I started carving my first lure yesterday (a 3-segment swimbait). I'm targeting neutral bouyancy. I'm using a piece of mystery wood that's been banging around my shop for 20 years or so and I measured the density at .38 g/cm^3. I'm struggling with getting enough lead into it without interfering with the tie eye, hook eyes, hinges, etc. I'm wondering if people target a certain density when choosing wood species. For example, according to online charts walnut would be about .65 g/cm^3 and maple or cherry would be slightly higher. Using one of those would cut the amount of lead almost in half which seems like it would be convenient and all of them are reasonably straight grained and easy to carve. Something like oak would be even denser but the grain doesn't lend itself well to carving.
What considerations (other than availability) are people using to select a wood species?
