This chapter describes the tools and instruments needed to shape popper bodies from balsa wood, cork, high-density foam, and soft foam. The instruments used to attach tail and body materials are also discussed.

1. Tool Box 1
TOOL BOX
This chapter describes the tools and equipment you will need
to tie bass poppers. There are a number of different steps that must
be completed and each one requires different tools. Performing an
operation on balsa or cork requires different equipment than the
same operation performed on soft foam. However, the tools and
procedures used to shape cork are the same as those used for balsa.
Popper construction involves four distinct operations. First, the
popper body must be cut, shaped, and prepared for attachment to
the hook. Next the hook must be prepared to receive the popper
body. Then come the more conventional fly-tying tasks of attaching
the hackle and tail materials to the hook shank or a post. Finally,
the body must be painted and eyes, rubber legs, and a weed guard
added. These operations involve working different materials with
different tools. Many of the things you need are common items you
probably already have around your house or garage. Others are
quite specialized and will have to be purchased from a hardware
store, craft shop or fly shop. The tool list presented in this chapter
contains only the items that have proven most effective for the
required jobs. I recommend that you resist the temptation to build
an inventory of neat looking bits, cutters, and gadgets that you will
seldom use. Don’t fill your tool box with expensive clutter.

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POPPER BODIES
Sawing and Sanding
Popper bodies must first be rough cut from cork, balsa, or foam
stock. This is best accomplished with a fine-toothed handicraft saw
or a hacksaw blade. A miter box, though not an absolute necessity,
will ensure that cut faces are properly aligned and have flat surfac-
es. You can purchase a miter box and miter saw at a craft store or
hobby shop. X-ACTO®
makes a handle that will accept a number
of different craft tools including a wide, thin, fine-toothed saw
blade that fits in the slots of the miter box. It is a handy little saw
whether used with or without the miter box. A sharp, single-edge
razor blade is very effective for slicing soft foam and in some
cases is easier to use than a saw and miter box. The razor should
cut cleanly, smoothly and without resistance. Dull razor blades are
a definite liability and should be discarded before they ruin your
work. To keep the cutting edges on saws and razor blades from
getting dulled, slide the cutting edge inside the spine of a side-lock
report cover before storing the tool. I also recommend placing a
piece of leather or thin plywood on the floor of the miter box to
prevent sawing into the metal.
Shaping popper heads is done mainly with sandpaper. A rasp
or coarse file can be used if a lot of material must be removed, but
this is seldom necessary. You will need a few sheets of coarse, me-
dium, and fine sandpaper. I prefer 60-grit coarse, 100-grit medium,
and 400-grit fine sandpaper. The coarse grit paper will be used for
rough shaping, the medium grit for achieving the final shape and
the 400-grit for removing sanding marks and polishing.
Balsa and cork bodies must have a slot cut in their bottom side
to receive the hook shank. The slot is initially cut with a small saw
or hacksaw blade and then a 6-inch knife file is used to open the
slot to the proper width. A small knife file is the best tool I have
found for preparing slots to receive the prepared hooks.

3. Tool Box 3
A basic assortment of tools for cutting and shaping balsa, cork,
and foam. Protect the cutting edges of your tools when not in use.
WOOD LATHES
Many body styles can be shaped from balsa or cork simply by
hand sanding. However, round and conical shapes are most easily
made using a lathe. A lathe produces very symmetrical bodies, and
pieces can be produced quickly. It is easy and inexpensive to build
a simple but effective lathe and well worth the effort. A lathe can
be made from a small electric motor salvaged from a discarded
appliance. All that is needed is to devise a method of securing the
balsa to the armature of the electric motor and holding it in place
so it will spin with the armature. At your local hardware store, you
will find bearings, couplings, mounts, and items that can be used
for drive heads and tail stocks.
A drill press makes a very good lathe. Adjust the drill to oper-
ate at the highest possible speed. Sharpen the point of a Phillips
P/2 screw driver bit with a triangular file. It must easily penetrate

4. 4 Chapter 1
This simple lathe was constructed using a salvaged electric
motor. The drive head was made from a gypsum wallboard anchor
and the tail stock from a pointed machine screw and a slotted
metal bar. The machine screw remains locked in place and the
slotted metal bar is pushed forward to keep the balsa piece
impaled on the drive head.
the end grain of the balsa or cork piece. Then secure the Phillips
bit in the drill chuck to serve as a drive head. A tail stock can be
as simple as a pointed, No. 10 machine screw secured in a wood
dowel and forced into the center hole of the drill table. A few
Teflon®
washers stacked over the screw will act as bearings and
reduce friction. For really intensive use, the screw can be set in ball
bearings and secured to the drill press table. This will eliminate all
burning and smoking caused by friction. It is imperative that you
wear eye protection when using the lathe or any power tools.

5. Tool Box 5
A drill press set up to function as a lathe. The Phillips bit secured
in the chuck is the drive head. The tail stock is a pointed machine
screw in a ball bearing mount. A machine screw secured in a
dowel and set in the center hole of the drill table makes an ade-
quate tail stock for light work. Note the balsa piece prepared for
lathing and a shaped body.
Hand Grinders and Bits
Shaping soft foam requires the use of a hand grinder. Several
brands are available at hardware stores and hobby shops. A sin-
gle-speed model with a 1/8-inch armature that achieves a no-load
speed of 25,000 rpm will work well. There is no need to invest in a
variable speed model unless you want the versatility for other work.
Most models use collets to hold the bits. Since the bits come in
different shank diameters, you will always be fumbling around
looking for the proper size collet to hold your bit, so purchase a
model that has a keyless chuck similar to an electric drill. Electric
drills have low armature speeds and are very inefficient. The tough,
resilient foam is difficult to sand, so unless you plan on producing

6. 6 Chapter 1
just a limited number of poppers, you should invest in a high-speed
hand grinder such as a Dremel Moto-Tool®
.
Your hand grinder will probably come with a number of cutting
and grinding bits. I rely on a half-dozen shapes for virtually all
work on both foam and balsa. I have identified below the bits I find
most useful. Dremel®
bits and identification numbers are used for
the sake of illustration.
♦ 1/8-inch conical cutter No. 118. This high-speed cutter is
used to cut cone-shaped holes in the tail ends of balsa bodies to
receive the tail assemblies of short-shank style poppers.
♦ 1/2-inch drum sander No. 407 and 120 grit sander bands No.
432. The drum sander is used on foam poppers to cut a large con-
cave face. Stack two bands on a single mandrel for wide bodies.
♦ 3/32- x 1-inch cylindrical grinding stone No. 7122. I use this
stone to cut groves and niches in the side of bullnose bodies to
create noise and wake. A 3/8- x 1/2-inch cylindrical grinding stone
No. 932 is used for the same purpose on larger poppers.
♦ 3/8-inch spherical grinding stone No. 922. This stone is used
to form the cupped face of foam poppers. For poppers larger than
5/8”, use the 1/2-inch stone No. 921.
♦ 1/32-inch spherical engraving cutter No. 105. This bit is used
solely as a mandrel for securing foam cylinders to the hand grinder.
The very fine point allows it to be pushed into a pilot hole down
the center of the foam cylinder. Friction between the shaft and the
foam is adequate to keep the foam from slipping.
I use rotary cutters to cut the dished face in balsa and cork
bodies. I prefer self-cleaning cutters with 1/4-inch shafts used in
electric drills. The shaft is twisted between the thumb and forefin-
ger to produce the cutting action. If used in a drill, the bit will cut

7. Tool Box 7
This is a selection of Dremel®
bits used to shape popper bodies
and a self-cleaning rotary cutter. Two sanding bands are used on
the sanding drum. This photo is intended to indicate only the size
and style of bits.
too fast and is difficult to control. Grinding stones tend to burn the
soft balsa. A 3/8-inch spherical cutter works well for a variety of
popper sizes, as does a 5/16-inch Dremel®
elliptical cutter No. 114.
Wrap the shank of the bit with tape to increase its diameter. It will
be easier to spin.
Drill Bits & Needles
Weed guards, rubber legs and plastic eyes must be inserted into
predrilled holes in balsa poppers. A No. 67 (0.032 inch) drill bit is
used to form the hole for weed guard material which has a diam-
eter of about 0.038 inches. Rubber legs fit best in a slightly larger
hole drilled with a No. 62 (0.038 inch) bit. Holes for the stems of
plastic eyes are formed using a 5/64-inch drill bit.
No.118 No. 407 No.7122 No.922 No. 105
Rotary Cutter

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Holes for weed guards and rubber legs in soft foam poppers are
formed by pushing large diameter yarn needles through the foam.
Yarn needles have blunt points. They make holes of constant diam-
eter in the foam and will not prick you. A couple of No. 16 yarn
needles is adequate. They can be obtained from fabric stores.
Tool Checklist
Following is a list of the items necessary to construct the foam,
balsa, and cork popper bodies described in this book. You will find
all of them readily available in hardware stores and hobby shops.
As indicated earlier, some of these items are used for working
foam, some for balsa, and some for both. If you plan on working
with only one or the other, then obviously you will not need all the
items listed. Don’t fill your tool box with items you will seldom
or never use. They will only get in your way when you try to find
something that you really do need. The items listed below and in
the rest of this chapter are all that you will need to make any pop-
per shape or style.
Items for shaping both foam and balsa.
♦♦ Handicraft saw.
♦♦ Miniature miter box.
♦♦ 60-, 100-, and 400-grit sandpaper.
♦♦ 1/8-inch conical cutter, Dremel®
No. 118.
♦♦ 1/2-inch drum sander, Dremel®
No. 407.
♦♦ 120-grit sander bands, Dremel®
No. 432.
♦♦ 3/32- x 1-inch cylindrical grinding stone, Dremel®
No. 7122.
Additional items for shaping balsa or cork.
♦ Hacksaw blade.
♦ 6-inch knife file.
♦ Lathe.
♦ 3/8-inch spherical rotary cutter with 1/4-inch shaft.
♦ No. 62 drill bit (0.038 inches).

9. Tool Box 9
♦ No. 67 drill bit (0.032 inches).
♦ 5/64-inch drill bit.
Additional items for shaping foam.
♦ Single-edge razor blades.
♦ Rotary grinder.
♦ 3/8-inch spherical grinding stone, Dremel®
No. 922
♦ 1/32-inch spherical engraving cutter, Dremel®
No. 105.
♦ No. 16 yarn needles.
SKIRTS AND TAILS
This section deals with the more conventional fly-tying equip-
ment used to attach feather hackle and tail materials to hooks and
tail posts. This equipment is also used to tie traditional trout pat-
terns, bass hair bugs, streamers, jigs, and saltwater flies.
Vises
Attaching the different elements of a fly pattern to the hook is a
two-handed operation, and sometimes having three hands would be
a decided advantage. It is imperative that you have a vice that will
grip the hook firmly and support it while you tie on the tail materi-
als. The tying vise must be sturdy to resist the tugging and pulling
generated when tying large flies and poppers. Above all,it must be
capable of holding large hooks tightly. Nothing is more irritating
than having the hook slip in the vise jaws during a critical opera-
tion. I prefer models that have a large tightening nut instead of a
levered cam to tighten the jaws and models that clamp securely to a
table or bench instead of being supported by a weighted base.
There are some very sophisticated, versatile vises on the market,
and you can invest a small fortune if you choose. You will have to
decide how much tying you will be doing and how much you want
to spend. I have tied the vast majority of my flies and poppers on
basic, inexpensive Thompson A and Thompson B vises. However,

10. 10 Chapter 1
more expensive models that rotate and swivel, allowing you to face
all sides of the fly, are very convenient and worth the price.
If you have a work bench vise in your garage and will tie flies
only occasionally, then you may not need to invest in a tying vise
at all. I have a small bench vise that is quite adequate for tying bass
poppers. In fact, its large jaws provide a steady hand rest, and it
can be tightened enough to prevent any hook, no matter how large,
from slipping. Serious flytiers, however, should invest in a versatile
and convenient tying vise.
Bobbins
A bobbin is a device that holds a spool of tying thread and dis-
penses the thread through a slender tube. It allows you to control
the placement and tension of thread wraps as you attach materials
to the hook. I know of no household substitute for a bobbin.
Do not purchase a cheap bobbin. Cheap bobbins have tubes of
soft metal that will wear to a sharp edge and continually cut the ty-
ing thread. Since bobbins are not very expensive, pay the extra cost
and purchase a model that has a stainless steel or ceramic tube that
will not cut your thread. It takes a little time to change the thread
in a bobbin, so it is worthwhile to have a second bobbin to hold a
different thread size or color.
Scissors
Scissors are another item that must be of high quality. You do
not necessarily have to purchase scissors specifically designed
for fly tying, but you do need to select a relatively short pair that
has large finger holes and pointed tips. I like to use a medium
sized, 5-inch pair of general-purpose scissors for coarse work
and a small, 4- inch, fine-tipped pair of tying scissors for delicate
work. Curved tips seem to be more convenient than straight tips
for snipping in tight niches. If you use your fine-tipped scissors for
hacking off a clump of bucktail or marabou, you can spread the
tips. The scissors will cut as if they are dull, when actually they are

11. Tool Box 11
Here are the basic tying tools needed for dressing hooks. From
back to front are a bodkin, fine-point tying scissors, general-pur-
pose scissors, nail clippers, a thread bobbin and hackle pliers.
bent. Dull, loose, or splayed scissors are a substantial nuisance, so
guard your tying scissors jealously against common household use.
Hackle Pliers
Hackle pliers are small spring-steel clamps used to grasp the tips
of hackle feathers. When the pliers are squeezed, the jaws open;
when the pressure is released, the jaws close. The pliers are clipped
on hackle tips to assist in winding the hackle around the hook
shank to form a skirt or collar. Several styles are available. None are
elaborate or expensive. Some models have rubber pads on the jaws,
others have plain steel jaws.

12. 12 Chapter 1
Bodkins
A bodkin is simply a large needle with a slender handle. It is
an indispensable part of your tool box. You will use it for picking
hackle barbs from under stems, punching holes, depositing drops
of glue, clearing hook eyes, and countless other things. I made one
by removing the ink cartridge and point from a ball point pin and
replacing it with a No. 16 darning needle.
Nail Clippers
Fingernail clippers are handy for snipping hackle stems, weed
guard material, toothpicks, or any other coarse material. I use them
extensively in place of scissors, reserving my expensive scissors
for jobs clippers can’t conveniently accomplish. The nail file blade
can be filed to a fine, sharp point and used as a hook eye cleaner.
Neither my tool box nor my fly vest are completely stocked with-
out a pair of nail clippers.
I have presented here a small but fundamental selection of tools
for making poppers. Tying flies need not be prohibitively expen-
sive. You do not need a huge selection of specialized equipment. I
caution, however, against buying inexpensive fly-tying kits.