# fishing floats



## sue denim (2 Mar 2014)

has anyone out there had a go at turning floats for fishing. I would like to have a go and am interested in designs and timbers etc. Any thing any one ?

Thanks in advance

'Sue'


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## Grahamshed (2 Mar 2014)

Readition fishing floats would have a slim cork or balsa body with a bird quill centre but there have been, and are, hundreds of variations.


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## Random Orbital Bob (2 Mar 2014)

what an interesting idea (from a fisherman). All my floats are made from very light woods for obvious reasons. I'm not sure what they are but I bet Graham's right in that balsa is amongst them. Stick type floats certainly used to be made of feather quills and some still are. They have a wire eye wound and resin'd at the base and either a red or yellow or green tip typically. My guess is any reasonably light wood would work in fact.


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## Spindle (2 Mar 2014)

Hi

Balsa and quill / split cane were the traditional materials I think however nowadays most are made from expanded polystyrene or hollow PET, (the stuff drinks bottles are made from). Perhaps there is a niche market for traditional floats.

Regards Mick


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## Random Orbital Bob (2 Mar 2014)

I remember the first time I retrieved a busted float from an alder tree and the disappointment I felt when I noticed it was made of plastic instead of wood. Whatever happened to Jack Hargreaves and Out of Town?


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## Dalboy (2 Mar 2014)

Random Orbital Bob":2hblemxr said:


> I remember the first time I retrieved a busted float from an alder tree and the disappointment I felt when I noticed it was made of plastic instead of wood. Whatever happened to Jack Hargreaves and Out of Town?



Now that is going back showing your age there


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## Random Orbital Bob (2 Mar 2014)

When music was music, £1 could actually buy something and a telephone had a whopping great dial on it......etc etc


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## Dalboy (2 Mar 2014)

Random Orbital Bob":72omxxu4 said:


> When music was music, £1 could actually buy something and a telephone had a whopping great dial on it......etc etc




:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Woodmonkey (2 Mar 2014)

It's an interesting idea, I used to make floats with my dad when I was a kid but not on the lathe, he had a box full of various bits of balsa, bamboo, quills etc. Coarse fishing floats are normally very thin and delicate, I don't know how easy it would be on a lathe to get it thin enough, but you could definitely do a pike float or sea fishing float


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## Random Orbital Bob (2 Mar 2014)

yup me too. We also used to repair our split cane rods every time we trapped them in the car door  I've still got one of the ferrules impregnated with resin....1972 if I remember correctly


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## Grahamshed (2 Mar 2014)

yep, being realistic I think it would need to be pike and harbour floats.


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## Random Orbital Bob (2 Mar 2014)

even pike bungs which used to be cork or wood are plastic now. When I was a lad they were split wood with a wooden peg/dowel that wedged the line against the body to prevent the bung slipping down the line to control the depth the bait was at.  They would certainly be turnable and the fact they have a central hole would add a bit of piercing interest too as well as the dowel which was tapered almost to a point.

Not actually a bad idea for a monthly challenge in fact  (But they would need to be painted for actual use).


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## woodfarmer (2 Mar 2014)

Turning cork is nigh on impossible. but if you mount the cork gluing on a thin wooden spindle, put one end in a Jacobs type chuck mounted on the headstock and steady the other end in a hole drilled through a round piece of wood fitted in the toolpost riser tube. run the lathe say 200-500 rpm then use a small angle grinder fitted with a rubber backing pad and sandpaper. this will cut cork round really fast.


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## procell (2 Mar 2014)

I have made a few floats using a lathe made for the Dremmel drill. The ones I made were pole floats made from a balsa body and using a cocktail stick as a shaft. The cocktail stick can be a friction fit into a pilot hole drilled through the balsa body and then mounted in the dremmel. The body can then be quickly shaped with sandpaper. once painted to the desired colour scheme using modeling paints they can then be sealed with varnish to make them waterproof.

They were attached to the fishing line using float rubbers which are tiny rubber bands. For pole fishing the object is to have as little resistance to a bite as possible and for these a few micro shot were enough to cock the float. They worked great


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## Paul Hannaby (2 Mar 2014)

I used to make my own floats using balsa and sarcandas reed or peacock quill. These are a good choice because the peacocks shed them every year so no peacocks are harmed in the process! 

I used to "turn" the balsa using an electric drill and some coarse abrasive. It was sealed with cellulose dope before painting.


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## Random Orbital Bob (2 Mar 2014)

some good ideas there chaps


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