All them Smith's
 

Striperonthefly, you cant do that, post that pic that is. Now I gotta go get the screen cleaner to help get the drool off.:humpty: Great looking plugs.

That's the way to do it. Most styles will come around again, with time.

I'm amazed people part so easily with some plugs. A 3 oz. Beachmaster Musso wad might as well be irreplaceable. Obviously the seller never took it fishing. Even at $50 or so it's far more valuable to me ready to fish then cashed out on eBay...

You'ld think for that kind of money that the seller would at least throw in a couple of hooks.

What I find interesting is those that don't build plugs want them cheap..those that do know what the cost is and the time it takes to make just one...if you added the tools-time-material together..each one should start at 30.00-50.00 and go up from there.So in the eyes of a builder...$30.00 ain't much lettice.

pfffft. not so with plugs made in china. :bc:

Believe it or not if they throw hooks on it they can't list it as new. Beachmasters, new, don't come with hooks.

Aha, the ol' woe is plugbuilder ;)
Comeon CS, thats not even close to realistic. Even if each part cost a buck, your still making $10 per plug. 8-10 plugs per hour, thats some decent $ right there.

If your mass producing..fine as kind....basement builder..I think not.If Bobby was a full blown space building set up and made all his styles year round and pumped out hundereds per month....yes ..they'd be down to 13-16.00 and be in every shop in every state....but I don't consider a two car garage and one or two styles a year mass producing.

I often think if there was GOOD money in building,,many of the gone by builders would still be still around produceing today...plug's wood be cheap.Most cranking them out today have other money jobs or a good bank account behind them.

:huh: I guess I'm in the wrong business :rollem:
who in this world can actually make 8 plugs in under and hour? 7-1/2 min. per plug for one man is a bit of a stretch to cover all and I mean all of the steps involved. :hs:

Personally I can't thank today's custom plug builders enough for what they do and what they are able to put out on the market these days quality wise....

I am slowly building up a very nice aresnal of these plugs that I hope will give me great success and maybe even into the future with my son using them...

Keep Up The Great Work Guys,, Thanks,,,,,,,,

The olds guys werent getting $16-20 wholesale, if they were theyd still be around.
Slip, 1000 of the same plug in batches of 50-60+, you could easily complete those steps in under 10min. You know each plug doesnt go through the whole process at one time, its done in steps.
If I had a week of 8hr days, I could turn 1000 plugs, a week to drill, a week to paint, a week to finish. Or whatever, I dont know exactly how long, but you understand what Im conveying

You'd think with all these new builders out there that people would have everything they want, but no ones made anything of genuine value during this wood plug rebirth, except for the BM SS needle.
How many Danny swimmers before ya choke the market w/ pretty paint jobs?

Oh ya, I know what you mean and I do know it has to be production work, but I think the quality and consistency of those BM plugs and the steps he takes will not come close to 10 plugs per hour, maybe half that at best. I realize there is money to be made for a large scale operation. As costs rise, retail goes up too. same with supply and demand.

It's not that I want my plugs to be cheep just fair.standerd price has always been $17-$22 that is a fair price.Now we are seeing plugs go for $25-$35 why, becuase of e-bay or anther reason?some of it is limited runs makes the plug rarer and people will pay more,hey to each there own I guess just not me.eels $1.75 catch more bass then any plug.:bl2:

I roll my own... Ain't NO WAY I'm laying out over $25 for something to toss in the ocean...

Hand building does take time though, you are correct about that.

1. Cut stock to length
2. Thru drill
3. Turn
4. Sand
5. Drill belly weight hole
6. Drill belly swivel hole (If 2 add one more step)
7. Drill 1 eye
8. Drill other eye
9. Drill tail weight hole
10. Cut excess stock off front end of plug
11. Cut excess stock off of tail end
12. Insert belly weight
13. Fill belly weight hole
14. Sand belly weight hole flush
15. Drill nose grommet hole wider to accomodate nose grommet
16. Seal
17. Prime
18. Sand
19. Paint
20. Add eyes
21. Clear coat
22. Add belly grommet (If 2 belly grommets add another step)
23. Add nose grommet
24. Insert wire
25. Add swivel as wire passes through plug (If 2 swivels add another step)
26. Add tail weight
27. Add tail grommet
28. Bend and loop tail wire
29. Put split ring on belly swivel (If 2 belly swivels add another step)
30. Add hook to belly split ring (If 2 belly swivels add another step for 2nd hook)
31. Put split ring on tail loop
32. Put hook on tail split ring

This is a basic case scenario building a basic plug......there are many other steps given the particular plug one is building but there is an incredible amount of time involved, as Capesams states, in building a plug. If you are doing say 100 of the same plug, sure you do each step 100 times each step all at one time, one step at a time but its still alot of time be it 1 plug or 500 plugs. I estimate there are a minimum of 40 steps to each plug I make and there are a few more steps I do in regards to sanding eyes if I need to round them down smooth....I admit to being a fanatic. Slice it up any way you want......they take a boat load of time to make if made correctly.;)

Shadow,
I hear ya,, I caught my largest to date on a live one..

But what happens when maybe eels are no longer for sale or
even available for anything close to that buck/75 based on the current stocks and restrictions on harvest baits in area's (horseshoe crabs) here in NJ...

A 11" BM Giant Jointed Pike would be a nice thing to have ;)

I'll probably get throgged somehow for saying this but wth. I've done over 800 popper bodies ready to seal in a day sunup to sundown. Metal lipped swimmers upwards of 500/day. But I've VERY highly refined how every lure I make is done. Figure it out that's probably around 70 or 80 finished bodies an hour. I don't know of too many guys who have done what I have with this stuff/machinery though.

Chris brings up a good point "How many Danny swimmers before ya choke the market w/ pretty paint jobs?"

The market will bear what it bears...it's in a glut right now and it's survival of the fittest. If your stuff works and works out of the package at a decent price you'll survive. If not then you may as well %$%$%$%$can it right now.

And CS does make a good point too, try running rent, insurance, maint on equipment, and add a $500/month heating bill right now. It costs in excess of of $2500 a month to keep my shop open every month wether I sell a lure or not. Something to factor in to what the "perceived cost" is for a plug.

Not to crap on anyones parade cuz I know BM is not making beans for what he does but there are a number of builders out there that limit purposely how many plugs they sell for various reasons....

All I can say is the day I see someone trying to profit like this on one of my lures is the day I would throw every one in the fire and close the doors.

I say thanks also
 

to all the guys at least who started in the cellar, some still are, and ended up in space buildings. Scott, Hab, Don, Larry, Mac, to mention a few, and all the rest that are making/keeping alive some styles of plugs, made in wood, that otherwise go the way many things have. I understand capesams reasoning about a building willing to pay $30 to 50 for a wood plug. If I had I would too. I have a few plugs that I think are so nice I am having great difficulty using them. I think the current average $15.00 to $25.00 to be very reasonable. If I dont have the money it kills me to wait but I'd rather wait and buy the quality than buy overseas stuff.

my avatar is worth $637:usd:

I like working out of my rent free garage....and I know one thing for certain....ain't gonna get rich making plugs! I enjoy it and I like that other people enjoy fishing them! Gawd bless you Salty!:)

This buyer has been outbidding folks on lures for a while now. I know that name.:yak5:

yes..and what a delight to the eye she is...blow that sucker up will you..I need a closer look...can't own any, but shore can look for free:drool:

This is a bit harsh, I think. Spooks were nonexistent before guys started cranking out customs, and the supply of metal lip swimming options (not to mention big darters) in the 3 oz size was also very sparse. The increase in the availability of different style needles for different conditions is also a big plus. Where could you get a jointed eel 5 years ago? How about a surfster? Although I agree the world has seen enough 2 oz Danny clones, or even worse these Lefty clones, it is a bit strained to argue that there is little new of "genuine value" available today for those who prefer to fish big plugs.

Check your PMs.

Numbskull,

Nice avatar...:btu:

I remember a years ago when dave manzi cut one(a danny) in half..
There where pics to document it..

my arse :bshake: - better builders than ever right now turning out the highest quality ever!

That's why I grabbed 5 more on Saturday. I have almost as many now as I do original atom juniors.... :devil:

I remember years ago when I cut a dave manzi danny in half :devil:

There was pictures there too :tooth: