Differences between... question

[Smores4]

Hey, ive made some plastic lures, but i plan on tryin out wood lures. what are the differences between different woods? Im going to be makin wooden musky lures, to be more specific i think im going to make a some casting ones first, then trolling ones. any types of wood i should use in particular/ recommendations? Also, in terms of painting, i know i have to seal the wood, then do the paint and finish. but what if i could find just epoxy based paint?

in advance for any advice given, thank you!

[aka anglinarcher]

Have fun, and check out a lot of the different sources of information out there. Remember that wood has many properties, like soft to hard, heavy to light, tight to wide grain, straight to crooked grain.

Most carve out their lures with Balsa or Basswood because they are soft, straight, and light; easy to work with. I like Cedar myself, but it is not as easy to work with. In Europe, a lot more woods are used.

Wood for lures can be tough due to lack of consistency. Larry talks about the inspiration for his wide glide bait, the Eddy's Bait. The Eddy's bait was inconsistent because some baits were from the hart of the wood and some from the surface. The density made it difficult to predict the result. I found that was also true with Suicks.

[dahlberg]

For most glide type lures rock maple or ash are good choices. They need very little extra weight added to make them glide.
On crankbaits or lure that wiggle it's usually beneficial to create the lowest center of gravity possible. Using a very buoyant material with a lead plug at the belly hook hanger is the most common way to accomplish that.
Obviously, Balsa and white cedar are good choices.. The finlanders, including Laurie Rapala used the outer dark brown under bark of local pine trees!! Almost the same buoyancy as balsa.
I used to use wood for years and tried every kind you can imagine, from mahogany, every fir, every oak, teak, basswood, etc. even lignum vitae!
I now use foams, and hard urethane plastics and use molds rather than turn them all out on the lathe!
I can get almost any buoyancy I want, proto type much faster and in an afternoon make a dozen or so for my use use and to dole out to a few select buddies!

best,
L

[shrub]

I have a great source for wooden plugs. He has plugs ready to fish, kits and all the hardware you could need. He also sells blanks so you could carve or turn some yourself. It is the other forum I hit everyday. If you want the site and the admins are ok with it,I can post it. I've gotten alot from him with no quarrels. Rich

[steelneal]

Dear Larry the King and Friends,
i made a Saugeye shaped glide bait out of musclewood and it is awesome! if you get your technique right it will coast under water like a Swimming pool shark torpedo thingy
http://www.newcooltoysonline.com/torped ... dwalk.html
Super hard to avoid getting stuck in their teeth. very difficult to shape the wood but neutrally buoyant with out any added weight
All Hail The Larry!
post script...it will glide for 10 feet under water...no BS