Quest Outdoors

smitty · Egg Joined: 06 Jun 2004 Posts: 1

when will the float making section be done?

BrianD · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 9:05 pm Post subject: Very Soon...

Smitty,
guess we're just waiting for a few extra photos. Checked, and they've been taken and are in the mail to us, so should be very soon. Sorry I don't have an exact date.

kevanf1 · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 12:18 pm Post subject:

If you want some stuff on float making I can post some up. i've been making floats for years and have a few photo's that I took for an English fishing site so no problems about copyright....because they are mine Smile

))

I make floats with various materials, porcupine quills, bird quills, cork and balsa. Then there are the discarded colouring pens that I have turned into decent floats - and caught on.

Jeffm80 · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 4:58 pm Post subject:

kevanf1: sure would like to see some info on balsa floats. Thanks...Jeff

BrianD · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 10:36 pm Post subject: Send it on over!

Kevin,
I'm sure that would be of interest to more than just myself. Anything you care to share on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Brian

Pinner · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 11:10 pm Post subject: Float making article

Here is a article on making balsa floats.
www.fishontario.com/articles/making-your-own-floats/index.html

steelheadwayne · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 12:18 am Post subject:

I also make (and sell) floats. Even though i sell them under the "B.C. Supreme Custom Floats" label, i have no problem helping anyone wanting to make some for there personal use. After 30+ years of making them im sure i could help you with any problems you might have. You kind of learn a few tricks after all them years. HEHEHE.
One peice of advise right off the hop is to buy the best quality Balsa you can. For maximum buoyancy try to get the softest wood you can. Although its much easier to damage such Balsa it is much easier to work with and when done it will take more weight and thus making you cast farther etc.
So if any of you have any questions feel free to ask.

....Tight Lines..........................WAYNE......................... Very Happy

Eric · Lunker Joined: 06 Mar 2004 Posts: 277

Thier up, here's 2 of them that relate to float fishing. The first is how to make / turn your own floats from blocks or dowels of wood, the second is an article on how to modified a float to make it work better.
e

http://www.questoutdoors.net/skills/centerpin/articles/float_making/

http://www.questoutdoors.net/skills/centerpin/articles/modified-drennan-loafer/

Bow_buster · Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 8:32 pm Post subject:

I've heard so many good things about those floats and I have yet to see one.

Randy

Eric · Lunker Joined: 06 Mar 2004 Posts: 277

Just a reminder Wink

We'd be glad to do a review on your floats for ya. If your interested shoot me a PM.
e

robestlund · Adult Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 54

Wayne, I emailed you at your hotmail account, but haven't heard back. Looks like Hotmail is having some problems lately. Anyway, I want to buy some floats for a trip I'm going on. Let me know how I go about buying them. The trip is in less than 2 weeks. I'll be using roughly 1/2 oz to 3/4 oz of lead most of the time.

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

As this is something I have wanted to do for a long time now is really the first serious kick at the can at this.

Basiclly my question I took 2 inch by 6 in balsa wood and I used the drill method, I was quite suprised at how well it worked. As I worked the balsa I found that 1 side was perfectly round while another side couldnt seem to get rounded off, in order to round it completly I had to reduce the diameter so much that from wanting to make a decent 10g I think I ended up with a 2g float, so what are your suggestions, I started with it completly squared and went from 60 grit to 220 grit.

I am going to look and see if I can find balsa dowels in the 2 or 3 in diameter
Thanks a ton

Chromebuck · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:43 am Post subject:

Louis,

The piece it appears you may be missing is the shaping of the balsa with a utility knife prior to putting it into rotation. Get the basic shape your looking for with the knife then give it a spin. Getting the rod through the balsa completely centereed is tough, but you can usually componsate that by shaving off material from the side with excess. I like to cut in my tapers on each end so that you don't have to sand so much off the balsa block. It appears the longer that it is in rotation the more prone they are to open up and become sloppy...

~CB

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

thanks Keith

although I tried to make it centered I guess that is the problem Im going to give that a go this am

BrianD · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:28 am Post subject:

Louis,
I was pretty disapointed when my large floats suffered from the same problems you encountered. I did find a few things that seem to help a great deal.

Start with a thinner diameter rod to make your hole, then insert your mandrel. I believe the thinner diameter "goes with the grain" better and it's easier to get things centered. Once the hole has been started, your mandrel will want to follow in the same path. I use a section of coat hanger.

Make sure the mandrel is stiff, and supported at both ends if you're using a drill. Small floats don't suffer from the same wobble on the drill, but a big hunk of balsa sure wants to flex and wobble on the end away from the drill. I solved this by building an elongated "L" shaped cradle out of scrap wood, and then hose clamping the drill to the horizontal leg. The vertical leg has a hole in it for the mandrel. This ensures everything is spinning true. At $1.79, it was cheaper than buying a lathe!

Rough shape your balsa as Keith described. The more symetrical the rough shape is (in relation to the mandrel) the easier things will be down the road.

Rough sand with a sanding block of some sort. By moving to a perfectly flat piece of sandpaper I removed most of the problem. I believe sanding "by hand" let's the paper flex around the irregularities, which smoothes them but does not remove them. The firm sanding block seems to take down the high areas, while skipping over the lows. Eventually the two even out and you're in business.

Keep in mind I'm no expert here, but this is how I solved the problem when turning 20-40g'ers for the Dean this summer.

Best,

Brian