All the different pieces & parts ?!?

[Out Fishing]

This is a great forum; just found it!

So I have just gotten into this new hobby & I have lots of questions.  I have a Shop Fox mini lathe which is working out well for me & i have the shaping down but I am running into hardware issues.  I have listed the questions below; thanks!
1) 99% of the lures I am making saltwater lures; what is the best wood to use?
2) When would i put a tail weight in?
3) Seems like pretty much all bodies I have made need lead; is this true?
4) I have been told I need to bake my lures; how long should i bake them for & what temp?
5) lastly, I have figured out the through wire but how do I set it up with a hook in the base of the body?

I appreciate your help!

Thank you,

Charles

[Out Fishing]

speaking for my self
type of wood: i use cedar for all my top water plugs poppers/pencils and top water swimmers
 i use  pine for swimmers and for my needle fish i use burch
tail weight:  personaly i tail weight all my plugs  just because i hate to see a plug spin like a hellocopter.......i like the plug to fly like a bullet.....drill your tail weight hole a little deeper as to balance the plug.....to sit even
adding lead: well as for castabilty yes.....for balance and to get you plug down like for needle fish..........but maybe not for fresh water
you can build a plug dryer someware in the forum is a plug dryer for cureing paints /epoxy......i myself dont use one i spin my plugs with a rod dryer motor and use flex coat......just make sure all your steps in plug building are dry dont rush anything for sealing to painting to the epoxy
setting the belly hooks: salty has instruction on his site with pictorials use a swivel/ring and a good pair of clipring pliers...slide the wire threw the face of your plug then threw the swivel....then threw the belly  weight then use the clipring pliers to install the hook.....like i said salty has plug setup instructions on his site...good luck

[Out Fishing]

Woods are different for different lures. Topwater stuff is buoyant wood. Sinking is denser wood. 

You put any weights in to either keep a belly keel to prevent the lure from rolling over, or to weight nose or tail sections to raise or lower parts of the lure.

Not all lure need lead. Some of the best lures I make are without weights... Again you add weight to change what the lure does.

bake at 875 for 3-4 hours. Should be pretty well incinerated by then? Guess it depends on what wood you would use. Oh and the stainless wire won't melt til it's about 2100 degrees so don't bother trying.

Hooks on the bottom of a lure are held onto the thru wire with the use of a crane swivel as we sell in the plug building section. Drill a hole into the lure which will interset your thru wire. Put the swivel in the hole and push the thru wire through one side of the swivel in the hole.

This is a great forum; just found it!

So I have just gotten into this new hobby & I have lots of questions.  I have a Shop Fox mini lathe which is working out well for me & i have the shaping down but I am running into hardware issues.  I have listed the questions below; thanks!
1) 99% of the lures I am making saltwater lures; what is the best wood to use?
2) When would i put a tail weight in?
3) Seems like pretty much all bodies I have made need lead; is this true?
4) I have been told I need to bake my lures; how long should i bake them for & what temp?
5) lastly, I have figured out the through wire but how do I set it up with a hook in the base of the body?

I appreciate your help!

Thank you,

Charles

[Out Fishing]

What your asking would fill a book for answers. Look around at lures, their functions, and hey go to the store and buy a cheap chinese lure, take it home and cut it up....Your not going to be a rocket lure genius right away you got alot of learning to do alot of which I don't believe in handing people on a silver platter. I believe in trial by fire on the seat of your pants.

Make a lure, put some with lead in it, some without then take them out fishing...learn what makes them tick and you'll enjoy it that much more when you make one and catch a fish on it. You will quickly learn what is a dud and whats not.

[Out Fishing]

See what Handy just told you will give you his perspective...he's been making them for a long time and is pretty good at it. There's a search function here, maybe we should start a faq forum with different subjects... I don't have time to compile stuff like this I'm time strapped enough as it is trying to make a living right now.

[Out Fishing]

bake at 875 for 3-4 hours. Should be pretty well incinerated by then? Guess it depends on what wood you would use. Oh and the stainless wire won't melt til it's about 2100 degrees so don't bother trying.

[/quote]

875...my toaster over dont go that high.. lol

[Out Fishing]

I don't know who told him that but I had to poke that one I was afraid if I said 375 that someone would try it and burn their house down

[Out Fishing]

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. All very helpful.

As for baking the lures, I was told it removes the moisture from the wood.

Thanks again!

[Out Fishing]

Ok don't do it. You will end up with all kinds of problems.

First green wood is over 50% moisture when you get it. Kiln dried woods in home depot/lowes etc are 15-25%. Vacuum dried squares are in the area of 6-7%. Every day moisture adds to the moisture content of the wood. As does throwing it in the ocean no matter what you think you did to seal it.

If you dry it then it shrinks...add moisture POOF it's a sponge it expands

All you can do is try to control a moisture content you can't make it better. Water is always going to get into something that's what it does.

Paint the friggin thing and go fish it.

[Out Fishing]

hay charlie   some guys make a plug dryer.......its for cureing......paint ......and epoxy.......not to sure about moisture....you should be fine useing cedar/pine/burch/bass wood....just dont use wood from a freshly cut tree ......shop from good plug building resources........just make sure all the steps in your plug building are dry dont rush any sealing/painting/epoxing...if any of the drying process is rushed your plug might shed its nice paint job or your finish well crack when fishing.....i tried searching on this site for the plug dryer with the heat lamps and a turning motor from a gas grill   its hear some where  YOUTUBE  might have a plug dryer vidieo........you might see a vid of saltys CNC machine at work...............that dude can buzz wood faster than a dozen beavers in a lumber yard...............good luck