Balsa wood poppers?

[NJ All Day 0]

Hey there everyone, hope the fishing has been good.

 

Anyway I was looking at the poppers and what not on the site and was thinking of tying some up, And i wanted to make some balsa poppers.

 

So where do you buy your balsa wood from?

 

Do you buy it in blocks?

 

What is a good size block to buy for poppers, and sliders?

 

Also any pointers you have would be awesome.

 

Thanks,

Evan.

[RJD31 0]

Evan, the following links will provide an extremely thorough explanation of all aspects of the process to construct poppers from balsa as well as other materials. You can purchase balsa form hobby and craft stores such as Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/panfish/part91.php

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/panfish/part92.php

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/panfish/part93.php

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/panfish/part95.php

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/panfish/part96.php

 

Ron

[perchjerker 0]

If you want balsa cylinders to work with, and if you have access to a drill press, all you need are brass tubes whose diameters are the same as you desire for your blanks. These tubes are available at all hardware stores, Craft stores and home improvement centers.

 

Here is how I do it, step-by-step: Let's assume I want a 1/2" dia. body 1" long. Start with 4" X 4" 'stick' of balsa.

 

1) cut brass tube 2 1/4" long, plus length for chucking (total length approx. 3"); lightly bevel outside edge of tube with a file or sandpaper (a grinder can also be used for this)

2) Cut section of balsa 2 1/8" long (cut across grain; you want to drill 'with' the grain)

3) set drill press drive depth at 2";

4) drill with wood grain to 2" depth (plugs remain in block), drill as many as you can by drilling as close together as possible;

5) after drilling is complete, cut bottom 1/8" off of block (a bandsaw is a great tool for doing this) using a fine-tooth saw;

6) "X" number of 1/2" d X 2" L cylinders should now easily fall out of your block;

7) cut in half at 15 deg. angle for sloped face (angle of cut can vary to suit).

 

You should be able to get at least 9 cylinders out of the 4 X 4 block, and have 18 one-inch long bodies when the cylinders are cut in half.

 

You can now sand or carve to desired final body shape. A pop-quiz is in order at this point: Where did "Pencil Poppers" get their name from? Ans: The bodies are shaped from the aforementioned cylinders before they are cut in-half by putting each end in a pencil sharpener and sharpening them! Just another option to play with.

 

I use the full-round stone grinder for my Dremel to cup the faces. The stone is about 3/8" in dia.

 

This beats the daylights out of 'hand carving' each and every body by hand.

 

Cheers,

perchjerker

[NJ All Day 0]

Thanks guys, gonna buy some balsa wood and try out some of these methods.

[FishyboY 0]

i do it the hard way because i have no fancy things like a drill press. I am lucky to have a dremel but it is not essential. just really important if you want it to have in concave head. i buy the blocks. cut it into smaller blocks like the size i want and then cut each corner. then cut two more times on each side of the cut for each corner. sand with rough paper. sand with fine paper. take saw/knife make little groove for hook.

[smokinprice 0]

I use a penicl sharpener to shape mine. Balsa wood is very soft so I usually use a nail file to sand with.