Metal Head Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Alrighty, after weeks of work, I finally have tuned a big ole wooden swimbait I have been working on. It has a REALLY nice action thats subtle and realistic... I think this bait has some real potential and I would like to be able to replicate this bait and hand out a few to close friends and people interested. How would I go about doing this? I know that I could make a mold of the bait and pour resin and then paint it, but what kind of resin/ plastic would I use and where could I get it? The bait is floating by the way, so density or weight would play a role..... Any tips to steer me in the direction would be really appreciated.... Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 For consistancy, molding would be the way to go. But as you hinted, you may have to tweak the design to get it running as you want it. To replicate the buoyancy is not too dificult. If you fill a narrow jar to the absolute max, completely submerge the bait and collect the displaced water. Weigh the water and weigh the bait. The difference between the two measurements is the buoyancy. Repeat with the new lure and adjust the ballast until you match the buoyancy value. You may have to invest is a 0.1 gram scales. If you do not want to invest, I have a scales design made from paper and plastic cups that is good for 1% accuracy or 0.2 gram for a 20 gram bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 If you build a variety of bait styles I would take the advice offered by one of the members of this board...take careful notes. If you're serious about actually duplicating a lure, you need to write down the details of what you did, because in 6 months and after building perhaps 50 baits and a dozen different body styles you may have a hard time remembering where and how you weighted that special one, how many coats of clear produced the desired effect, whatever. I know these things can be forgotten over time. I know it for a fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dampeoples Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Alumilite sells a kit that has everything you'd need to make a mold, then cast a bait. There are tons of other places, but this was the most complete kit I found when looking, they even include stir sticks and cups Be sure to get the larger kit, I went cheap and got the small kit, wasn't enough stuff to make a complete mold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 For consistancy, molding would be the way to go. But as you hinted, you may have to tweak the design to get it running as you want it.To replicate the buoyancy is not too dificult. If you fill a narrow jar to the absolute max, completely submerge the bait and collect the displaced water. Weigh the water and weigh the bait. The difference between the two measurements is the buoyancy. Repeat with the new lure and adjust the ballast until you match the buoyancy value. You may have to invest is a 0.1 gram scales. If you do not want to invest, I have a scales design made from paper and plastic cups that is good for 1% accuracy or 0.2 gram for a 20 gram bait. You got me thinking now Vodkaman, assume the molded lure would be indentical in size and shape to the wood master. If this is true, then both lures should displace the exact same amount of water. So if the weight of the plastic lure is equal to the wood lure you should have the same buoyancy, right? If I am thinking about this correctly this would only work if the two lures are identical....which in theory they should be if he chose to mold the lure. Getting back to the topic.....yes you can mold the lure. However, if you are to use a two-part plastic you will also need to add microspheres to gain buoyancy...this isn't hard to do. However, my experience be it limited is that plastics are maybe not the best match for floating lures. You might consider one of the foams instead which set up hard as a rock and are very buoyant. If you are only going to make a few as you have said for you and friends why not just stick to wood? Now that you have the design figured out it's just a matter of making more of them. Jed V. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Yes Jed, but the problem is that the molded material inevitably will have a diferent density to the original wooden lure, hense the tweaking to get it to swim the same, also the ballast will have to change to achieve the same buoyancy, if that is important to you. Personally, I perform this buoyancy calc for all my lures. I like about 10 to 15 percent of the final weight as buoyancy. It's really down to what feels right and how the lure behaves during a pause. This subject was covered well by Skeeter some time ago and has stuck in my mind. But, by this calculation method, I can determine the amount of ballast without any tank testing. As long as you are not going for a neutral buoyancy, I find the method more than adequate for reproduction of swim properties. As mentioned earlier today, KEEP NOTES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Head Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Alrighty, thanks alot for the help guys. No pics yet, still keeping this bad boy underwraps until I get a good bite to show off its potential. So far only followers... Thanks for the link, looks like exactly what I need. Also, fatfingers, I have EVERYTHING well documented on this bait. From the beginning I had it well planned out.... Thanks again guys, Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
