Carving The Face Of A River Runt

[ArdentAngler]

Any suggestions on getting that bevel on the front of those old Heddon river runts and vamps? I thought about using a gouge but feel there would be too much error. How do you guys create the pockets on the old Heddons?

 

 

[fatfingers]

That can be easily achieved using a bench top sander. I use the rounded end of the sander where the roller turns the belt.

[shade_skyhi]

a

can  anyone show a picture of what you mean sorry

[ArdentAngler]

I thought about using the sander, it drove me crazy trying to figure out how they did it! Could you post a couple pictures of this method I'm curious as well.

[Vodkaman]

I just modeled it on CAD. Like Fatfingers says, the belt sander radius is perfect. Easy to see how the original was designed.

 

DAve

[mark poulson]

Here are some photos:

 

http://www.lurelore.com/deeprunt.html

[diemai]

I'd use a "Dremel" course sanding drum , ........first I'd make an indented plane on top of the nose similar to the one of a "Creek Chub Pikie" ,...off course at the angle , cupping  and highest tip of the required bevel .

 

Usually the lipslot has already been cut at this stage , so I slide a strip of plane lip material into the slot and press a ruler or any other straight edge onto the plane to eyeball against the lip slot for parallelity , ........naturally one has to be careful not to remove too much material at one time .

 

When the plane is at desired level , I'd use sandpaper to get it smooth .

 

Now I'd draw a lengthwise centerline onto the plane and also draw curved pencil lines on either side of the lurebody , underneath either edge of the nose plane , ...commencing at the tip of the nose and leading to the back of the indented nose plane , transisting centered into either end of the plane , ....naturally both sides equally !

 

These lines mark the sideward edges left and right of the later bevelled nose plane .

 

Now I carefully take off material with my sanding drum , holding it at the right angle , ...my sideward and center marker lines are my reference , ..takes a bit of practice to make each pass in a curved manner to achieve the hollow planes on either side of the bevel .

 

Very important to change sides often , so that the bevel evolves equally on either side , ..needless to say , that you do not want to touch the marker lines , even leave a little flesh for the fine sanding afterwards .

 

I have never tried to make that River Runt nose portion by carving , though with a real sharp and curved edge it would surely work as well , depending on the woodgrain(some timbers tend to tear up in their grain easily, the use wood putty would be in order in this case) .

 

I just find it more convinient and faster to do with a "Dremel" .

 

As far as for bigger sanders , ......I'm too scared about messing up with these , ....one false move of the wrist , ...or the blank held in a wrong position against the sander and you're through with your Runt , no putty's gonna fix it again , .......I much prefer to work down bit by bit for such delicate portions .

 

Good luck , Dieter

[markbxr400]

I've just started lure-making and am making vamp-style lures with the river runt-like nose.  Here's what I've learned to be my best method after trying several.

 

I start by drawing a centerline and marking a perpendicular line how far back I want the carving to extend back onto the body.  

I mount the lure body into my guitar/gun vise  (I love this vise!):

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Vises/Guitar_Repair_Vise.html

 

Using a curved shaft flat chisel carving tool, I start pushing the tool from my perpendicular line toward the mouth of the lure, along one side of the centerline.  Then I do the same on the other side, and keep going one side to the other to keep the two as symmetrical as possible.  When I get about halfway done, I then carve right down the centerline to create the curved nose.  I redraw the centerline along the new nose profile, and then start carving the left/right sides again until I get somewhat close.

 

I then take a Dragon Rasp, which has a curved side and file across the lure on each of the two sides (using the part of the file very close to the end).

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Files/Dragon_Hand-cut_Rasp.html

This gives a nice round finish.

 

I pull the lure out of the vise often to make sure I'm making a symmetrical nose and getting the shape I'm after.

 

Last, I take a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a 3/4" dowel and work the two sides smooth.

 

I've tried the small bench top belt sander, oscillating spindle sander and a dremel, But I haven't been successful, and have ruined a number of lures.  I can't really see what's going on with any of these.

 

While my approach seems to have a lot of steps, the whole process takes about 5 minutes max, and I can see exactly what's happening throughout each step.  I'll do 4-8 lures at a time which speeds up the process even more and helps me to get 4-8 just alike.

 

BTW, did I mention I love my vise!  Rubberised, non-marking pads, heads that spin to conform to the shape of whatever object they are holding, and the whole thing spins to put your work in whatever direction makes it easy to do the work.

 

Regards.

 

Mark 

[ArdentAngler]

Sounds like you have it down pat, you should post your results so we can see how you did. Always thought about using a gouge to get that scalloped face, now I know someone was successful. Seems more personal to carve one rather than use the sander. Honestly whatever works for you is all that matters right? I see you like your vice, which reminds me that my Dean VMNT has been buried in the closet for the better part of a year...should dig it out and see if the fingers still work.

[markbxr400]

Sounds like you have it down pat, you should post your results so we can see how you did. Always thought about using a gouge to get that scalloped face, now I know someone was successful. Seems more personal to carve one rather than use the sander. Honestly whatever works for you is all that matters right? I see you like your vice, which reminds me that my Dean VMNT has been buried in the closet for the better part of a year...should dig it out and see if the fingers still work.

I bought the vise to build a replica Martin OM acoustic after retiring.  Amazing the things these vises can hold throughout the process without the jaws messing up the piece.

[markbxr400]

I went ahead and took pictures of each step in my process and posted them in the gallery in the hard baits section.  Each pic has a description of the process.  You can find them by searching for "runt" or looking in my gallery (member name "markbxr400").  While there seems to be quite a number of steps, the whole process takes me less than 5 minutes per lure, and I get fairly consistent results from lure to lure.  These lures dive well, and action is very good.  I've caught dozens of speckled trout and redfish on these.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Mark

Edited January 23, 2014 by markbxr400

[kajay920]

I saw your tutorial in the Gallery Mark. Excellent detail and very thorough. TU would do well to make a separate page for such topics.

thanks

 

Keith