Cool thanks.

I'll have more photos and maybe some video tonight

This is coming from someone that hardly ever makes lipless baits, but here's my two cents:

I would try using a couple 1/4 ounce egg sinkers and partially flattening them with a hammer. Then use a dremel tool to grind out a large enough space to fit them in, and epoxy in place.

You also might look into using tungsten weights instead of lead. Tungsten is denser than lead, so the weights wouldn't have to be as large for a given weight. I haven't used Tungsten myself, but I've seen a few guys discuss using it in lures.

I hope this helps.

Ben

I looked into tungsten balls. They are around a dollar a piece for a 3/8 oz ball vs. the same weight for lead is 10 cents. (not buying in bulk anyway, if you buy 1000 lb at a time, you can get lead super cheap but I dont need that much ha) I think I'll smash the weight. I was going to get lead shot. A 50 cal lead ball is roughly 170 grains (a half oz is ~215 grains) I may be able to smash them and fit 2 in the nose. It may not even take that much to get it to sink, but most lipless cranks are half oz so I figured it would take that much.

How large is your lipless bait?  From the pics, it looks to me like your lure is about 2.5-3" long and the width is around 5/8-3/4".  If that's the case, you probably won't need any more weight than 3/8 ounce.  If your lure is smaller than that, you may not need any more than 1/4 ounce.  Some of the lures final weight comes from the lure body, not just the ballast.  On the lipless bait I just finished, I used 3/8 ounce of lead and the lure weighs 1/2 ounce now that it's done.  It doesn't sink like a rock, but it sinks fast enough and it stays down well.

It's 3 inches long. The top, 'lip' area is 1/4 inch (1/2 total when it's assembled), it then tapers down to roughly an 1/8 of an inch (so I'll have a 1/4 of an inch total). I was messing around with weights and things last night because my buddy gave me a reloading scale. It looks like there was only 158 grains of lead in the lipless crank I took apart (head weights and rattles included) which is close to 3/8 oz. That PVC is actually a little heavier than I thought it was, so it shouldn't take much to get it to sink. 2 or 3 .22 cal lead balls should do it

Love the cnc lure making.

Nate your 3D screen shots of the solid models are really hi-res.

My old Mastercam 9.1 with solid works is fair at making solids but the graphic on screen repesentations are no where near as crisp as yours.

Thanks! They average about 1.3 to 1.6 million vertices. The one DBatey posted that I did was sitting at 3 million at one time. I had to back off a bit because the file size was MASSIVE.

That's what I hate about sculpting, you need to have the same amount of points regardless of detail or it will turn out goofy in the end. I can then cut back the points after I'm done sculpting. I could probably have made them look as detailed with about 300,000 points, but it takes awhile for the computer to get rid of 'useless' points so I don't bother with it.

If your CNC guy has a lathe and turns steel as well have him give you a used insert it should fit in there somewhere near the front of the lipless one.

Thanks! They average about 1.3 to 1.6 million vertices. The one DBatey posted that I did was sitting at 3 million at one time. I had to back off a bit because the file size was MASSIVE.

Can I ask what method you're using to create the tool paths to machine these models?

garry - I'll ask him, he has all kinds of stuff. He even casts aluminum and lead so there's some other weight options

Susqy- I import the model (an .obj file) into Aspire. I then set up my material, lay out the model (I just laid out the 1 side, then mirrored it to make the second half). Then, you pick your bits. I did 3 cuts, 1 rough cut with a 1/2 bit, then a pocket cut (the dead space around the object, with the same bit. Finally, I did the detail cutting with a 1/16 bit. I probably could have used a 1/8 bit though too. It took about 30 minutes per model to cut.

I'll help ya test them and provide feedback.

Other than that, my skills with design = 0

;D 

I'll help ya test them and provide feedback.

Other than that, my skills with design = 0

;D

So your all but worthless? I wouldn't expect anything less from you

Nah I'm jokin', I'll spread the love around, don't worry. I just need to finish some before that can happen HAHA

Maybe we can all try them at the next Pa. Meet. 

Maybe we can all try them at the next Pa. Meet.

I hope to have some done by Jan. so that's a possibility Didn't realize the cost of all this until I started buying stuff haha.

Have you had any progress since your last pics?

Nope. Waiting to get my router. I probably won't buy that until next month

Will that router be under your Christmas tree? 

Nate, re pvc vs wood - pvc is considerably heavier than woods used for bait building so will require less ballast.  Re tungsten ballast -  you might consider something like tungsten shotgun pellets, such as the stuff sold here:

http://tungsten-spheres.com/tungsten_shot.html

Thanks BobP! I'll look into that.

Nine - I got my router, well I got a dremel for now haha. It works awesome. I was just messing around with it for now, but I should have some cut by next week. I have to go make a custom stylus for my 3/32 inch ball head bit. I was cutting with an 1/8 inch flat bit, but it makes the baits too... I dont know... chunky? so I had to get the ball head. Just hoping the Airbrush is under the tree

Nate, help me out here buddy. As I was rereading this thread you said it takes 30min. to cut a bait. Is that a complete bait or just one side?  I just thought that the cnc process would really cut down the time taken to carve a bait.  Can't wait to see a finished bait.

Nate, help me out here buddy. As I was rereading this thread you said it takes 30min. to cut a bait. Is that a complete bait or just one side? I just thought that the cnc process would really cut down the time taken to carve a bait. Can't wait to see a finished bait.

It took the CNC roughly 20 to 30 minutes to cut 1 side. I havent finished a side  on the router replicator though, so I dont know if I can do it faster.

The cnc was cutting with a 1/16 inch bit and im using a 3/32 inch bit, so I should be able to cut it quicker, but we will see. Should have some cut by next week (need to make a stylus for my new bits).

We got a new 3D printer at school last month and I already tried making some soft plastic molds. If you send me the file, I can run off a prototype.

Thanks man! I have the project that far... Now I just need to figure out how to make them quicker (and more cleanly... This dremel isn't going to cut it (no pun intended). I just won't smooth because it's not dead on 100% straight when it cuts). I may go back to the drawing board with this, make some molds and pour some resin.

I'll send you the files anyway so you can play around with them if you wish... I also have some soft plastic molds modeled if you want to play with them. What file format do you need? You can do whatever you want with whatever you cut

Nate, sorry it is not going as well as you hoped.

The speed to produce a shaped lure body was always going to be an issue, plus wood is not the most forgiving material to machine.

I see the CNC as a tool for making accurate, symmetrically balanced masters for use in a molding process.

Have you thought about casting a block of polyester resin and machining that, for use as a casting master. It should machine well without wearing out the bits. No grain and cheap. I like working with resin, it is a joy to drill and sand, it will polish up to a glass finish if you wanted.

My method would be to rough machine, two minutes with a flap wheel to  dull the edges, then epoxy to get a smooth finish for molding.

Dave

Sorry to hear that Nate. Don't give up, keep plugging away, Man.