Caryb1975 Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Hello everyone! I just joined the site and was hoping someone could help me. I am just starting out making wooden lures and have purchase a couple of very good books on the subject. I have made a few lures already and they have worked perfectly. What I am looking for are more templates but have been unsuccessful find anything that are smaller than the lures I have made so far. I am really looking for templates for 3" or smaller. I have also been looking for suspending lure templates but no luck. I did try downloading an ebook that was supposex to include 24 templates but was kind of screwed by the person that owns the ebook. Short story was I paid and the link I was given was broken and I never received what I was supposed to. What I was wondering is can someone point me in the direction where I can download free templates, or does anyone have any templates they could possibly share? Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Hello and welcome to TU Cary. In my opinion the best way to get templates is to use photo editing software and make them yourself. With a photo editing program all you need is a picture of a bait you like and your in business. You can crop the background of the picture leaving only the lure. You can them make it into any size you want using the software. The ratio dimensions will the same whether you make it larger or smaller. Once you get it to the size you want just print it out and you have the beginnings of your template. All you need to do then is to glue the image to some stiff backer board (thin cardboard like that found in shoe boxes works great for this) and cut it out. You might have to print the image out a few times while changing the aspect ratio (size) of the image. Just change the size and measure the printout until you get the size you want. If you continue to build lures for any amount of time you will probably start drawing your own lures. If you end up doing this you will want to scan them and keep them in a folder in your computer in case you damage the original. Keeping a copy of all your templates on your computer is just added insurance in case you lose, or damage, one of your templates. If you don't have photo editing software loaded on your computer there are several freeware versions on the internet that will do the job. Just do a search for free photo editing software. Or you can use the search feature here at TU as there have been several discussions on this topic. hope this helps, Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Welcome to the tackleunderground , ......Ben had already told you , how to proceed , .....I'm gonna give you access to some templates you might probably be interested in , ...some of the sites are not in English , so you'd need to utilize a translator program , maybe ? http://wobblerbaujw.jimdo.com/schablonen#Schablonen Click on Terms like "Wobbler" , "Jerkbaits" and "Oberflächenköder" to access sketches , .....also by all means check out given links on bottom of page , some more interesting things to discover there . Here you can access templates for diving lips(Tauchschaufelschablonen) , ...on the right side there are fish templates for fotofinishes to download : http://www.mt-lures.de/download.html Some more templates for lureblanks and lips to be found in here : http://www.luremaking.com/catalogue/download_tips.htm You might also check out YouTube utilizing the search function with terms like "lurebuilding" or "luremaking" , .....you'd surely come across some fine instructional videos . happy carving , ...cheers , diemai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Ben pretty much covered the easy way to go about it, with an excellent write-up. Now that you have made a few lures, perhaps it is time to draw your own, now that you have a feel for what is required. Personally, I use CAD, only because I am a CAD engineer. Freehand is fine, but look after your originals. Years ago, I offered to start a lip library, were you could choose from a library of shapes and receive a PDF file of a page of lips for printing. I intended to extend it to lure body templates too, but no one was interested. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryb1975 Posted July 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Wow...you guys are great!!! Thank you so much for the information. I have heard great things about this site and decided to join and already I am really glad that I did. The lures that I have made so far are from the book "Making Wooden Fishing Lures" by Rich Rousseau. In my opinion this book is great for the beginner, and every lure that I have made from it has worked perfectly. I did find out that there are little things that are not mentioned in the book that I found out by searching and just plain old trial and error. Ben....I have considered making my own lure templates via the information you have given and I think its a great idea. I went onto Rapala and the pictures on their website are perfect for doing what you mentioned. Just a quick question for you...how do you detirmine how much weight to add to them and where to apply them. Is it just trial and error? Should I just look at similar templates and try to mimic where the weight was added on those and incorporate into the new template, and just make adjustments based on my preference? DieMai...Awesome templates. I have actually been looking for a banana lure template and one of the links gave me 2. These links are perfect! Vodkaman...I like that idea of having a library. If you have a library already would you be willing to share? Again, thank you guys for all your help. You guys are the best and I will be using this site for any questions rather than getting scammed by an ebook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 DieMai...Awesome templates. I have actually been looking for a banana lure template and one of the links gave me 2. These links are perfect! Again, thank you guys for all your help. You guys are the best and I will be using this site for any questions rather than getting scammed by an ebook! Probably you're refering to two sketches that I had published at "M-T Lures" , .......anyway , if you're after banana lures , check out this older thread in here : http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/topic/13043-new-banana-lure/page-1?hl= banana lures I'm a great fan of banana lures myself ! Someone in here(guess it was vodkaman Dave) has written some time ago , that Ebooks are a waste of money , ......everything , one needs to know , can be found on TU , ....and if it's not already there , far most questions will be answered ! Concerning lure ballast , ........I do it by trial and error , as I hand carve individual and different lure models , .......I'd seal and temporary topcoat the blanks(my propionate dippings serve the purpose very well)and stick on the lead chunks with insulation tape , ...checking about the swim level in a water bucket , better testing the action in the bath tub . This way I can alter the weight position and amount , until I'm satisfied , ...after drill holes and glue in the ballast . Note , that the action of the finished lure would later differ a bit to your trials , ...also it would be a tad less buoyant , as you would have drilled out buoyant material , added glue , paint and topcoat laquer . For a serial production of same lures , it might not be neccessary to do each single lure this way , ...but you need to be aware of differences from lure to lure , as timber is a natural material with different densities per each single piece ! For weights you can use any splitshots , sinkers , rolled up lead sheet strips , lead dowels(pencil lead) , airgun pellets , even buckshot or blackpowder gun leadballs , ......depending on the sizes you need and what is easily accessible to you . For a serial lure production you might also consider about making lead casting molds to achieve repeatative ballast sizes and weights , probably even with already cast in belly hook hangers ? good luck , diemai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 I use the Archimedes water displacement formula or "dunk test" as it's called around here. There have been many posts on this subject and rather than go into a lengthy explanation I would suggest doing a search for "dunk test" in the archives. If you still have questions about how this works after reading the threads covering this just holler back and we'll try to explain anything your hung up on. Using the "dunk test" you can weigh your lure without the ballast, but with all hardware attached. This means line ties and hook hangers have been installed as well as hooks and split rings. You'll need to weigh everything "dry" first and then, after zeroing your scale with a container of water on the scale you'll then submerge the bait fully in the water. Forgot to mention you will need to weigh everything in grams because this is the only way this formula works. Once the bait is fully submerged check the weight again. Subtract the "dry" weight from the "wet" weight and this will give a range of ballast weight that can be added before it becomes a sinker. Just remember that normally the more ballast you add the less lively the lure will be. Now if your building a lure to the same dimensions and shape as a commercially produced bait you can weigh your bait with everything but the ballast installed and then weigh the commercially produced bait. The difference will be how much ballast you need to add. Where the ballast is located depends a lot on how the lure is made and where line ties and hook hangers are located. A lot of builders place the ballast in front on the front hook hanger and low in the body. This will usually make for a very stable running lure. Once you have a few builds under your belt it's not a bad idea to play around with ballast location. You can change the action of some lures just by moving the ballast around. Just remember to take notes on everything. It sucks to get a great running lure and then not remember how it was built. Don't ask me how I know this. I need to thank Dave (Vodkaman) for bringing the Archimedes test to our attention. I use it on everything I build and it gets a lot easier to use (and remember for us older guys) once you've used it a few times. I've tried trial and error methods like taping ballast to lures and then seeing how they react and for me the dunk test is just much easier. I can set at my work bench and never have to get up and run to the sink to test the amount of ballast. Hopefully this answered some of your questions. If not just holler back and we'll give it another try. good luck, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 I only have shapes that I have drawn for myself. If you want to send me a photo (JPEG) and tell me the length and depth thet you require, I don't mind spending ten minutes knocking up a sheet of profiles, bodies or lips. Even a photo of a rough hand drawn sketch with relevant dimensions can be used. This offer goes out to anyone. Just keet the JPEG size down as my internet connection is quite slow. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 You can't get all the data you need on a crankbait from just an advertising pic. I'm not a digital guru by any means. When I'm sitting in the garage and want the profile of a crankbait, the method I use is simply tracing the outline of an actual bait on a piece of paper. Remove the trebles first. If the bait has a big lip, hold the bait with the body on the table and the lip out past the edge so it won't interfere. I always want a commercial bait in hand if I want to copy it. That way, I can weigh it and take careful measurements, paying particular attention to the lip and the angle of the lip. I don't copy baits unless I've owned one, fished it, and want to make clones to fish or to modify to change their performance (and no, I don't sell baits). I do use drawing software to create lip templates. I've not found any manual method of drawing a lip template that is accurate enough to suit me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 With time you'll be able to look at a lure and shape by eye like I did on this one. The bottom is 5 3/4'' and I super sized it to 11 1/2'' without templates. I had to use wood putty to build up the belly because it was initially supposed to be another lure that had a straight belly from head to tail. Cedar was used and all done with a rasp and a riffler. Now let's hope it runs LoL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 You can't get all the data you need on a crankbait from just an advertising pic. Bob if you can get a picture of the side profile and one of the top profile you can make templates which will show the compound curves of a lure. Then it's just a matter of connecting the two profiles by removing material from the edges. Granted these pictures need to be taken at 90 degree angles to the lure, but it can be done. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Ben, I know your build strategy and based on your baits it obviously works great! I was just commenting that getting the shape and size exactly right isn't enough if you want to truly copy a bait - you also need to know its overall weight, the material it's made from, the balance point of the lure, and anything else that won't show up in photos. Even then, it can be difficult unless you also have an Xray, a schematic, or are willing to destroy one to see the innards. Like most, I don't usually get into that level of detail when "copying" a bait. I use the original as a departure point and build a series of prototypes from there to get what I want - in which case your method is a great way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 You can't get all the data you need on a crankbait from just an advertising pic. Many years ago I had carved my very first banana lure after a picture of a vintage timber "Lazy Ike" in a collectors book , ....only had the side view to work after , so I had to guess about how the lure would look when vieved from top or belly . Anyway , back then this particular lure spawned my fondness for banana lures , as it had produced a couple of overaverage sized pike within just a few sessions , ......and there were many more bananas to come to being under my carving knife ! Couple of months ago , ....I just could not help it , .......I had mailordered for a bigger used plastic "Lazy Ike" from US Ebay, was a good bargain , ...... ...obviously 20 years old or more , ........so now I could finally see , that my intial homemade version looked somewhat different to the original lure ! In a nutshell , .......you should not let such or similar concerns put you off , ......even if you might not be able to duplicate a bait in 1:1 scale this way , ....you might still create something entirely new and different , that still catches fish ! Cheers , diemai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Bob you are right about getting an exact copy of a bait. A picture will not give you the details you mentioned. I had it in my head about matching the shape and dimensions and had not considered all the other details you mentioned. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubs Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 Wow...you guys are great!!! Thank you so much for the information. I have heard great things about this site and decided to join and already I am really glad that I did. The lures that I have made so far are from the book "Making Wooden Fishing Lures" by Rich Rousseau. In my opinion this book is great for the beginner, and every lure that I have made from it has worked perfectly. I did find out that there are little things that are not mentioned in the book that I found out by searching and just plain old trial and error. Ben....I have considered making my own lure templates via the information you have given and I think its a great idea. I went onto Rapala and the pictures on their website are perfect for doing what you mentioned. Just a quick question for you...how do you detirmine how much weight to add to them and where to apply them. Is it just trial and error? Should I just look at similar templates and try to mimic where the weight was added on those and incorporate into the new template, and just make adjustments based on my preference? DieMai...Awesome templates. I have actually been looking for a banana lure template and one of the links gave me 2. These links are perfect! Vodkaman...I like that idea of having a library. If you have a library already would you be willing to share? Again, thank you guys for all your help. You guys are the best and I will be using this site for any questions rather than getting scammed by an ebook! Careyb1975, I've got that book also, which of the lures have you made from it? I've cut out blanks for the panfish prop and the minnow chaser but haven't gone any further. The minnow chaser intrigues me as a Pike & Muskie lure. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shade_skyhi Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 Ben pretty much covered the easy way to go about it, with an excellent write-up. Now that you have made a few lures, perhaps it is time to draw your own, now that you have a feel for what is required. Personally, I use CAD, only because I am a CAD engineer. Freehand is fine, but look after your originals. Years ago, I offered to start a lip library, were you could choose from a library of shapes and receive a PDF file of a page of lips for printing. I intended to extend it to lure body templates too, but no one was interested. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonline Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) I did try downloading an ebook that was supposex to include 24 templates but was kind of screwed by the person that owns the ebook. Short story was I paid and the link I was given was broken and I never received what I was supposed to.What I was wondering is can someone point me in the direction where I can download free templates, or does anyone have any templates they could possibly share?Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide. Here's a link to the book you should have recieved [edit - it's only got 12 not 24 templates]. It is freely available on the web (plus a lot of the other stuff you probably should have recieved???), so I'm sorry you forked out some money for a pretty ordinary experience. There is also another PDF somewhere with another 3 from the same guy somewhere around. http://www.makewoodenlures.com/tempscollect.pdf Steve Edited October 9, 2013 by flyonline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubs Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 Here's a link to the book you should have recieved [edit - it's only got 12 not 24 templates]. It is freely available on the web (plus a lot of the other stuff you probably should have recieved???), so I'm sorry you forked out some money for a pretty ordinary experience. There is also another PDF somewhere with another 3 from the same guy somewhere around. http://www.makewoodenlures.com/tempscollect.pdf Steve One thing I do like about those templates is that he includes weight, action, diving depth etc. Haven't seen another with that much info. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I typically draw my own using paint. Once I get it the way I like I make a wooden pattern and add it to my box. I identify the pattern and keep a small journal to add thickness, wood species, weight, placement, etc.... when I build the bait until I get one dialed in. I routinely use a few "tools" when copying a bait.. .A bait in hand is usually where I begin and start the process. Destroying one is often needed but worth the effort in my opinion (unless $$$$ bait). I trace the bait and make adjustments to create my wood master template. I try to get everything laid out on the master for easy transfer of the pattern. I take some measurements and get the thickness of the material, depth of lip slot, etc... all worked out. Transfer to my board and cut out a set of blanks to make prototypes with and enter into my journal. At this point I end up taking some more measurements and get some contours worked out and transfer to another template. I will try to make notes and make some variances depending on the baits I have that work better. I will make one slightly smaller in the nose, lip angle slightly different, etc... and add these things to the journal. Often it doesn't make much difference but there are times that it ens up being very valuable information. I end up sealing the baits, weighting, and floating them in a small Tupperware bowl at my bench. I end up doing this to all baits and balance each one. I smash lead shot with a hammer into small wafers to add weight to fine tune after an initial "bulk" weight addition based on previous findings. Glue in my line ties, prep the baits, paint, glue in the bill and clear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Travis, Where did you get that sanding wheel?..Is that in your drill press?...BTW...great how to post!...Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Nathan, If you google "flap wheel sanders" you should find a bunch. Amazon has them, I know for a fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubs Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 They also make them in 1/8" shafts for Dremel style tools. Take skin off pretty quickly too. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I buy the wheels at Ace, they are less than a mile from the house so I end up paying a little more for the convenience. Yes I use it in my drill press and run a vacuum hose in the box surround to pick up the fines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I bought mine at Lowe's. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Thanks guys ..Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
