B/L oil ?

[pbadad]

I've been having some cracking in my 9"-12" needles from the hook hole to weight hole. I made a new batch and kept them overnight 12 hrs. in the B/O; 60% & 40% Pure turps. solutution. The ones that cracked were soaked for 1 hr. The overnighters gained 1/2oz. in weight. I hope they loose some of this added weight. Any recommendations. I've used popular for these needles. The birch ones are OK so far. The older populars needles are still OK. They were soaked for a few hours. Need some helpful info. Thanks

[BigFish]

I use AYC and seal with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirit 60/40 respectively.....I only dip them for 1 minute! Its all you need and even an hour there is no further penetration than 1 minute...maybe others have found differently but I dipped several testers for different amounts of time and found no difference in how deep it penetrates from 1 minute to 1 hour! I think its a mistake to soak them for so long!

[BigFish]

As far as the crack.....do you use grommets in the swivel hole??? If so do you press them tightly in place???

[Rockfish9]

The popular is the problem, tough stuff to seal, it splits as bad as oak... Stay with Cedars, birch,maple and mahogany and you troubles will be fewer...

FYI, Mapel and birch are the only woods I let soak for an extended time, everything else seems to seal well enough with an hours soak...

[Striperknight]

I use poplar for plugs that are totally sealed. Poplar is a wood thats not good with water.

[pbadad]

Needles w/o grommets. I haven't had birch or cedars give me any problems. Does anyone know where to buy birch dowels? 15min. for pines and cedars and overnight for birches and maples was my routine. Thanks for the replies.

[surfrod]

I had the same problem with Poplar. I also sealed with linseed oil.
I gave up on poplar because of the problem. It seems that if you
even sneeze on poplar it will absorbe water.
I believe the cracking problem is caused by the wood swelling because
of water absorbsion especially if you wire through.
I have had some luck using screw eyes and epoxying the plug very well. It works ok until you get the first ding in the epoxy and then the water gets in and here comes the cracks.

My suggestion is to not use poplar. Sorry.

I'm currently using Birch and Pine.
I don't even seal the wood in linseed anymore I just give them a couple coats of Bins then paint and epoxy.
I use a pipe cleaner to put the Bins into the wire thru hole.

The plugs stand up well, not as good as sealed plugs, but I make a bunch of plugs every winter so I have plenty of new ones.

Good Luck......

[pbadad]

Which Binzs are you using? Color label: Gold or red. Spray or dipping from can? Shellac base, do you prime after this coat? Thanks for the advise.

[surfrod]

I have been using the Bins red can spray.
Yes, I put primer over the Bins but I am told it's over kill.
I use Krylon spray cans.
I let the base coat dry 1-2 days, sand and do the primer/paint.
I let the primer\paint dry 2-3 days before putting the epoxy on.

The last couple plugs I made, I used zinsser 1-2-3 as a sealer coat.
The 1-2-3 is a water based sealer. (sealer may be the wrong word)
I was in a rush to get these plugs done and my wife had a gallon of this stuff she didn't need.
I dipped the plug.....messy.
I have fished these plugs only 3 times but so far so good.

Note! I don't recommend not sealing your plugs properly.

The other thing you mentioned was the overnight soak of your plugs
added 1/2 oz the the weight. Keep in mind, Popler will absorb at lot
of moisture. The problem here is that the inside of the plug will not dry as soon as your would expect. the outside can feel dry but the inside can still be moist. I think I remember someone responding to me that said it could take 3 weeks for the plug to dry if you let it soak
overnight with poplar. If that is true, then there is moisture already in the plug and it will swell and crack the finish.

Again, I don't build my plugs to last 10 years.

Also, there are people using Poplar with good results.
Poplar just didn't work for me.

Hope this helps. It can be frustrating resolving problems.
The people on this site have been great in sharing knowledge and I thank them all.

[GattaFish]

This has come up many times,,,, Do a search on this ,,,,, There is so much info on it,,,,I have spent hours reading and testing.... Also Poplar is a difficult wood to get sealed right so it does not split,..... Personally,,, If I am going to spend the time making a plug, I would use a better wood,,,, Although some guys have good success with Poplar...

I have spent Many Many Many hours, Lots of different Sealers, Wood hardeners and lots of $$ testing different stuff,,,,Just like I have with clear coats,,, I have done lots of homework and been happy with what I have come up with,,,,

Good Luck....