more of the 1st batch.

Nice work. Picked up 2 birch dowels while at Rockler today. Gotta spin couple needles and pencils........needing a BM model to emulate for the north shore surf. Haven't ho'd a plug yet, cept Slip's dahtah blank from the show and that just got first coat of white yesterday.

Quick rookie question.........

Do you weight the tail more or the belly? And what is the average length and diameter of a pencil/needle? I have some turned already and have yet to take the next step. I would like to know how far off I am off the norm.

Oh man what a question! :eek:

Needles really have no specific guidelines for length, weight or diameter. Most people make needles to cast a long way, so the bulk of the weight is situated near the rear of the plug with a counter balance up front. As you build more and more, you will begin to understand what weighting really does. I make several needles with different weights and sizes. Everything from sinks like a rock to slow sinking/suspending to floaters, each has it's own situation and sets of circumstances, so build them to fit your needs. That's part of the fun of building your own, you can make them to do exactly what you want them to do.

-Dave

All of the needles in the photo have a different weight scheme. One has 1/4 tail weight in the nose and tail, swims nice and casts like a bullet. One is tail weighted with some weight under the nose. I weighted everything different to see what felt best for me. Im finding out that is the fun of it, all of the experimentation.

Nice looking needles.....I agree, experimenting is part of the fun of the whole thing.


Nightfighter, I got a few Howdy's and Spooks in progress right now and one of 'em has your name on it.... :D They're getting their Linseed bath tonight.

Ross where is the Rockler store??

Hey Nightfighter. Paint that darter white or yellow. That's all you need... Missed you Sunday down at LMB. TDF, none for me???

;)

Bill, it's 0n 114 in Danvers. They are having a sale on Jet tools coming up this weekend.

TDF, sounds good to me!

Steelhead, sorrt to miss you, but was dropping trees..... Maybe this weekend. Need to review your ideas for my casa.

I figured as much about weighting differently and experimenting.
I like the pictures people post here that give me some good ideas. I hope to some day make something comparable.........maybe they'll even catch fish.
I'm still a long ways off from paint so it may be awhile........I have all different hardware I've been buying for about a month now.......just can't seem to find the time to work at any length of time on them......soon I'll post some pic's. Thanks for the advice.

All of the needles in the photo have a different weight scheme. One has 1/4 tail weight in the nose and tail, swims nice and casts like a bullet. One is tail weighted with some weight under the nose. I weighted everything different to see what felt best for me. Im finding out that is the fun of it, all of the experimentation.

You hit the nail on the head. Get them to work the way you want them. Experimention is the fun part of building :kewl: Nice needles by the way. :)

nice work! :btu: what's the length and weights?

They come in at 6 inches and from 1.5 to 1.8 oz's