Belly Weight Question

[The Dad Fisherman]

Do you guys Seal your plugs 1st before you put in the weights and wood filler or after?

Just starting some swimmer blanks I got from NJtackle and want to know whats the best way.

thanx

[spence]

I'd weight them before I sealed them...but I'm a rookie also

-spence

[capesams]

seal first..then lead..then poxy...DON"T USE WOOD FILLER.

[Jigman]

What CS said. Always drill any holes (wire, weights, swivel, eye) before you seal the plug. If you drill afterwards you'll give water a place to enter the plug.

Jigman

[justplugit]

Welcome back from the dig, Jigman

[spence]

So do you guys just fill the hole with epoxy and smooth it out

-spence

[BigFish]

Thru-drill...turn...drill all eyes, swivel holes and weight holes, insert weight, fill with minwax wood filler (Stuff dries fast and does not shrink later on....sand it smooth and you can't even tell there is a hole at all)...then I seal!

Everyone does some things different!

[Slipknot]

Originally posted by spence
So do you guys just fill the hole with epoxy and smooth it out

-spence

capesams says don't use wood filler but that all depends on how long you expect the plug to hold up with use, after catching lots of fish, the hook marks usually trash the plug more than any defect that might be caused if wood filler failed. Yes, you can take some epoxy and thicken it with fine wood dust and smooth holes over that way. either that or pour the lead in and sand smooth. There are many ways to skin a cat. Experiment and find the way that works for you, but as stated,, Always drill all holes before sealing the wood.

[Nebe]

I will turn, drill all holes.. eyes, bellyhooks and weights and then epoxy the weights in.... then I will saw off the square stock ends... the ends make a world of difference when you epoxy the weights in because they keep the plug from rolling around. Once th eepoxy is hard, I will seal cut the square stock off, prime, paint clearcoat-

[Slipknot]

Originally posted by Eben
I will turn, drill all holes.. eyes, bellyhooks and weights and then epoxy the weights in.... then I will saw off the square stock ends... the ends make a world of difference when you epoxy the weights in because they keep the plug from rolling around. Once th eepoxy is hard, I will seal, prime, paint clearcoat-

awesome Eben

I'm sick of trying to hold the needles upright using sawdust or whatever.

[The Dad Fisherman]

All great suggestions but I'm leaning toward drilling bigger eye holes then weighting and wood filler ( i'm big on the appearance, can't help it) then I'm going to seal w/ 60-40 boiled linseed/mineral spirits.


Is it May yet????

[Pete F.]

Originally posted by Eben
I will turn, drill all holes.. eyes, bellyhooks and weights and then epoxy the weights in.... then I will saw off the square stock ends... the ends make a world of difference when you epoxy the weights in because they keep the plug from rolling around. Once th eepoxy is hard, I will seal cut the square stock off, prime, paint clearcoat-

How do you drill for lipped plugs before you cut the square ends off?
I use a Vblock to drill, it's just a piece of 2x4 with a Vslot ripped in it. At one end it has a piece of sheetmetal screwed flat across it and the other has a vertical piece. Not too high tech but it works.
I also have another Vblock that I use to hold the blanks to pour lead in.

[capesams]

Originally posted by Slipknot
awesome Eben

I'm sick of trying to hold the needles upright using sawdust or whatever.

try EGG crate foam...plugs don't roll on it.

[FlukinUki]

I've been epoxying my weights with devcon 5 min with West Systems Micro-fiber mixed in, mostly because I had some microfiber.

[justplugit]

Thanks FlukinUki, i forgot about that canister of micro fiber i got buried in the garage somewhere. Great idea