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Matador Customs

Alder Wood, Any Good?

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I don't know anything about that particular type of wood, but it would be real easy to test it. Just install a screw eye of the size you plan on using to make your swimbaits and hang it up with some weight added to it. You can keep adding weight until it finally fails and if it compares favorably to the wood you've been using then you'll have your answer.

Ben

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The nominal density of alder in a list I found is 26-42 lbs/cu ft, so it varies more than most woods. The most dense wood I regularly use is basswood, with a nominal density of 23 lbs/cu ft. But a very light piece of alder in the 26 lbs/cu ft range would probably work OK. Can't comment on the screw holding ability of the wood.

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I havent tried pvc yet, its a pain to find locally. How about plain old pine, is it durable?

Im only asking because i made a prototype 4 piece swimbait out of pine and its just awsome, swims perfect. I wanna make alot, for myself friends and family members but before i start i want to make sure i pick the right wood. As of now im ruling out alder as it is really soft and gets dented easilly. So now im thinking pine or poplar.

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I havent tried pvc yet, its a pain to find locally. How about plain old pine, is it durable?

Im only asking because i made a prototype 4 piece swimbait out of pine and its just awsome, swims perfect. I wanna make alot, for myself friends and family members but before i start i want to make sure i pick the right wood. As of now im ruling out alder as it is really soft and gets dented easilly. So now im thinking pine or poplar.

PM me and I'll try to help you find some of the AZEK trimboard I use. It is as buoyant as pine, and harder, and holds hardware just fine. Plus it is easy to work, with no grain to worry about.

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Hey mark, i tried calling several lowes and home depot with no luck, i guess the I.E. is not a good place to find this stuff. Finally ordered it online and will get it soon, cant wait to try it out. Thanks for recommending it.

I'm surprised they don't carry it out there. It's easily available here. Weird.

Glad you found some.

Good luck.

One danger I forgot to mention is you'll make a lure, take it out to test it unpainted, catch a fish, and never paint it, so your painting skills will slip from not being used. :lolhuh:

Not to sound like a broken record, but be sure to use a dust mask when you're machining and sanding the AZEK. The dust kills my sinuses.

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That's the stuff.

I usually use the tablesaw or the bandsaw or the belt sander to remove it, depending on how thick I want the matl. for my lure.

In the past, when I had a bunch to remove, I used a surface planer, but now I just cut up the rectangular lure blanks, trace the outline of the lure onto the smooth backside, and cut it out on the bandsaw. If I'm making some thinner lures, like 1/2" , I'll rip it down on the table saw while it's still rectangular, before moving to the bandsaw for profiling.

My ocillating beld sander, with a 50 grit belt, eats that PVC up pretty fast, so removing the texture is no big deal, once I've got it profiled on the bandsaw, and I've refined/smoothed the profile on the sander.

I do mostly free hand shaping with the sander from there, so I use a compass to mark a centerline all around the lure, and maybe hand mark the shape with a pencil, and then I use the sander to shape the lure.

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