Val oil ?'s agian

[Woodbuster]

I got mine online. Paid a little extra for shipping but it is wortht it.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by Strike_King

Rounds in Stoneham has it..O'Connor in Billerica as well...

[Rockfish9]

Only a few miles from my house... Thank you.

I may give it a test after I finish this last batch of BLO....

[stripercrazy]

popular body...its alot darker

[Lower]

Glad to hear it Ed. Wonder how long it will take it to dry??

[winchmaster]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

poplar is crap

Boy do I agree with Slip on this. Before my trip last Fall to RI/Mass a friend gave me a bunch of poplar. Stuff turns very nice, since I was testing it out on the trip I did not seal. I wanted to see what would happen. Well the pearl danny swam like a champ.......... for about three swishes then it disapeared in the maws of a nice striper. (My fault should of retied)
The second plug (pencil popper) did battle with blues in Mass but it's fate was sealed when a blue thought my leader needed shortening.
The last, another danny did not get used on the trip. I happened to be in the shop a couple of days ago and the paint and finish had sepparated from the wood. I have a dozen pencils hanging that were sealed with a hardner, but I have real serious doubts in them lasting. So forget the poplar, no matter how free you get it. Why deal with a wood that is not able to do what you want.

[JHABS]

Yes the Poopular thing comes up every year , Slips Favorite.....

[Slipknot]

I have some poplar plugs, if ya seal them well enough, they should be ok. But it's not easy to seal a dry porous wood so that it does not absorb even a bit of moisture.

Cedar is so much better for making a plug and it should be available so I see no reason to use poplar, even pine is a better choice.

[Slipknot]

ya, every year it comes up
pooplar is a cheap wood, yes it rots outdoors, better for indoors but if treated properly, it can be ok for plugs. I just like ayc because it sands easier with less tearout, has natural oils, good density.
Use whatever you want, red cedar,sugar pine,yellow pine, mahogany,maple,birch, spanish cedar, cocobola, PVC trim boards 800 year old cedar, reclaimed old growth cypress, use whatever you want, I have so many woods available to me I even thought of using some apple tree wood from the backyard.

winch your problem with those plugs is that you didn't seal them what the heck did you expect to happen?

stripercrazy, maybe leave it in the sealer longer, maybe run a pipe cleaner thru the thru wire hole just to be sure. and do all drilling beforehand, if you get any expansion around the belly grommet, that could cause problems and the expansion will have a hard time shrinking back down around the metal grommet being that it's size stays the same unlike the wood.

If you guy do a complete process from start to finish and have adhesion between paint coats, them maybe they won't split on you.

Ya I said poplar is crap, I was half joking and at that time didn't have time to explain further.

If you don't want your plugs to get wrecked, don't get them wet, it's that simple. If you want them to survive catching lots of fish then figure out a procedure that will work for you. There is a ton of info on this site and others, some good and some not so good. Figure out what works for you. Different woods will need more submersion time in sealers than others. Paints and primers and finish coats have to all be compatible or it will separate. Once you figure out what works, stick with it.

Lots of woods can be used for plug building, I have always had a hard time with birch or maple since it swells greatly even from humidity in the summer nevermind siting in water. It needs a good sealer to keep the water out. I don't know if Val oil is the answer, there are so many things to try. There are clear penetrating epoxies, wood hardners etc.

One thing I know, what works for somebody else may not be what works for you and what works for you may not work for somebody else.

sorry I said anything

I'll take the advice in Goose's signature

good luck Lower

[adson]

another reason not to use poplar...if you seal it with BLO the wood will soak up the oils and expand a bit..even if you dont get the plug wet be careful where you store it..
I have some poplar plugs that I made a couple of years ago that are stored in my cellar.. because of the dry winter air, the epoxy has formed bubbles under it as the wood dried out and the plug has shrunk...

[winchmaster]

winch your problem with those plugs is that you didn't seal them what the heck did you expect to happen?

I expected the paint to fail. Wanted to see it for myself to get a better understanding. Plus I figgered nobody would ho any of them at the plug Bash. Testing your design, material and it's limitations is what gives you a better idea of building lures. Could of I just taken the easy way and believed what I saw written? No yo know me better than that.
Failure and understanding why helps.