one that way resulted in a very strong bond between the eye and body. J.

I purchased the Azek trimboard from the site Rayburn posted.... shipped fast and they are great to deal with... shipping wasn't that expensive either. You can buy as much as you need (1 foot increments).... I wound up buying a 4 foot section of 3/4" x 3 1/2" and 3 feet of 1 1/4" x 7 1/2"... between those two sizes I can cut exactley what I need for the part I need to machine. Plus with the trimboard if you get the "plain" it's perfectly smooth on both sides.... this is perfect for the seamlines / bonding two halfs together. I machined a few topwaters recently (LC Gunfish style)... if I get a chance to test them this weekend I'll post a few pics up. I like workign with this stuff so far.... all the benefits of a soft wood like material but the benefits of plastic.... win-win in my book. J.