I've made a bunch of these and they are one of my favorite plugs to fish. I have used AYC, Basswood, Red Cedar and Pine and have found they all work but some may be better suited for certain conditions. I make mine with a metal lip and like that I can tune it to swim subsurface. I have made them with swivels and with a sealed belly hanger. I prefer the swivel, a big one with a cut hook. I have done a few with lead poured in the belly hanger hole. That setup seemed to be the closest I came to them swimming like the original. I actually have had much better success tuning them to swim deeper for whatever reason. Probably just due to where I fish. They do cast horrible, especially with an oversized lip which I also prefer. Haven't been able to figure that out. I will be making more and look forward to what you come up with.