jonister Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 I did a search and I couldn't find anything about or with a weight of lure to weight added sinking rate. so... hopefully this will get updated by others and what they have found out. I used a block of basswood and added weight slowly to get these measurements. This is what ive found out in a controlled environment (a bucked of hose water), testing 5 grams of Basswood, 7.5 grams of weight=fast sinking 5 grams of weight=medium sinking 4.5 grams of weight=slow sinking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 There is a whole science around sinking rates, with calculations and formulas. I have been reluctant to post about it, but there is a ton of information on the web. If you own an accurate gram scale, it may be worth you reading up on my thread on Archimedes. This will allow you to document your sink rates with reference to specific gravity of the lure. This would mean that the numbers would have meaning regardless of the material used. Might be worth a read for you. DAve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted August 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Thanks Dave, ill have to give this a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Learning how to use the Archimedes formula has saved me a lot of time and makes ballasting a bait much easier. Especially when building a prototype. And it's really easy to use once you get the hang of it. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeee Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 This is the best way to weight a bait. If I want to make saltwater lures would you use saltwater ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 This is the best way to weight a bait. If I want to make saltwater lures would you use saltwater ? Since salt water is more dense than fresh, I'm guessing you should weigh a cubic centimeter of salt water, and adjust you ballasting accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeee Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Naw just looking for an excuse to go to Florida. Going to tell the wife that I need to go down there for experimental reasons and get some salt water!!! Shhhhhh ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted August 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 On the topic of saltwater, does it eat up wood lures bad? Also I like the idea of using different temperatures or types of water, where I live the water in winter is way way colder than it is in summer, that being said I will definitely try customizing to water temps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 JDEEE, Can you call my wife and tell her you need help?..Lol..Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeee Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 (edited) No problem Nathan I think we will need at least three samples, one now, one in Dec and another in Feb and I think each sample may take us 3 weeks each. You just never know about those salt levels in that area!!!! Edited August 26, 2014 by Jdeee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 This is the best way to weight a bait. If I want to make saltwater lures would you use saltwater ? Salt water obviously does have a significant effect on the required ballasting of a lure. The methods that I use for ballasting are proven and require no float testing other than a cup of water for doing the Archimedes Dunk Test, as described in the link in post No2. For sea water, it is just a matter of introducing the density or specific gravity of sea water, which can be looked up on the web. Note - if you work with Archimedes, you really need to work in metric units to simplify the numbers. For example; 1cm cube of water weighs 1 gram and has a density of 1 g/cm3, what could be simpler. Try the same using inches and ounces and you will get the message. DAve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonpluggergino Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 I have built many musky glide baits with grea success, musky guys they are looking for a foot/second sink rate. I have been using Vodkaman sytem for couple of years and it works great very accurate (Thank You Dave) I have purchased a beaker that is graduated in MM and is 3 inches By 20.5 inches toll, I use this beaker to find how much ballast I need. I also molded a all bunch of weights from .5 grams 20 grams with wire hook on them, I will hook this weights from the belie of the bait until I get the sink rate I am looking for, I have also done suspending baits using this system. You can also make a balancing a scale to balance the bait or find the attitude of the bait, like perfectly level or nose down etc. etc. When you this with a balancing scale you must find the center of balance or gravity of the blank before you add any hardware. I made a wish bone wire hangar that I hang the bait from the back at the center of balance than when I had the hardware and ballast everything is balanced from the marked center of gravity that was established earlier. Some day when I have more time with the help of a friend I will do a tutorial, I have learned so much from this site that I would love to give back and make some new builders their bait building more fun. On one note by figuring things on your own will teach so much more, but I always looking for some good tips, and definitely you will find them here Gino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 I have built many musky glide baits with grea success, musky guys they are looking for a foot/second sink rate. I have been using Vodkaman sytem for couple of years and it works great very accurate (Thank You Dave) I have purchased a beaker that is graduated in MM and is 3 inches By 20.5 inches toll, I use this beaker to find how much ballast I need. I also molded a all bunch of weights from .5 grams 20 grams with wire hook on them, I will hook this weights from the belie of the bait until I get the sink rate I am looking for, I have also done suspending baits using this system. You can also make a balancing a scale to balance the bait or find the attitude of the bait, like perfectly level or nose down etc. etc. When you this with a balancing scale you must find the center of balance or gravity of the blank before you add any hardware. I made a wish bone wire hangar that I hang the bait from the back at the center of balance than when I had the hardware and ballast everything is balanced from the marked center of gravity that was established earlier. Some day when I have more time with the help of a friend I will do a tutorial, I have learned so much from this site that I would love to give back and make some new builders their bait building more fun. On one note by figuring things on your own will teach so much more, but I always looking for some good tips, and definitely you will find them here Gino That sounds good Gino. I can't wait to read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Good work Gino and happy that you like my Archimedes technique. Clearly you have a good engineering mind and I too look forward to reading more. DAve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Dave, Is there such a thing as a good engineering mind? Hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Jonister, a problem with generalizing floatation from blocks of wood on hand is that your results are valid only for that batch of wood, and sometimes only for one particular piece of that batch of wood. This is because wood density varies according to where in the tree the wood comes from and also according to its current moisture content. I think basswood is more consistent than many other species (especially balsa) but you still have to ballast baits on a batch by batch basis, if not every lure. There are charts of material densities available online which include wood species. They are a great guide to choosing wood species for different kinds of crankbaits but remember that the densities listed are averages of a number of samples of a certain size that have been dried to a specific moisture content. Your piece of wood will probably vary from that average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
