As some might know, I had a fishing float made up of some dowel with a foam indicator as my main float rig. It did it's job very well although sometimes a tangle would occur which was always easy to undo. However, after re-spooling my reel with lighter mono, I kept getting more and more tangles - some to the point of cutting the line and re-rigging.
I decided to try something else and didn't really want to buy the stand shop float. So a bit of look around on Google I saw a guy make some cork floats that looked quite good. Problem was I didn't have any wine corks except 'champagne' corks courtesy of the missus.
Being the cheap skate person I am lol, I FB'd my neighborhood for some and received a few - and free
Problem was that the rest of the materials for the way I wanted to make the floats was a bit expensive But if I want to make more then the cheaper each one will become, plus the satisfaction of making my own.
Here's what I did ....
First - drilled holes through the cork and with some wood glue put a 6mm piece of dowel through it and let dry overnight.
Second - put a couple bits of wood together with a hole to place the dowel to keep in place whilst sanding.
I used 60 grit at first and down to 120 grit to get a smooth finish. This one is a champagne cork.
A few different shapes and was also careful on a few not take away the wine 'emblem' on the cork so to give a bit of a different look.
Then I cut some safety pins keeping the end ring part that will help attach a bit of weight for buoyancy and leader. I originally used some standard sewing cotton (black) but felt it may not hold overtime, so used some braid on the rest. Put some wood glue over it all to strengthen and let dry overnight.
The fifth step was to give some primer to the ends ready for some enamel paint. I used Gesso craft priming paint and let that dry for 3 hours.
Then the other end and again let dry for 3 hours.
Then some black gloss enamel paint on the bottom of the float. Two coats given and will give a little extra to the braid/ring.
The eighth step was giving two coating with a vibrant yellow enamel.
Not too bad bad so far and could left without further painting, but decided to add a little decoration before giving three coats of Spar Marine vanish, by dipping the floats straight into the tin. Let them dry well and light sand before next coating. Pat the bottom tips to soak up the excess drips.
Turned out reasonably ok for my first effort although a little 'rough around the edges' lol
Took a bit of time and few dollars but 🤷♂️
