using ruffly the same principle im trying to make my own version of the ms slammer. I have only basic tools a palm sander and a dremel. I bought some poplar wood and began to sand it down into shape but im not sure how to get the nose the way it should be. Im also making a rat but need to go get lexan and the hardware to fiknish up. does anyone have any tips or whatever on making the slammerish thing. I only have ruff ideas of what im doing and any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you are making something the size of a slammer, the object is to catch big fish, so using poplar there are 2 things you should do but you need a saw. You either do a through wire construction, which involves cutting the bait in half and making a channel in the center that holds a wire skeleton that incorporates the line tie and hook hangers. The other method is you make you poplar blank 1/4" to 1/2" thinner than your finished design and cut the blank in half and glue in and clamp a 1/4" or 1/2" piece of hard wood cut to the same length and width as the blank, the hardwood, cedar or ash, will be where you screw in your line tie and hook hangars. The reason for that is because poplar is a soft wood, a big fish or several smaller fish will eventually pull your hangers out or possible pull the line tie free. Balsa baits not made with through wire construction are made with a hard wood insert, usually ash or hard maple because of the softness of the wood. If you ever broke a Rapala DT bait, it is usually the lip that pulls free, they put the line tie on the lip, which is angled, what it does is it creates a wedge effect so if simply pulling it of fighting a fish it can pull out, but if you shock it by slapping it against the water, the lip will actually pull out with part of the head completely separating from the body but the through wire for the hook hangers will remain. So take you Dremel and put a cutting wheel and cut your blank down the middle.

thats a lot of info ty what about using basswood instead

 

what if i epoxy the hardware in

Even using epoxy isn't going to do much since the wood isn't strong enough to hold. You either need to use a hard wood to begin with, which is less buoyant, or you have to use a through wire or hard wood spine, no other way unless you don't mind having the hooks pull out. Making lures like that requires a certain amount of skill and knowledge and if it were as easy as just shaping a block of balsa or poplar or other wood and then screwing in hook hangers and line ties, well you'd see more anglers making them and the ones you buy wouldn't be so expensive. I know you didn't want to hear that answer but it is the truth,

Use a long course screw eye and 5200 it in place. It will never come out. You can also epoxie hardwood dowels, as others have suggested, eye bolts with countersunk nuts is another option, through wiring is a bit of overkill I think, unless they've genetically crossed LMB with amberjack, and I didn't hear about it...