Quest Outdoors

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

Brian thanks for the insight.

I did spend time this afternoon widdling away at a few and once I did get the right rough shape down it was quite easy. I will try your tecnique in the morningas I have about 12 that are rough shaped.
Of course thats after I clean the mini wood pile sitting on the floor of my garage.

I have a drill press jig and Im wondering if I inverted it will it work aa an option. I ll try that too in the am and let you know. Hopefully I ll even have a few to show you as long as I dont get those belly laughs.

thanks
Louis

Bow_buster · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:37 pm Post subject:

Aniceguy,

You could use your drill press exactly as it sits. I've made quite a few floats that way before I got my mini lathe. Be sure you are using a metal mandrel. Start off with more than you'll need and like Brian and Keith said rough it out. One thing I found out after final sanding is to dip it into your're final finish, at least two coats, let it dry and goover it with very fine sand paper very lightly. This takes out all of the little fuzzies from the wood. After that's all done goahead and paint it. Then after the paint is dry dip it in your finish again, maybe two more coats. After the finish is dry take it fishing. Make sure you dip the whole float, stem included to help seal out any water. One way you could do this is by using either a clothes pin or an alligator clip to hold the stem while you dip. Hope this helps.

Randy

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

all great advice thanks I really appreciate it this makes the learning curve a lot simplier.

Rather then dip them I was going to set them up in a tent and use my spray gun and shoot several coats of laquer on it. Although dipping them will lead to a larger build up with less applications have you ever shot the laquer on.

BrianD · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 10:00 pm Post subject:

Louis,
I've used spray lacquer to touch up floats I was only able to get a single dip on when I've needed them in a hurry. Works fine, but it's a light coat. I also use spray lacquer on painted popper bodies quite effectively, so don't see why it wouldn't work out as long as you've got the patience. No need for sanding that way!

Best,

Brian

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

firstly thanks a ton for the insight.

I followed all the directions and it worked quite well.

I missed the part about coating them first then paiting them so I ll have to do a bit or color correction afterwards.

Once they are dry and ready I want to test them in a bucket so I can rate them and also get a visual as to how much larger I want to make them.

Heres a pic of my first amateur attempt to make a float

Louis

Bow_buster · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 2:23 pm Post subject:

The floats look good. Just remember to have the absolutly smooth. If the float is too rough or not nicely tapered from the stem to the body the float will not be as sensitive and the float will have too much resistance on the take. here are a few pictures of some floats I've made this past year. Enjoy.

Randy

One more thing if you have the time and patience any two part rod building finish can also be used to seal the body of the float. Also keep in mind there are a ton of way to finish a float. I found if I dip the body in the finish first it's easier for me to get the body smooth. It's up to you. You don't need to dip it first if you don't want to.

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

I look at my floats an I know what effort I put into them mine look like crude of well back to the knuckle buster drill.
Good insperation

Bow_buster · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 5:07 pm Post subject:

To be honest when I started making floats I didn't have access to any tools to turn wood with. All I used was a razor blade and sand paper. Needless to say they were crude, and aweful. Even when I used a drill I didn't get the results I was looking for until a friend of mine gave me a very small lathe he used to use to make floats. And as the saying goes the rest is history.

I will reccomend, if you're serious about turning your own floats that you invest in a small mini lathe and some wood turning chisels and mandrels. You will find that your floats will be as good or better than any balsa float you can find in any catalog.

Randy

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

thanks for the help.

I was looking at some mini lathes is there a particular model you use.

I understand about the tapered aspect and it offering more resistence,etc... it was a bit harder at first but once I adapted to the method you Brian and Keith suggested I was able to turn some fairly decent tapered floats.

I read up on the jet mini pen lathe @ 149.00 seems to be the most reasonable one avaliable. I guess any small lathe will do the job.

After the time I spent yesterday I definetly want to get more into this.

Thanks

Louis

Ken (speyday) Crowne · Adult Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Posts: 97

Ok, Im getting a mini lathe per Wayne and others reco...all this opportunity to be crafty is finally getting to me. Are there any in particular that are best suited; or is going on the cheap (150 US) with the mini jet gonna do the trick?

Also, any place you know of that has the requisite silicone tubing in bulk would be awesome. Maybe a " science surplus lab" type store?

Bout time we finally got some fall, eh!?

Thanks
Ken

Bow_buster · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:21 pm Post subject:

Louis and Ken,

I've heard good things about the Jet brand lathes. Most of what I've heard has been from the rodbuilding.org forum. I've never used one but it's one lathe I'm going to look into in the near future. I'd like to have one so I can turn my own wood for my float rods and to use it to turn my floats.

The lathe I have now is a small drill chuck attached to an aluminum base powered by a sewing machine motor. The lathe also has two rods and a dead centre also.

The mandrels are very important. Once one is bent the body of the float will always be off centre. Take good care of the mandrels. I would think a live centre at the ent of the lathe would work out a little better than the one I have. If you're curious about what mine looks like you can see it in the pictures on my float making article in the skills section titled Floatmaking 101.

Randy

Randy

BrianD · Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:25 pm Post subject:

Hey Ken,
I went searching for a lathe this summer. Ran out of time, so I just came up with better ways to use my drill, but maybe some of what I learned will be useful. If you break down and buy one let us know what you got. I still intend to purchase one. I'm just not in any hurry any more. Keep in mind I really don't know jack about lathes!

Mini-Pen Lathe
This looked to be a decent choice from the specs and cost, Found one local that I could check out, and I was pretty disapointed to find it really won't hold balsa floats well. This was set up specifically for pen blanks, and didn't include a way to hold a mandrel. Decided not to drop $150 on something I'd have to wrench on right away to get right.

Sears Hobby Lathe
One choice I had recommended to me several times was the small Sears hobby lathe. It's a little more expensive than the pen lathe, but it's a "real" lathe, not a one trick pony. Only downside is it's a catalog only item, so you can't get to the store and check one out. If I had more time to research this one (like find someone who has one and stop by) thi is the model I'd likely get.

E-bay
TONS of cheap import hobby sized lathes available on eBay. Only problem for me is I just don't know enough about them to make sure I get on that'll do what I need it to. You probably get what you pay for, but some were even in the $50 dollar range (although watch the shipping prices. Often as much as the lathe itself!)

Drill Press
This is my current front runner, since the cost is comparable to a decent quality lathe and I can use it for other stuff. Figure one with 9 inches of travel will be more than sufficient and you can find these new for under $200. Been more than one occasion where this would have come in handy, so probably the better investment. Just not sure how the motor will hold up to that type of use.

Lemme know which model you end up going with and how it's working out for you.

Best,

Brian

aniceguy · Adult Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 82

Once again thanks a ton for all the help. I think I have sort of gotten some of the bugs out of it, and I should finish a batch by Thursday night, the second batch looks a bit more conventional, but my thing has always been to push things past conventional, which usually can be loosely translated to crap lol.. once again thanks

One question
could one or more of you put up a picture of how your drill set up looks, hope thats not too much to ask

Louis

Bow_buster · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:50 pm Post subject:

Louis,

Check out the Floatmaking 101 article. My set up is pictured. Hope this helps.

Randy

BrianD · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:32 pm Post subject: My "Lathe"

Louis,
sorry for the delay! As you can see, she's not pretty but it gets the job done. Just add a hunk of balsa!

Nothing but scrap wood and a large hose clamp. Intend to pick up an old drill at a garage sale for a few bucks so I don't burn out the motor on a decent one. It's also a good idea to clamp the set-up to something as the drill makes it a little top heavy.

Best,

Brian