kajay920

FrogAddict, I start by drilling a 1" hole in a piece of hardwood with a hole saw. Take the first piece of wood and place it on another scrap of hardwood remove the hole saw's 1/4"pilot bit and run the hole saw through using the first hole as a pilot guide.You can use the pilot bit to just barely enter the second piece or find the center of the new plug by other means later. Or you can cut 3/4" off of a 1" dowel. Now drill a 1/8th inch hole into your plug with a drill press. Drive a machine screw through the center, add a washer and nut to hold it steady and chuck it into your drill press. Once it's in your drill press use a square sanding block to true up the circle and grind in the radius. I used a lathe chisel while it was in the drill press. A lathe would be nice for this step and probably a lot safer than how I did it. (might not want to do this part in an OSHA inspected shop) I also had to file down the threads of the screw a bit to get it into my dremel chuck but it works. After a test spin I glued some sand paper off of an old belt sander belt. Be sure to cut to the exact length. Use a bunch of rubber bands to hold it tight while the glue dries. Sanding belts are tougher and last longer but they are rigid so make sure that you bend and "knead" it so that it will conform to the radius of your plug. After the glue dries, remove the rubber bands, chuck it into the dremel and sand away. I have to slow down the dremel a bit because its heavier than the factory sander and it still causes more vibration. I only use it for rough shaping. I need to make another with a tighter radius Here is the one I use.

I made a couple a while back. The problem I ran into was getting enough ballast to make it sink right and still be a small wooden lure. I cut the eye off of a bait hook and glued one in the nose and one in the tail then hung a #6 or #8 treble off the belly. The tail I made from heating a triangle of some Plexiglas. (before TU) They don't cast well by the way, the tail busted right off. I never went too far with it since I don't ice fish. I'm just to skittish on the ice. Go figure.

- table saw for the blanks - scroll saw for the profile - belt/disc sander to true up the profile and do the tapers - dremel for most of the shaping (I've even made some custom concave sander heads) - carving chisels for details - scraps of sand paper I like the idea of the pill bottle or maybe a scrap of small diameter PVC pipe, you could leave part of it round for a handle. I use old belt sander belts because they last longer.

As always Diemai, you have incredible tutorials and have done just about everything. You always seem to have an answer for us rookies. Guys like you are what make this site so great.

I'd have to agree with Bob. Those bass I hit aren't going to warrant the extra wire and work that goes into a thru-wire construction. I have always just used .041 stainless steel wire that I bend by hand into eyelets. I did a thru-lip connection once and just glued into the body about 3/4" it held together when the lip broke. (plexiglass not lexan, I now use lucite). I have had two line ties come out but that was before I was using D2T and it came out because the wood swelled up and lost its bond with the glue. You decide.

Don't spoil all the fun Nathan. And certainly don't tell my wife!

It had better not!

How long did the customer have to wait before he could drive on the floor? I think that will be your safest wait time. I am comfortable doing what ever on D2T after 24 hours. Be careful using that $180 epoxy, you may miss it when you have to switch to something affordable!

No, that's just a redneck bidea

Thanks!

Ben, What is back flushing?

Well Scant, We haven't heard back from you much. What did you decide to go with? How have your choices turned out? It's always nice to see the outcome of so much advise or opinions.