Mark Wintle

[chavender]

this might be of help ,(something i posted on another forum) <blockquote class=quote>I've decided to try and make some floats. I bought some birch dowel today from Hobbycraft, a metre for 65p, bargain. I cut it down into various sizes based off my old floats that i use regulary, then sanded down the top of the float to a curved top and the bottom so i could slide on a float adaptor. After making the first one up i threaded some line through the adaptor and weighted it up, put it into the sink and it cocked! Perfect i thought the only problem was it didnt need alot of weights, i thought cause the weight is light it wont cast properly. I set a rod up and attached the float and went into the garden. The first cast took me by surprice it was ultra aero dynamic, better casting accuracy than with my shop bought floats and can go a distance too. What kind of paint is best to use to get my floats looking smart and visable? </blockquote>

birch dowel is ok for tips & pegs ,but not rally bouyant enough for floats ,balsa would of been better for the body of the float 3-5mm dia for wagglers you can then glue in a Insert tip made from the beach dowel 2-3mm dia & 1-1½ " long chanfer the top of the body first, then glue a ½ " dowel peg into the bottom (you could rap a few turns of lead wire around it to pre-load the float).You then use a float adaptor to connect the float to your line or whip on a eye .


To be continued...........

 

[chavender]

continued...........

for paint ,if ts just a few floats your making for yourself ,goto B&Q and find their own brand funky colours collection taster pots £0.98p each fluro orange ,yellow ,red ,white
use the white as a undercoat then one of the other colours leavng a small band of white at the base of the tip.Either paint the tip with a artist brush or just dp the tip nto the pot of paint .it doesn't matter what type of paint you use as it wll be sealed later
some prefer gloss ,others matt/silk finnish (to minimise reflective surface) Orange and yellow are easy ,its red thats hard to get in the right shade / luminance vermllion / poppy red are the best ! lightish orangy-red but hard too find.

water proofing can be done with either a pot of plastcote clear £2.99 or you could use a tiny pot of evo-stick weatherproof woodglue (blue bottle) £1.99 ,£2.99 ,£4.99

its great for glueing in the tip & peg plus you can dab some on your finger tip and smear it all over your float (leave the tip ,you hold this ,then stick it into a lump of polystyrene via the tip to dry) completely covering it (except the tip) In a thin coat to seal balsa wood ready for painting (once dry) & quite thickly as final waterproofing coat.leave too completely dry 24h then do the tip and leave that too dry.The wood clue will dry CLEAR and tough with a brlliant sheen .

PVA glue used to be all the same wood & craft glues all contain PU (polyuraphane plastic) but nowadays the craft & interia PVA glues ate completely water soluble and will wash out of your clothes and pretty useless for floats But the weatherproof types are not when dry so are perfect for floats.Just make sure its for interia & exteria use.and no need for dope or varnish !


steve:
I try to be funny... but sometimes I merely look it!


You'll always find Me At
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[chavender]

lord pauly if you have trouble finding suplies ,i have plenty enough to spare some bits , so should be able to give just about everything but paint ,glue & varnish .

 

[Jeff Spiller]

Some very interesting stuff, Allan I didn't realize how controversial float making was !

Mark I was thinking along the line's of Avon quill's, due to my location and If I may be so bold the humble stick.

Chavender good posting.