JRammit

Might have better luck posting in the soft bait forum Lots of amazing color wizards here! And that's where they hang out

If using resin, one piece molds are not an option.. Resin expands as it hardens... enclosed in a 2 piece mold, the expansion is forced up the sprue hole... But if left open, you would just have a blob of hard plastic to try and trim off

http://m.homedepot.com/p/HDX-2-in-Spring-Clamp-80002/100027346?cm_mmc=SEM%7CTHD%7CG%7C0%7CG-PLA-BT3-HDX-D25T-Tools%7C&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_9-9BRCqpZeZhLeOg68BEiQAOviWAkeW1HKgRbKyTb0HpnZ8Koln7yOCPeFcxUhPL716Wg8aAgPt8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds Quick, ez, no mold damage... I use them for plaster molds, usually 4 at a time... They work fine once you figure out the best way to place them

Agree w Travis.... If you can cut the lip slot out before molding the bait, I'd do it that way..... If not, leave the lip in.. It's difficult to cut a square slot in a round body, so you don't wanna have to do that on every bait Also I like painting before installing the lip... No masking required, and just looks cleaner to me

Hmm... That is pretty clever... Steam power eh??...... Wonder where this might lead my crazy brain??

its about that time isnt it??

thanks Dave!.. underwater box would be nice, more dependable than the ziplock bag i used before (ha ha) Dale, u should try the v-joints, its not as hard as i thought.. i just do the cutting and drilling before i even cut the blank out, while its just a rectangle Mark, im glad u mentioned using spinnerbait wire, cause thats what i used, wasnt sure how well it would hold up....... and i didnt think about the hook weight affecting the tail action, ill have to do a test without the hook and note the difference

x3 for Devcon... i use spray cans too, so i know the epoxy will not react with the paint before you place an order and pay shipping, check your local Ace Hardware.. they usually carry the 2 ton 30 minute... Lowes and Home Depot do not

i forgot i made this little clip at the lake... much easier to see whats going on here in the pool, i experimented with raising the ballast in the head section... it seemed to start swimming sooner that way, and i liked the slight wiggle it produced, so i went with it..... maybe that wiggle is taking away from the swim action

i did see your name p0p up in several of the threads i found searching, i read how you install your hinges, sounds simple and i like it!...... that may be one of my problems, i currently dont have any screw eyes, i twist wire for every thing........ my hinges do feel a little sloppy on the body shape, i used something i learned (or think i learned) from a recent topwater project.... notice the flat belly on my swimbait.... theory is, the surface with the most drag wants to rise up in the water first........ it seems to work, i can burn this bait w a 6.4:1 reel and it doesnt roll.. but the tempo of the swim doesnt match the speed, looks funny, like doing the moonwalk

here we go one hour swimbait! kinda weird camera angle, my arm is in the way, but you can still see most of the action

wait a minute, i took another look in my gallery, dumb phone managed to save a little bit of footage... ill edit something up real quick

prototype done! i cant upload a pic because my phone says "low memory" (which i dont understand, im uploading not downloading) and i can't make a video because the phone is overheating.... dont ever buy an LG! this thing is a piece of junk!!! anyway... i used the same body template, so not to change too many variables.... but i narrowed it down to 3/8" thick (5/8" previous) and used the segment lengths provided by Nathan....... man!... she swims like Michael Phelps now!!! only problem is the sloped nose no longer helps pull it down, since i shaved the thickness off... it can only handle a moderate speed before breaking the surface... ez fix, more weight... also means i can use a more natural looking shape maybe my phone will decide to cooperate tomorrow and i can get a video up

i have 1/8 oz in the head, 3/64 oz in the middle (i use split shots, cause theyre already weighed for me) and no weight in the tail same story with this one, it caught fish (well... a fish) and it does swim... but its only my first try and i know i can do better... especially with the resources available here Dale, i had edited a video with text describing what was going on, but had to delete to make room for an antivirus app... forgot to put the text back in the new video im in the shop now trying a few of the suggestions... hope to whip up a prototype before i have to go to bed tonight

ok, got the pic to upload finally on the right (red stripes) is #1... it is 1.5":1.25":1.25" (4" total)... it is also the bait that wont swim at first in the video.... i thought this was due to the shape (but more likely the size ratio as y'all suggest) so i built #2 (left, blue stripes) with the sloped nose... its 1.5":1":1" (3.5" total)... it does swim well enough to fool a couple of fish, but not good enough to fool me just figured before i try again, I'd get a little input from here.... i did some searching first, as always, but like i mentioned most swimbait threads are about much bigger sizes

i do remember reading one of the threads Travis linked... im just a little off from 2:1:1...... my worry was ending up with a head so big, there wouldnt be enough tail left to move, but i can hit that ratio without that problem Ben, i think u forgot to push a button (ha ha)

Dale, it is actually 2 different baits Travis, i tried uploading a photo of each bait here, but my phone is having memory issues (takes me several attempts just to upload in the gallery)..... i can however link the video here i wasn't sure about the dressed trebble, but so many other baits have some sort of tail material and doesnt seem to affect them segment ratio is a good start... how about thickness ratio?.... my PVC stock is 5/8", just about perfect for crankbaits, but i wonder if i should be thinking thinner for swimbaits? if that would allow better hinge movement??

so theres a ton of info on here about swimbaits... but majority of it refers to larger sized baits, 6",7",9" and up i finally mustered up the courage to attempt my first swimbait build... i ended up with 2 baits i feel i can call a success since they both swim... but i know they could swim better one is 3 1/2" (pictured) the other is 4" (not pictured).... the video shows each bait in action (best i could film from my shirt pocket) http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/15980-first-swimbait/ my question is, how many of the same rules for the larger swimbaits also apply to smaller baits?......... and what design aspects need to be changed? i could probably figure all this out by trial and error, since i now have the ultimate "test tank" (pool)... but why not ask the panel of experts first?

i didnt even think of that... good call

only time i had a big problem with pits/fish eyes was in the winter.... we lived in a crappy rent house, heater didnt work... had space heaters in every room except my work bench area cold epoxy is worthless!... i learned real quick to not only warm the devcon tube, but also to warm the mixing tray im not sure where youre located, but if i remember geography and science correctly, south of the equator its winter now

problem was i used my plastic station for a paint booth also.... spray paint is a great dust collector! lesson learned... now i use the big box our new pool (/my new test tank) came in for a paint booth