I am headed out to my shop to mill some wood for my winter turning! I will be milling wood for my "Beastmaster" pikie! Gonna turn on WZLX and Blues on Sunday and make some sawdust! What are you going to be working on this winter?

I am headed out to my shop to mill some wood for my winter turning! I will be milling wood for my "Beastmaster" pikie! Gonna turn on WZLX and Blues on Sunday and make some sawdust! What are you going to be working on this winter?

This past Spring I reverse engineered a Habs Needle (large and small) and a Habs Night-n-Gale. I made one of the large exactly like a Habs large. It worked great. I'm gonna do a bunch of each this winter.

Stubbys, Wadds style and my slim and super slim Pikes. Have the stubbys turned and sealed. Some are for skinning w/groove and rest w/eyes. Doing wadds style needles in walnut and stubbys in birch. Pikes Are AYC. I had a order of birch misinterpreted and had 4 8' 5/4 lengths sent. I wanted 1 to share. It's premium birch which is 5/4 in 8' lengths, approx 7" wide in shop. Will mill to your diameter in squared lengths either 1' or 4' lengths. Full board 7" X 8' length approx 70.00.

I will post a few pics later to kick this thread up a bit and I encourage others to do the same!! Lets have fun with it!

Here are a few pics of the "Beastmaster" during build and completed!

You've been "busy". Looking good. Like the round nose.

I'm still fishing.

At some point this winter I need to build some 1.5 oz pencil poppers as I threw my last white one away (along with my elbow) trying to reach 12" fish and I'm left using ones in colors I never should have painted (like flo green or redhead/yellow body). DUMB.

Time to try and build some magic swimmer swimbait stuff, since watching he who shall not be named outfish my plugs 6:1 is soul crushing.

Need to build some more small scale stuff to better match the fish we'll be fishing on the next few years.

George....curious to know how you found the fishing this season? I had a dismal season in the salt but I am curious how you found the quantity and the quality (size) of the fish this season or lack there of?

I have some small needles on the lathe now, DZ gave me one from his late buddy zekes stash, it's a little bigger than an a pocket rocket but has belly hook.

Got 18 9.5" pencils sealed up and ready for primer/paint this week
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George....curious to know how you found the fishing this season? I had a dismal season in the salt but I am curious how you found the quantity and the quality (size) of the fish this season or lack there of?

The spring was slow for me but the early-mid summer good (even though I managed to lose most of the real large fish I hooked).
The fall has been disappointing so far. Plenty of tiny fish but finding anything of quality (say 20# plus) has been a lot of work.........meaning that I have to take out Paul just to see one.

On the other hand I had great black sea bass fishing, caught some cod, albies, and a solitary bonito (that hit a butterfly jig in 117 ft of water, go figure). I fished in some manner (often just for schoolies) almost every day and weather was good so I'm not complaining.

I have some small needles on the lathe now, DZ gave me one from his late buddy zekes stash, it's a little bigger than an a pocket rocket but has belly hook.

Got 18 9.5" pencils sealed up and ready for primer/paint this week
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That sounds promising. I threw the SS show special needle for awhile but per usual it sinks too fast for me.

I had a great time fishing metal lips this season so I'll be making more of those in a variety of styles. Deep diving, sub surface and surface swimmers all produced well for me this year. I also want to make some more 9" needles in heavy and light versions as they also produced some good fish for me.

Not really sure I'll have a lot of time to experiment with new designs this year but if I do I may try a large or smaller metal lip and maybe a jointed swimmer or some kind. I've made a bunch of prototype jointed swimmers and some swim nicely but I haven't really fished or worked on trying to duplicate any of them.

Topwater take......or a metal lip rip?? Which one is your favorite way to catch? Its a tough call for me as I love the topwater action, the visual of the hit and the thrashing......however I must say I love the moment when I am working my metal lip swimmer, feeling it thrum as I retrieve and the line just goes tight and the rod bends!!!! Thats my choice!:uhuh:

Exciting for sure surface takes. Since I don't have much chance to fish top water, dead sticking darters in anticipation of a strike at the end of sweep is my hot button. Don't get me wrong having continuous fish hitting a popper amongst a blitz whether easy or not is a blast. Today I'll be out of the dungeon. Blow leaves, then to my neighbor's to mill birch. I'll have more 5/4 cut and planed if anyone needs some. My next spin is wadd style needles. Birch for sinkers and AYC for surface cruisers. I finish a couple mahogany needles which weigh is a 1/2oz heavier than birch. Finished natural w/system 3.

Pretty much got all my stock cut up for the upcoming season. I do it at work as I don't have a band saw and work has a nice one so up till now no need but I am finally wanting to get one so I can do more fixtures and leave set up, as I can't leave stuff set up at work. so I am looking for one. I have gotten some things turned so far, needles, 2 size darters, eelskin Conrad Jr.'s. Dannies and my large darter are next. I will also be trying to finish up some promised plugs from years past, sorry to whom I have strung along, and some very small runs of stuff I always wanted to try like the Kuzia Hippo. Next step is to start thru drilling at work what I have turned so far. Lots of enthusiasm right now but by the time March comes I will be struggling to finish half of what I intended.

I am also going to make a new spray box with a new, old, fan.

A pic of the Kuzia Hippo

Topwater take......or a metal lip rip?? Which one is your favorite way to catch? Its a tough call for me as I love the topwater action, the visual of the hit and the thrashing......however I must say I love the moment when I am working my metal lip swimmer, feeling it thrum as I retrieve and the line just goes tight and the rod bends!!!! Thats my choice!:uhuh:

My sentiments exactly Larry. I not going to be able to build while away this winter so I'm turning as much as I can now and will finish when we get back next Spring.
I am sooooo addicted to needles, I'm hardly turning anything else. But I will turn a couple dozen metal lip swimmers.

While not wood, my foray into making my own plugs this winter will be casting resin using silicone molds.

Finally got my first mold done last night and had some issues with the release agent so now the 2 part mold is a 1 part mold... shouldn't be a problem.

I'm going to start by using some existing plugs I have which are near impossible to get my hands on anymore and if I like the finished product, move into making my own to cast.

If I get in front of a computer tonight I'll post some pictures.
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Got around to doing some handcarveds which is something I haven't done in quite some time. The small blue over silver is actually silver leafed. These little guys are probably my most productive plug over the years.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060013_zpswgyyu01x.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060013_zpswgyyu01x.jpg.html)

I have a few more in the works both some Ive done before and have been decent fish catchers especially the redfin copy. The other is loosely based on a Maverick.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060005_zpsfo1ba2lp.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060005_zpsfo1ba2lp.jpg.html)

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060004_zps70oei0yw.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060004_zps70oei0yw.jpg.html)

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060003_zpshccu18av.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060003_zpshccu18av.jpg.html)

I have also moved to liking a lighter smaller pencil which more suits my needs. These will be totally sealed with a couple canal style and the rest full round. The white one in the middle of the pic is a resin pencil I have been messing around with. I really like the plug and it casts and fishes extremely well. I pour these with the weight in place then pull the rod I pour them on leaving the through hole done and weight in place. While I really like the resin stuff its just too much time for me right now.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060001_zps5imvqwr8.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060001_zps5imvqwr8.jpg.html)

Looking forward to seeing what everyone is doing.

Got around to doing some handcarveds which is something I haven't done in quite some time. The small blue over silver is actually silver leafed. These little guys are probably my most productive plug over the years.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060013_zpswgyyu01x.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060013_zpswgyyu01x.jpg.html)

I have a few more in the works both some Ive done before and have been decent fish catchers especially the redfin copy. The other is loosely based on a Maverick.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060005_zpsfo1ba2lp.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060005_zpsfo1ba2lp.jpg.html)

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060004_zps70oei0yw.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060004_zps70oei0yw.jpg.html)

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060003_zpshccu18av.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060003_zpshccu18av.jpg.html)

I have also moved to liking a lighter smaller pencil which more suits my needs. These will be totally sealed with a couple canal style and the rest full round. The white one in the middle of the pic is a resin pencil I have been messing around with. I really like the plug and it casts and fishes extremely well. I pour these with the weight in place then pull the rod I pour them on leaving the through hole done and weight in place. While I really like the resin stuff its just too much time for me right now.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/alphabaits/PB060001_zps5imvqwr8.jpg (http://s896.photobucket.com/user/alphabaits/media/PB060001_zps5imvqwr8.jpg.html)

Looking forward to seeing what everyone is doing.

Awesome stuff. What kind of resin are you using for the popper?
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For those who do not look at the DIY forum, I highly recommend getting the 4 foot LED shop lights from BJs or Sams Club. $36.00. I put five in my shop (replaced three fluorescents and added two) and it is a much better working environment.

I might be able to get some plug building time in late December, but am currently slammed with a major built-in project for the local library renovation. Then back to back kitchen renovations beginning Jan 2. Meanwhile my kitchen is ripped out and I need to start putting those cabinets in....

But I would still be interested in swapping master plug profiles, just as they come off the lathe, ends on and marked for eyes, weights, and hooks. I have a couple dozen spook bodies turned in same state for swap.

It has been way too long since I have finished any plugs.... This is just what I need. Thanks for lighting the fire in here Larry!

Awesome stuff. What kind of resin are you using for the popper?
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I have to find the name of the stuff Im using now as it has slipped my mind. I have used Alumilite, stuff from MPK enterprises and smooth on. Its all very, very similar unless you get stuff with micro balloons already added like featherlight. Even looking at msds sheets and spec sheets its all extremely close. Only reason I switch to other stuff is price. The stuff Im using now i have a gallon of and it was very much less expensive than Alumilite. I will find the business card and let you know.

I have to find the name of the stuff Im using now as it has slipped my mind. I have used Alumilite, stuff from MPK enterprises and smooth on. Its all very, very similar unless you get stuff with micro balloons already added like featherlight. Even looking at msds sheets and spec sheets its all extremely close. Only reason I switch to other stuff is price. The stuff Im using now i have a gallon of and it was very much less expensive than Alumilite. I will find the business card and let you know.

Sweet, any source of reliable low cost resin is a win in my book.
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Posting for my Son Bradley.
He has been carving some plugs out of sticks but now thanks to Chris blondeterror he has some more appropriate materials to work with.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/thefishingfreak/Mobile%20Uploads/7ef46725-ca62-4a70-9a01-0225c67a9858_zps6pmjuadm.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/thefishingfreak/media/Mobile%20Uploads/7ef46725-ca62-4a70-9a01-0225c67a9858_zps6pmjuadm.jpg.html)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/thefishingfreak/Mobile%20Uploads/20161107_201546_zpsypdowlan.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/thefishingfreak/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20161107_201546_zpsypdowlan.jpg.html)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/thefishingfreak/Mobile%20Uploads/20161107_201600_zpsuorcdpuw.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/thefishingfreak/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20161107_201600_zpsuorcdpuw.jpg.html)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/thefishingfreak/Mobile%20Uploads/20161107_201640_zps3acwdudi.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/thefishingfreak/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20161107_201640_zps3acwdudi.jpg.html)
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Is that last one the plug he made next to the stick he made it from?
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Yes exactly
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Yes exactly
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That's awesome, kid has some talent
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Been working on some big pencils.

I call em jumping pencils, they work really easy and you can make em jump and skip if you work em quick

9.5" and 3.75-4oz, using 4/0 4x vmc hooks and two .57oz tail weights. They sit almost vertical in the water.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/D783EF7D-4CBF-4F69-899E-2CF1E816E2F1_zpskpzxuxrk.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/D783EF7D-4CBF-4F69-899E-2CF1E816E2F1_zpskpzxuxrk.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/87CF4567-45A3-4292-965D-47258D6263CD_zpsgms5p2di.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/87CF4567-45A3-4292-965D-47258D6263CD_zpsgms5p2di.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/0D4F6256-F811-4BF0-BD36-498522A2FCCF_zpsqzbxffuj.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/0D4F6256-F811-4BF0-BD36-498522A2FCCF_zpsqzbxffuj.jpg.html)
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Hoping to get em sanded and primed by the weekend

Got a few odds and ends I'm finishing up, some assorted atom jrs, 3oz pichney darter clone, small pencils, needles and metal lips. Only a handful of each. Hoping to finish them all up before I start the lathe up again.
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Pichney clone. My fav.

Chris that's a whopper of a pencil. Being so long I wonder on the catch rate with the belly hook location. Have you fished and caught on this version? Realizing the back half is in the water and tail hook in the zone just wonder how often the head strikes get a solid hook up. How's it cast?

Chris that's a whopper of a pencil. Being so long I wonder on the catch rate with the belly hook location. Have you fished and caught on this version? Realizing the back half is in the water and tail hook in the zone just wonder how often the head strikes get a solid hook up. How's it cast?


Yeah built a bunch in 2009/10 and did really well on em, when the plug is swimming back in the belly hook stays under water and most of the fish get a clean hook up on it.

One of the first days I was testing them back then was off fort Adams throwing into 20 feet of water and had fish launching out from the deep for it, was pretty cool in clear water.

I did well with them back then and didn't have left, got an original from the old baker i use to work with.

They cast really far and don't wiggle on the cast.
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Interesting how the fish view pencils from the deep. It must piss them off to charge from the bottom to strike. I see with the body vertical at rest and action maintaining the lower half in the water so the head is not moving forward in a way to strike the nose. I notice that the smaller styles like Gibbs the hook is closer to nose and assume a frontal take since they seem to work the action across the body angle with more of the nose in water. I often thought the same on big needles with 1 belly hook i.e. Habs 9" . If fish strikes front it needs to swallow half the plug to hook up. Nonetheless they work and catch. Another note, I like to do a couple Donnys for myself. Where would I find some dimension specs?

I got the specs for all of the Torpedos Billy. Tell me what size you want and I will post them for you.
I will say this I, and a few others, have manipulated the diameters on a lot of the plugs I have spec'd out over the years. Sometimes they turn out really good, even better, and sometimes not. They may need a smaller lip change or lighter weighting but it is fun to experiment a little with historically proven winners to see if you can get something that fits a specific profile, or action the more meets what you want, or think you want. After you feel like you got plug building down pretty good it can get stale or repetitive after a while, some loose interest and never come back, and this tinkering puts back some of the fun back in it, at least for me.

Got all my pencils and odds and ends, sanded and primed on Saturday, 31 plugs in all.

Feels nice to see the pile going away.

For odds and ends I had 1 pichney darter 3 hook, a handful of modified bigfish prey style swimmers, 3 atom jrs (2 fatter and 1 thinner than the original) 1 Donny, 2 wadd needles, some tiny eelskin metal lip bodies i got from
Saltys a few seasons back.

Go in to focus on painting and epoxying them all this week.

Unless I make a run to NJ for the sandeel/bunker bite thats going on.
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Paul that would be fine. I hear you about redundancy. Dupes make you get that way. I have a couple changes to my pikes lip and wood specie to test. Looking for a different look on the lathe. Hand turn some Donnys. You know what they say, "variety ' s the spice of life" !

Glad to see this thread back! I got a late start last year, so I'll be finishing up a bunch of stuff I turned last winter. If I get them finished I want to attempt some darters.
Spent more time this year fishing needles and did well with some of the stubbys and hab's 2oz.

Glad to see this thread back! I got a late start last year, so I'll be finishing up a bunch of stuff I turned last winter. If I get them finished I want to attempt some darters.
Spent more time this year fishing needles and did well with some of the stubbys and hab's 2oz.

Nice job on the habs clones!

For those of you using System3 as a top coat or sealer, which flavor are you using?

System 3 clear coat. Liking it so far. Much harder when dry the e tex.

Good stuff Ryan
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System 3 clear coat. Liking it so far. Much harder when dry the e tex.

Billy, are you using it for sealing too? Or just top coat?

I was thinking of ordering a set from Amazon to try it out.
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Ryan, liking those Habs clones. What wood are you using? Your post reminded me of the 2 I have from a builder who shall remain nameless which expanded when wet, hence the epoxy sealing question.

Which style darter are you thinking you'll try first?
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Thanks guys.
Ian those are birch.For what it's worth I have never had any plug swell and crack using spar cut with turps. I haven't messed with epoxy sealing yet.
As for darters I'll prolly try a musso style in ayc or soft maple.
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Ryan nice job. The clones look great. I too cloned them years back. Really like the 9" version. Have specs if you like. BTW ,I have birch in 5/4 diameters. Milled to your dimentions. If you need some please let me know.

Ian, I use value oil or spar varnish cut with pure turns for sealing. Tried a few with e tex for sealing but for me it was too messy. I will say if you want a soft wood hardened, that would help. Maple is a wood that requires penetration with sealers. Heating the wood then pouring thinned epoxy into the thru wire hole and hook holes would help. One thing to remember when using belly grommets is if you cut the wood when installing them, you open up unprotected wood and give water a way to enter and split the plug. Had it happen a few times. Prefer using birch for this reason if you need hard wood.

I missed sunday morning post but I've been continuing on my jerk bait project. Made a dozen more, have them sealed, wired and sanded now.

63566

The first one I made swims awesome, then slimmed down the next 4 and those weren't as good... i over-estimated weight i think. Hopefully i can swim these soon and get a better idea of what I'm looking for.

The "Beast". You'll get the combination. This unique design will be fun to get swim and then put through it's paces.

I missed sunday morning post but I've been continuing on my jerk bait project. Made a dozen more, have them sealed, wired and sanded now.

63566

The first one I made swims awesome, then slimmed down the next 4 and those weren't as good... i over-estimated weight i think. Hopefully i can swim these soon and get a better idea of what I'm looking for.

Those look pretty cool Matt! Good luck getting them to swim how you want them.

Here's what got done this week, I think this thread is helping me finish stuff!

31 plugs painted, mostly big 9.5" pencils but some odds and ends finally painted

7" skinny pencils, 1.65oz unrigged epoxied. They cast like a needle and sink but come right up and work easy, have a few back bay spots in mind when I built these.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/B1249DB1-31DD-45F3-99EE-762F5BA461CF_zpsqg9tb069.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/B1249DB1-31DD-45F3-99EE-762F5BA461CF_zpsqg9tb069.jpg.html)

9.5" 4oz jumping pencil epoxied. Yellow top and sides and chartuese belly, with black and orange "scales", retro eyes and gold pearls.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/74FE7424-8071-478E-AF0C-4FBB7B836643_zpskecksgum.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/74FE7424-8071-478E-AF0C-4FBB7B836643_zpskecksgum.jpg.html)

Stuff in the rack is drying, painted on Saturday, so those will get rigged and epoxied this week.

Got the lathe set up to turn some zeke needles, original came from DZ

Got a bunch of ss darters and redfins and some blank minnow bodies to strip, sand and paint too.

Need to build a deflector for the lathe and some side pieces to help contain the chips now that the garage is clean.
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Awesome Chris that chkn scratch is on point. Ditto on the thread motivation
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On my way to Chatham to see Capesams, yes he is still alive, to buy an old Delta bandsaw off him.
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Pics please.... regards to the ol phart

little tid bit for you guys. New England Tackle is shuttin down. Got told yesterday by a friend that sells his lures through them. Good place to go direct to as they liked dealin with the little guy too.

Time to prime a bunch of stubbys. Have the small Jet set up for turning smaller plugs. Look like I'll be converting the big Jet dupe from baseball bats to big plug tirnings. That's the only P.I.T.A. With the dupes. Mounting brackets for my set up don't allow the tailstock to move close to neadstock. Minimum set up is 24", end to end. It's just a matter of removing bracket to put tailstock inside bracket. The pain is rezeroing the head and tail spurs. Really not but I got have it "0". I have now to start turning pike bodies. Already getting the requests..
I also have been requested to turn drumsticks. I have a slender turning adapter and plenty of rock maple. Setting the dupe will be a trick with an original but I'm thinking of adding tenons to accommodate the mounting.

Tried some double coatin with e-tex and system 2 an 3 on some plugs as was asked for some plugs done this way. Almost all bubbled up when left in the sun in a hot truck. All the bodies had been painted for over a month-Derby Time. Seems like too thick a coat won't flex like is needed.

Experimenting with weighting on metal lips to get one with will run at a medium depth of 3-6'. I've been doing well with surface swimmers, a subsurface swimmer that gets down around 2-3ft and a deeper diving maple that gets down 8+ feet so looking to fill the gap for when there isn't enough water for the maple but I still want to run pretty deep.
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Try up sizeing the tail weight. Depending on the body an lip type it will make a difference. Even helps in the casting dept

Experimenting with weighting on metal lips to get one with will run at a medium depth of 3-6'. I've been doing well with surface swimmers, a subsurface swimmer that gets down around 2-3ft and a deeper diving maple that gets down 8+ feet so looking to fill the gap for when there isn't enough water for the maple but I still want to run pretty deep.
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The musso pine ought to do that for you with some tweaking of the line tie. The issue becomes the speed of the retrieve and how much action you want although you can get around this some with the pine by downsizing the lip and sing or losing a tail hook.

Try up sizeing the tail weight. Depending on the body an lip type it will make a difference. Even helps in the casting dept

The musso pine ought to do that for you with some tweaking of the line tie. The issue becomes the speed of the retrieve and how much action you want although you can get around this some with the pine by downsizing the lip and sing or losing a tail hook.

Thanks guys

What I want is something that will cruise at that depth at a slow retrieve and with a lazy swimming action. I’ve made a couple of plugs based on the Musso pine with different lips but they are too buoyant to stay down that deep unless they are in current or being retrieved faster than I would like. I love the way the ones I made of maple hang down near the bottom even at crawl but they run too deep for some areas.

JLH I made a copy of the creek chub 7400 surfster but used a pikie 3 lip, 11 gram belly weight and 3 or 5 gram tail weight and it gets down into that range. Might be another option for design.

If you want I can sent it to you to test for yourself and see what if it fits the niche
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The pikie lips seem to make a big diff with how the plugs hold in current.Danny lips work good for it if you tune them at the tie and go a bit heavier on the tail weight. I've tried the lefty lips . seem to like to dredge in fast current and roll easier. Just so you can laugh it took me over 2 yrs to get most of the bugs out of my jr so have fun.

JLH I made a copy of the creek chub 7400 surfster but used a pikie 3 lip, 11 gram belly weight and 3 or 5 gram tail weight and it gets down into that range. Might be another option for design.

If you want I can sent it to you to test for yourself and see what if it fits the niche
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Thanks Chris - maybe I can check it out at Demo day if you will be there? I been trying to limit the number of different plug styles I make but I do plan to do a pikie or some sort eventually.

I hear you man, I'm trying to make less plugs but have them do more with design tweaks.

Got another 11 epoxied last night.

20 more to go before Sunday :)

Told myself I can start the lathe up until I get these finished
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Well it's a beautiful morn. Too nice to stay in the dungeon. What I have brewing besides my coffee in the shop this week is my redesigned Wadd style needle. About 5 yrs ago I made a few with a twist to the weighting style. Now mind you this is a little out of the box and somewhat time consuming. The results from what I seen and was told by users ,worth it to try again. The normal weighting consisted of 3 belly weights distributed 1 front and 2 rear . My design thought was to eliminate the belly drilling in which you need to drill 1/2" holes deep enough to accommodate 7-8 gram weights. Fill, sand etc. I took a chance to drill from the rear at a point 5/16 " below center w/a 17/64 bit to 1/8 " before hook hole and insert a 1/4 " lead rod 3" long weighing approx.24 grams. Glue in a birch dowel to plug hole and also drilled my hole hole. All measured from the nose mark. Put on lathe and turn. Dowel cut along with blank and tank tested drop and attitude. Swam it with desired results. A have a model od the blank with the distant markings and with hook hole drilled. I'll get a picture of the model blank up shortly.
I did paint some stubbys and primed the rest. Took 8 pike bodies which I had extra for emergencies through the summer and weighted and filled. I make a few extra of those for anyone in need after my building season is done. Once my lathe is converted back to turning baseball bats , plug turning isn't an option.

Front a nd rear views show center for dowel and wire hole.
Side View showing sectional markings . Notice rear 3" for weight.
This weighting allows plug to ascend on a less than 30 degree attitude when reeled slow to semi slow and shallow sub surface. The same dimentional proportions and weighting in AYC turns this plug into a surface needle. Fished super slow over boney areas.

Billy if you finish an extra one of those... Cough, I know someone who's interested, cough
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So got 9 epoxied this week, another 13 wired up and hoping to get epoxied today after a day of errands.

This is the full batch

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/0957E5F1-5DC1-4EFE-B256-7434D721034C_zpsrwinggys.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/0957E5F1-5DC1-4EFE-B256-7434D721034C_zpsrwinggys.jpg.html)

2, 9.5" pencils
2, wadd needles
2, atom jrs, tail weighted. 1 is thicker than the other
3, bigfish prey clones from like 3 years ago, different weighting and pikie 2 lips on 2, surfster on the other
2, 6" skinny pencils at 1.25oz

Close up of the 9.5" pencils, raccoon came in at 4oz and red head at 3.75oz
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/3A22E892-25AD-4A20-A83B-BBEA36051C74_zpshkigbg5c.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/3A22E892-25AD-4A20-A83B-BBEA36051C74_zpshkigbg5c.jpg.html)

Wadd clone shape with my weighting. Loving the black rainbow color, they sink level and stay down.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/BD303FE8-D027-49D1-BBF7-D53F05647978_zpsw3mcdbg4.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/BD303FE8-D027-49D1-BBF7-D53F05647978_zpsw3mcdbg4.jpg.html)

Atom jr close up, tailweighted, the blue one is fatter and heavier than the raccoon scheme. Pikie 2 lips on both.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/4F3A8FAF-4625-47F1-9F04-2ACAB510869C_zpswbmjzbtb.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/4F3A8FAF-4625-47F1-9F04-2ACAB510869C_zpswbmjzbtb.jpg.html)

Hoping to start up the lathe this week and get some new stuff turned/started
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Neat stuff.
Do you do well with the black orange (sea robin) scheme?
Needles at night have worked for me in that color but I also have some swimmers painted that way which I never seem to use since they'd get fished in the day and I just can't get the faith to try them.

Neat stuff.
Do you do well with the black orange (sea robin) scheme?
Needles at night have worked for me in that color but I also have some swimmers painted that way which I never seem to use since they'd get fished in the day and I just can't get the faith to try them.

Black and orange has been a big producer for me since I started fishing. Always did really well on the lobster colored afterhours needle and black/orange ss darter

That scheme on those is black/copper/white similar to the BM Raccoon pattern, done well on that pattern too.

I usually carry a black/orange needle at all times, think it matches lobsters and sea robins which are all over my usually spots
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Was able to get a few more pencils epoxied, would have finished them all but only had two brushes left.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/8133C7DA-98A8-41E0-B87B-14F66F0700B3_zpskqli671p.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/8133C7DA-98A8-41E0-B87B-14F66F0700B3_zpskqli671p.jpg.html)
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Got almost all my plugs epoxied so started the lathe up and starting turning

First up, some Masterlure staright eel clones, used Numbskulls how to for the specs and had a Habs stixx on hand for reference.

Took some nice fish on the habs this season, but it doesn't cast great.

Going to test a small tailweight in one and see how/if it improves the casting without killing the action.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/A7000FB4-FE7E-4C17-9929-7C35DE66E8A9_zpsjugkblym.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/A7000FB4-FE7E-4C17-9929-7C35DE66E8A9_zpsjugkblym.jpg.html)
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Chris that brings back memories. I did an exact clone including making an original lip design. Yes it doesn't cast. I guess it was a nice top water swimming troller in it's day. They do slither nicely on top in calm water. Good point adding a tail weight. I would try 7 gr. If it needed a little help, try a different lip. BTW what lip have you used?

Chris that brings back memories. I did an exact clone including making an original lip design. Yes it doesn't cast. I guess it was a nice top water swimming troller in it's day. They do slither nicely on top in calm water. Good point adding a tail weight. I would try 7 gr. If it needed a little help, try a different lip. BTW what lip have you used?

The habs i fished swam down about a foot, casted ok on the gsb

I was thinking a 7 gram tail weight myself.

Pikie 3 lip is what was originally used and habs used it with the standard bends, I might try downsizing the lip and see if that also helps casting distance
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Nice work Chris!
Anybody ever try a high slot lefty 2 on the musso Donny Sr.? I made a few slim versions in pine but I want them to get down a few feet or so when there's some surf..
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Nice work Chris!
Anybody ever try a high slot lefty 2 on the musso Donny Sr.? I made a few slim versions in pine but I want them to get down a few feet or so when there's some surf..
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Yeah. It works fine, particularly in current. Not sure why you'd want a smaller lip for surf, however. There you want the plug to dig (how much you can adjust by tweeking the line tie) and the standard pine set up is ideal (although maybe I am misreading your question and you are using a thinner than normal body in which case I've done that as well and it also works fine but the plug tends to go a lot deeper than a few feet).

Yeah the thinner than normal ones I'm working on are 1.325" so quite a bit thinner than original version. The musso pine sounds more like what I was going for. I've only built and fished the surface swimmer.
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I am about done with targeting stripers for the season, at least seriously, so I finally found a little time to clean up the shop and turn a few plugs. First up this building season is some larger pine needles. I made a few larger needles in pine and maple (light and heavy version) to try out this past year and they ended up producing very well for me and a couple friends. By the end of the season I was kicking myself for not having made more of them. I will likely do a batch of them in maple next and then start on some Donnys.

Nice work Chris!
Anybody ever try a high slot lefty 2 on the musso Donny Sr.? I made a few slim versions in pine but I want them to get down a few feet or so when there's some surf..
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I like the high slow lefty 2 a lot on the version of the Donny that I have been making but I'm not sure if it is very true to the original. I've built them with the Pikie 3 as well and they do get a little deeper and hold better in rough water/surf with the Pikie lip.

Jay, what do the pine needles weigh?

Slow sink ?
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Jay, what do the pine needles weigh?

Slow sink ?
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Right around 2.5oz on the pine and the maples are around 3.5oz.

Slow sinking on the pines.

Got an idea the other day while turning and had to make 5 of these to test out, 5 because that's how many pieces of wood I had ready.

It's based on a musso senior, cut a joint at the mid way point, two 6 gram weights used, 1 in each section, under the thru wire.

Plug is about 1.5" at the thickest part.

Got the weights in place and will seal this weekend hopefully and go test em out

8.5" and 4oz with 6x 4/0 vmc hooks on wolverine rings, the hooks don't marry, or catch the joint, lip or tail.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/568C081D-2909-4D6F-865D-96653F6F077D_zpsui556uda.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/568C081D-2909-4D6F-865D-96653F6F077D_zpsui556uda.jpg.html)
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Musso made a giant jointed plug. There is a picture in the bassdozer article (but I don't know how to capture it and redisplay).

Musso made a giant jointed plug. There is a picture in the bassdozer article (but I don't know how to capture it and redisplay).

I have it printed out already and it's on the wall, it's much bigger than my version and thinner. His version was 10" and 3.25oz based on what's in the article
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Did get some afternoon plug work. First coat System 3 a few stubbys , painted remaining stubbys, spun a dozen wadd style out of walnut and did a sample of maple for weight. About approx 10 -16 gram difference between the 2 different species. I'll be weighting walnut to slow sink and the maple/birch wadd to sink and ascend sub surface when retrieved.

Just went to check the plugs I coated last night with system 3 And was very surprise that the first coat looked very good. Smooth. Normally the first coat isn't great. Two changes I did was to use a soft camel hair brush, not an acid brush and also since it's cold outside, my furnace is running and the plugs are on a rack next to it. With e tex a stiffer brush pushed the epoxy and a blast with heat gun flowed it out bit system 3 the gun didn't seem to do much. So I just coated and hung them. Always learning.

Got plenty to turn. Pikes today AYC. Needles, maple next week. Finish coating stubbys w/second coat. BTW I got AYC delivered to my door from Liberty Cedar. Not bad. Nice service and nice people on the phone. Used to buy online for more money plus $$$$$ shipping.

Here are those specs Billy . Hope you can decipher them. These are the 6" one I think you wanted the Seniors. if so I will find those specs too.

Well I have all 4 of the darters I intended to make this winter fully machined. That was the easy part now trying to get even half of them to the end result, hooks and water, will be the challenging part. Seems like I run out of steam at the epoxy stage every year. Getting that old Delta bandsaw from Capesams really made it much easier not having to rely on the saw at work. Now I have all the fixtures done and made for this specific saw and it is so much easier not having to take it down for others to use the saw. Everything comes out exact to the .005 every time on every aspect of the plug. Have a few 6 oz ones I am still toying with and several jointed ones going too for fun. Got the eelskin conrads done to the lip slot stage, again the bandsaw at home will make things easier. Also got some one off's and promised pieces in various stages. Sealing is up next for most of my stuff.

Geezus, now I feel even worse.

Damn Paul, busy man!!

I'll take a jointed darter in all yellow please! But really I need one!

Test swam the musso senior inspired plug, thing waked on top like crazy and with a long hackle tail looked like a big snake, made a nice knocking sound too

Started working on a 6"/2oz spoon lip plug, test swam the proto this week, tail wagged on top on a slow crank and about 12" down on a faster retrieve, best part was it would not roll out no matter how hard or fast you cranked it. Going to make some in WRC I got from Frank O, and some in ayc.

Only got like 6 more random plugs to epoxy, thankfully

Got some wood from BillyD last year from the CSA demo day, Billy any idea what it was, think it's 2" square, think you said it was from some high end pallets

Going to start gettingbthe wood ready for pikies and Donny's, probably my least favorite part of plug building is trimming the stock, marking it and drilling it
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Holy crap Paul!
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Chris that wood is " beetle wood pine". Light stuff. It come from dead trees in Colorado killed by the beetle. Turns wood blue/gray in spots. Tight grain. Sands smooth .

Chris that wood is " beetle wood pine". Light stuff. It come from dead trees in Colorado killed by the beetle. Turns wood blue/gray in spots. Tight grain. Sands smooth .

Cool, got something in mind for it finally!
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Thanks Paul. I have J's 7" specs but if you have your specs handy great. I can compare the 2 and work with both.

Taking these 3 big girls for a swim today. Have to test the surface and mid diver. The deep will go along for the ride. Had requests for shallow running pikes. The surface wood is 54grams w/14grams of lead, mid is 65grams w/22 grams lead and deep is 85 grams w/ 28 grams lead. Have weights ringed with white electrical tape to facilitate changing. Going to try staggering and mixing front to back also. If I can get the surface one to swim with the heavier weight in rear hole, this should help casting.

Taking these 3 big girls for a swim today. Have to test the surface and mid diver. The deep will go along for the ride. Had requests for shallow running pikes.

Very cool.

I've not fooled much with pikies but have always admired the CCBC proportions and shape.

I tried a little but cutting that subtle concave slope has proven frustrating. Can't do it on a 3-4" radius. The concavity at the rear of the slope always ends up too steep. You need a drum about 20-30" in diameter. Next time I think I'll try a sanding belt glued to the drive wheel of a big bandsaw. Alternatively some sort of jig to move the plug in a slight curved path while held on its side against a drill press sanding drum or shaper bit might work.

As for depth control, varying the weights is one way but you might also fool with the lip. Those square bend old style CCBC lips pull a plug down hard (which I think is why they used such a short drop in the bend.....to moderate the diving effect some). You might consider opening the angle a bit and reducing the length of the lip.

Sanding drum with a jig with the appropriate radius and holding the plug on it's side like you said will do the trick.
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Nothing wrong with a hard slope......it helps!:kewl:

George I use a spindle sander with a 4" sanding sleeve. Using the tenons for sliding on table fence. I do cut the top of front tenon off after lip slot is cut prior to slope.
I did use a pike 3 at first which had a shorter length until I went to the reinforced salty3. I was going to change back this time around but the guys said , NO. The testing came out good. Got the surface swimmer to work with one 7 gr weight and a 7 gr tail weight. Slowed the tail down and had a S wiggle when reeled faster. The mid with a 7 gr front weight and 11 gr rear hole. The deeps still have 2- 14gr weight slugs.

I realize it's not Sunday yet but spent the day off making time in the basement. Getting a few different needles to swim at different depths.I did do one sample of the horizontal lead rod hole drilled thru blank. I'll probably sneak away tomorrow to give them a swim. Gotta love these temps. Got all the pikes weighted and sealed. Poured a bunch of 1/2oz slugs for them. Gonna change up my priming to brushing the gold label zinseer instead of blowing it all over the place. For the needles I'll cut the paint a little to dip them. 2 coats either way as usual.

Nice Pikies Billy! I started on these this week. Finally made a fixture to get the slopes the same each time.These are going to be surface pikies and I have some done in ayc that I want to make medium divers.
Hope everyone has a good Christmas!

Ryan that's a nice set up. I like your sled. Santa would be proud! LOL I have been using the tenons as the guides along a fence. Virtually the tenons don't get cut off until every procedure is drilled or shaped . I do have a sled built for the screw holes that secure the lip. I mount it in the front hook hole and support the tail they the hole with a drill bit. Using heavier weight lead slugs in your same weight holes say double the weight, should get them to dive deeper i.e. Surface , mid and deep have approx 1/2oz difference between them and a lip adjustment. Weather is nice for testing if you can.

Finally made a fixture to get the slopes the same each time.!

Thanks for posting that, Ryan. Simpler solution than what I'd been considering.

I love fixtures. Great solution. Nice plugs all.
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Billy thanks for the tips, Hopefully I can give them a swim tomorrow

Thanks for posting that, Ryan. Simpler solution than what I'd been considering.
No problem George glad I could help

Finally got around to turning a batch of 5.5" spoon lips, some out of red cedar and some out of ayc

Red cedar versions weigh 1-1.25oz and the ayc ones weigh in around 1.5oz

One small 4.8 gram belly weight.

Lips are SS and where custom made for a builder and i was lucky enough to get a few.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/4CBEF0C6-B44B-466B-A434-4BA3A76C7C88_zpsv5jj0phf.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/4CBEF0C6-B44B-466B-A434-4BA3A76C7C88_zpsv5jj0phf.jpg.html)

Got em sealed up tonight

Also restoring a rat swimbait for a buddy, thing is pretty beat up, but sanded it down to bare wood, removed the lip and eyes, removed all the excess epoxy/glue and resealed it. Most of these freshwater swimbaits aren't sealed at all and they get stupid $$ for em. Crazy the amount of sealer it soaked up.
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Should have a nice tail kick. Weight about mid ship?

Most of these freshwater swimbaits aren't sealed at all and they get stupid $$ for em.

I'm in the process of finding out why.

Looking good so far.
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Should have a nice tail kick. Weight about mid ship?

Yeah makes a huge wake on the surface, and yes just about mid way with the weight
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I'm in the process of finding out why.

That's awesome. So much work to get the shape.

Mikes custom plugs makes a killer one, single hook on the front section and swims crazy
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I HATE SANDING DRUMS!!!!!

That is all

Spent most of the day turning needles ,working on pikes and filling weights holes.,more to do tomorrow.

Needles? Pikies? Bah Humbug. It is January, no need yet for anything that you will actually use. Now is the time to take a walk on the wild side.

Bottle darter, jointed darter thingy? Neat
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I HATE SANDING DRUMS!!!!!

That is all

They probably hate you too
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Bottle darter, jointed darter thingy?
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Pt Jude Swim-a-long
Jinx
Predator
Dalecki (Lucky's) Darter
Swimbait
Lobster

None of it has been test swum.......... since that requires sanding, paint, and going outside, none of which I find appealing these days. Plus swimming them may ruin the fun.

I agree but like you said looks like some fun builds. I hope to prime some stuff outside today if wind is not too busy. Got a few sprayed yesterday. I am building a paint booth fan set up using a furnace blower. My booth set up died so I need to get it done pronto. The drive motor will be out side the paint flow using a seperate cabinet for the blower and driven by pulley connected to the motor externally. Need to get pulleys, bearings for long drive shaft, and support plates to support the bearings and cage. Using a design from a u tube video I saw a bunch of years ago that is not there now so kind of winging it from memory and common sense both of which is not great.
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Nice work! I was going to try making a predator this winter.I have a 1oz. Plastic version to go off of. From what I read the larger version fishes better?
The Dalecki darter looks pretty cool.I'm guessing that's birch or maple?
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Paul Was it the one built by the Pro wood carver, with the 2 cabinets connected via 4" tubing on either side, then ducted to the outside? If so I built a similar cabinet based on his dimensions.

Douglas

Nice work! I was going to try making a predator this winter.I have a 1oz. Plastic version to go off of. From what I read the larger version fishes better?
The Dalecki darter looks pretty cool.I'm guessing that's birch or maple?
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Little wood predator copies swim better than the small plastic originals in my limited experience making them.
The 6" plastic plug is an excellent lure. I posted how to make it years ago in a thread called "Getting Ugly with It" I think. Eddy copied them and they swim well but I think the original has a more concave tail which helps.
I don't think Eddy weighted his. I'm happy to send you a plastic original, Ryan, if you'd like. PM me your address.
The one I pictured is a larger version and not a strict copy of the design (more of a shaped neck). I weighted it in front of the hook but have not tested it yet.

I don't have an original Dalecki. I suspect they were maple or birch because people complained they often cracked but the ones I've built (with dimensions that are a guess from a picture so are likely off) came out too heavy in those woods (based on the advertised weight of 2oz that might also be inaccurate) so I'm trying some other woods. They are a pain to shape (particularly the maple) and it drives me nuts that he was able to build and sell these things in quantity. He must have had some sort of jig to speed things up but I can't figure it out.

Paul Was it the one built by the Pro wood carver, with the 2 cabinets connected via 4" tubing on either side, then ducted to the outside? If so I built a similar cabinet based on his dimensions.

Douglas
Hey D. Good to hear from you. I don't think that was the one but sounds similar. He did have the fan part, box, a distance from the booth and double hoses, ducting, going to it. His reasoning for that was the paint over spray and fumes would dry in ducts before it reached the fan and not clog up the blower so no need for filters which clog and reduce the flow. Seems logical. I may have booked marked it so need to look but I do remember most of it pretty much.
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I started on these small 5" predators this week. Made a fixture for my bandsaw and was able to get consistent results. Surprised my saw was up to the task (it threw a tire on the bottom wheel awhile back and I just wrapped the bare wheel with electrical tape as a temp fix 2 years ago haha). Gotta thank rockfish9 for sharing his darter jig in an old thread,it helped me get an idea of how go about making mine.

Look nice.
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I've been at them as well.
Test swam a 3oz version a few days ago.
It has quite a slug of lead ahead of the hook and my impression was it might do better with even more.
They are very buoyant and put their tail up and wag once you get them going but are hard to hold near the surface as such.
When I fish the plastic versions I pull them down and slowly swim them back to the surface then repeat.
They cast surprisingly well.
I'll get you that larger plastic one out in the mail to you this week, Ryan.....I got sidetracked the past few days.

Would the action be similar to a Nike? Kind of similar shape wise and it sounds like they have similar depth ability and action.
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No rush George.I hope to test swim these this week,going to try a few different weight placements. Thanks again
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Would the action be similar to a Nike? Kind of similar shape wise and it sounds like they have similar depth ability and action.
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The line tie is a bit below center and the face wider than a nike. Tends to act a bit like an exaggerated surfster. The nike goes under a bit more easily if I remember correctly.

Very cool looking plug, I really like the lipless stuff. I may try and mess around with that kind of stuff again once I get going.

I haven't been turning anything yet. Finishing up some house projects first although I am working on refinishing some plugs to get them back in the rotation.

Got my 5.5" spoon lips sanded and primed

Started turning a big batch of 8.5" pikies, so fatties and some slims, both surface and medium swimmers hoping to have em all turned and drilled this week.
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Finished my first batch of plugs. Second coated wired. System 3 dry , hard and looks satifactory. Sealed the remaining pikes , once dried prime them andwill leave them for awhile to tend to rod work.

Worked on making some darters this week, Got them all ready for sealer. There based on a Tattoo 2oz. version. I hydro oriented 4 of them and for the other I just made it so the grain runs vertical on the lip. Hopefully they swim, I'll test them next weekend if the sealer dries by then.

Ryan looking good. The sealer should be ok in a week . What sealer? I've thrown testers next dry. No ill effects. Val oil - turps or spar -turps. Helps to have a warm spot to dry.

Maybe if the fog lifts and sun comes out I may prime .

Thanks Billy. I use spar and turps,usually hang them in the garage atleast 24 hrs till they don't smell as much.

Got 15 spoon lips painted yesterday while it was 58 degrees out. Did a few different colors than usual and few custom request for buddies I fish with.

Finished drilling/sanding a big batch of pikies (65 total) this week.

Did some surface slims 3.25oz , medium slims 4oz and 4.5oz surface fattys and a few of each size in squid 🐙 versions.

Going to install the weights in the pikies today if I have time, but who knows.

Finished up a refurbish rat swimbait for a buddy. I'll do it's own post, a lot of work to get it back original state. The thing was never sealed and completely water logged when I got it. Just have to epoxy it this week along with the spoon lips (Tuesday hopefully)

Got a few reproduction request for two buddies to make a masterlure pikie and that bob Hahn little swimmer.

Do those and then move onto some needles, to fill out the bag this season.
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Thanks Billy. I use spar and turps,usually hang them in the garage atleast 24 hrs till they don't smell as much.

In my findings and when I used spar mix it always took at least 3-5 days depending on heat. I always tried to let em dry for a least a week.

Since I switched to epoxy sealing I can paint with 48 hours and I feel it really helps the wood harden up.
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Oh man, I've got bodies everywhere.
G2 clones, Skinny Donnys by the dozen, habs clone 2.5's, big predators, swim baits, a jinx, medium pikies, a few leftover lipless swimmers and darters, PTjude swim-a-long clones, a few skinny danny tries and the one thing I have to build, pencils, yet to go. Then there is the distraction of the Dalecki Darter thing.

The idea of painting, epoxying, and wiring all this makes me queazy.

That's a lot George!

Part I hate the most is sanding belly weight holes
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Oh man, I've got bodies everywhere.
G2 clones, Skinny Donnys by the dozen, habs clone 2.5's, big predators, swim baits, a jinx, medium pikies, a few leftover lipless swimmers and darters, PTjude swim-a-long clones, a few skinny danny tries and the one thing I have to build, pencils, yet to go. Then there is the distraction of the Dalecki Darter thing.

The idea of painting, epoxying, and wiring all this makes me queazy.

Lots of stuffs good luck. I have not painted a thing yet spent the last 2 weeks building a spray booth and making a old furnace blower
Into an exhaust system. PIA and so darn time consuming. Hope to try and paint something soon.
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That's a lot George!

Part I hate the most is sanding belly weight holes
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Chris did you try final sanding and weight hole putty on the lathe. I don't cut off the tenons until everything is drilled, filled and sanded.

Chris did you try final sanding and weight hole putty on the lathe. I don't cut off the tenons until everything is drilled, filled and sanded.

Going to try that on my next ones, I've thought about it, but never did attempted it.
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Missed Sunday morning but finally finished up some large needles for the upcoming season. About half are pine and around 2.8oz and the others are maple and 3.5oz. Will hopefully finish up some pine and maple Donny's in the next week or so as well.

I've been epoxy sealing most plugs this year which takes a little longer but based on a few tests it seems to do a better job of sealing especially with the maple.

Just threw the SS darter in there for size reference. I haven't taken that leap yet.

Nice stuff.
Except what the hell happened with that green headed one? That's the ugliest paint job I've ever seen. Which probably means in 4 months it will show up in the maw of a #40 fish but still.......:eek:
;)

Chef I'm with pbadad, leave the ends on and throw back on the lathe takes seconds
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Chris one thing to keep in mind, I use minwax wood filler (bondo) it's harder than soft woods so I concentrate on the putty with the sandpaper. I use 80 grit to take the bulk off then 180/220 to final sand the entire plug. I also don't sand the plug after I finish cutting . This leaves the dia. Slightly larger for the final sand.

Nice stuff.
Except what the hell happened with that green headed one? That's the ugliest paint job I've ever seen. Which probably means in 4 months it will show up in the maw of a #40 fish but still.......:eek:
;)

Hah I've painted some that are much uglier than that one! I think it will be a fish catching color but we will have to see how they feel about it...

A good file is what I use on the filler before sandpaper. By hand.
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Got these 15 finished up this week

Some day and night colors, couple request for buddies in the CSA.

5.5" spoon lips, 1.75oz

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/CF43009C-2A13-4402-A908-B5A785D709CE_zpshfcwgi5a.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/CF43009C-2A13-4402-A908-B5A785D709CE_zpshfcwgi5a.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/874C2A38-3144-4C22-BFCB-185FE2C17F83_zpsvgkauy9c.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/874C2A38-3144-4C22-BFCB-185FE2C17F83_zpsvgkauy9c.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/4A32F872-B420-46FC-B3DE-83A4739EB3DB_zpsdmwmboeq.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/4A32F872-B420-46FC-B3DE-83A4739EB3DB_zpsdmwmboeq.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/F08B1A0B-C90F-4751-BA97-E90FE347472F_zpsac5q0thq.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/F08B1A0B-C90F-4751-BA97-E90FE347472F_zpsac5q0thq.jpg.html)
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So cool.
Loads of fun potential in those.

Test swam some stuff yesterday.
Half of it sucked..........but this 5.5oz Oprah Winfrey version of a magic swimmer was an "OH MY GOD" moment for sure. Typical frantic swim bait action at speed, but slow it to a crawl and it looks totally, irresistibly alive. If the line tie upgrade and finishing doesn't throw it off (right now it suspends perfectly)I like its chances.......to make that plastic humping, blarney-stoned, Zappa-spouting, sh!tgrinning machinist I fish with cry for a change. :bshake:

Chris those came out great. All hooked and dresssed. Ready to throw. Who's spoon lip?

Catching up from yesterday's Demo day. If I feel ambitious, I may paint a few Pikes. Got some color recommendations from visitors yesterday. Picked up a bottle of Createx Black pearl. Never saw this version but "lobby" has a great Createx selection. What distinctions does this show? Swirls, silver blends?? Can it be air blasted to seperate the pearl effects over say silver base?

Test swam some stuff yesterday.
Half of it sucked..........but this 5.5oz Oprah Winfrey version of a magic swimmer was an "OH MY GOD" moment for sure. Typical frantic swim bait action at speed, but slow it to a crawl and it looks totally, irresistibly alive. If the line tie upgrade and finishing doesn't throw it off (right now it suspends perfectly)I like its chances.......to make that plastic humping, blarney-stoned, Zappa-spouting, sh!tgrinning machinist I fish with cry for a change. :bshake:

Hahaa. Looks fantastic. I hope you are making more than one and they sink very slow cause with something that large and the crappy backlashing reels you use a snap off is in your future and depending on me to hang off the front of your boat with my rod tip to retrieve it might result in a disappointment. Does look very cool though look forward to seeing it a plugfest if you haven't lost it by then.
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Bah, I'm not worried. I'll carry a mask and fins so you can go get for me......plus Art gave me a new reel for xmas so I can retire that pathetic worn out crap I've been using.....maybe.

Art is a smart man. Probably got sick of your swearing
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now that CSA's demoday is over I'm hoping to pick up building again. Finally got a chance to video my new "jerkbait" style plugs with some different weight arrangements.

8" with the weights set in the middle runs 2-3' down on a steady retrieve, can be cranked or pulled down to 6'+

with 2 weights at midship and one 2/3 back runs 2-3' but stays there, even if pulled hard.

63812

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqgtAH11nyc

Looks great and I am sure Numbskull is flattered you named it after him.
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Nice work Matt! The front of that bait kinda reminds me of a Suick Thriller musky lure.

Looks great and I am sure Numbskull is flattered you named it after him.
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Touche :bl:

Touche :bl:

I saw Paul in line shivering Saturday morning, so I have to agree with him on this one ;)

However, if the "jerkbait" actually "worker" according to Paul maybe I'd have seen George next to him. (that would mean George is actually a jerk) So the plug is in the wash....

Still refining it, but I am finding this build to take less time than darters so it's a fun build. I still love building darters, and don't fish much else with the exception of spring. and then its needles and darters.

I picked up googooman's darter saturday and threw that too... "oh my" is all i have to say.

Nice work Matt! The front of that bait kinda reminds me of a Suick Thriller musky lure.

Thanks Ryan, yah the design is similar to a musky bait. Those guys use a lot of jerk-baits ... dive and suspend or dive and rise. Mostly a boat situation.

I was looking for something that dug fast and could hit 8' depth and rise after hitting structure (but from the beach, rock, etc).

Thanks Ryan, yah the design is similar to a musky bait. Those guys use a lot of jerk-baits ... dive and suspend or dive and rise. Mostly a boat situation.

I was looking for something that dug fast and could hit 8' depth and rise after hitting structure (but from the beach, rock, etc).

Nice I could see how that might come in handy

More painting , accents and combos.

Twas the week before plugfest and all through the house,
The paint fumes have killed all as small as a mouse.
The sun may be shining or the sky full of snow,
but down in the basement there is no way to know.
The woodchips are knee deep, with more shapes to mull,
The lathe keeps on spinning, though the tools are too dull.
And wires and swivels are scattered around,
With the correct sized lips, nowhere to be found.
And the airbrush is clogged, from its cup to its tip,
and spits paint like a drunk, choking on a nip.
But there's no time to clean it, when you gotta be quick,
So you crank up the pressure and lay the paint thick.
The epoxy is pock marked and full of dust flecks,
but the damn things are for fishing so who gives a heck.
And your friends show they up, to "just say hello",
when you both know damn well, they come to plug ho.
And you wife is annoyed, alone in the bed,
While the epoxy gets laid and the spinner gets fed.
And so it goes at this time of year,
'Cause nothing else matters as plugfest gets near.

Classic.
I have finished nothing so I will be in full ho mode. Did start painting yesterday though.
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Im still working on refinishing a big batch of plugs to get them back in the rotation. I've got those sealed & primed. While they were stripped I tweaked weighting on some of the needles. Will be nice to get the winners back in the plug bag. I intentionally did not fill hook swings or tooth holes, figured I'd be able to find my old favorites easier that way.

In between doing that I've been messing around with some maple scraps I've had kicking around while but I need to hit a lumber yard soon and pick up some more maple. The only plugs I've finished so far are 4 needles I made out of an old piece of tiger maple I found when I was going thru my stack of wood looking for soft maple. Funny I did a search of this forum yesterday to see when I was playing with that (and it was back in 2008). I ended up reading some old threads from back then for a couple hours, pretty entertaining :)

I also learned the hard way that the jig I use on my drill press for thru drilling the starter holes from each end was out of alignment. I did turn a batch of needles but ended up misdrilling almost 1/2. Next year I will have to remember to test 1 first before drilling the whole batch.:gorez:

I was finally able to get a resin plug poured... and I'm pretty happy with the way it came out (although the sink rate is a little fast for where I typically fish.)

I'll be trying again soon with more microballoons to see if I can get the sink rate a bit more dialed in.

I like this style of lure building... exercises the scientist in me!

(If I ever get to a computer I'll try to upload pics)
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Played around with some new spray paint colors and brands, got some graffiti style sprayers.

Found a nice BI green and parrot combo and some transparent colors which are killer.

Sprayed some plastic lure bodies from eBay to test, digging the results

Need to get some pikies sealed and Sanded this week
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http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/8CA876D3-3E4A-4666-B3C7-174B416CF59E_zpsho2te15p.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/8CA876D3-3E4A-4666-B3C7-174B416CF59E_zpsho2te15p.jpg.html)

Finished this project up yesterday in between taking flu meds and sleeping.

Full redo, stripped, sanded, heat epoxy sealed twice, eyes removed and re drilled, hand painted red eyes, lots of hours into it.

Was for a buddy that freshwater fishes and throws swimbaits and big baits exclusively.
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Got these two plastic swimmers epoxied too, redhead parrots, some new paints, they blend awesome and the epoxy lays great on em.

Mamba minnow and savage gear copies from eBay, $2 each, nice way to test paints and epoxy

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/0C1F603E-AA45-4152-BB5A-D962078DA76B_zps3zj8s4wj.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/0C1F603E-AA45-4152-BB5A-D962078DA76B_zps3zj8s4wj.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/04FF6E14-431F-476C-9653-40AFE244AA7E_zpson9k4mjg.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/04FF6E14-431F-476C-9653-40AFE244AA7E_zpson9k4mjg.jpg.html)
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Nice Chris!
Test swam some stuff the other day when it was in the 50's. I like the way the small predators swim unweighted, could only get them to dig down about 2' but I was in an area with not much current.Also swam a skinny musso Sr. with a lefty 2 hi slot lip, Really like the snake like action and it will start swimming on the slowest of retrieves. Got high hopes for that one. Should be priming and painting stuff this week.
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That mouse thing is awesome!

Wired a dozen or so pikes. First coating S3 today. Wish me luck. I'm also going to do a few with my clear coat baseball finish, 1 part KBS clear coat. 2 coats 3-6 hrs apart to chemically bond the 2 coats. The bats get 2 coats with a scuff w/gray pad prior to 2nd coat. Hard as nails. JLH use same with 1 coat and other than hook rash, no noticeable problems.

I've got a can of that stuff and have been afraid to open it. I really want to use it instead of epoxy.

Are you spraying it? If so, what sort of gun/pressure/thinner?
What sort of vent system?
I think that Mike (M&D's) used it for a while but had some health problem attributed to it .......I think it was elevated liver enzymes.

Supposedly there is also an issue with it drying once opened. Are you using the sheet metal screw in the side of the can trick, the marbles trick, or some type of argon spray?

I've got a can of that stuff and have been afraid to open it. I really want to use it instead of epoxy.

Are you spraying it? If so, what sort of gun/pressure/thinner?
What sort of vent system?
I think that Mike (M&D's) used it for a while but had some health problem attributed to it .......I think it was elevated liver enzymes.

Supposedly there is also an issue with it drying once opened. Are you using the sheet metal screw in the side of the can trick, the marbles trick, or some type of argon spray?

This is the third building season that I've been using it. Like Billy said I just use one coat which covers and protects the paint well but it doesn't provide a lot of protection against hook rash like some of the thicker epoxy coats do.

I just brush it on with a foam brush and personally I wouldn't spray it without a very good ventilation system as I've also heard of health issues from working with it and that along with problems breathing the fumes it can be absorbed through the skin. I like that it's just one part and I don't have to worry about mixing, spinning or temperature very much. Its very thin and easy to brush on and a little bit goes a long way. I'll wait for a warm day to use it and generally setup in the garage with windows and doors open or right on the basement steps with the hatch open and always wear a respirator and rubber gloves. It will harden in lower temperatures, I think KBS recommends over 50 degrees, but I've used it on mid 40 degree days without issue. It seems to stop gassing off after around 8-10 hours and is hard enough to handle after 24 though I'll usually wait 48 hours to wire plugs.

It does harden up if exposed to air but using the sheet metal screw trick one small can lasted me two winters.

I spent the last few sessions working on some glide baits for the coming season. I made a couple variations at the end of last winter and had one that fished well that I'm working on reproducing it. I would have probably fished it more last year but only having the one I didn't' really want to loose it. Fortunately it survived the season and I actually remembered to take notes on how I had build them last year so hopefully these will work...

Well I system 3 10 plugs first coat. Hung them with 2 heat lamps c lose by. They are already touchable . 9 hrs. Did 1 pike with KBS. 2 coats. 6 hr between. First coat was dry to touch , very little tack. Second coat covered a y voids and gave it a deeper finish. Also did a few bats while I had it out. Punched a small hole in b otto and resealed sith screw, the left over fi is will solidify around the hole helping to seal out air,. This stuff hardens with the co er on. They sell a b "burp" spray to replace e air in a i.le. argon. Nice t n I g with small hole you squeeze out just enough. Never used the screw method , (thanks J). Always repacked in a Mason jar and vacuum pa ked it. Real PIA. I'll keep post results of plug fi is and pot life in can.

I've had a good couple weeks. I made it to downes and reader and picked up some more soft maple and white pine and have been messing with that. I've sest swum and tweaked some darter/slope headed stuff Ive been messing with, and I've got the rest of the stuff I've turned sealed. I've got too much in process and have to start finishing some stuff but I still want to turn more needles and maybe mess with gliders those look like fun.

I Had a small mishap with the spar varnish . The container I use lives under a workbench and must have got kicked around and cracked and with all the old dryied varnish coating it I didnt notice it till I was in the middle of a very sticky flood.

I Started painting the pencils I am refinishing this morning, it will be good to get those done and out of the way. Just going with 4 basic color schemes on those. Most of the pink will be pink mac's but I need to make a new stencil.

Painted some plugs today, musso Donny's that I did a jointed version of, weights drilled in on the ends under the thru wire, some odds and ends, like a pichney bootleg, random pencils, a some needles

Worked on some new paint blends, trying to get down a silver ghost 👻 ss pattern and a nicer parrot, getting closer every time
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I Started painting the pencils I am refinishing this morning, it will be good to get those done and out of the way. Just going with 4 basic color schemes on those. Most of the pink will be pink mac's but I need to make a new stencil.

Damn. How'd you wear out that many pencils?

System 3 coat remaining pikes. Drilled out a few more pikes for spares and emergencies. Once they're down I have some mahogany Wadds to do.
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Bought a copic airbrush... me likey!

Also, what do y'all use for primer? I have Rustoleum spray primer and some alkyd primer which I use for trim and it sands nicely... for the resin stuff I don't need primer but I'm finishing/refinishing some plugs and want something easier to work with and that lays nicer...
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Rustoleum painterstouch 2 ultra cover. On the resin , u may need a primer to have the finish color to vond. Krylon fusion may do w/o primer.

The last few cans of Painter's Touch Ultra Cover I've bought have been different. Much thinner and runs very easily. Been forced to do two lighter coats.

I use and absolutely love Zspar marine undercoat. Thick as mud, put it on with a foam brush, dries overnight, grabs createx like Paul does beef jerky.

Ha. Where does one buy this mud.
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Damn. How'd you wear out that many pencils?

It sure wasnt last year. Most of those had been hanging in the rack for quite a while. I usually beat up 1 or 2 of each color each year so doesnt take long to add up. I really havent done the canal day light stuff very much the past few years, sticking almost exclusively to night.

Funny thing is I think the only actual good day I had with top water last year was the day last fall I bumped into you and Alan.

Ha. Where does one buy this mud.


Not sure why you'd care since whatever you use works just as well.
I'd buy it at any local marine store (Z-spar #105) but it looks to me like it may have been discontinued since Pettit bought out Z-spar. My guess is that this product is similar. I'd suggest you buy it and try it on a whole batch of plugs then let me know if it worked before I run out of the good stuff. Thanks.
https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=97752

I just may try it cause I am going to experiment with some new to me epoxy they have an need to place an order.
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grabs createx like Paul does beef jerky.

Ive been reading this thread for 10 minutes and keep getting interrupted by my laughing out loud at this comment
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Not sure why you'd care since whatever you use works just as well.
I'd buy it at any local marine store (Z-spar #105) but it looks to me like it may have been discontinued since Pettit bought out Z-spar. My guess is that this product is similar. I'd suggest you buy it and try it on a whole batch of plugs then let me know if it worked before I run out of the good stuff. Thanks.
https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=97752

The stuff you have, does it sand well?
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I just may try it cause I am going to experiment with some new to me epoxy they have an need to place an order.


Great. Think how realistic your plugs will look. Just like a dying fish with the skin coming off!

The stuff you have, does it sand well?


Yes, it is great after it has dried a day.

I note also that Pettit makes a high build primer that will go over epoxy which might be useful for those who epoxy seal their plugs.

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=97752

I just recently ran outta Rusto Painters touch rattle can primer so was thinking of going the brush primer route. Was going to pickup some zinnser oil base cs then I came across this stuff while browsing the paint aisles.
I know it says above waterline,I think the only difference between this and bottom primer is the antifouling copper or other biocide additive I'm not worried about barnacles growing on my plugs..

Ryan I'm sure any oil base primer works. I've use many and don't seem to have problem with acrylic paints lifting. Painters touch is my choice when I can spray outside and when force inside , Zinseer gold label oil base primer brushed works fine. 2 coats scuff with gray pad or 220 grit paper if you need to smooth out the brush marks. They also sell the Zinseer in spraycan.

Thanks Billy I'll probably go with the gold label Zinnser. Appreciate the help.
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was out to pick up some painters touch at lowes this morning and found
Rustoleum universal bonding primer- on the back it says it works especially well over two part epoxies.
I haven't seen it before but i dont epoxy seal. just a FYI for you guys that do.

A few places are doing away with the Painter's Touch flat white primer and just carrying the paint which is supposedly primer and paint in one can.

A few places are doing away with the Painter's Touch flat white primer and just carrying the paint which is supposedly primer and paint in one can.

That's what I use for 75% of my plugs

2 in 1 painters touch gloss. Under $4 a can and tons of colors
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My favorite primer is Benjamin Moore Advance, but it's for trim... its alkyd based, so it dries very sandable... very few fumes (but not 0)

For the resin, I won't be priming, just airbrushing over the white left after fire, and clear coating after that.

Ryan, let me know what you end up with and how that stuff works out, I might wait to find that out before going one direction or another
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Ryan, let me know what you end up with and how that stuff works out, I might wait to find that out before going one direction or another
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Will do Ian. I'll let ya know

Found out this morning that using chemistry to make plugs isn't quite as easy to reproduce as I thought. Somehow dialed in a recipe that I thought would be perfect only to find that the resulting plug was very different than I expected.

The good news was that I kept some pretty good notes and have a very accurate scale, so I'll just incorporate this into the batch of "learning opportunities"
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paint, wire, epoxy, cuss, repeat... :)

Starting to think air brushing is mostly a waste of time for what I really fish. I think I might be better off just spray bombing base coats of white,yellow or black and then just using the air brush to go over those to add whatever else I'm adding.

paint, wire, epoxy, cuss, repeat... :)

Starting to think air brushing is mostly a waste of time for what I really fish. I think I might be better off just spray bombing base coats of white,yellow or black and then just using the air brush to go over those to add whatever else I'm adding.

Arguably the airbrush is a waste of time for any plug that gets fished, but that doesn't stop most of us ;)
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The word cuss always follows the word epoxy.
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paint, wire, epoxy, cuss, repeat... :)

Starting to think air brushing is mostly a waste of time for what I really fish. I think I might be better off just spray bombing base coats of white,yellow or black and then just using the air brush to go over those to add whatever else I'm adding.

Smart move. That is the problem nowadays plug builders are artist now and sell plugs by how pretty they can make a plug. If you fished white and dark you would be very happy at the end of the year I bet
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4 colors black, yellow, white, lime green. Save time and plenty $. But we don't. That's the fun of creation. Today boutique plugs is what the market bares. Fish don't care.

Smart move. That is the problem nowadays plug builders are artist now and sell plugs by how pretty they can make a plug. If you fished white and dark you would be very happy at the end of the year I bet
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Very true. I am a master at the rattle can. I can do scales, 3 tones, overlays. It doesn't make sense to go crazy with an air brush.

Got some plugs epoxied this week

Some pearl lavender pikies in 3 sizes, some jointed Donnys, a new pencil shape, maple slim Donny, giant pikies

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/B36F37E0-B691-498C-B4B7-06822879CF9E_zpsiiupneto.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/B36F37E0-B691-498C-B4B7-06822879CF9E_zpsiiupneto.jpg.html)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/2B7C6695-9D93-4D00-8342-98B42351AF34_zpsvskdafd6.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/2B7C6695-9D93-4D00-8342-98B42351AF34_zpsvskdafd6.jpg.html)

Giants weigh 5oz rigged

Surface slims 3.5oz

Medium slims 4oz

These jointed Donnys were a fun build, hide the belly weight under the thru wire like the old creek chub jointed pikies

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/ABB4FE23-EF07-483C-8A2B-0F3C2B737780_zpsiyhnmdl7.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/ABB4FE23-EF07-483C-8A2B-0F3C2B737780_zpsiyhnmdl7.jpg.html)

Still working on my lathe projects to try and collect as much chips/dust as possible

And still have a bunch of pikies to sand and paint
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Chris that pike a hand full. What lip do u use?

Chris that pike a hand full. What lip do u use?

Pikie 4 Billy
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Those Pikies are close to the color Bassmaster used to swear by.

Chris, those are all beauties!

I agree, George. Manzi wouldn't throw anything if it wasn't that olive color for awhile. Wouldn't it be great if he made a comeback? Both fishing and plug making.

And thank you for remembering me last week, George. You are a gentleman, generous to a fault. And you make a hell of a darter! (as well as your other creations, but I am biased to your darters)

. Manzi wouldn't throw anything if it wasn't that olive color for awhile. Wouldn't it be great if he made a comeback? Both fishing and plug making.


He, or someone, did well with a blueish purple over dark silver giant pikie at some point. Here is a picture of one that Flap gave me. Huge thing made of red cedar, no weight, big lip.

That is one of the first ones we did way way back where we made our own lips from some stainless backsplash stock we got from the depot. I got some 4x4 red cedar we made some huge stuff from but cut it down for others as well. Then after speaking to Mike Fixter, we started getting Alaskan yellow cedar for them. Dave was creative with his paint jobs

I love the color chefchris

Nice colors. I have one of those Bassmasters too.
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Those look great, I really like the colors. I need to start fishing metal lips more, I usually carry 1 or 2 but they are really not part of my 'goto' list of plugs.

Today I will paintthe last of tne pikes . All the others are sealed and will store for requests throughout the season. There is extras left w/tenons, & drilled . No weights , eyes or slope. Those we'll hang on to for specific requests. I find since the variation of weight in the AYC I have a chart to determine what weight to add to accomplish the specific type of water column depth. I turned every last piece of the last order of AYC from Liberty . Till next winter.

I'm getting towards the end of a wiring/epoxy marathon (my least favorite parts). It will be nice to get to the end. I still have a few things I want to try but wanted to get all the in process stuff done/out of the way first.

The darters are all ones I refinished, the one at the bottom is one of George's.

Second pic is some new needles. I had an issue with the green paint and the epoxy interacting so those look like crap but fish wont care. Larger ones are pine, smaller ones are maple. Both types are right around 1.6 oz.

Last pic is a shorter/fatter proto type version of a needle I usually fish in the fall. I made 3 of these last year (top one is the original which I did well on and took apart and refinished. I made a few more to try in different colors. Those are around 2 1/4 oz.

I also finished up with some other proto type stuff. I have been fishing some slope headed stuff for the past 4 or 5 years and done ok with it. So I kind of took that basic shape and tried a darter shaped head on it instead of just cutting the slope. I am refinishing all the slope headed stuff in the first pic so it will be interesting to see if the different head shapes make them fish any differently.

I upped the size a little bit too, trying to get them closer to 3. I got real close on the weight. I just hope the fish like them.

All look great and interesting too
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That last plug is something I, too, had been hoping to build this winter (and may get to yet although I'm petering out).
Eddy made and gave me a similar but shorter/fatter version some years back. I think he called it the "ditch devil". Casts and swims great although very deep. I think the neck recess and single belly hook improves aerodynamics significantly and is worth experimenting with. Nice job.

Chris - really nice pikies. I have a pike question.

Chris has the slot for his lip almost at the top of nose and the line tie is right there right at the bend. Fixter has his slot on some pikies a little further down. I have some Bassmasters where the lip slot is very high but the line tie is halfway down the lip and others at the top. Maybe has to do with the lip you use. Personal preference?

Chris - really nice pikies. I have a pike question.

Chris has the slot for his lip almost at the top of nose and the line tie is right there right at the bend. Fixter has his slot on some pikies a little further down. I have some Bassmasters where the lip slot is very high but the line tie is halfway down the lip and others at the top. Maybe has to do with the lip you use. Personal preference?

My lip slot is dead center of the plug, line tie is in the lower 1/3 of the body

When I made by first ones (2013) I went by a fixter Iand Mac I had for reference, both were the same placement, so followed what they did, same as the creek chub

Might be the angle of the pic that looks odd
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Rob have the line tie higher promotes a deeper depth. I use line ties high w/lip slot mid. I think Pike line ties that were in lips lower similar to a Danny were designed to stay on surface, head down tail kicking on surface.

Got some Salty supplies at RISSA. Hoping to finish drilling lip screws holes and installing lips.

I wrapped up all the stuff I was refinishing and very glad to have that all done and out of the way.

This week I've been messing around with small batches of a few different plugs. I made some broken back slope headed stuff to try in the canal and I made some needles in 3 different styles where i am pouring the lead directly into the plug and then topping that off with epoxy to fill the voids and sanding on the lathe. That worked great for the soft maple but the pine ones the wood was too soft I ended up sanding down the plugs more than I wanted. live and learn.

Next up for me is maybe trying bottle plugs.

Mix some a lot of saw dust into the epoxy to make a paste filler and I think it will sand easier.

I have been finishing up some of the Wadd style needles that I started a while back. I wired 6 of them and have 2 coats of E-Tex on them (drying) I also get a hold of some 1/4" stick on eyes this weekend. I added them to this batch of 6 plugs that got their first coat of E-tex on Sunday. I decided not to wire these ahead of time. I wanted to see which method I liked better. The eyes are a very small addition to the overall product, but they certainly do make the plug pop a lot more.

Looks very kev. Did you drill for eyes?

I thru drilled the eye w a small bit, those are stickers though. Used the holes to get the eyes lined up

Nice work. Those will be useful plugs for certain.

Today is paint a few more pikes. I did a few finish top coated w/KBS clear coat. Using a 1' foam brush did w coats w/in 5 hours for a chemical bond. The finish looks great. Not the depth of e tex but acceptable. Punched a hole in can and resealed w/ screw. No flipping. Less finicky than System 3. No the test will be which one hold up better or if equally. Like I earlier mentioned ,I never had issues with the finish on baseball bats. But other than ground rash we'll see on hook rash and fishing rash. I an going to take o e a scuff with a gray pad then recoat for a third cut. I would of done it as a chemical bond but wasn't around for the time period required. No more than 6 hrs to apply w/o scuff.

I finished the broken back stuff I wanted to try in the canal. we'll see if it works, wanted to fish them in daylight. (I had made similar ones 4-5 years ago but they swam 'too fast'. But too fast may be ok by day.

I also finished a small batch of needles and got the other needles primed.

I'm working on bottles now. For a plug I used to hate fishing as a kid they sure are a lot of work to build. So far so good. Bodies are turned and belly holes drilled. Im putting weights under the chin so will do that today and maybe drill for tail weights. Kind of putting off playing with the drum sander as I know I will end up screwing up a few before I get that right.

I don't know why..........but whatever.

:rolleyes:

So cute.
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it's a baby sebile!

Nice jointeds diggin jiggin!

George that micro Sebile is nuts! I made some small handcarve stuff for trout and some crankbaits, it's a pain shaping the smaller stuff.
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It worked........if you consider a scrawny, man-made, undersized brook trout as working. The hook-up to hit ratio was awful as well....@1:10.

I'd call that a success, not sure how it would swim with just a single tail hook but that might help with hookups.
Inspiring work!
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Yeah that's about your normal ratio🤔
God you served that up underhand.
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All kidding aside pretty cool lure and even better it worked.
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I don't know why..........but whatever.

Well...... You have the time......

I finally have some completed plugs. Nothing special in terms of paint and I am still learning; but I am really enjoying the overall process. The final weights are between 3.3oz and 3.75oz. Most of them have a fairly level sink. A couple sit nose up in the tank, but most sit level (haven't figured out why, not too concerned).

I finally have some completed plugs. Nothing special in terms of paint and I am still learning; but I am really enjoying the overall process. The final weights are between 3.3oz and 3.75oz. Most of them have a fairly level sink. A couple sit nose up in the tank, but most sit level (haven't figured out why, not too concerned).

These look damn good!!

Well been too cold to paint, I paint outside in a shed so went back to turning and sanding this week.

Finished turning and drilling my version of the wadd, 8.5" and 3-3.5oz, level sink, my best producing plug last season. Going to do "ribbed" versions too. Realized I didn't have enough weights to install and fill em all, so waiting on those.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/07B65BBF-1D75-4F81-9F5C-9350D9023FAC_zps9y0kyyxy.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/07B65BBF-1D75-4F81-9F5C-9350D9023FAC_zps9y0kyyxy.jpg.html)

Made 6 of these version of a needle, think i got the original from makomike (maybe), different profile and shape. Going to play around with the sink and hook configurations this week.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/CDD13320-81DA-4F85-957A-50041A0280BF_zpsbrpmzeid.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/CDD13320-81DA-4F85-957A-50041A0280BF_zpsbrpmzeid.jpg.html)

Scored this SS rolling cart/table from the storage locker at work, boss wanted to throw it out, brought it home, some new nuts and bolts and it's ready, will be nice for stuff that's in the works

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/5FD7AB00-FBC1-4577-955E-98A49D178825_zpsqhg7xz0v.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/5FD7AB00-FBC1-4577-955E-98A49D178825_zpsqhg7xz0v.jpg.html)

And last but not least built some of these 4.5" 1.5oz pencils from 2010, my pops had one of my originals in his bag, 45 degree float, 11 gram tail weight, cut 1/0 vmc in the front and 5H split ring and 2/0 vmc in the rear, action is nice, pops and splashes, very easy to work, going to be killer in the spring, casts tail first and far too :) might do a few with a "double shot" of lead too. And play around with some inline hooks too.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/EECBAA58-7CBA-4428-A3B7-AFFCED3706B8_zpsxnjjuhp0.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/EECBAA58-7CBA-4428-A3B7-AFFCED3706B8_zpsxnjjuhp0.jpg.html)

Cut up some WRC blanks for some ccbc 7400 surfsters, me slammer/pats style swimbaits and 5" mullet swimmers, all prepped and ready for this week, maybe.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/chefchris2/6CE5198D-BAE8-4A1E-B96D-BBCE98BAC5D0_zps5okzs245.jpg (http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/chefchris2/media/6CE5198D-BAE8-4A1E-B96D-BBCE98BAC5D0_zps5okzs245.jpg.html)
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