Some Questions for a Beginner

[tuna101]

New to the forum here, and I have decided to make some needlefish poppers for my dad for Father's day. I have spent a lot of time reading online, but I have a few questions. I have all of the necessary woodshop supplies (lathe, drillpress, etc) Aside from the wood itself, so far in my shopping cart, I have the following: molded epoxy eyes, split rings, 11 gram belly weights, 6 gram tail weights, 5 minute epoxy, epoxy brushes, thru-wire, hooks, and rosco crane swivels. I also have Zinsser Sanding Sealer. What essentials am I missing?

A few questions I have:

1) Do I need head, belly, and tail grommets and what is their purpose?
2) How many belly or tail weights will I need per plug? How do I put in these weights and then close up the holes?
3) What finish do I want to apply?
4) How should I apply the epoxy, sealer, and finish?
5) I am not going to buy an airbrush, so what paints are best?

Any information would be awesome as it would be great to get this done for my dad. Thanks.

[Out Fishing]

1:Grommets give the plug a more finished look and also protect the plug from the wire and swivels constantly rubbing on the wood eventually wearing the holes open, in my opinion yes you need them nose,tail and belly.
2:Weighting is all dependant on what you want the plug to do sink,float and there are way too many variables to answer that ?you need to test swim them to see if you get the desired action, belly holes are filled with wood filler after you get them to swimm right.You should get an assortment of all size weights in case the ones on the list don't work out.
3:After sealing you will need to prime the plugs rustoleum 2X primer is good if your using sanding sealer.I use acid brushes(Salty sells good ones) for applying my topcoat I use etex you can also use devcon 30 min epoxy.Any spray paint is fine.
5 min. is good for gluing in weights no good for a topcoat.If you are going to through wire you will need wire 12 inch is standard if you are making long plugs 15 inch may be needed. Sometimes spacers are needed if you drill the tail wt. too deep.Ever wonder why plugs are so expensive lol.

[Out Fishing]

hay tuna!!!! #1 well the belly grommets are so the swivels dont wear out the wood......nose grommits/tail add a little class to your plug... plus when you torque down on the threw wire when you do your tail wrap the nose and the tail grommit protect the plugs face & rear no wood damage.
 
#2  for needles you can use two 6 gram belly weights  i sometimes  use a 6gram tail weight and only 1 belly weight for a 7" needle 1 belly weight 3" from the nose the hook is 4" from the nose and the second belly weight is 5 1/4" from the nose drill with a 5/16 drill bit for the weights  i dont use belly grommits on my needle fish i drill 1/4" hole for the hook....#3 finish your plug with epoxy etex.....flexcoat....devcon 30min....saltys testing out some new stuff he mentioned   #4 soak your plug in the sealer waterlox marine  or zinsser but dont rush make sure your plugs are dry on each step of the way after sealing i like to prime my plugs before painting  sand lightly and tack cloth any dust off
#5 spray paints  i use rust-oleum primer/paints   salty carries the brushes for the epoxy but i do use an air brush

[Out Fishing]

oh yea filling of the holes like surfstix says wood filler   minwax high performance wood filler its a two part filler and sets up quick and sands nice............good luck

[tuna101]

Thanks to both of you for the help. That makes it a lot less confusing.

[Out Fishing]

Hi
What basic hand tools are needed?  I dont have a lathe or anything and cant really go nuts with buying equipment since i live in an apartment.  What hand tools and other things will i need to finish the plugs if i buy a kit from Salty? 

Pliers to bend the wire, brushes for the finish, and

paint to spray, sealer, 5 min epoxy, sealer epoxy and ?

thanks

[Out Fishing]

All can be found using search in the upper right corner Global. 

Tools: http://www.saltwaterplugs.com/saltyforum/index.php?topic=472.msg3945#msg3945

[Out Fishing]

sealing: http://www.saltwaterplugs.com/saltyforum/index.php?topic=103.0  http://www.saltwaterplugs.com/saltyforum/index.php?topic=704.msg7041;topicseen#msg7041

[Out Fishing]

More information on the site located on the lure kit pictorials page.