bassmaster7938 Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) With cabin fever in fool swing, I got tired of airbrushing someone else's knock offs so I decided to come up with my own swimbait designs make them for myself so that if I lose one in a brush pile all I got to do is pour a new one. I plan to sell some here and there to cover all the costs. I really like the mike bucca bull shad but I felt for $50 plus I could make one much better which motivated me to make them. I have always made tackle so this was my new challenge. Here are my carvings I have been working on for the last 20 hours or so. I will have 2 shad types, 1 bluegill, and 1 glide bait modeled after a roman made mother with my own touches and measuring at a tasty 6.5" finished. I am making a master silicone molds for each one to pour resin swimbaits. Once the master molds are made and I make a resin copy, I will cut them into joints, install hardware test tune once they are ready for production. I will then make production molds of the actual baits. I want to keep the wood prototypes original. I want the master molds to be solid one piece so that if I want to make different versions of each one like adding more or less joints or mods of the same lure I don't have to carve another one. Its a big investment in silicone mold material but I think its the way to go. Here is my progress so far. My 6.5" Roman made mother prototype mold is poured and curing. I have along way to go, but I think headed in the right direction. I will keep this updated along my journey of finished products. I now understand why people charge so much for custom baits, so much time into design, then you got to design, make equipment and jigs to get the job done, carving tools, silicone and plastic resins, then mold making, tweaking, testing, tuning, pouring production molds, pouring resin baits, hardware, airbrushing and top coating. Hope you enjoy. I already have a healthy investment into everything from carving tools, scroll saw, dremel and supplies, drill press, supplies, hardware etc. and I am not even done with the molds. THanks to everyone on here for the wealth of information. I will keep this updated along my journey of finished products. Edited January 27, 2017 by bassmaster7938 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Really nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Impressive!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigginpig Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Looking very good so far on your first steps of your journey. Yes, keep us up to date as you travel. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robn510 Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 wow bro, looks promising. please keep posting with your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 You have some great skills. What resin will you use for the finished product? I will be sure to keep tuned in for updates along your journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigginpig Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Make little construction lines on the bait prior to the scale embossing process. Baits look great... I would be terror-fizz-ized trying to do al that at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowhunter Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Well, you have made some good progress so far, and I like your design. I don't know about rushing to make a master without the most important steps still ahead. Testing, making that piece of wood or plastic perform as you intend. Ask anyone here about prototype testing, failures, unexpected performance, and "Ah Ha" moments. I wish you the best of luck, but I find making those adjustments easier to do on a pre-production unit. Good Luck, Douglas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster7938 Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 (edited) We shall see hopefully it works out this way. I know as far as getting the bait symmetrical, its spot on. I actually used a roman made outline and proportions to make mine. If it doesn't pane out I got plenty of silicone to make a new mold. Mold came out great. I am going to pour a resin prototype soon. Based off a recommendation from a good lure maker I went with Featherlite. Edited January 30, 2017 by bassmaster7938 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 Good pour. How long is this lure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster7938 Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 It will be 6.25" with hardware. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted January 31, 2017 Report Share Posted January 31, 2017 Everything looks awesome! You have talent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster7938 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 BLUEGILL READY TO BE MOLDED SHAD FRESH OUT OF THE MOLD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster7938 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 FRESH OUT OF THE MOLD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Moving right along and looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuldraw Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 They look great! I'm looking to start a similar project very soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
