Popper Mouth woes.......
 

I've been trying to find the perfect tool to cup my popper mouths and am starting to get frustrated.

I tried using a router cove bit but that blasted thing tends to run off the plug on me and mar it all up.

Then I tried a spade bit, drilling that first then shaping it with a dremel. Very time comsuming.

Next, I tried to round out that spade bit but in the process, found by doing so, I removed the cutting surface. Now it just "Burns" its way through.

Anyone have a better solution? Maybe cutting down a "Step Drill"??? Maybe a better solution to rounding a spade bit??

I'm at a loss here! :smash: :smash: :af:

Thanks!

Bob, you need to take that spade bit and grind the corners round on a grinder leaving a beveled cutting edge to it and while you are grinding, take the point and grind that to a minimum point just enough to stay centered. Try that otherwise try to find a ballspur big enough.

am fishing for a pic i might have taken............
found, this is the thing i use, it makes em nice en smooth. can catch sometimes and im missin a bit of my thumb and index finger from slippin but o well. wear gloves if you wanna. i just roll the plug around in this till its done. this picture is cool its got good depth.:D

http://user792317.wx10.registeredsit...egory_Code=DGA

I wonder if these things will work on wood also, they look like they will? I'd like to order one of each of the three sizes.

Slip, I have tried these bits. The problem is, that they clog very easily.
Save your money.

Bernzy

Hey Christian, been there done that.:laughs: It really took you by surprise the first time it rolled across your the top of your thumb didn't it. :laughs: I use a ball rasp in my drill press and yes it is very hard to control.

I use a large metal working drill bit. Look a tthe mouths on some of the mass produced poppers, the angle at the bottom of the mouth is close to the angle on a large drill bit. Then sand the face to the finish angle you want.

Put it in the drill chuck in the headstock of your lathe, put your spur center in the tailstock and crank the plug down on the bit.

i use a cove bit in a plunge router. i made a jig to hold the plug and the router. fast and easy.

Do a search for "Popper Mouths". You'll see a great way to do the mouths by assinippi. This is the way I do it but on my drill press.

I buy them at the store. The plugs that is. :bshake:

Thanks Bernzy :)

I use a ball rasp in my drill press. I clamp the plug to the same jig I used for center drilling on the press to keep it steady. The jig is basically a section of 2 x 4 (base) with a section of plywood on two edges that meet at the corner. The plug sits in the corner and is kept vertical. Clamp it in place. I also use one hand to help keep it steady. Pretty quick and no problems so far. I'm sure several of the other methods people have suggested would work well in this type of jig too.

Jigman

Depending on the size of the popper I use a dremel tool with the rounded bit that comes with the kit I forget wha they call it but it works but dont let it let away from you they come out pisser i'l post a pic if I can find it.

Well Hi Guys, From someone who has made just 1 or 2 poppers in my day. The best bit in my opinion is a multy fluted countersink bit produced by W Fuller Company. But since those are hard to find. The rounded off spade bid will work fine for a whilde befor needing to be sharpened. Don't touch the center point, round down the two sided to the desired angle, then put a slight angle away from the cut (The flat edge is the cutting side. So hold the point of the bit to the right side of the wheel and place it in a slight upward angle and follow the rounded edge). If you like, call me 401-762-1884 I'll give you directions to my house and I'll prepare the bit for you and test it here. (no charge). As far as that bit link that was posted, please don't waste your time with it. You will get no where fast.

Good Luck feel free to call.

Armand

p.s. fishweewee's idea is alright too. buy one of mine :)

LI can you post a picof your jig when you get a chance. I was thinking of going that route...

I tried using the cove bit from a router in my drill press. It skips quite a bit. Maybe I need to slow it down?

I'm going to try another spade bit rounding. I think I ground it down too much last time. If this doesn't work, I guess it's Pikie city ;) ;)

I also have a dremel but that is just too slow.....I'm talking about doing about 20 poppers in a sitting. I'll let you know how it works out.

I just went through this learning curve 2 weeks ago and I'll share what helped me.... I'm using a router bit in the drillress.. I turn the blank, cut the waste square thats on the mouth side and leave the tail square on.... I'll go to the drillpress and do a deep mouth, then belt sand the angle.. I can do a mouth in soemthing like 1 minute or 2.... I think that if you start the mouth when its flat it wont zip around on you, but be careful of that bit cause its sharp!

I think you're onto something there, Eben. I'm going to head into the shop and make a jig using the square tail end. Something that will slide over and then "Straddle" the plug so it doesn't run around on me.

Sharp....oh yea they are. When I first got the bit, threw it in there and started at it. It chattered so much, the blasted chuck came right out of the drill press and towards me. Dove out of the way. It ended up accross the garage and still spinning.......whew...just made it outta that one alive :rolleyes:

Router bits are made to turn at faster rpms than a drill press will give you. Slow= tear out......

Just an idea...
 

Had this thought the other day while my girls were watching me turn. They wanted "Wooden Fish" too. But theirs had to have real tails made from wood as well as flat sides. "You know, like real fish Daddy" :rollem:

Anyway, the way I found to do the tails thought might help do a popper mouth. I turned the body then when I got to the tail I left a large flair at the live center side. Looked like a polaris popper profile. Well the tail could and would be cut with the scroll saw from there but I decided to take one more step on the lathe and bowl cut the flaired end. When I removed it from the lathe I had a polaris popper! Only thing left was the "Tang" or "nub" that the center was holding. We're talking about 1/4" dia x 7/16" high max. Easy to dremel that out. Like I said that ended up the rough "wood tail" on mine. I cut away the sides of the flair dia and up the sides of the plug and had my tail. When I move on to poppers I think I'll start out this way and see how it goes.

Just an idea...

Piture these as a popper cross section...in reverse
 

You could always go even deeper if you want.

Oops
 

...fergot the toy pic. One wanted a "tiger Mack" and the other wanted a lightning storm. Go figure.

I ho all my poppers so I dont have to deal with it .

another
 

Here you can see where the remaining live center wood nub was.

Geeze, Hank. Put a nice weight in the rear of that thing and a big 'ol treble and you got a nice wooden Megabait jig!! Nice work!

Ya know...
 

I saw the rough "fishy" taking shape and I thought the same thing! But....:angel: then I thought "for the kids"
I figure I'll wait till I find them in the bottom of the toy box some day then :devil2:

Lol Chris... instead of Ho'ing I almost never fish em.. carry one Polaris incase I fish during the day :smash: but thats not that often anyways..... occasionally I do use a pencil popper....
'hound

Surfster: Those are really nice. I would like to hang something like that on the Christmas tree. Then fish it the rest of the year.

Just in case you are interested. Here is a photo of the jig I use. Basically a 2x4 section with plywood attached to the sides. This is put in a vice on the drill press. Here I'm doing the face on a pencil popper with a router bit. I can use the same jig for center drilling on the press too.

Jigman

I use them and I think they work great. I brush out the the saw dust with a wire brush. You can also burn it out with a match without harming the whiskers on the rasp.

I use the rasp in my drill press and hold the plug against the ball (using leather gloves) to shape the cup. I find that I have to start the cup with a counter sink to keep the round rasp from slipping off the front of the plug. Once that is done, I have no problem getting the cup shaped.