DGagner Posted June 9, 2020 Report Share Posted June 9, 2020 Well, I did something I'd been thinking about for awhile. I built a lure to test lures. I call it convertible because it has interchangeable parts sort of like Mr. Potato Head. You can change bill, line tie locations, weights and their locations. The video has a short part about what it is and it's build, and later on I try it with many different configurations. My goal is to be able to try things out before I put the time in making lure. Sometimes I'll want to alter something about my bait build, make it, paint it, and find out that the variation is a bust. I've got a handful of crank baits that are some of my best artwork. They're very pretty, but behave horribly in the water. I've got some ugly ones that move like a ninja.... go figure. I don't know if this build is good or just plain weird... but here it is anyway... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 9, 2020 Report Share Posted June 9, 2020 (edited) Loved the video. We have similar minds. I have used the lip and eye ideas, particularly in the early years. I used thin copper sheet. When building a new lure, the first prototype would be fitted with an adjustable eye, like your long twisted, but much shorter. For the lip, again similar idea, but I would either wedge in with shaved cocktail sticks, or if I was testing at a pond, I would fix with UHU glue, which is easily removed. I built a mold for casting threaded weights, so that I could adjust the weight length in the mold. I even built a hinged lip, but this was to aid throwing lures with steep lip angles. A project like this is useful, particularly for new builders, so that they can quickly get a feel for what the various adjustments achieve. I find that the most profound adjustment is the tow eye. I have an idea that I haven't tried yet, for fixing several holes close to each other, giving a finer adjustment. This is a small plate with 1/16" diameter holes drilled very close together. The tiny plate is glued into a vertical slot in the nose. Again, this would be for first prototype. Dave Edited June 9, 2020 by Vodkaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGagner Posted June 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Vodkaman said: Loved the video. We have similar minds. I have used the lip and eye ideas, particularly in the early years. I used thin copper sheet. When building a new lure, the first prototype would be fitted with an adjustable eye, like your long twisted, but much shorter. For the lip, again similar idea, but I would either wedge in with shaved cocktail sticks, or if I was testing at a pond, I would fix with UHU glue, which is easily removed. I built a mold for casting threaded weights, so that I could adjust the weight length in the mold. I even built a hinged lip, but this was to aid throwing lures with steep lip angles. A project like this is useful, particularly for new builders, so that they can quickly get a feel for what the various adjustments achieve. I find that the most profound adjustment is the tow eye. I have an idea that I haven't tried yet, for fixing several holes close to each other, giving a finer adjustment. This is a small plate with 1/16" diameter holes drilled very close together. The tiny plate is glued into a vertical slot in the nose. Again, this would be for first prototype. Dave I think I saw an episode of the engineered angler on youtube where he embeded a front ridge of aluminum and it had small holed drilled all along the length to have the line tie at several points. usually this stuff is done with cast lures. Not easy with wood. Unless you use hardwood, which would come close to resin density, it tears out easily. Just before this I had made one in pine but abandoned it for maple because I had that problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 9, 2020 Report Share Posted June 9, 2020 (edited) It doesn't surprise me that the idea is not new, there are a lot of us out there messing with this stuff, it just doesn't get talked about much. I am sure a testing eye plate could be designed were the split ring can be maneuvered into multiple positions without having to be removed and re-fitted which would be a fiddly process. But the solution would require some fine diameter machining, probably NC. This is beyond the capability of most man-caves. Perspex or Lexan would work perfectly well for the purpose. After the lure has gone through prototype and developed, the plate could be removed and re-used on the next project. This stuff would only be used for prototyping, NOT for catching fish. I also see an application for determining the optimum eye position for shallow lips on deep divers. Dave Edited June 9, 2020 by Vodkaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted June 10, 2020 Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 You have built a fancy version similar to how I have built test prototypes for years. I just pressure fit my weights and lips with a layer of tape. For line ties in the lips I drill multiple holes in the lip and have a wire I sucre to the belly of the lure Being a trail and error builder this was my way of eliminating some of my dud lures. It is also something that helped me learn a lot about action your way looks way nice then mine lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
