# homemade duplicator



## Juice780 (Jan 24, 2013)

Hey guys i am new here and i was wondering if someone could help me out. I build balsa crankbaits on the side and i want to increase my production. I have talked to a fellow builder and he has made a homemade duplicator to cut his lures out. He promised the guy who showed him how to make it to keep it a secret and i was wondering if someone could help me out on how it might work and how to build one. He gave me a few pictures of his duplicator but it doesnt show a whole lot. I am attaching a few pictures so you will somewhat know what i am talking about. I am assuming that he has a copy and a wheel follows it while controlling the saw to cut the lure. Let me know what you think. Thanks


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## BigJoe16 (Feb 20, 2012)

I have seen videos of machines like this on YouTube. Try searching there.


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

Go to walmart and take a close look at the mechanism on their key making machine.....same principle.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*It may be similar...*

However that fishing lure is 3 dimensionally assymetrical, not just a flat plane like a key. A gunstock duplicator would be more like it.
There's a thread here on that somewhere..... :blink:


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

His pictures show way more than anyone wanting to keep a secret would want to show. I think your assumption about controlling the saw is incorrect. The saw is stationary and the wood axis is being adjusted. The master is probably on the opposite side of the wood axis (off picture left) and the follower is fixed to the table to match the saw blade. There wood axis is driven by a pulley run by a motor mounted on a swinging 'L' bracket and slung so the motor provides a counter-weight to maintain contact of the follower against the master (note the distance to the back of the table).

At least, that is how I interperate those pictures.

Regards,
Steve


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## Juice780 (Jan 24, 2013)

Improv said:


> His pictures show way more than anyone wanting to keep a secret would want to show. I think your assumption about controlling the saw is incorrect. The saw is stationary and the wood axis is being adjusted. The master is probably on the opposite side of the wood axis (off picture left) and the follower is fixed to the table to match the saw blade. There wood axis is driven by a pulley run by a motor mounted on a swinging 'L' bracket and slung so the motor provides a counter-weight to maintain contact of the follower against the master (note the distance to the back of the table).
> 
> At least, that is how I interperate those pictures.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. The more I looked at it I believe you are right the blade is stationary. I believe I might be able to build somthing like it.


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> However that fishing lure is 3 dimensionally assymetrical, not just a flat plane like a key. A gunstock duplicator would be more like it.
> There's a thread here on that somewhere..... :blink:


Only difference is that the key doesn't rotate, the lure does. Otherwise the same. Key moves in and out against the saw blade according to the template.. lure blank would do the same while rotating.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Yep, that would be the 3rd dimension*



Alchymist said:


> Only difference is that the key doesn't rotate, the lure does. Otherwise the same. Key moves in and out against the saw blade according to the template.. lure blank would do the same while rotating.


That's why I posted the gunstock duplicator, it duplicates in 3 dimensions. :yes: the rectangular chuck holding the workpiece must move in and out to achieve the end results.


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## Robalo01 (Jun 22, 2014)

Juice780, did you make your duplicator? I am also interested in one like that.


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

could do it with a router maybe? rather than a lathe? 2 peices of wood on mirrrored mounts. the piece to be duplicated runs across a smooth tip, the block being cut runs against a router. the sample and reference tip defines how much material the router cuts.

As your rotate and advance across the sample, the router cuts the other block to match.

Not sure what kind of resolution you could get. maybe depends how small the router bit is, and how small you make each advance down the length of the piece. It would basically be a very rudimentary CNC lathe... but with a mechanical instead of computerized guide.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

http://woodgears.ca/pantorouter/index.html

That to move the cutter, a lathe to spin the workpiece


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## Adillo303 (Dec 20, 2010)

Woonthings - That is an awesome machine.


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

epicfail48 said:


> http://woodgears.ca/pantorouter/index.html
> 
> That to move the cutter, a lathe to spin the workpiece


that things pretty cool, not sure if the 2 to 1 ratio is good or bad... but its still smart.


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## Robalo01 (Jun 22, 2014)

A few things that I see in common on the machines the big producers use:

1. The use a disc saw to cut the wood. Apparently this is faster, from the youtube videos I have seen

2. They have a contionueus feed. They don't chuck up a short piece of wood. They cut the end of a longer board.

3. They use motors, not tools like routers and angle grinders

4. The model they work off of is metal

5. The guide that rides on the model have a wheel and bearing.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

bauerbach said:


> that things pretty cool, not sure if the 2 to 1 ratio is good or bad... but its still smart.


The ratio is adjustable


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## Robalo01 (Jun 22, 2014)

I am sure a tool like that would work. I am looking for something more efficient. Like when is shown in the pics above.


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