finally need some wood...

ok so thanks to my brother not being able to hit the surf to fish. i've decided to push ahead getting the basement ready to turn plugs. i hope to have the tables and all built and the tools set up to go. now for the most important things. the wood to turn.

i know there's a ton of posts on a certain other site and i seen a couple here but my searching skills are as good as my fishing skills. just not there. the first plug we are looking to make are pencil poppers. i like a medium weighted lure in the 2-2 1/2oz range. my brother likes larger plugs say 3oz+. so is there a wood that will work for this type of lure and the weight ranges we are looking to try and get? what type of places will carry that type of wood? online is not really an option but i can see about ordering somehow.

i know i'm going to need a burr ball or something similar to make the cup on the end. is there anything besides a burr ball that i can use? just trying to find options to building.

cedar is a basic wood to use and your going to add weight to it so it fits your needs as to what weight you want it.

as far as cupping the face of a popper yes you and most use a paddle bit or arbor drill bit...

You can't go wrong using basswood, nice stuff to work with. You are close to a great place for wood. Look up Monteath Lumber on Bordentown Rd, they have many different types of wood that are good for plug building.

i use a cove bit to poppers just watch the fingers

I don't bother cupping the face on pencil pencil poppers. I usually just sand a slight angle on the face.I only use a cupped face on poppers that I retrieve in a straight line. The pencils face swings side to side so I don't see the need to cup the face. Make sure you add weight to the ass end or it won't work correctly! my 2 cents

FJR wrote:You can't go wrong using basswood, nice stuff to work with. You are close to a great place for wood. Look up Monteath Lumber on Bordentown Rd, they have many different types of wood that are good for plug building.

In the way of topwater lures, and even needlefish, basswood is my favorite wood to build with. The biggest complaint you will hear about basswood is its softness, which can easily be changed by sealing with epoxy. The wood tends to firm up after you use sealer, just keep in mind with basswood, your going to need to submerge the plug at least once to ensure a tight seal, simply because the wood is so porous.

NeedFish wrote:

FJR wrote:You can't go wrong using basswood, nice stuff to work with. You are close to a great place for wood. Look up Monteath Lumber on Bordentown Rd, they have many different types of wood that are good for plug building.

In the way of topwater lures, and even needlefish, basswood is my favorite wood to build with. The biggest complaint you will hear about basswood is its softness, which can easily be changed by sealing with epoxy. The wood tends to firm up after you use sealer, just keep in mind with basswood, your going to need to submerge the plug at least once to ensure a tight seal, simply because the wood is so porous.

what do you mean by submerge the plug?

holymackeral wrote:

NeedFish wrote:

FJR wrote:You can't go wrong using basswood, nice stuff to work with. You are close to a great place for wood. Look up Monteath Lumber on Bordentown Rd, they have many different types of wood that are good for plug building.

In the way of topwater lures, and even needlefish, basswood is my favorite wood to build with. The biggest complaint you will hear about basswood is its softness, which can easily be changed by sealing with epoxy. The wood tends to firm up after you use sealer, just keep in mind with basswood, your going to need to submerge the plug at least once to ensure a tight seal, simply because the wood is so porous.

what do you mean by submerge the plug?

Poor choice of words on my part. What I meant to say is that if your using a normal sealer like BLO or Helmsman, make sure you put the plug in the sealer at least once.

if your going to turn a bunch of plugs you can even use some Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and lots of others,,,,,, Just be sure to use dust collection and wear a mask,,,,

I started with a cedar post form Home Depo. I am not a big fan of pencil poppers so mine are out of pine. Chepo framing lumber cut offs from work sites.

I also keep an eye out on craigslist for wood in the free section and along the curb. Lot of maple tables, and chairs get tossed out. When I was working at Temple Univ. there was a ton of construction on the side streets and many of those beams were some very dense pine.

And then there is the lumber yard that will cut anything you need or tell you who can.