Vintage Style Wobbler On A Lathe

[diemai]

Hi , folks ,

 

Yesterday I felt like doing a video displaying how I work down vinatge style floating wobblers similar to the famous old "Rush Tango Minnow".

 

Sorry , that the footage turned out a little long , but hopefully it might still provide some input or inspiration to fellow lure carvers around .

 

 

For more information , ...also to access exact measurements of genuine "Rush Tango Minnows" , you may also check out this older thread in here :

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/topic/17724-my-latest-lure-test-video/

 

The lure blanks displayed in the video would differ to the "Rush Tango" in terms of wiggling action and especially diving depth , but nevertheless they are reliable swimmers , provided that the tow eye is properly positioned and the diving plane angled accurately .

 

Greetz , diemai

[Curt - NC]

Excellent video! Thanks for posting this

[EdL]

Now that's how a true craftsman work.  Nice work.  And thanks for sharing the video.

[littleriver]

Fantastic!!!

Thank you Dieter for taking the time to make and share this how-to !!! Thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have often wondered how you drew those lines on your blanks. Always so nice on so many
different shapes. I would have never guessed they were eyeballed. They appear to be perfectly
centered every time. I too eyeball but without the benefit of lines. This leads to mixed results
sadly . Perhaps in the future I will not skip this step and attempt to draw a few lines. I am sure it will take some practice to achieve your level of proficiency.

No worries on the mess mate. Mine looks as messy. Perhaps worse, at least your able to find your tools.I really liked the pile of wood you have to work from just behind you in the closing shots. My own is not so high, as I am only a beginner. Ahhh.... perhaps some day.

Have you heard about these short shank hooks?
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_query=mustad+treble+&Find=Find&search_constraint=0
They make great front hooks and rear hooks for that matter. Solve alot of hook fouling issues on shallow or short cranks; yet, provide a strong hook for catching fish. Fish have a harder time throwing too because they keep the lure locked in close to hook. Biggest problem is cost. but I have been using as a front hook when I can afford.

Thank you again my friend. Great video!!
A real pleasure to see you in your space doing what you do . Many lessons learned.

Thank you!!!!

Edited October 27, 2013 by littleriver

[RayburnGuy]

Hey Vic,

 

Gammie is making a short shank hook that looks almost identical to the Mustad KVD's. They're super sharp and cost a little less as well. I found the ones I have at Academy.

 

Ben

 

p.s. Great video and sorry for the hijack Dieter

Edited October 27, 2013 by RayburnGuy

[littleriver]

Thanks Ben

 

We just got an academy recently. Will have to visit soon! 

[diemai]

Thanks a lot for your feedback , guys   , ...guess that I'm gonna do some more during coming weeks and months .

 

@ littleriver

 

Vic , thanks for the hook's link , ...never knew these before , guess , that they are not(yet) available on local market , and probably never will .

 

Put I must admit , that their price also puts me off !

 

In my opinion the best hooks for their price are "VMC's 9650PS" , these are Xstrong saltwater hooks , tinned(or at least rustproof) and are even a bit cheaper than the thinner wired bronzed freshwater VMC versions , not to talk of the "VMC Barbarians" .

They are widely available around here , many tackleshops carry them , ...but If I should need them in bulk , I'd surely mailorder .

 

Their shank is not extra short , but still quite a bit shorter than these "Eagle Claw Curved Point" size 2 hooks , that I had rigged to the lure in the video at first and which did foul with the diving vane , got these cheap off local Ebay the other day .

 

The ones, that finally matched the lure , where "Mustads" size 1 , .......got a bunch of different "Mustads" from the closing sale of a Hamburg gun, -and tackle shop  last year , 50 pcs. each size and style for 5 € , .......tore a little hole in my wallet back then  !

 

I like to make different lures all of the time , ...no serial production , so it won't be worthwile to make some kinda jigs for marking lines onto the lures , ....I'm very happy to have been given a good estimation of eye , though not always perfect as well , but I can't remember any serious flaws caused by wrong eyeballing  .

 

This pile of timber material has been gathered through the years  , there are 27 X 80mm abache boards from a local lumberyard , beechwood stool and table legs salvaged from scrap collections , 27mm dia. replacement broomsticks of a buoyant but unknown tropical wood and also of poplar bought from a toolmart , kitchen steak or cheese boards of teakwood and sometimes also children's stilts of tropical timber , the latter two one can find for very little money on fleamarkets sometimes .

 

Thanks again , folks  , .......greetz , Dieter

[gone2long]

Very nice indeed, Thank you Dieter!

[diemai]

Hi , Folks ,

 

After having received about 600 views for that video above so far , I've thought to do a little swimming action display video of such lures as well , ......probably it might provide some more help and input on fellow tinkerers around ?

 

 

greetz , Dieter

[hazmail]

Nice Dieter - thank you for your time, WOW all 46 min-great video.

 

I suspect that timber you used is 'Meranti', probably from Indonesia or Phillipines, we see a lot of it around here.

 

http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/forestry/using-wood-and-its-benefits/wood-properties-of-timber-trees/meranti

 

Usually the whiter it is, the lighter it is.

 

Pete

[diemai]

@ hazmail

 

Thanks a lot for that link , Pete , ...very interesting , .......guess it's the light red meranti then , ...the floating level of the blanks about matches the stated specific weight of 560 kg/SquareMetre .

 

You don't get such timbers in ordinary toolmarts over here , need to attend to specialized lumberyards , ........but stilts from fleamarkets are a lot cheaper   , payed 3 Euros and can get at least a dozen of medium-sized lures out of them .

 

Yeah , the video turned out pretty long , with all the things I had to say , ...don't wanna take the time of editing on the computer as well , in fact I do not have a good editing program so far , ........took several hours to upload , anyway  !

 

Thanks a lot , ....greetz , Dieter

Edited November 21, 2013 by diemai

[granddadslures]

Dieter,    thanks for sharing. really like the lure and the style. as a classic lure maker myself, am now toying with the idea of trying to make one of that style myself...love it!

               however.....and ya'll forgive me cause I truely mean well....your production methods are just this side of primitive. Example: eyeballing everything and having to go back

               and bend the screw eyes to center. If I may....when cutting the length of your blank, cut it 1" longer ( 3" finished, 4" blank ). when you start turning, leave approx. 3/8"

               on both ends square, working inward from there. finding the center of these square ends will allow you to find center on all four sides. plus cutting off square ends is much  

               easier than cutting off round ends...the roll/stable factor. also before cutting off the square ends, you can make a jig or clamp a guide down and push the lure into your

                sanding disc to get the same angle on the diving lip ( whatever angle you choose ) every time, making it nice and straight and flat. got your centers marked, got your

               lip sanded flat/straight....cut off the ends....good to go.

               again, truely mean well and hope this helps more than hurts.......PLEASE use a tape measure/ruler/square on everything. you would be surprised at how much better

               your already great lures turn out.

[littleriver]

@Granddadslures

 

I  have no dog in this but I do have a small sampling of some of Dieter's work. I can tell you they are truer than anything I ever made with a ruler. Not sure that speaks to well for my work with rulers.   Here is one example of what I am talking about

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/10299-german-handmade-catches-east-tn-bass/

 

This little bait is perhaps the finest running crankbait I have ever thrown. Made on a lathe with eyballing. I have thrown a few and can say without a doubt this one is perfect . I knew it the moment i started reeling . The rod tip vibrated  so much I would have sworn there was silver buddy on the end of the line. Just incredible! Nothing I have built or factor made store bought has come close so far. The KVD line is close but no cigar. The fish were just as happy as I . It turned out to be a catcher with fewer than six casts under it's belt. I was pretty surprised this freak of cranking was made with "primitive methods" but because I have examples of the man's work I know he shouldn't change a thing. 

 

From a beginner learner standpoint, I get the point your making about the methods. Not everyone has an eye or hand for doing it the way Dieter is but anyone can learn to use a ruler.  But, I also know some folks are better with their hands and eyes than some of us will ever be with a ruler and square. Dieter and his work surely fall in the former category. 

[diemai]

@Granddadslures

 

Thanks a lot for your hints , .....I'm familiar to your described method of leaving the ends of a lathe turned blank square , did a few lures this way before .

 

But I did not do this to find the dead center line for the screweyes , bur rather to be able to clamp the blank into the machine vise of my little hobby routing machine , since I intended to furnish some tapering planes on the flanks of the blanks  , .......but I could also cut the lipslot accurately angled this way , off course :

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/4323-first-adventures-in-foiling/

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/4322-first-adventures-in-foiling/

 

But I must admit , that I had positioned the angle and symetry of the opposing planes by eyeballing and hand-drawn marker lines again  , only used utilized the square ends for clamping solely .

 

But I did also furnish such planes freehanded against my sanding disc also after only hand-drawn marker lines :

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/2586-therunt/

 

If you read the describtion , you will find that I've used round dowels for these , as I most likely do , .....so your described method won't work on such , anyway .

 

Also I do not see a possibility for the method to work for such lures displayed in the topic video , as the lure's tail tapers to an extreme point , if I would utilize a square dowel remainder on this end to position , level and finally cut and machine the integrated diving plane , the thin tail end would just snap off under the strain of the power tool .

 

This method leaving square ends to find centerline , cut lipslots , etc. , would only be useful for lureblanks sporting thicker ends , so that the transisition to the square dowel remainders on either end would not be too thin , ........this was the case with the two lipped lures linked above .

 

I know , that working freehanded I'm sometimes a bit off with the screweye's passes and centers , ....does not happen too often and to me it is not a severe problem , that cannot be fixed .

 

I never had one of my "freehanded" lures fail because of lack of symetry both of body shape , lip or screweye positioning , .......rejects solely occured due to entirely improper designs or non-matching lure dynamics .

 

And regarding any kinds of jigs increasing accuracy or speeding up working processes , .........nowadays I'm making my lures in individual shapes , most likely without any sketches , ......though I have quite a few sketches made during previous years .

 

I know , that this is not very professional in terms of accurate reproduction or a serial production ,......but I just like it that way , since I'm making my lures  for recreation down my mancave and out of passion for the subject , I just don't bother much , whether a lure would take me 1 hr or 5 hrs to make , ......it's just for my personal fun and enjoyment .

 

So it won't be worthwile to make jigs for each single lureblank , I guess .

 

And as "littleriver" had stated , .....some people would rely more on ruler and jigs , and other don't , .....I belong to the second category , ......I just like doing my hobby work freehanded , since on my job in the metal industry it is vice versa having to produce workpieces set within tolerances of a few 1000s of a millimetre (though one or two typical operations on the grinding machines there I also eyeball within seconds , where other fellas would use a few minutes with all of the measuring gear neccessary , ...and in the end the results are the same  ) .

 

Thanks again for chiming in , ...greetz , Dieter

[diemai]

@ littleriver

 

Thanks a lot for having struck a blow for my lures , Vic , ......really makes me blush a bit  .

 

Hope you'd still catch a lot of bass on this one , ........greetz , Dieter

[scrubs]

Ah yes primitive. My precision band/scroll saw is a sabre saw screwed to the bottom of a 3/4 ply plate attached to my workbench. My wood lathe is a flat ply plate bolted to my drillpress base with a 1" dowel for a tool rest and a 6 buck live center. My precision sander is 4 drums in the same drillpress. So I'm about 6 steps down from Dieter in both technique and results.

 

bill

Edited November 24, 2013 by scrubs

[Jordanlures]

@Granddadslures

 

Thanks a lot for your hints , .....I'm familiar to your described method of leaving the ends of a lathe turned blank square , did a few lures this way before .

 

But I did not do this to find the dead center line for the screweyes , bur rather to be able to clamp the blank into the machine vise of my little hobby routing machine , since I intended to furnish some tapering planes on the flanks of the blanks  , .......but I could also cut the lipslot accurately angled this way , off course :

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/4323-first-adventures-in-foiling/

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/4322-first-adventures-in-foiling/

 

But I must admit , that I had positioned the angle and symetry of the opposing planes by eyeballing and hand-drawn marker lines again  , only used utilized the square ends for clamping solely .

 

But I did also furnish such planes freehanded against my sanding disc also after only hand-drawn marker lines :

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/gallery/image/2586-therunt/

 

If you read the describtion , you will find that I've used round dowels for these , as I most likely do , .....so your described method won't work on such , anyway .

 

Also I do not see a possibility for the method to work for such lures displayed in the topic video , as the lure's tail tapers to an extreme point , if I would utilize a square dowel remainder on this end to position , level and finally cut and machine the integrated diving plane , the thin tail end would just snap off under the strain of the power tool .

 

This method leaving square ends to find centerline , cut lipslots , etc. , would only be useful for lureblanks sporting thicker ends , so that the transisition to the square dowel remainders on either end would not be too thin , ........this was the case with the two lipped lures linked above .

 

I know , that working freehanded I'm sometimes a bit off with the screweye's passes and centers , ....does not happen too often and to me it is not a severe problem , that cannot be fixed .

 

I never had one of my "freehanded" lures fail because of lack of symetry both of body shape , lip or screweye positioning , .......rejects solely occured due to entirely improper designs or non-matching lure dynamics .

 

And regarding any kinds of jigs increasing accuracy or speeding up working processes , .........nowadays I'm making my lures in individual shapes , most likely without any sketches , ......though I have quite a few sketches made during previous years .

 

I know , that this is not very professional in terms of accurate reproduction or a serial production ,......but I just like it that way , since I'm making my lures  for recreation down my mancave and out of passion for the subject , I just don't bother much , whether a lure would take me 1 hr or 5 hrs to make , ......it's just for my personal fun and enjoyment .

 

So it won't be worthwile to make jigs for each single lureblank , I guess .

 

And as "littleriver" had stated , .....some people would rely more on ruler and jigs , and other don't , .....I belong to the second category , ......I just like doing my hobby work freehanded , since on my job in the metal industry it is vice versa having to produce workpieces set within tolerances of a few 1000s of a millimetre (though one or two typical operations on the grinding machines there I also eyeball within seconds , where other fellas would use a few minutes with all of the measuring gear neccessary , ...and in the end the results are the same  ) .

 

Thanks again for chiming in , ...greetz , Dieter

Diemai; Thanks so much for your help, I know this is an old thread but it could stand to be revisited, I am an industrial maintenance mechanic and i work on 1\4 million dollar mills and lathes where traming and repair on said machines you work in micron measurements and micro voltages etc,etc,etc so there is a nice feeling of satisfaction to do something by eye touch and feel.  I cannot wait to get in the shop and try this bait on the  lathe, but I have to paint and clear coat a dozen blanks first  maybe I can get to it today, thanks again for your help.    David J 

[diemai]

@ Jordanlures

 

Looks like we've got a few things in common , David ,

 

Good luck with your lathe-turning , ......greetings from northern Germany , Dieter

[Jordanlures]

Dieter; just looked up your " rush tango minnow " quite a history the little guy has, I have to make one of these just for nostalgia sake if nothing else, out to the shop I go, blanks will wait, I will post my results when I am done, you are the bomb, thanks again so much, new friend, new lure to build, what a positive way to start the week,            David J 

[diemai]

@ Jordanlures

 

Dunno , whether this thread is , what you've come across , David , ..... or just general info about the "Rush Tango Minnow" on collector's sites , .......but here is the six years old TU thread , where I had made some posts along with some sketch copies showing two genuine , but repainted  "Tangos" together  with accurate millimetre measurements taken from those original vintage lures :

 

.http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/17724-my-latest-lure-test-video/?hl=rush%20tango

 

Looking forward to see your first "Tango" versions  , .....best greetings , Dieter

 

PS : Just saw , that the thread was already linked somewhere upward in this thread   , ....so you must have already seen it !

Edited November 22, 2015 by diemai

[Jordanlures]

Dieter; just had my two tango minnows down at my test river, wow, love them, the small one has a nice tight wobble and tends to hunt a little, diving to around 4 foot or so and the larger one has a lovely wide wobble that will suit real well for colder water and dives to around 6 foot or so. I can see a whole lot more of these in my future, down here in wiggle wart country, these will fit in perfect. Question for you have you ever put a rattle in one of these and if so did it affect the action adversely. Thanks again for your help and i am going to try and post pictures to the gallery......     David J      

[diemai]

@ Jordanlures

 

Surely makes me feel happy to hear that your first prototypes turned out to your full satisfaction , David , ......and I'm glad , that I was obviously able to help a fellow lure carver out a bit .

 

I haven't put a rattle into one of my versions so far , I guess that I was concerned about achieving reasonable paralellity of the lip's plane and the crosswise bore to accommodate a rattle ,......... I was thinking , if getting off too much in worst case , the lure might turn out to swim lopsided , and on such lures not too many alterations can be done except bending the tow eye to the left or to the right for the lure to track true .

 

But otherwise I do not see any problems about a rattle , naturally I would place it right in center of the fattest part of the body or maybe just a tad ahead towards the lip(that would be the lengthwise center of gravity) .

 

...and here is something , to make your mouth more watery about these old "Rush Tango" versions  , ...here a genuine lure , though , ..please check out 5th pic from top:

 

http://www.retiredlures.com/Still-Catching-Fish.html

 

.......and here's one of my own(as from 2:12 on) , ......a little jack , though, .....but I've already caught bigger ones on it :

 

 

Will check out the gallery frequently , ....good luck furthermore , ...greetz , Dieter

[Jordanlures]

Dieter; going to try your suggestions on body modifications for a deeper diver and a more active action, watched your videos and it seems the pike like these baits. Going to the lake in the morning, never been on one of those fancy bass boats, so one of the guys I build lures and custom paint for is taking me fishing, see if the bull shoals lake large mouth like these baits    but one thing is for sure,  I like them. thanks again for your help and suggestions, I will keep you posted on rattle's performance, design changes and results.........David J

[diemai]

Hi , David ,

 

Being into this older thread again , I felt like doing another "Rush Tango" version yesterday , stricly after the original measurements shown in the other thread .

 

Still had a short  2" dia teakwood dowel laying around the shop , so I did one 130mm long lure blank yesterday , .....guess that I will  make another one tonite , since that dowel is 50mm in diameter but the greatest lure blank diameter is 44mm at the lip's tip , I can increase the lure size for 10% to get a max. dia. of 48,4mm and a length of 143mm ,........all other measurements would be increased by 10%(or multiplied by factor 1,1) as well .

 

On these steeply forward pointing diving planes of the accurate "Tango" knock-offs I do not employ screw eyes as line-ties , because for my taste the lip's thickness is too thin for sufficiently sized screwe eyes ,...and also it's always a pain in the butt to mount screw eyes under greater angles , often requires larger countersunks to accommodate the line tie eye to become clogged up with paint and topcoat ,etc.

 

Some of the old original lures had some kinda small eye bolt passing through the lip fixed with a small nut on the underside of the lip , but I came up with such solution for line ties on such such narrow integrated diving vanes :

 

 

........also some tips about furnishing crosswise rattle holes containing !

 

Here also is a link to my gallery displaying such a line tie , in this case a double line tie ,....there are three pictures alltogether , I've just linked one , since the other two are neighbors :

 

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/2752-line-tie-construction-in-progress/

 

I will do these wire form line ties on my present  "Tango" versions as well and put up pictures in here , ...could take a day or two, though .

 

Hope you're enjoying your trip out on the lake today , hopefully your new lures would score , .......I'm a bit reluctant to go fishing these days , ....weather has turned quite miserable , we've already had a little snow and frost , but worse are those chilly , strong winds ,.......I'm not quite the youngest of a guy anymore and nowadays my sore bones are always responding to such unpleasant , wet and cold weather immediately !

 

Greetings , Dieter

[Jordanlures]

Hi Dieter; up early this morning, read your post, watched the video and looked at the pictures, man your mind is always working, the best solutions are usually, the simplest, applause applause that one scores, excellent solution. Can not wait to see the new ones you are making. Was curious though, are you putting some of your line tie below center-line of  the lure body. and if so how does it affect performance, or is it just the acute angle and the eye hole being at to steep of an angle. On another note I think you and I are the same age, so I totally understand sore bones, but it is not supposed to be to bad here in southern Missouri this morning 40 degree or so, hopefully a good day on the lake                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I see you are making the new one from teak, the two I have made are from eastern red cedar, I have a lot of red oak, white oak, cherry and hickory lumber in my storage shed, just wandering how one of the denser hardwoods would perform hmm  , anyway I am glad to see your interest reignited in this fantastic old design.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Happy shavings....   David J