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First attempt at making floats.

2.7K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  Golden1  
#1 · (Edited)
The recent rainfall and snow melt gave me the opportunity to start making my own balsa floats.

I went to the local hobby store and got some balsa wood, carbon fiber stems, paint and some sandpaper.

I cut the balsa down to the size I wanted to work with and drilled centerholes and glued the stems in place. I let the stems sit overnight and let the glue dry.

The next day I put the stems in the chuck of my drill and started to shape with the sand paper. Out of the 4 blocks I cut I was a ble 2 shape 2 floats. The other 2 stems broke on the other blocks. I think I need to use a thicker carbon fiber rod next time so they don't break.

Anyway, here are the 2 floats I shaped.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Thats kindof what i was going for with the larger float. The other was modeled after raven FS. Im not sure what gram they are yet i will have to test them before i paint them.

I have a 1.5 inch stem on the bottom of the small one and a 2.5 inch on the larger floats. I think im gonna try using either thicker carbon fiber stems or try a combination of wood skewers. Or possibly those metal stems they use for yard flags, something that wont break while im shaping the float.

They were pretty easy to shape took only a few minutes.

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#10 · (Edited)
I use createx flourescent orange for the tips it was recommended to me by others.

The black im gonna use is just leftover spray paint. Im not too worried about filling the grains bc I am going to seal the float in polyurethane.

Again this is my first shot at making these so if it didn't work out I didn't invest too much into it.

Pics are on the way
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#11 ·
Here are some new floats I made.

some turned out ok, some ehh.... not as well as i wanted. but again this is only my 2nd time im hoping to get better each time.

I got a little more creative this time. Maybe I should of just stuck to a basic patter.

I think i need to invest in a lathe. But considering I just dropped my driveshaft in my truck I have more important things to shell out cash for than a hobby.

I haven't posted the pics of the finished floats from before yet because I messed them up so im trying to fix them. I wasnt able to get a nice even line when i dipped the top of the float .


Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
 

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#17 ·
Well here is the final product hopefully I can get away from work and hit the water and test them out. Hopefully with a fish on the other end.



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