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woodenfeather

Using A Table Router To Make Lures

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Hi Guys,

I saw a discussion on here a while back about rounding lures. I had some free time today to try an idea I had and am encouraged by the results.

Before I begin I should say that safety should be observed when using power tools, duh. I will post some pictures of what I did, if you chose to try it than please use your head. Because it's freaking stupid dangerous

I would also like to say that if this technique has already been shared than please direct me to it because I think its a good one, I am in no way trying to take credit away from anybody by reinventing the wheel. This is literally just a prototype experiment. I rushed through it not wanting to waste to much time if it didn't work, so don't lambaste me for it's crudeness . I'm sharing it with you now because I'm hoping you'll share some improvements with me. And because I will get distracted and probably won't revisit this project for months.

Ok. I will try to post some pictures and add commentary. They should be pretty self explanatory.

blanks.jpg

I dimensioned some wood to 3/8 x 1 1/4. ripped a shallow dado(1/32 x 3/16) down the middle. I then cut the blanks to length, in this case 4". Cross cut a dado of the previous dims where I wanted the belly hook hanger to be( I ran it through the top to use as a locator when glueing). Then separated them into lefts and rights before cutting the slot for the bib and drilling the ballast cavities.

jig.jpg

The template uses the thru wire dados to position the blanks so they will line up after. They also keep the blank from sliding during cutting.

router.jpg

Here is the blanks attached to the template with two small screws, next to a 3/4 round over bit.

done routing.jpg

As you can see the radius have overlapped at the tail and nose thus creating a taper.

quicksand.jpg

A quick sand with some 80 while still affixed to the template.

finish.jpg

Ready for assembly ,assuming your wire has been formed and your ballasts are made.

This method requires some finesse on the router. It is best if you climb feed a few passes until most of the material has been removed to avoid any tearout. I used some pine I had and it machined reasonably well. But other wood like cedar might not be well suited to this process.

I hope this sparks some ideas for someone.

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quicksand.jpg

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quicksand.jpg

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quicksand.jpg

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blanks.jpg

jig.jpg

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quicksand.jpg

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blanks.jpg

jig.jpg

router.jpg

done routing.jpg

quicksand.jpg

finish.jpg

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Very nice.

I use the template technique a lot for routering profiles for other projects, but never considered it for lure bodies. Screwing the stock to a large template keeps those valuable fingers out of harms way. I would not have thought of using the radius cutter for the whole operation. I would have used a 1/2" cutter for the profile, then rounded off. But your method, using the radius cutter for the whole operation is safer, as they don't kick as much as cylindrical cutters.

The overlapping cuts with the larger radius cutter, to achieve the body tapers is genius. Obviously a little bit of sanding to do, but the bulk of the work is done. The screw holes do not go all the way through, so they are no problem.

A very good solution and a very generous share.

Dave

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Thank you for this. I am still a novice and was wondering how I could possibly use a router without chopping my hands to shreds. This gives an option plus teaches me more about the thru-wire, weighting, halving the bait, etc.

The ingenuity and abilities of some of you guys on here truly amazes me and I am very grateful you are kind enough to share for those of us less knowledgeable and less gifted.

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Woodenfeather, great tutorial, always glad to see what others are doing with the router. The router is a fantastic tool for bait making and with proper holding fixtures it is also safe.

I sure would like to see some of your baits made from PVC, the stuff machines like butter and your never cutting cross grain. Pvc and the router wwere made for each other.

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Hi guys,

Vodkaman, thanks for the compliments. I've seen pictures of the duplicator you made. Simply awesome! I hope you try this method and perfect it.

Central, to answer your question, yes and yes.

Whittler, I was thinking of trying PVC after talking to Mr. Poulson. I might give it a try.

Guys I am pretty excited about finally finding a way that "SUGGESTS", I can get the shapes that I like, replicate them with a level of precision my old eyeball method doesn't allow, and produce them in sizable batches. I say " suggests" because it isn't foolproof and I don't want to jinx it.

I don't know when I will get a chance to revisit this idea, but I hope someone tries it and does some of the troubleshooting for me before I do.

Dan

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