how to make a bunker swimmer.

allaboutfishing · 12-05-2007, 06:45 PM

ok first you will need the following tools.
scroll saw or jig saw.
small hand planer.
sand paper.
drill press or hand held.
primer paint and your chioce of sealer.

ok start by drawing a fish like shape on a pice of ceader board.

now that you have a shape you like its time to cut it out i use a scroll saw.
the neater you are cutting will save you a lot of sanding.

now you have it cut out you need to sand bolth sides smooth and shape the smooth as you can.
after sanding its planer time.
start by takeing all the edges off the plug in small slow strokes carfull thay are sharp trust me i know.
after getting it to a shape that looks goos you will need to sand some more to get it all nice and smooth.

now that you gotit to the final shape and all smooth its time to do some drilling.
true wire is how i do mine but you can use screw eyes if you like for the nose tail and hook.
i start by useing a punch to mark out the spots i will drill and use a 1/8 6" long drillbit.
start at the nose of the plug and aim it on a slight angel towards the place you will have a belly hole or screw eye drill halfway true the plug and repeat from the tail end till bolth holes meet up.
now time for the belly hole drill in till you feal it meet up with the true wire hole and go past it a 1/8" .
eyes i use a small bit and drill all the way true the plug so it lines op on bolth sides and use that hole as my mark.
drill what ever size eye you will be useing now.
back to the scroll saw to cut the lip slot.

belly waight i use 3 one in the chin one just befor the belly hook and one after the belly hook.

now its time to seal the plug and let dry for a few days.

after all dry i like to sand it one more time.

ok now we add the belly weight i use tiny egg sinkers seem to work well for me.seal them in with a 2 part water proof epoxy let dry and sand smooth so all you see is a a round filled hole.

thats it now prim paint and put it together and you got a kick ass plug.

allaboutfishing · 12-05-2007, 06:56 PM

few more pics

Bob & Mag · 12-05-2007, 07:21 PM

Have you ever used a "bladder sander" on your plugs. I used them in wood carvings.
a coarse 7"wide x 6" diameter and a fine 9" wide x 9" diameter? They have a rubber, innertube-like bladder with an air valve on the end. You can adjust them by adding/removing air. They would conform to the shape of your cutout and finish it in seconds. Just a thought as I used to do quite a bit of carving. Thought I'd ask.

allaboutfishing · 12-05-2007, 07:41 PM

this was a basic way of makeing them i had been ask some questions by some guys that want to give a try at plug building and this one can be done with little power tools.
when i make them i use a router to form the curves takes me 1 pass on each side. done in in no time.

would love to see a pic of that tool if you got one.

Bob & Mag · 12-05-2007, 07:59 PM

I'll drag it out of the shed, once my knee(surgery) heals, and take some pictures.

12-05-2007, 07:21 PM	#3
Bob & Mag User Gallery Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Clinton, CT Posts: 2,679	Have you ever used a "bladder sander" on your plugs. I used them in wood carvings. a coarse 7"wide x 6" diameter and a fine 9" wide x 9" diameter? They have a rubber, innertube-like bladder with an air valve on the end. You can adjust them by adding/removing air. They would conform to the shape of your cutout and finish it in seconds. Just a thought as I used to do quite a bit of carving. Thought I'd ask. __________________ Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of food, electricity, gas, and oil, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off. Smoke free 4 Months!

12-05-2007, 07:59 PM	#5
Bob & Mag User Gallery Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Clinton, CT Posts: 2,679	I'll drag it out of the shed, once my knee(surgery) heals, and take some pictures. __________________ Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of food, electricity, gas, and oil, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off. Smoke free 4 Months!

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12-05-2007, 07:41 PM	#4
allaboutfishing NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 231	this was a basic way of makeing them i had been ask some questions by some guys that want to give a try at plug building and this one can be done with little power tools. when i make them i use a router to form the curves takes me 1 pass on each side. done in in no time. would love to see a pic of that tool if you got one.