3D Printed Crankbait
August 19, 2016
3D Printed Crankbaits
STL files for these lures are available at Printables and can be found HERE.
This is my first go at designing a full size printed Crankbait. I had so much fun designing the tiny ultralight crankbait while those were printing I jumped back into Solidworks and came up with this design for a full size lure.
This lure is also printed in two halves from PLA and then glued together. The top void can be filled with an few BB’s to add rattle or left open to achieve a floating bait. (no it’s not normal to add weight to the top of a lure but it still worked in this case and was more for rattle noise)
The complete build process can be found HERE.
Below are some of the patterns I’ve painted with links to the YouTube videos I learned from.
This was the first lure I made and painted and it’s still my most productive one. I wasn’t to versed on airbrushing (besides model planes back in the day but I learned a lot from watching YouTube tutorials by “Lure Me In Custom Painted Crankbaits”.
This one was me just testing various stencils I printed on a clear lip version.
STL Files for this version can be found HERE.
Perch design using various techniques learned in the videos.
This one is the “Radioactive perch” (printed in glow in the dark filament)……
…. I shall call him “Blinky”. (he just needs a third eye.)
Once the design is done it’s really easy to make custom stencils for painting too.
The stencils just easily attach for painting with simple alligator clips.
The design is scalable to a certain extent. (The 40% one really didn’t swim right, but I’m going to work at it again because I could probably use this one with my fly rod.)
A couple of largemouths from my first day testing, nothing too big but a very good test none the less.
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6 Replies to “3D Printed Crankbait”
can you send me the file for the lure stencil?
The files are on Thingiverse… the link is at the top of the page. There should be a blank step file too so you can cut your own out.
Interesting little bait. I was looking to make some small ones for winter crappies in Florida. $6=7 is just too much for a single crappie lure.
I notice your %40 might be about right for me. I would bet the single piece hook is a big part of why it doesn’t swim right. Try a wire loop like the others – I will.
Thanks… yeah might work with thin enough wire and small split rings. If you give it a try let me know how it works out.
What resins are best for crank baits?
Sorry I don’t know anything about resin printing so I’d hate to point you in the wrong direction.