Master builders,

Do you apply this after the blank comes off of the lathe, with the ends on or do you cut the ends off of the blank then do Aqua Orientation.
I heard a lot of conversation at the canal about this.

Thanks for your time,
Mike

I do thru hole and then cut off ends and then do the balancing act, let dry for a few days and then holes, weight ,lips, etc.... Plugs with lips I just drill thru hole from rear to front belly hole location, then hydro. Just my way. Master screw up is more like it.

I turn and sand plug, then drill thru or atleast start the thru hole from the rear before cutting the ends off. After this it would be time to hydro orientate unless you want to put a quick dip in sealer on it first. that is my opinion but I'm no master either

I do not feel a need for it personally! Especially on metal lip swimmers. If there is a density issue with the top of the plug having a slight desire to roll when you folks "Hydro Orient" the weight of a belly weight, grommet, swivel and hooks will offset this effect.....after all it is a swimmer and it is designed to roll and/or wiggle. I had this discussion with an engineer and he agreed. As Paul says to each his own!:uhuh:

What is a master builder? :)

I do not feel a need for it personally! Especially on metal lip swimmers. If there is a density issue with the top of the plug having a slight desire to roll when you folks "Hydro Orient" the weight of a belly weight, grommet, swivel and hooks will offset this effect.....after all it is a swimmer and it is designed to roll and/or wiggle. I had this discussion with an engineer and he agreed. As Paul says to each his own!:uhuh:
I agree :agree:, I hydro orient at the beach:)

What is a master builder? :)
I hope it's not like a Master Baiter:confused:

I've noticed that the stripers like the bait that swims different than the others. Must be one of the reasons that pencils and spooks work so good. Plus look at the action we try to impart in our swimmers. Seems like tryin to undo what we want and make the plug swim pretty rather than the eratic action we look for like in the Darters. Too much balance seems like an ego thing rather than practical when it comes to catching fish. Ron

I think your all overanalyzing it. I've tried it and not found any friggin difference.

Sorry folks,

This is a darter question? Bottle darter also? Going for plugs that don't have metal lips.....

Thanks

Same with them Mike...swimmers wiggle, roll....erratic action. Don't bother with the pre paint swim......any "imbalance" will only enhance the action!

Sorry folks,

This is a darter question? Bottle darter also? Going for plugs that don't have metal lips.....

Thanks

Two plugs that would not benefit actually be deterred by Hyrdo Orientation in my opinion. I do not believe there are any benefits to HO but I am just a hack. To each there own.

Wooden darters are about the only place I can see doin this. To much imbalance on one side or the other and they rollover on their back and go belly up on the surface. Probably why one out of every 5 doesn't work right. You never can tell whats inside of each peice of wood and where it may be. Isn't that one of the reason Northbar is makin his darters out of plastic?

So I've sold over 500 2 oz darter kits since I brought them out this year. Your telling me I should have ~100 emails from people with rolling issues.

Not one.
You put a swivel and a hook on the belly it's more than enough of a keel to make any difference of any different weight distribution.

Why doesn't a cruise ship tip over if there's more people on one side. Your offsetting dynamics somewhere but I don't think it makes any difference.

You know who to ask? Someone who designs submarines. Would be interesting to find out if having something heavier in a upper or lower corner of a sub causes it to roll. That would equate in science to what a piece of wood does in the water?

Page 15 on

http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/3442/DSTO-TR-1622.pdf

Page 18 what's that look like :think:

Page 19 look at the basic design-all the heavy batteries are at the very bottom. Provides a keel...just like a belly hook does. You can do pretty much anything else with the middle part of the space..then the top has lighter stuff. Keeps it from tipping over. That would mean you'd have to add lots of weight to the top to make any kind of difference. Equate that to a piece of wood and I'm betting still it don't make a difference. There ain't weight enough there. Wood isn't that abnormal of weight distribution. I've seen pieces where it's very heavy on one end or the other but it's very very few and not typical.

MMMMM Good points Scott. I haven't had any problems with yours so far. But Gibs,Tatto and a couple of the Northbars love to spend their time belly up. Been using darters since I was a kid and have a box full of ones that don't swim right. Musso.s,Leftys ,gibbs,you name them I've got them. Super strike has been my most reliable till I got lucky and traded for a couple at Plugfest and got a couple of Sandmans from him.Best swimmin ones wee the old Point Judes from way back. Ron

Is there a difference in the lip cuts or line tie placement Ron?

Wood isn't that abnormal of weight distribution. I've seen pieces where it's very heavy on one end or the other but it's very very few and not typical.

As many have said, rigging the plug up offsets this imbalance and here's a first hand example...

I turned a danny body out of pine a while back. While there was nothing visibly different with the wood, it absorbed a very large amount of sealer on one side of the body and appeared to be very unbalanced. When I put the plug body on a flat, level surface it rolled hard to the side with the extra weight. As an experiment I inserted the lead belly weight, put the hooks on, and fully rigged it so it could be tested out in water before I finished it...

The plug lists to one side while sitting in the water, but upon retrieve it rights itself and swims like a champ...

I think the orientation of grain lines to prevent splitting is more important than hydro-orientation in a darter. I like to hydro-orient swimmers. Maybe it doesn't matter, but I feel better fishing the plug if I do.

Yup there is. Some of them are set up high and the Point judes have a cupped lower lip almost like an upside down popper.The Tattoos are like some of the older mussos before the larger one was done. I was looking at them a bit ago and there does seem to be a difference in the type of wood. i'm guessing at that because there is a noticable weight difference in some of them.The only tinkering that I've done to them ever was a larger front hook to angle them deeper and a tied tail hook.There is more problems with the through wired ones than the screw eye one. The older 3 hook Gibbs never seemed to have probs but the 2 hook ones do.The use of swivel snaps sure does change the way they work too.One I looked at yesterday had a misplace weigh in it too. Angled way off center.