Plug Building Tutorial (Kits)

Here is how i make my first plug kit. any criticism?



Boiled linseed oil- smallest can they sell
Mineral spirits (paint thinner)- medium sized can
150 grit sandpaper- small pack
Rustoleum flat white primer
Rustoleum spray paint- whatever colors grab you
rags
Rustoleum clear spray enamel
tall jar (peanut jars are good)- to immerse plug in
sealer
Epoxy- 30minute clear- to glue in belly weight if
have one
Acetone- smallest can they have
Screw in J shaped cup hooks (2-3" long) NOT small
brass cup hooks

Get back to me once you have all materials and I will go over mixing the sealer and VITAL safety precautions related to the linseed oil. OK?

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STEP .5- Lightly sand the plug with 150 to open the pores of the wood. Slightly radius any hard corners on the nose, tail, eye holes or hook holes. Hard corners are more prone to breaking off and don't take paint as well as corners with a small radius. Wipe off dust.

STEP 1- Make sure your tall jar is clean. Use a magic marker to mark it halfway up on the outside. Now mark halfway between the top and that mark, and the bottom and that mark. That should have divided the jar into 1/4s.

STEP 2- Mix the Boiled Linseed Oil and Mineral Spirits in a 60:40 ratio. In otherwords, 3 parts BLO to 2 parts MS.

STEP 3- Put jar lid on and shake to thouroughly mix.

STEP 4- Immerse plug in mixture for 60 seconds. If it can't be immersed completely just pull it out after 60s and immerse the other end for another 60s.

STEP 5- Allow as much of the mixture to drip back into the jar as possible. I like to wipe off one end and then softly blow the excess out of the plug. Wrap rag around plug and blow the excess out of the hook holes too.

STEP 6- Use a clean dry rag to wipe any excess off the plug.

STEP 7- ***SAFETY ISSUE*** Boiled linseed oil can combust if rags soaked in it are left balled up or tossed into a trash can. **ALWAYS DRAPE RAGS WITH BLO OR BLO/MS MIXTURE IN A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN DRY OUT.** I like to take mine out of the house all together. NOTE- Do not reuse this rag as it may leave oil on your plugs that will affect the adhesion of the paint.

STEP 8- Place the plug in a warm dry area and let it dry for several days. You will know it is dry when it doesn't have a cool damp feel to it, and it will make dust when sanded with 150.

STEP 9- Get back to me after Step 8. :-)
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How should it the BLO/MS dry it has been ~24 hours and it doesn't feel damp or cool. i was wondering if i should just give it a feew days to assure that it is dry

Give it at least 4-5 days. If you paint it too soon the sealer will not allow the primer to adhere. It that isn't well stuck, the entire paint job is lost. And it's back to square 1! NO FUN. Be patient and plan on priming towards the end of the week.
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i put the flat end of belly weight in firt and leave the rounded at the suface?

Round end in first- it you do flat end first you will create a little pocket of air or epoxy that could affect the balance of the plug. Be sure to coat the inside of the hole and the lead before it goes in. Then push it all the way down so any extra epoxy in the hole is squeezed out. You may need to push it down more than once, as it may rise back out. Use extra epoxy to fill in the low area on top of the lead. Don't leave a big blob on the wood- wipe it with some acetone on a rag. It is rock hard once cured and a pain to sand off with out messing up the shape of the plug.
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I epoxied thursday should i prime today?

Yup! Light coats with a few minutes of dry time in between. You will be able to put on finish paint later today. Primer dries pretty fast if it is warm where you paint. Good luck!!
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ok, i will paint it yellow
Not sure of the type sorry
how many coats do you think?

Type of paint?
Number of coats- enough to get a nice uniform color that covers the primer. Probably 3-4 LIGHT one.
Rustoleum
ok thanks[/quote]

Rustoleum is perfect.
Have fun. Don't gas yourself with the fumes. You can spray outdoors and then bring inside to dry.
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How do you paint yours?

I either hold them by one of the hooks with a rubber glove on, or I suspend the plug horizontally by placing the hooks on the edges of a box or bucket. This method is good, but the plug sometimes tries to roll over due to the belly weight.

The trick to not getting runs is to never just point the can at the plug and spray. You want to hold the plug about a foot away from the can, start spraying to the side of the plug and then pass the can by the plug so that it mists the plug on the way by. I bet you could find a video of this on the web if you looked. Try googling "spray painting" .
Ok.
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OK. If you are going to add stick on eyes now is the time. After that- coat with clear 30 minute epoxy. Mix per instructions on the package. Brush on with a stiff bristled brush. Don't put it into the hook or wire holes or the lip slot if there is one. Coat everything else evenly. Note- don't put a glob on the eye hooks. Go light on the ends. Once coated hang it vertically and flip it every few minutes so epoxy doesn't run down plug. Once epoxy is set allow to cure for a couple of day.
Do i coat over the eyes?
also i only have 6 Minute Epoxy would 30 Minute be better if so what brand ?
PS Yes- put it right over the eyes
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when do i put the brass belly groment on? before or after epoxy

all hardware is done after the epoxy
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Do you have a bench vise?

How about a larger pair of needle nose pliers?

Also, do you have vise grips?___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
OK- here we go!!

1- assemble all the hardware and bend the wire straight down at a 45 degree angle to the tail end of the plug.

2- Grasp the wire with the needle nose pliers as close to the tail grommet as possible. NOTE- don't use the very tip of the pliers- grab the wire about 1/3 of the way into the plier jaws. IF you grasp it on the tips you will get a very small tail loop on your plug, and this can hinder the action of the tail hook.

3- Grab the wire with your hand and wrap it up and over the top jaw of the pliers. Go around the tips of the pliers so you can make a loop around the plier jaws.

4- ONce you have a loop, place the tail loop in your vice so that the vise jaws just squeeze the loop, but the loop isn't up inside the jaws.

5- adjust the vise grips so they will lock onto the wire.

6- while pulling at right angles to the wire protruding from the back end of the plug, wrap the tail of the wire around the main wire 2-4 times as snuggly neatly as possible.

7- cut off excess wire and squeeze the tag end in with your needle nose so the sharp edge isn't sticking out.

LBI THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I look forward to seing you plugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





FC

made following these steps however i used an air brush instead of rattle cans

Lbifisherman429 wrote:
made following these steps however i used an air brush instead of rattle cans

Have you been able to swim this plug yet????


FC

Not yet, im not sure that i will swim it since it was my first. i got the kits as a gift from my uncle but i dont know where he got them they are a40 kits

Lbifisherman429 wrote:Not yet, im not sure that i will swim it since it was my first. i got the kits as a gift from my uncle but i dont know where he got them they are a40 kits

When you do try it try walkin it!!!It looks fine!!!!


FC

Good to have young plug builders on board..

Ok here is what I have come up with from trial and error. I would stop using Boiled Linseed Oil(BLO) not only can you burn your house down with it, it will never fully dry. You are using rattle can, the vehicle in the can which the paint travels on will re-wet the BLO. The result will be a nasty amber-brown stain that will appear through your finished plug( shows up even more on light colored paint schemes)

Sealing all depends on the type of wood you are using.

WOODS:

Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC) [Really is a Cypress] this type of wood does not need to be sealed, it will not soak up water (test it out for yourself) With AYC I prime, sand, base coat, epoxy, detail coat, epoxy, then epoxy again.

Douglas Fir, White Cedar, Red Cedar, Pine, Poplar, Basswood; I seal these woods, they will soak up water like a sponge in their natural raw state.


SIDE NOTE: The Cedar and Cypress woods have natural rot inhibitors in them, your lure rotting on you will not happen in your lifetime with these woods.


SEALERS:

Sanding Sealer:
A great sealer and can be used for a Natural finished plug. This is your healthiest choice. Remember when using this mix it up well, it should look milky.

Epoxy:
An excellent sealer, if you have the right conditions. First it is toxic so you need to use it in a WELL VENTILATED AREA, I can not stress that enough, even for your top coats. Second the temperatures in your environment reflect how well your epoxy will perform. You need the wood and epoxy to be in the 80-90 degree range to get maximum penetration (some folks like it warmer)

Propionate:
(Prop) is plastic dissolved in either Acetone or Lacquer Thinner. This is not a healthy choice either but by far the most convenient. Once you have the plastic in solution you just dip your plug until you no longer see bubbles, hang and could prime in 20-30 minutes. This is a very successful method, Rapala would not be using it on their Balsa baits if it were not. Use the this WELL VENTILATED AREA as well especially if you decide to use Acetone.

As I stated before these are my conclusions and work well in my area and conditions. I live if South West Florida where it is almost always in the 80's. You live in NJ and maybe some of the NJ area builders can elaborate on what works in your conditions.

THANKS!!!!!
where would i get the sealers that you mentioned?