Lefty's Poppers

[ditz2 0]

Nice poppers Chuckie......Balsa does make a durable bug too. There is nothing special about Lefty's popper other than I am a fan of his and I assume that if he fishes it it must catch fish and be easily castable. ......I do like the shape of your bugs. I would think that the hook would tend to ride lower in the water than the front which I think is a good thing.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

Thanks ditz2. I still need to tweak this shape and I'm going to try cupping the plow a little on the next batch. They popped enough to get attention but I feel I could get them to work a little better. I used a B10S on the above and I didn't have much shank to work with after the bodies went on. I also felt the hook was a little too light even though they landed properly on each cast. I too look for the rear to ride down a little as I get most of my takes on the pause and I feel the more vertical the shank the better for hook ups. If you could recommend a good popper hook to get started with I'm all ears. I like to tie them from about 1/0 to 6.

[ditz2 0]

I can't remember the # but Mustad has a kink shanked hook which is a little longer than their hump shanked hooks which I prefer and they come in many sizes and down to at least 14 or at least they used to. They are not a real heavy wire diameter though. You can go to the Mustad site and they will be easy to find. I think they also have stainless versions. The kink shanked hooks also work well for deer hair bugs IMO. I will add that any hook will work if you lay a good thread base or even some chenille and I do make some that way but I do prefer to use the kink shanked hook. If you want a very durable bond between body and hook use epoxy.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

Found them ditz2 CK74SNP SS kink shank 3/0 to 8. 4XH 4XL. Available in my area also so shipping will be minimal. Cool! This should give me lots of shank to work with. Yeah, I saw that hook somewhere on a popper tutorial but never gave them much thought. Now I see why the kink was built in. Thanks so much for the tips!

[ditz2 0]

I am glad you found what you needed but I am sure kink shanked hooks are available at least down to 12 and I am sure I still have a few in size 14 that I used at one time with some small cork cylinders I have. The problem with them was they were almost impossible to see even as a young man and they did not float very well either. So I never make any more of them. I think I still have cork cylinders in 3/16" and 1/8" diameter. The 12 and 14 kink shank hooks were a very fine wire. Size 10 is my favorite and 8 and 6 come next.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Chuck, those look great. Nice to know the thread inspired someone! If you have a problem with those doll eyes popping off, you can use a brad tip drill bit to do a shallow countersink hole to glue them into. (I hold the drill bit in my hand and just twist it - I tried it chucked in a power drill and it dug to deep - by hand you can control how shallow you go much easier.) Great work!

 

The longer Mustad is the old 33903 double kink shank hook.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

Chuck, those look great. Nice to know the thread inspired someone! If you have a problem with those doll eyes popping off, you can use a brad tip drill bit to do a shallow countersink hole to glue them into. (I hold the drill bit in my hand and just twist it - I tried it chucked in a power drill and it dug to deep - by hand you can control how shallow you go much easier.) Great work!

 

The longer Mustad is the old 33903 double kink shank hook.

Thanks Kirk!, That's a useful tip! I ruined one when I tried to drill a small hole on another pattern that called for legs. The drill went through the balsa so fast and uncontrolled that when I threaded the rubber through' I had legs coming coming out the side and top of the popper. I guess that's why I was so inspired by the Lefty poppers no legs to mess with. I'm sure your tip will work for a long shaft bit as well as the brad tip. I'll give it a go. Cheers.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Chuck, I like the brad tip cause it gives me a point to stick in and makes a flat bottomed hole.

As for using a tiny bit for legs, there are pin vises that work well to hold the small bit and are checkered to give you a grip to twist by hand.

 

 

 

Here's a pic of hand drilling a hole in a WAPSI popper body using a pin vise.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

Chuck, I like the brad tip cause it gives me a point to stick in and makes a flat bottomed hole.

As for using a tiny bit for legs, there are pin vises that work well to hold the small bit and are checkered to give you a grip to twist by hand.

 

 

 

Here's a pic of hand drilling a hole in a WAPSI popper body using a pin vise.

Kirk, now that is slick! Thanks for the pics clear as day! Now I can get back to that sneaky pete project and recess the eyes on my next batch of poppers.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Chuck, look forward to seeing what you come up with. Although I said pin-vise, it may be called something else it is basically a chuck with a checkered handle. The chuck is good for a range of two or three size bits - I got the one above in a set of three or four. The larger one accepts larger drill bits and I even use a small Forstner's bit for recessing larger eyes.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

Kirk, here's what I found at lunch today. Fits great in the fingers and accepts a range of small bits. Tested it on some scrap balsa and works fine. Can get my leg threader through with ease. What I like about this is I can file away at the edges with the bit if I need that little extra leeway for thicker rubber. I'll get to the brad tips this weekend. I want to find a small kit that has my most popular eye diameters.

 

Thanks again Kirk your suggestions should help my future projects immensely.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Good find, never seen that attachment before; that chuck looks like it has a wider range than the ones I have. I've created a monster!

[artimus001 0]

what size corks do you use Kirk?

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Art, depends on the hook/size I want to glue it to. I use the standard cork bottle stopper shape in different sizes. The length of the head being from just behind the hook eye to just before the hook point.

[Guest]

It just seems so easy and quick to take emery paper and cup the faces, round the backs, round the edges so the paint won't have to stick to a sharp edge and make for smoother poppers. But that's just me and my $.02.....