Poplar question?????

[UserRemoved1]

[BigFish]

Scott....how you doing? I know your a "poplar" guy! How do you find it works for you?

[Tagger]

We use a lot of poplar for interior finish thats to be painted .. If it gets wet, it gets tossed as it will go whoopy.. I guess if you seal it well . Sh#t ,,hardwoods split if you don't seal them well .....cedar /white pine would be my first choice for surface lures .

[Flaptail]

Thanks everyone. I got a bunch of red cedar and a couple plugs out of the poplar doing the 24 hour dunk in 50/50 val oil/turpentine. Hey they are just for me so if they disintergrate no big woop. Ones I dunked and dried already held up well and really took the juice. We will see what we will see.

[gone fishin]

I picked some up in Attleborough just recently -- he only had 4 footers that were decent and at that some had a bad grain. Didn't like drilling straight on big lengths. Call him first. He does have some dimension stock out of AYC too. I think 4 x 4 was his biggest Paul.

[Montaukmaniac]

Flaptail,
Just my opinion...
I have poplar plugs that are 10 years old and beaten up good and they weigh the same as when I made them. If you use a sealer on poplar may I suggest straight TUNG oil. Soak it and let dry then buff with a light steel wool (this closes the pores good). FACT...It dries faster than linseed and penetrates better into tight grain woods. It is more expensive, but well worth it. Poplar as mentioned is just a bit denser than AYC, but it has it's applications depending on what you want your plug to do. For instance, I make Danny's out of poplar when I want to drive my plug down on the backside of a wave and let it rise slowly to the top (like a dieing fish). Cedar Danny's are like corks in the water, but this too can be desireable at times. The one thing about this hobby is that there are no rules. Experiment...you'll be surprised what you come up with. Good luck !

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by Montaukmaniac

Flaptail,
Just my opinion...
I have poplar plugs that are 10 years old and beaten up good and they weigh the same as when I made them. If you use a sealer on poplar may I suggest straight TUNG oil. Soak it and let dry then buff with a light steel wool (this closes the pores good). FACT...It dries faster than linseed and penetrates better into tight grain woods. It is more expensive, but well worth it. Poplar as mentioned is just a bit denser than AYC, but it has it's applications depending on what you want your plug to do. For instance, I make Danny's out of poplar when I want to drive my plug down on the backside of a wave and let it rise slowly to the top (like a dieing fish). Cedar Danny's are like corks in the water, but this too can be desireable at times. The one thing about this hobby is that there are no rules. Experiment...you'll be surprised what you come up with. Good luck !

Thanks MM! Good solid info there for sure. This board and members like you and the other guys are treasures. So much info to help the learning curve. I would be lost without this board if I was trying to do this on my own. Thanks agai n to you and all the others.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Montaukmaniac

The one thing about this hobby is that there are no rules. !

i seem to recall that there's many rules to being a good plug ho.

[basswipe]

Regardless of how dry it is and how well you seal poplar it has no application being near water or changes in temperature.

The only reason a commercial plug builder would use it I would assume is because its cheap enough and looks killer when first painted.