"Monster Builds" ,,,,,week 1,,,,skippylures," Broomstick Slug ".....

, Building a monster step one........... wood choice,,,,,,,
For me, most wood decisions are made by the plug being made :.......: .

Carving- if the plug is being carved, or if it is a duck, for me it is the simplest choice..." Basswood"
trust me when I tell you this wood was made to be carved. Not the most bouyant, very sandable,
also makes for a good medium column plug..... :read:
Topwater,,,,,,, red cedar - port orford, western red,and westen red old growth are my woods of choice drool
Alot of people are allergic to the red cedars, also the grain is a nightmare, :??????: and then ,
throw in the fact that the grain must perfectly line up, and you wonder why anyone would ever want
to use it,,,, Don't, send it all to me ....

Medium column- alaskan yellow cedar, basswood....
ayc is the builders choice because its properties are amazing, its satin finish right off the lathe screams,
I am ready to paint, its painting surface, the best and most easily prepared of all the cedars,
grain is easily hid, not the most bouyant :read:
I get my ayc from fixter
My old growth red comes from Bernzy....
My basswood I buy in boards and blocks,,,
Needles are, ayc, and mahogany, they have to be tough, when you like them thin...
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excellent info on the woods, skip, just want to add mine for freshie stuff, poplar = cranks, swim baits, carves nice, med weight wood, must be sealed real good, , pine and bass wood=top waters and cranks, same with the sealing, pine is nice and light, ( goes like a sponge if you dont seal it right)bass wood is a dream to carve, and still bouyant enough for top waters, wrc, my fav for top waters and trollers, cranks, nasty stuff, grain can be a pain like you said, very bouyant, carves nice, and the most durable of the readily avaible woods up here,

Etch

Nice info, I usualy just use WLA(whatevers lying around) but I'm still mostly practicing and don't want to spend too much on different woods.

Great info Skip on wood selection.

bennyraw wrote:Nice info, I usualy just use WLA(whatevers lying around) but I'm still mostly practicing and don't want to spend too much on different woods.

I do the same I go to homedepot and pick up any odd scraps that I find. I can usually find 3-5ft cuts of several types of pines, cedars and oaks all for under thirty bucks. This way I can experiment with different woods
relatively cheap, while I'm getting started.

Great info skip! I mainly use AYC for the same reasons as you, it pretty much the stardard now in the plug building community. I stay away from WRC just for the grain issues as well as dust. I also love working with basswood, it definately my favorite to deal with. I always seal it with epoxy, as basswood is so soft. The epoxy sealing hardens it like a rock. I use birch for needles, i find its still sealable but heavy enough that i can get the slow sink im looking for without much weight. Thats my 2 cents.

packing crates, you would be amazed what some of them are made out of. i just got 2 3" X 6" X 5ft pieces of aspen and it is amazing to turn. made some stuff for the house with it gonna try some darters and see what it does. other than that its AYC for me, easy to get and easy to use.

dozer 277 wrote:packing crates, you would be amazed what some of them are made out of. i just got 2 3" X 6" X 5ft pieces of aspen and it is amazing to turn. made some stuff for the house with it gonna try some darters and see what it does. other than that its AYC for me, easy to get and easy to use.

Hey dozer, you do hear a lot of good things about aspen,,,,,, can you clear a piece for us so we can see the grain?

, Okay we have gone over wood selection. :read:
The first lure I ever built was a "Broomstick Slug" :read: still my favorite plug when mullet are around,
this is how I do it...
Okay the broomstick , everyone has it in their house right now.
get ya a peice about five inches. hopefully your oldlady likes the thick ones
You will also need a 3/16 ounce of splitshot.......
Three screweyes they are available everywhere :read:
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Really, givin a choice, basswood for this project,,,,,, basswood dowels are everywhere these days...
Our sanding tools= ruler, and a piece of wood. :read:

To start, cut your 36grit paper and spray adhere it to your new wood blocks, also need a sheet of 120paper
and 220 paper :read:
We are going to make a cigar, IF! you decide to get it close with a knife, you "MUST" put
on a pair of leather gloves....
Extra credit to those that line up their grain

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Establish top dead centerline and bottom centerline before sloping head, I do this with a razor knife :.......:
next mark side lateral lines with a marker, and remove the shoulder area,,, this will take out the roll, and make plug crazy fast, before going too crazy with the shaping, drill the belly weight in, and glue it.
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now we are ready for some custom carving...
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,,, okay twenty minutes in sanding, and it is ready to seal, so far 35mins total.... :read:
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,plug has been sealcoated with 20 min quickcure epoxy, screweye holes
were filled with epoxy, before getting screwed
I like to apply the primer coat while sealcoat is still tacky.. :read:
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Finally we get to the painting
Also I have never used screweyes before, I did it to make the lure as easy to do as possible,
also this thing is going to catch you fish right now, trust me, get it in the water,,,,,

Another fan of basswood, I like working with it a lot !!!! WRC is nice also, if you find pieces that don't have those heavy growth rings. Really like mahogany also, makes nice swimmers. I've only done 2 or 3 plugs from AYC, so I don't have a n opinion on it yet, seems to be OK though.

Dozer - where do you find AYC easily around here ????? I have to send for it from a place in Pittsburgh, and it is expensive. Unless of course you get lucky and score lol !!!!

wow great post! what kind of tools do you use for the fine carving?? any specific blade?

i want to get going on one of these this weekend

naspinsz wrote:wow great post! what kind of tools do you use for the fine carving?? any specific blade?

i want to get going on one of these this weekend

Just utility knife a little,,, most of it is from your ruler wraped in 36grit.

Sweet deal Skippy

thats so cool how you did that with just paper and some wood blocks ...

man when is my start date ..???...LOL

Salts

Oldsalts wrote:Sweet deal Skippy

thats so cool how you did that with just paper and some wood blocks ...

man when is my start date ..???...LOL

Salts

Hey Salts, this will be completely done by our first monster chat on the 28th, :read: you will post
on the following friday the 4th, and then host the satnight surfchat on the 5th affraid we will work in your
thread till you hand it off to alphabaits on the 13th for his chat on the 14th.
I am trying to get my build done early, so I can use my chat time to draw the order for
the rest of the builds and get the rest of the format straight.......
week 1. surfchat host- Skippy, nov28 10pm live surfchat host
week 2. surfchat host- Old Salts, dec.5
week 3.surfchat host- Alphabaits, dec.12
We will draw the rest of the order in the chat on the 28th. and I am also
going to give a sweet custom away...... :read:

We are hoping to get everyone to post their build the day before they host,
friday night.......
thanks salts

quick question for the wood gurus, found a place by me that has, white cedar, and yellow cedar, are they the same as the alaskan cedars, and if not are they somewhat the same in there properties?? thanxs

Etch

etch wrote:quick question for the wood gurus, found a place by me that has, white cedar, and yellow cedar, are they the same as the alaskan cedars, and if not are they somewhat the same in there properties?? thanxs

Etch

hey etch, the white cedar is sweet, I remember reading the ayc, and yc properties were very close...

The Port Orford is nutz, just touch it with sandpaper and your whole house will smell like cedar :read:
Besides the prefered wood for chest, and cabinets, canoe builders are all over this stuff, when finished,
feels like magic in your hand, you really do not want to cover it, yeah that is Port Orford :king:

Another excellent thread.

I would throw in the idea of trying PVC board or what is called "sintra signboard." Sintra signboard is available from sign makers shops and a few other outlets. It is a white plastic composite, which can be cut, carved, and sanded; will not take on water...ever.

It is relatively cheap, about the same price as most wood and all in all, makes a great bait that should last several lifetimes. It is pure white so you might even get by without priming it, but I usually spray it white anyway before I paint it.

The downside? (And all the choices have a downside) It can be a bit tough to sand smooth and it can smell a bit odd while sanding and sawing it. I've heard that the fumes can be like western red cedar, so I would recommend wearing a respirator just as you should when working with western red cedar.

I've made a number of baits from the stuff and it cuts like butter. Of course, you never have to bother with sealing it prior to applying paint either because it simply will not take on water even if your clear coat is breached by hooks or teeth. Of course I still seal it with envirotex after painting to protect the paint and make the bait as durable as possible.

It has unique properties in the water. Not too buoyant, but still very lively.

You can buy it in different thicknesses such as 3/8 and 1/2 inch or thicker.

This is gonna be fun. I haven't decided what I'm going to build yet. I have it narrowed down to a few but no final decision. Can't wait.

Ted

skippy wrote:

Oldsalts wrote:Sweet deal Skippy

thats so cool how you did that with just paper and some wood blocks ...

man when is my start date ..???...LOL

Salts

Hey Salts, this will be completely done by our first monster chat on the 28th, :read: you will post
on the following friday the 4th, and then host the satnight surfchat on the 5th affraid we will work in your
thread till you hand it off to alphabaits on the 13th for his chat on the 14th.
I am trying to get my build done early, so I can use my chat time to draw the order for
the rest of the builds and get the rest of the format straight.......
week 1. surfchat host- Skippy, nov28 10pm live surfchat host
week 2. surfchat host- Old Salts, dec.5
week 3.surfchat host- Alphabaits, dec.12
We will draw the rest of the order in the chat on the 28th. and I am also
going to give a sweet custom away...... :read:

We are hoping to get everyone to post their build the day before they host,
friday night.......
thanks salts

I've got everyone's requests that I will put all in one spot and PM you a little later.