dremel style/hand sanding

[catmanclark 0]

Okay, I've enjoyed hand sanding poppers from balsa for quite a while.. well I would like to do some from basswood or even foam.. My question to all of you is; how can I use a dremel and cut some time in half and make more heads? What do I need to mount the stock balsa to the tool to sand it down with out problems..

 

Thanks

[TheCream 0]

Okay, I've enjoyed hand sanding poppers from balsa for quite a while.. well I would like to do some from basswood or even foam.. My question to all of you is; how can I use a dremel and cut some time in half and make more heads? What do I need to mount the stock balsa to the tool to sand it down with out problems..

 

Thanks

 

I did a video tutorial on this using basswood. I'll throw the link in here at the bottom of this message. I, personally, just use a small nail with a flared head. I will pre-drill the body hole for the nail (AKA mandrel), but drill the hole small enough that the nail fits snugly. With balsa, I have only done a few and worry about it splitting on me. It hasn't happened yet but I can see it happening. I know a guy who posts here sometimes (Phish is his username, I think) bought a series of tools that are made specifically for this instead of using a nail. They are very cool but I can't recall the name of them off the top of my head. They have a pin for the center hole to go into the wood, and also two smaller needle-point pins beside the main pin that sink into the wood and keep it from possibly spinning on the mandrel.

 

Here's my vid:

 

[deeky 0]

I also do a little bit of turning on my dremel. I got a needle at the big box hobby store that is intended for stitching leather. It is a little heavier gauge and has a three or four-sided point. The non-round point helps to hold the balsa from spinning. Just make sure you insert the needle absolutely as centered as possible.

 

deeky

[Phish 0]

This Is tools I use to turn bodies. Its a tremendous improvement over anything else done by hand. Saves me a lot of time as i can make a dozen in about 15 minute whereit normally take twice that by hand.

[Robert M 0]

I have used a large needle to turn foam cylinders turn the needle around an cut off part of the eye to make a fork insert the fork into the foam and chuck the needle into your Dremel and spin away. Works like a charm but I can see where the tool above would work better.

[bigfoot 0]

Phish can the tools be used with wood or just foam? BF

[Phish 0]

I use balsa wood exclusively with very few foam bodies. Wood has that smack on the water where foam does not IMO. Just predrill the holes. Also there's an article in Fly Tyer a while back on the tools which is how found out about it.

[flytire 0]

the wapsi perfect popper hard foam bodies wouldn't make a smacking sound when landing?

[Phish 0]

Buy what you want but there is absolutely nothing compared to makimg your own bodies and for lot less for wapsi sells for.

[Stippled Popper 0]

the wapsi perfect popper hard foam bodies wouldn't make a smacking sound when landing?

 

If you cast as poorly as I do, they certainly can make a big splashdown smack. Much to my

surprise, the largest bass I've caught struck right after such a cast.

[catmanclark 0]

Well so far I'm comparing my hand sanding to the ones I've "turned" on my dremel; from a ground down dremel bit to a thin needle point.. So far so good but dremel "turned" popper bodies have the puncture hole to fill and still need some hand sanding (fine tuning) afterwards, so who knows which way is faster.. I do agree with phish, I could never bring myself to buy popper bodies.. Thanks for all your opinions, advice, and comments..

[Phish 0]

It all boils down to what we all prefer. I also know that are all pursuing the same fish and its enjoyment like no others especially on topwaters.

[bigfoot 0]

Phish thanks for the help. BF

[TheCream 0]

It all boils down to what we all prefer. I also know that are all pursuing the same fish and its enjoyment like no others especially on topwaters.

 

It's a sickness, and I have it bad. For me, I have basically every form of hard bodied topwater in my box. Hand made basswood, hard foam, soft foam, balsa...and each have their place. I am not one of those guys that says "all mine have to be this type" because I think they all serve a purpose.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

...still need some hand sanding (fine tuning) afterwards, so who knows which way is faster...

 

Funny how I've heard myself saying the same thing while doing something by hand like making balsa bugs. Its a sickness like Cream said. Sitting down and hand carving/shaping minature creations is a time consuming process that I've enjoy and have just come to accept the time aspect of it. Only time I'm looking at time now is if I'm selling them, then time matters.

I've even come close to taking some of my most productive shaped bugs and making silicone castings and pouring them to make hard foam shapes, like the spin fishing lure guys do - but that would be to much work that I'm not just conditioned to.

As far as purchasing, for years, I wouldn't buy any and then someone gave me some of WAPSI's bodies and let me tell you, they are a great product. They are tough as nails and light as a feather and you can actually shape them with a dremel. I've bought hundreds if not more bottle stopper corks so why not hard foam, see my post here in the Warmwater Species forum for some pics of a few of the bugs I made with the Perfect Popper bodies, some are right out the pack and just painted and others are shaped with a dremel.

Its all good to me.

Kirk