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.  
 
