i;m new here and might be asking the wrong question, but anyway, i just got into woodturning .fishings plugs and i was wondering if anyone here do the same. i use a small woodlathe to turn 2x2x71/2'' of poplar into fishingplugs.

I'm mostly into metal, but I have a small Rikon mini wood lathe that I make pens on. I've made a couple of candle holders and about 30 writing pens.

Are you making really large fishing lures.... 2x2x71/2" would make a large piece of bait.

Welcome,
Jack

I used to make a killer salmon bait here 10 years ago it was a wooden "Devon". I used to start out with 3/4 dowel and drill it on the lathe to accept a 1/4 copper liner. I'd shove the liner into the bait and mount it to turn it into a minnow. I'd cut and stick two wings into the body to make it spin and then paint it to make it more appealing. There is nothing more satisfying than making your own lures or flies and catching fish on them.;

in the area where i live long island ny there are a lot of people who uses fishing plugs to fish and right now a lot of them are getting or have been building them for awhlie i'ts anice hobby espeically if your a fisherman like i am. but finding certain woods to turn is kind of hard , maple,cedar, ayc,brich, etc.

I nearly always turned from a dowel as I never had the patience to turn from square stock. Even nowadays I always knock the corners off my spindles on the spindle moulder or table saw. I wonder if you could get some ash or hickory shovel handles and cut them up as blanks?

Out of curiosity, what do you mean when you mention not having patience to turn square stock? I do a lot of woodturning and turning square stock into a round piece takes about 30 seconds with a roughing gouge. If you are using a spindle gouge, I could see the impatience.

Just curious,
Wade

I do a lot of turning on the wood lathe and I agree it only takes a minimal amount of time to rough turn a block down to round. In the long run your cost should be less by starting with the square blank than paying for someone else to do it for you! Another plus is that if you are able to buy larger blanks and cut them to the desired size on your own, more savings and flexablity. I have two lathes one is a Powermatic 3420b and an old chinese lathe I use mostly for minatures and pens. So I hope this gives you the confidence and desire to start with the square stock! Keep the curls flying!

Good luck!

Jeff

Powermatic 3420b, Now, I'm jealous......... :)

nice machine,
Jack

Heck, I even sometimes use my curved lacer skew to rough turn something extremely quickly. I can take a 4" x 4" x 18"L piece of wood and rough turn it round with a skew in about 45 seconds. It takes me longer with my 1" roughing gouge.

Wade

Has anyone used the Crown Skewchigouge? It has become my favorite tool.

Don't be jealeous Jack, I love the big butterscotch beast it lets me do just about anything I can think of on the lathe! I make a lot of bowls and hollow vessels that I sell at a couple of galleries and shops and also on e-bay. I am not getting rich but it sure is fun! I like the look of the skewchigouge and will have to get one and try it out! Thanks for the tip. I put in a couple of my turnings.

Have a great day!
Jeff

very nice work Jeff,

The natural edge bowl looks like it would be hard to keep all the bark on. That vessel looks huge and beautiful all at the same time.

Nicely done,
Jack

Thanks Jack for the kind words! I have been woodworking most of my life (I'm 46) and have loved working on the lathe. I used one in the late 70's in highschool and did not touch one until about 4 years ago when my dad bought the inexpensive chinese lathe I use for miniatures and small stuff. I have been addicted ever since! The big cherry vase is a little over 18" tall and about 8" across. I love the look of the natural edge bowls. The bark will stay on better if the wood is cut after the sap stops flowing in the tree so late fall and winter. That one is made from american elm. I just came in for breakfast so back to the shop!

Thanks again!
Jeff:rainfro:

Natural edge is very nice. Part of the reason I got into CNC metalworking was because I wanted to build myself a rose engine lathe. That is finally done now and i'm busy experimenting with it and building accessories with it.

Wade

Part of the reason I got into CNC metalworking was because I wanted to build myself a rose engine lathe.

Are there plans for one of those, or did you design it yourself? Any pics?

My dad built a rose engine and is playing with it some. He has shaky hands so working on the regular lathe is tough. He has two metal lathes and a small grizzley mill so he works with them some. I am getting ready to build a CNC router table and he will help mill any parts I need. Good luck with everything!

Jeff

Here is the one my dad built: http://www.woodturner.org/products/aw/howto/rose/MDFConstruction_v6%5B1%5D.pdf

It works but is pretty simple. My dad is going to change it so the spindle can go in and out also to get more depth of cut.

Jeff

I'm familiar with that one out of MDF. It's a very nice machine. I had a few limitations I didn't want to deal with, so I built my own version. The one I built is out of solid aluminum. I spent about 6 months designing and building it. I didn't like the hand cranking, so I built mine to work with a small geared motor. I'm still working out the designs for a few accessories for it yet.

I'm planning on selling these machines. Mine is roughly the size of a small sewing machine and weighs in around 20 lbs. Most of the new ones being sold right now are MUCH heavier and made out of cast iron, or are antiques and out of the price range of the ordinary man ($10K and up) or you are buying an old one that needs to be refurbished.

Wade

Wade, Could you post a picture or two of your rose engine, I don't need anything more to do, but when it comes to tools and wood I just can't help myself!!! I own a woodmizer LT 30 sawmill so I have that and the woodshop full of tools. I still could use more but I need to add on or win the lottery to build the ultimate DIY shop! I agree with the hand crank issue Dad wants to change that to his build was just to get his feet wet and see what he could do. Thanks

Jeff

Hi fish1234,

I'll see what I can do. BTW, you and I live close together. If you could make it to my woodturning clubs meeting on May 6th, you could see it in action. I'm located in the Twin Cities.

http://www.mnwoodturners.com

Later,
Wade

Wade, It sounds like a good thing to do. I am supposed to be at my cousins art gallery that weekend. I have a bunch of my turnings there. It is in Hammond WI. That weekend is a show that involves our whole family so I am not sure how much energy I will have after that. If I can make it do I have to do anything special of just show up?

Wade, I got my dates all mixed up I assumed it was on Saturday, but it is a Tuesday. I will see what I can do.

Jeff

Sounds good. It would be a pleasure to meet another zoner in person!

Wade