Way to go MAC

[ProfessorM]

I hate CNC's . Sorry Lu. I prefer the old fashion way.

[Charleston]

The words "custom made" and the term CNC should not exist together when describing plugs. There is nothing custom about CNC.

While CNC definitely has it's place in manufacturing it takes all the personality out of plug building. It's where you draw the line between hand made (custom) and mass produced.

[spence]

Originally Posted by Charleston

The words "custom made" and the term CNC should not exist together when describing plugs. There is nothing custom about CNC.

Is there really much difference between a CNC plug and one made on a lathe with a duplicator?

-spence

[Karl F]

Originally Posted by spence

Is there really much difference between a CNC plug and one made on a lathe with a duplicator?

-spence

Damn Good Point. and yes , there are subltle differences.. Speed, and the cnc is much more accurate.

The prototype gets the original design and tweaking, if you are doing quantity of a proven plug, a duplicator can do that, and save you time.. a CNC can do that better and faster..

I can't imagine anyone selling, not using a cnc, or a duplicator, templates, and any form of layout, jigs etc. that they can to speed the process.. of a proven prototype.. if they have to test, & tune, & swim each one.. the logistics of that, are a plan for failure, as a company.

Hard to imagine a machinist that hates CNC technology, especially knowing how they appreciate tolerances.. but.. maybe it just reminds them of work...

I have no problem with plugs made from a duplicator, or a CNC.. as long as they swim and catch fish.. whats the big deal.. almost sounds like some kind of elitist mentality...
Seen the end result of that.. look up at Scorton.. Scorton Pine..

[vinnyb]

Originally Posted by Karl F

I can't imagine anyone selling, not using a cnc, or a duplicator, templates, and any form of layout, jigs etc. that they can to speed the process.. of a proven prototype.. if they have to test, & tune, & swim each one.. the logistics of that, are a plan for failure, as a company.

I once asked Mike Fixter why no two of his plugs are exactly the same in dimension. He said (and I paraphrasing here) that for him, the fun of building was in creating each piece differently. He said that if they were all the same, he'd quickly lose interest. I then asked him how he can be sure a particular piece will swim properly. The answer - you guessed it - he test swims each & every one.

[capesams]

I'd have to say no difference....but a plug turned with a set of calipers and a chisel wood be more in line of custom.Getting down to nitty gritty, hand carves are truly custom...made by hand..no machine.

[spence]

I can't imagine a CNC plug and a duplicator plug would be different enough to impact performace, considering the other and obvious factors that contribute to quality.

-spence

[Canalman]

Let me tell you the real difference. A CNC guy is working to pump out volume, therefore he never holds each piece of wood... when I spin a plug... if I pick up a blank that feels light... I toss it aside and make a popper or a pencil out of it... if it feels heavy.. I toss it aside and make something that dives a bit etc. Also... little things are over-looked like flushing the weight holes off perfectly (no mine aren't always perfect either ) Then we come to paint.. no custom colors, no attention to detail... just a coat of white a coat of pink... white... green.... white black. High volume and custom aren't the same... hell a lot of it is outsourced to the phillipines! I'm not knocking the high volume guys for doing what they have to do to meet their demands... I'm SOOOO glad I don;t have those demands, I do this because I love to do it, and if it became a REAL job, It'd probably ruin building for me and maybe even (gulp!) fishing! It's one of those whatever floats your boat deals... some guys love the competition of making more than Habs or Better than Beachmaster, I get a kick out of hearing about good fish taken on a plug I made and what little money I earn goes toward my student loans or more likely eels . Those are the diff's I see...

-Dave