bassrecord Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 I stumbled across this today and thought this group may be interested. Not related to this company - just a FYI. If you already know about it, please excuse the interruption. John "GLC will soon release our new Patent Pending molded Balsa products. This new technology allows for the production of wooden lures via a compression molding instead of carving. This process will create a wood bait with the same surface detail as a plastic injection molded lure body. Our new molded Balsa lures can also be produced with a hollow body for rattles and weighting." Here is the link. Scroll way down. http://www.glcfishin...http://www.glcfishing.com/SuppliedProducts.asp?doc=NewFor2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 I don't know for sure, but that sounds like it would defeat the main feature that makes balsa so good for cranks by reducing the buoyancy. I've seen compression wood moldings, and they are more dense due to the pressure of imprinting the details to simulate carving. I would think it would be the same with wood lures, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassrecord Posted July 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 I don't know for sure, but that sounds like it would defeat the main feature that makes balsa so good for cranks by reducing the buoyancy. I've seen compression wood moldings, and they are more dense due to the pressure of imprinting the details to simulate carving. I would think it would be the same with wood lures, too. Yes compression sounds like it would make 10-12 pound/cubic foot balsa much heavier but do they use the 4 pound per cubic foot racing balsa to compress? If so how much more buoyant would the lure be? Aggregated (compressed) cork is usually heavier than natural cork of the same dimensions but previously I had guessed the extra weight came from the adhesive. Compressing cork pieces would make it heavier. In the past I have hollowed out natural cork and resealed it without noticeable difference in buoyancy. So like you what have they gained? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 So like you what have they gained? A plastic like construction method using a very light material. Plus the construction is hollow, which would offset the effects of the heavier binder material. Should make for a very lively action. Like with all manufactured plastic baits, you are at the mercy of production quality control. Hopefully they can keep the process within the required limits and produce a bait that swims true every time. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 I didn't see anything about the company selling unfinished bodies and the idea only seems interesting if you have a strong need for rattles or a somewhat restrictive shifting ballast system for casting distance. Would a compressed balsa body infused with a binder be more buoyant or as strong as a plastic body? If they were for sale, could you cut a slot and install a lip securely? From the pic, it will apparently not include interior chambering, which is an important feature in plastic bodies. There's lots TBD. Nonetheless, it's an interesting concept. Thanks Bassrecord! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassrecord Posted July 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 I didn't see anything about the company selling unfinished bodies and the idea only seems interesting if you have a strong need for rattles or a somewhat restrictive shifting ballast system for casting distance. Would a compressed balsa body infused with a binder be more buoyant or as strong as a plastic body? If they were for sale, could you cut a slot and install a lip securely? From the pic, it will apparently not include interior chambering, which is an important feature in plastic bodies. There's lots TBD. I can't see how they made the thing! At first glance to me it looks like maybe they used balsa sheet or sheets and squeezed sheets to fit into a mold? The inside of the bottom of the bait looks like it was burned when squeezed into a curved shape or structure while the side of the bait did not show any burning effect like it wasn't squeezed or compressed too much. I still can't see the overall advantage of compressing balsa with a binder additive into a mold instead of compressing a specific purpose plastic into a mold. But my experience with compressed wood is hickory pellets that are burned with my Traeger wood pellet barbeque grill. YUM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
