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Welcome, Linesider.
You're in the right place -- lots of experienced and friendly builders here that provide great support and advice.
I've only been building for a couple of years, but here's what I have to offer:
Consider safety equipment as your number one initial concern. For yourself you'll need a face shield and particulate respirator. To further protect yourself and to protect your family and pets, you will need to control wood dust. A dust collector and air filtration system are important safety items. Wood choice is also a factor here, as people are more allergenic to some wood types than others. For example, I do OK with AYC dust, but my buddy and cat have serious respiratory reactions to it. When you settle in on initial wood types for the types of lures you want to build, make sure you research common reactions to their dust.
Consider what matters to you most in a plug. If you just want solid, no-nonsense fish-catchers then it might not make sense to invest in air-brushing equipment, fancy epoxy-turners, etc for your finish work. There are a lot of guys out there with great -- even excellent creations painted solely by rattle cans and protected by commonly-obtained epoxy.
For sealing, I like to use epoxy for all wood types -- but you will find a lot of opinions on this.
You also might want to consider focusing on just one or two types of plugs in the beginning -- that approach might narrow your initial tool and stock expenses.
Good luck, keep asking questions, and welcome to a great hobby.
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