Surfster, all I have to do to get one of those fishys is call you daddy:laughs:? From looks of those paint jobs, it might be worth the humiliation....... seriously though NICE WORK.

-Dave

Daddy...:D

I just bought this ball 1" ball shaped burr...and it works real well. The cutting surface stays clean. I use it in a jig like the one Jigman has shown on the drill press.



here is a link : http://wttool.com/Merchant2/merchant...Category_Code=

I also found a 1/2" drill chuck with key and #2 MT arbor for my Jet mini at this place for $6.00 !!! It works great. I bought the same chuck last year for my drill press and the quality seems pretty good.

Now thanks to Slip showing me the thru-drilling on the lathe I have not had a bad plug yet, thanks Slip!

Oh ya.. here is the link for the chuck:
http://wttool.com/Merchant2/merchant...ode=18500230p0

Chris

Geesh, Chris...now that looks like it has potential! I may give that one a try!

Bob, so far it has work well for me, for $10 I thought it was worth a try.

Hey guys. I do literally thousands of these plugs a year and I can easily modify a spade bit for anyone who wants me to. Feel free to ask. Just email or call.

Jigman. The countersink bit your using is also good I use them too. May I make one suggestion for doing the center hole and also the countersink for the mouth. It's very easy. Just save an old piece of 4"x4" and clamp that to the base of the drill press then find the closest size bit over what your lure is then place your lure in a rag and push it into the hole. It's quick and easy and never moves. But I never bother with the rag since I finish the plugs last.

good luck

Armand

RI Popper, I use a spade bit as well sometimes. It took a few attempts to get the bit the way I liked it.

with the round burr I thought I would try somthing a little different with more flexibility in shaping the cup, and it works well.

Here is one I did last night.

For what it's worth, I've been through the ball rasps of various sizes and types in my drill press, the rounded off spade bits, countersink bits of several types, and all sorts of router bits.

I've taken off nearly every knuckle I have at least once!!

What I use now is simply a Forstner bit. It gives me flat-"bottomed" holes, but they're perfrect otherwise, and easy--takes about 5 seconds to do a plug. I just hold the plug vertical on the drill press plate and zap it and it's done.

On the flat bottom hole issue, I figured that it gives me a larger-volume hole that'll throw more water, and thus produce a bigger splash. And it's all about making noise on the surface.

When I take the plug out of the lathe, the next step is the nose hole on the poppers. After the hole is done, I cut off the end at 15 degrees on the mitre saw and, voila, it's off to the paint booth.

A few years back I bought a set of 8 Forstners at Woodworkers for about $25, that run from 1/4" up to 1", and they still work great. The middle sizes get the most use. They're perfect for eye holes, too.

Only problem with this is that, at first, I made a bunch of plugs with the holes too deep. When I got them done and went to use one, it took forever to get the damned leader down to the wire loop that was about 3/8" down into the hole. It was cold as hell. So I sanded 3/16' or so off those few plugs, touched them up with some paint and envirotex, and fed them to fish.

HI Chris That looks very good and I guess no one else is building the volume that I am accept the other commercial guys here. so if you want to use a rasp that's cool as long as your getting that kind of quality. I simply try to find the quicker ways because of the number I do. SAFETY is the most important thing, Don't try free handing these things use a jig. We have a lot of time and a lot of wood but a limited amount of skin. :) Looks good Chris.

RI Popper, I don't do that many, at most 10 at a time. I'm sure that the spade bit is the way to go, but I think I grind them down incorrectly.

"SAFETY is the most important thing, Don't try free handing these things use a jig. We have a lot of time and a lot of wood but a limited amount of skin."

RI you are right about safety ... I do use a jig...no more free handing, learned that the hard way:smash:

Thanks
Chris

I, personally, think the spade bit is the best idea out there....but much like Chris, I grind them down wrong.

You know, there must be some sort of use for a rounded off spade bit in the industry.....why can't someone design and produce one?? That would be ideal. Keep the cutting edge on the entire side and perfectly round. There must be a way and I'm on a mission ;)

Has anyone tried ball end mills?
They come already ground with the radius on it just like your talking about bob. The only problem is that are expensive, but not much more than a router bit would cost, or buying a dremel - mine met it's maker many moons ago :( - and the bits.
I've never used them on wood, but i don't think you would have any problems with softer woods like cedar. They might burn out, but if you can't get the angle right by hand - which is difficult, but possible - this may be a good way to go.
I don't know any stores you can them at. If you know anyone who works in any 'craftsman' type trade they can get it through MSC. Or try Ebay or any search engine for 'ball end mills'. Don't buy one too long, you wont need more than 3/4"

Some great ideas :kewl: Thanks for sharing.

Have not tried those end mills on wood. I have a couple of sets. Might have to give it a go. You can get them from grizzly.com and a number of other places online. Amazon may even have them.

Jigman