I know it aint Sunday, but here's a few things I've been puttering with, spun up most of them when it was monsoon season in July in an effort to do something fishing related...
what I have there are some 1.5 ounce needles and slim swimmers, those are all made from WRC … there are 4 darter blanks there for Pinkney style 3 ounce darters, I make mine out of Ash these days, I like it better than maple, it's just a tad more stable...also pictured are some goo goo eyes,made from AYC, sealed with Tung oil,paint is createx with E-tex outer shell.. the Conrads are made from Mahogany, sealed and painted like above... also there are a few pikies there.. those are spun from WRC..finished like he rest.

Hi Joe. Glad to see ur still turning. Always had a good time talking to u and others at Plugfest.
My building season is here now. Plan on doing my needles , pikes. Probably bring back 1 or 2 older designs lip swimmers.
I see u still doing the tung oil sealing. I dont do maple often because the spar sealing doesnt offer any cracking guarentees. Whats ur mix ratio?
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I use the tung straight..let them soak 15 minutes, ,hang wipe off exsess..dry in a few days no bleed through..tung oil has been used to preserve boats going back hundreds of years... all my rifle sticks and wooden long bows are preserved with tung oil. I also use it to seal the ice fishing tip ups.
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Is there much weight difference in the ash to maple?? I have access to a bunch of ash currently and have always been under the impression it splits out much easier than other woods for plug building
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Maple is more dense with a tighter grain, I've had good luck with ash and birch, ash is pretty stable wood, I
I've used it for ice fishing tip ups for years, all Jack traps are ash.
Birch splits easy, you have to seal it well, same with maple,
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Looking great, never seen an ash darter before; how does the lip hold up against rocks compared to maple?

Ash is very durable, like I've said, it is the primary wood for ice fishing tip ups, those things take a beating.
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Ash is grainy but tough. Positioning grain vertical would help lip from shaving off. I have plenty broken ash bats. Old growth tighter grain would be good for plugs.
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Tony C, and some random needles.

Nice shapes. One thing on hand turning is u can change on the fly.
Some unique weighting in them.
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New sealer I’m trying, thin as water.

I had good results with water based polyurethane, dried quick and hard, rattlecans adhered well
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I have been using a rattle can triple clear for my top coat. Gave up on epoxy as I don't keep the plugs long enough to justify the work involved.

I see a wide lip on the slim. As Artie Johnson used to say "very interesting"

Produces a bit more "wiggle".

maybe more than just a bit, depending on the retrieve speed

Started cleaning the shop this weekend got some blanks set did some thru drilling and spun a couple maple blanks for darters. Also started to refurb a couple
Old Gibbs pencils for fishbones. Been so busy hard to get in the shop but winters gonna fly so nows the time. I’ll work on posting some pics next Sunday go Pats!!
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I hate that D and R or whatever the new name is won’t let you walk through the yard anymore to pick out lumber does anyone have any other suggestions in eastern MA?? My best bud from childhood has a sawmill and solar kiln in the Berkshires where I get the majority of my wood but would like something closer when I’m
In a pinch
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I have a few guys waiting on me for needles. Been so busy with firewood, clearing snow and rebuilding the loader frame on the tractor that I haven't gotten into the shop yet. Promised the bride I'd clean up my 2/3 of the basement so I'll spin this week.

Ross, I haven't forgotten.:hihi:

when I clean the basement my 2/3 becomes 9/10. I'm just saying

:huh::huh:

No worries my friend.

I found some more mahogany baluster cut offs... Been SLOWLY cleaning my shop as well. In order to get a foothold, I had to put most of my plugbuilding tools, turned blanks, and finishing supplies into containers. Only the lathe left on the bench. For now. It is slow, painfully slow.

This weather is just killing my plug building. I spend a ridiculous amount of time working on Firewood. Saws, clean, sharpen, tractor maintenance. Hauling wood for 2 stoves. The upside is we've only burned 130 gallons of oil since November. That includes hot water. 5 cords of oak so far.

Atom Juniors, Spooks, and a few other things.

Tommy nice selection of plugs. You liking that dupe I see!
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LOVE, also having fun stealing whatever wood I can find in the house. My next victim, a crochet set.

I did the same in beginning. Drive by peoples houses scrounging thru bulk trash for pine and maple. Remodeled my kitchen and used the pine dividing spindles for my first pencil popper.
Old wood was much better than some wood today.
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Poplar Needlefish, I heard poplar doesn’t seal very well?

Not the best wood to use in water. Nonetheless I made a novelty 15" needle recently with a piece. Sealed w/ 60/40 spar and turps. Took.it out for testing. So fat no cracks. Oh and it swam perfect for my liken.
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Awesome Billy! That’s something I need to fish more this year, big needles. I see how productive they are for larger fish, but always get hung up on trying to get used to fishing them.