Copy Carver, Vega Midi Duplicator

[Ken 6645]

Has anyone on this forum ever have any experiance with the Copy Carver, Vega Midi duplicator or any other copier being sold on the net.Last winter I tried to build copies of plastic lures out of wood using scroll saw, drum sanders ,circular sanders ,and a garage full of assorted tools .The lures I made were lousy ,hard to do and would not track correctly...They were fun to paint but even that didn't turn out very well..I bought several wood lure carving books that gave me some insight and hints into hand carving but all in all it was a waste of my time and money.

If anyone has any infomation or helpful tips , shoot me a email .... Untill then I'll go back to building custom rods...WINTER HAS NO REDEEMING QUALITES WITHOUT UK BASKETBALL

thanks for your time

Ken

[Lincoya]

Ken,

There are a few people here at TU that are working on making their own duplicators. Some are having more success than others. I have had a little experience with the Dupli-carver sold by Wood Carver's Supply. Some of us at one of the TU get-togethers spent several hours working with it with little success.

I have written a "How to carve your own wood lure" tutorial and posted it here at TU in the Member's Submitted Tutorials section. Give it a read and see if it helps you. If you don't understand parts of it or have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Gene

[mark poulson]

I've found that getting the bill into the lure square and true is the key to a crank running true, as long as it's properly ballasted.

The wider you make the bill, the easier it is to get it off kilter and swimming poorly, so be careful when you cut the lip slot to get it square to the blank initially, and then you can usually tune the lure to swim right by adjusting the line tie, provided you've ballasted it properly, and had the shape pretty close to symetrical.

Here's how I do it, and it works:

I trace out the shape of a lure I want to copy onto my PVC Azek trimboard, put a line on the still rectangular blank that shows both the location and angle of the lip, and then rough out the shape on the bandsaw, leaving my tracing line.

I take it to the ocillating sander to smooth up the outline down to the tracing line, and then go back over to the work bench to trace a center line around the entire bait that's half it's total thickness.

Then I go back to the bandsaw and cut the lip slot, testing it with piece of lip material to get it to be a slip fit, but not sloppy.

My next step is back to the sander, first with 50 grit belt, and then with an 80 grit belt, to shape the lure.

I keep the lure I'm copying, with no hooks, next to me for reference while I'm shaping.

I get the top to bottom profile sanded, using the center line to get the two halves close to the same, and then I round over the corners, and do the final shaping.

I don't stress over getting the two sides identical, but I do check as I sand to get them as close as I can by eye.

My last shaping is with 100 grit paper and then 220 grit paper on a palm sander, to smooth and even out the curves and corners, and to make the whole lure as smooth as possible.

If I'm feeling anal, I'll wet sand it with 220 grit, but I usually skip that step.

I drill for the eyes, and for the hook hangers, and then install the lip, and line tie if needed, with D2T.

I add the split ring at the line tie, and both trebles on split rings, and do a float test. Again, I use the lure I'm copying as my guide, and add weight ( egg sinkers or split shot) to the front treble until my lure hangs like the original.

I weigh the lead I wound up needing, cut off a matching amount of 1/4" lead wire, and install that in holes between the front hook hanger and the bill.

I never add ballast behind that hook hanger, because it makes the lure less stable, and also it dives slower.

Once I've gotten that far, I take the lure out for a test swim.

I've been making square billed deep divers lately, and I used RayburnGuy's deep diver in the gallery as a model for my lips and line ties. They work really well. Thanks Ben.

Edited December 2, 2011 by mark poulson

[Big Bass Man]

Gene's tutorial surely helped out my carving skills!!! He was also very helpful with any questions I had along the way. Thanks again friend!!

Mark's reply pretty much covers everything else and is full of great information on bait building!!

[RayburnGuy]

No need to thank me Mark as I copied the shape from one of the larger and well known lure companies. I would tell you the name of the bait I copied the shape from, but I don't want to get one of those cease and desist letters in the mail.

Ben

[Dogbreath]

I have a Vege dupicator, works ok on softer material, the carbide bits are about $3o.oo, last time I ordered, that was 2 years ago.