Swimbait Wood

[apaseman]

Hello,

I went to Home Depot to get PVC board, but it seems they will no longer stock it (at least in my area). So I just bought some pine, knowing it's not the perfect wood, just wanted to test out my new scroll saw and my "ideas".

Well, it seemed like it went ok to start, cut out the shape, actually got it hinged, and it looked promising.

Then, it all went bad lol. I filled my tub to see how i needed to ballast it. I think i have a number of issues, one being the wood soaking up the water, seemed to get heavier pretty quickly, and it didn't seem to "swim".

So, the question is, how do I go about perfecting the ballast without getting the wood "soaked"?

Also, while we are at it, what is the best wood to use for larger swimbaits, or swimbaits in general?

[mark poulson]

When I made wood baits, I found pine best for larger one piece top water baits, and poplar best for jointed swimbaits.

I sealed them with Minwax Wood Hardener before I water tested them by soaking them for a minute, and then letting them dry for at least 24 hours.

[BobP]

If you're talking wood, it depends on the buoyancy you need for a particular performance. Hardwoods with moderate density (20-25 lbs/cu ft) include white cedar, basswood, eastern white pine, and yellow poplar.

You'll need to float test to determine amount and placement of ballast. To do that, install all the hardware and the lip and waterproof the lure with whatever product you use. Then, hang trebles on the hangers. Hang lead on the trebles or use painter's tape, rubber bands, pins, whatever is most convenient to temporarily fix ballast on the belly where you think it needs to go. Check the float level and attitude of the bait in the water and move/add/reduce ballast until you get the float level and float attitude you think will work best. Then all you have to do is drill the bait, epoxy in the ballast, patch the holes and voila. Yeah, it's sort of a fussy process but you're putting a lot of work into a swimbait and you have to get the ballast right for it to be a runner instead of an also-ran. Weigh the components on a digital scale and keep notes on what goes into the bait and where. Next time around, you won't have to start from scratch again.

[apaseman]

If you're talking wood, it depends on the buoyancy you need for a particular performance. Hardwoods with moderate density (20-25 lbs/cu ft) include white cedar, basswood, eastern white pine, and yellow poplar.

You'll need to float test to determine amount and placement of ballast. To do that, install all the hardware and the lip and waterproof the lure with whatever product you use. Then, hang trebles on the hangers. Hang lead on the trebles or use painter's tape, rubber bands, pins, whatever is most convenient to temporarily fix ballast on the belly where you think it needs to go. Check the float level and attitude of the bait in the water and move/add/reduce ballast until you get the float level and float attitude you think will work best. Then all you have to do is drill the bait, epoxy in the ballast, patch the holes and voila. Yeah, it's sort of a fussy process but you're putting a lot of work into a swimbait and you have to get the ballast right for it to be a runner instead of an also-ran. Weigh the components on a digital scale and keep notes on what goes into the bait and where. Next time around, you won't have to start from scratch again.

Thanks guys for the response. I'm gearing up for this new hobby...bought a scroll saw, router, belt sander, detail sander, odds and ends, and for the LIFE of me can't find ANY PVC board at either Home Depot here or Lowe's. Gonna have to try a lumber yard next I guess. I found a tutorial in the tutorial section of this forum that is detailed and HOPE to be able to follow it with my non existent wood working skills