How to make a float: sliding, for long casting, for the current. How to make a float from a wine cork? DIY tube float

Very often, fishermen prefer to use homemade floats; much less often they use store-bought ones. Most likely this is due to the love of fishermen for making their own gear. It’s very easy to make a float with your own hands; you just need to have a basic knowledge and the necessary materials, and a little imagination.

Coating the float with paint is possible based on everyone’s personal preferences. Let's take a closer look at the materials suitable for manufacturing, help you decide on the shape of the float and understand its manufacture.

The float is considered one of the main elements of any equipment, and its advantage lies in the ease of manufacture from improvised materials at home. True, if you make a float with your own hands for the first time, its appearance will be somewhat different from what you want, so training and unsuccessful experiments cannot be avoided.

But after you gain some experience in this matter, making a float will be quite simple, and even purchased gear will be envious of its appearance and shape. The advantage of homemade floats is the ability to independently select the shape, material and other parameters. After all, it is not always possible to find the desired tackle in the store.

Most likely, many of the readers have already done this, but if you visited the pages of our site, then problems with achieving the ideal shape and parameters could not be avoided. The most common mistakes are incorrect calculations, choice of shape and material for making the float.

In order to make a float, you can use any materials, the main thing is that they are easy to process and have positive buoyancy. The most popular are:

waterfowl feathers;
plastic tube;
cork material;
tree;
Styrofoam.

The choice of material depends on the type of fish you plan to fish for. It is also very important to determine in advance the speed of the current in the reservoir. Making a float for fishing in a current with your own hands is somewhat more difficult than for fishing in a body of still water.

This is due to different buoyancy indicators for a certain material. In simple terms, then depending on the material used, the sensitivity of the float will change. For example, to catch cautious fish such as crucian carp or roach, it is better to use floats made of a plastic tube or goose feather.

And for fishing for fish that have quite powerful bites (carp, perch, bream), it is better to use materials with greater buoyancy, such as cork material or wood. Therefore, before you start making a float, you need to know exactly what kind of fish you are going to catch and in what conditions the fishing will take place.

From the pen

You can make a goose feather float with your own hands very light and close in shape to the ideal, which is why it is considered one of the most sensitive and best. Its sensitivity allows you to see the most precise touch of a fish.

For many novice fishermen, the use of such a float marks the beginning of a fishing career; with subsequent experience, it is replaced with more modern models. Just a couple of years ago, besides making a float with your own hands from a goose feather, it was not possible to use other equipment.

Making such a float yourself is very simple, you just need to clean the feather from the fluff and it is almost ready. If necessary, you can shorten the feather itself a little with a blade, this is also quite simple. The only thing you need to remember is carefully clean off excess fluff so as not to break the seal of the pen, it is best to use a lighter or blade for this. Then clean the burnt feathers using very fine sandpaper to bring the feather into perfect shape.

All that remains is to attach the sensitive goose feather float to the main fishing line with your own hands. It is best to secure it with two pieces of nipple, about 4 millimeters wide. The nipple is very easy to put on the feather, the main thing is not to forget to thread it onto the main line. But this mount is not ideal - it has several negative features. The nipple quickly burns out in the sun and will not last more than one year. But the simplicity and accessibility of such fasteners significantly covers its disadvantage.

When fishing in cloudy weather, it will be quite difficult to see an unpainted float made of such material, since the white color (namely, this is the color of a goose feather) is very difficult to see. It is best to paint such a float with your own hands so that it is easier to see it from a long distance and without particularly straining your eyes. The most common means of coloring is nail polish; every fisherman's wife, girlfriend, daughter or mother has it. Do not paint the entire length of the float; it is better to paint only the part that will look out of the water.

As practice shows, this is the best option for saving time. You will spend only a few minutes making it, and you will be satisfied with the quality throughout the entire fishing season, and maybe for many years.

I often notice such floats on the shelves of fishing stores, which means that they are really in demand.

Video

I think it’s better to watch a video about making such a float once and just repeat all the actions of the presenter. This way you will get excellent tackle that is suitable for catching cautious fish, such as crucian carp.

From a plastic tube

To make a float, a tube made of juice, a balloon, a flag or cotton candy can be suitable. Finding it is not difficult. This float is similar to the one described above, only the tube requires a little more modification before use. Its only difference from floats made from waterfowl feathers is its appearance and strength.

The main problem that fishermen face when they want to make such a float with their own hands is making the tube absolutely tight. But there’s nothing complicated about it, just heat the open edges of the tube with a lighter and seal the holes.

It is best to use a soldering iron to avoid leaving burns on your fingers. After all, an open fire is always an increased fire hazard. With a little experience, you will be able to seal the edges of the tube perfectly evenly.

Some fishermen prefer to fill the tube with liquid silicone or plug the holes with it. But such actions require silicone, which not everyone has, and additional time for it to cool. Transparent silicone is best suited for such purposes.

As soon as you make the tube airtight, consider that the float is ready, all that remains is to secure it to the main fishing line. If the color of the tube does not suit you, then again nail polish can come to the rescue. The homemade float is attached in the same way as the first option - on the nipple.

Video

It's worth spending 5 minutes of your time to watch a video on how to make a straw float in a matter of minutes. The tube from the flag was chosen as the main material. Just watch and repeat the actions after the leader.

Made from foam or cork

Almost all floats are made using the same technology, despite significant differences in the materials used. But such a material as cork has one significant difference - ease of processing, and sometimes its complete uselessness. Only such floats have rather poor sensitivity, but are very well suited for strong peaceful fish.

For the fisherman to notice a distinct bite, the fish must make a lot of effort. Such a float will be an ideal option for live bait fishing, since the movements of live bait under water will not interfere with recording a powerful bite from a predator.

Making a float from foam plastic with your own hands is quite simple and for this you need to have basic knowledge about working with tools and processing materials. The selection of foam is very important, be sure to take high-density foam, otherwise you won’t be able to make a normal float with your own hands.

First you need to cut the workpiece to the required size and shape, after which it needs to be processed using sandpaper or a sharpening machine. Now you need to make a hole exactly in the middle for attaching a stick or pen. Then simply slide the nipple onto the tube and main line, and secure the float to the rig.

The float should be painted only if there is a significant need for it. Any material that is resistant to water and moisture is suitable for painting.

Video

Now for a traditional video about making a wine cork float. Such a float has a minimum cost and maximum efficiency when catching trophy-sized fish.

Made of wood

Wooden floats are quite popular among fishermen, but making them at home is difficult. And even without special equipment, this process will take a lot of effort, and the appearance of the float will not have the best performance. And choosing a tree so that the manufactured float meets the fisherman’s requirements can be quite difficult.

Many of my friends give a wooden float the required shape using a drill, but not everyone can do it well the first time. But nothing comes easy, it is quite possible to practice on hard woods and then gradually move on to working on softer woods.

You can try to make a float with your own hands from bamboo, but as practice shows, this is also not an easy task. The peculiarity of a bamboo float is that it either does not work out at all, or it turns out perfect.

Video

Now it's time to watch a video on how to make a good wooden float yourself. I’ll say right away that without the necessary equipment you won’t succeed. Although you can listen to the advice of the author of the video and try to do this.

From reed

Many fishermen prefer to use a reed float to catch crucian carp, roach and bream. It is so easy to make that it can be made even while on the shore of a pond. All you need is to cut off the main part of the reed stem and process it. The main thing is to choose an undamaged area of the plant so that it does not have cracks or other defects.

You need to choose the length of the float based on your own preferences and fishing conditions. Most often it is recommended to use 10-13 centimeters. To achieve the ideal shape, you can grind off the edges of the float and give them a cone shape.

Now you need to attach a small stick or tube to the top of the float. The inner part of the stem is very soft, so such manipulations will not pose any particular difficulties. All that remains is to paint the finished reed float with your own hands and let it dry.

It is very simple to fix such a float on the fishing line; it is best to do this using a nipple. Install one nipple in the middle, and secure the second at the very bottom of the float. Long service life, ease of manufacture and good sensitivity give this product an advantage over others.

Video

I think you will be interested in watching a video on how to make a float from reeds in a few minutes. Right? If this is the case, then I suggest that you start watching the video without hesitation and describe your experience in the comments.

Sliding float

Very often, fishermen are faced with the situation of fishing over long distances. In cases where it is necessary to cast over a distance significantly exceeding the length of the rod, only one thing can help -.

Let's look at how to make a sliding float with your own hands and ensure its movement along the fishing line. And this is done quite simply, the main thing is to correctly attach the float to the main fishing line. The movement of the float is controlled by two special stoppers on the main line, with the help of which the fishing depth is adjusted.

The task of the lower stop is to avoid contact of the float with the hook, and the top one is to adjust the fishing depth. The maximum flight range is achieved precisely due to the lower stopper. Fishermen make stoppers themselves or buy them in fishing stores. Due to the fact that the cost of such a product is extremely low, it is not worth fiddling with it.

In such equipment, you can use absolutely any float, the main thing is that it moves freely along the fishing line. One of the most common options is a foam float with a hollow tube passed through its entire length. You will only need to secure the silicone stoppers or tie a stopper knot.

A light float will be quite difficult to throw over a long distance. So you should be very careful when selecting the weight of the finished product depending on the casting distance required for fishing.

Video

Now I suggest you watch an interesting video on how to make a sliding foam float without much difficulty and effort. I guarantee that you will then be able to brag to your colleagues about your achievements in this area.

Match float

Making a match float with your own hands is quite simple, but this will require certain materials:

4 ear sticks.
Heat-shrinkable tubing (shrinked diameter should be approximately 3 millimeters).
Heat shrink tube with a diameter of 6 millimeters.
A piece of wire with a cross section of about 1 millimeter.
A wooden stick about 15 centimeters long (for the float antenna).

First you need to remove the cotton from the ear sticks. After this, two pieces (about 15 centimeters long) need to be cut off from the first (the diameter of which is about 3 mm) shrink tube. These sections need to be put on ear sticks and heated to form a monolithic long antenna.

This will be the main rod of the float; to make it completely ready for fishing, all that remains is to install the antenna for centering. It is best to attach a plastic cone-shaped form to the top; its weight should not exceed 0.5 grams.

Now you need to make the body of the float, it can be flat or cylindrical, it’s up to you. For this, foam or any other material that has positive buoyancy is best suited.

All that remains is to make a small hole in the base, fill it with waterproof glue and insert the antenna there. To make a sliding float, you need to attach a small swivel to the bottom of the base.

It is best to paint the float in a bright color that will be visible at long distances, since the finished product will have a fairly large mass and the possibility of long casts is not excluded. If you need to use a float during night fishing, you should use paint with phosphorus elements.

Video

Would you like to watch a video that provides step-by-step and clear instructions for making a match float? Then you are welcome to watch. Just repeat all the steps after the leader and you will get an excellent product.

Underwater float

An underwater float has many differences from the products described above, which are designed for surface fishing. The task of the underwater float is not to signal a bite, but to raise the leash with bait above the bottom.

Making such a float is quite easy. You will need to find a material that is lightweight and floats; it is best to use high-density foam for this purpose. Take a piece about 10 millimeters wide and about 40 millimeters long.

Now you need to give the workpiece a certain shape; it is selected depending on the fishing conditions and the fish you plan to catch. For example, an oval or round shape is better suited for catching catfish. After giving the workpiece the required shape, it needs to be sanded with sandpaper.

Now you need to make a through hole through the entire body of the float. The purpose of this hole is to fix the float on the fishing line. You can fix it in one position using silicone or rubber stoppers.

It is very important to completely paint the float and its entire interior to protect it from moisture ingress and accumulation. After all, he will constantly be in the water.

Video

Well, now the most interesting thing - a video about making an underwater float with your own hands at home. Clear, simple and understandable step-by-step instructions from a well-known presenter - Pal Palych.

Water-filling float

Has everyone ever bought shoe covers at a pharmacy and paid attention to the container in which they were packaged? From this plastic container you can easily make a water-filled float at home. It is transparent and has a rounded shape, which makes it an ideal material for such purposes.

The container even has a lid that allows you to easily change its load using water or lead directly on the pond while fishing. Even externally, this container is very similar to the well-known bombard, and they perform the same functions.

All that remains is to adapt the container for fishing. To do this, you need to make two holes on its bottom; it is best to make them parallel. Now you need to thread the winding ring through the holes on which the swivel is attached.

Since the container must be sealed, it is necessary to carefully treat the holes with waterproof glue.

You can load such a float directly while fishing, fortunately there is plenty of water there. For convenience, you can paint the product in any color using nail polish or any other waterproof material.

Video

And of course, a video about making a sbirulino liquid float at home. The truth here is not really about the container for shoe covers, but the principle is similar, so I recommend everyone to watch it.

In the summer they gave me a piece of hard foam from an old life jacket. Well, since in the summer I lose up to a dozen floats, I decided try making them yourself. I don’t go fishing in winter, I have a lot of time.

We cut it into pieces. We choose the size at our discretion, but since I’m happy with small ones, I cut this piece into 4 parts.

I bought bamboo skewers for shish kebabs at the market, they cost a pretty penny, and I selected a drill of such a diameter that the skewer would fit closely into the hole that we were drilling in the workpiece.

Now we give the approximate shape of a homemade float with a stationery knife.

Insert skewers into the pieces.

Place a drop of Chinese super glue between the skewer and the foam. This is done so that when we grind the foam, it does not scroll.

Next, we attach our float to the drill so as not to crush the skewer. Just press it a little with your hand and that's it - it will hold on.
Yes, I forgot to write that we choose the skewers as evenly as possible! But they will still hit, so you need to lightly hold the antenna with your left hand.

Since we did the initial processing with a knife, the float will wobble. To avoid this, you need to take something hard and put sandpaper on it. I came across a flat file, so I took it. The lower end of the file needs to be rested on the table or, like mine, on a cutting board.

Spin the drill to medium speed and smoothly bring the file and sandpaper to the float. We start with coarse sandpaper, remove all the beating and gradually shape the future float.

When the beating is gone, you can remove the file, and then work using the hardness of the sandpaper, moving on to finer sandpaper.

This is what happens when you are in a hurry. I pressed the file a little harder and the keel broke!

Now we dilute the PVA glue to a milky state and coat the foam with a brush. Let's dry it. Now our homemade float, made with our own hands, has become like a hedgehog! It was all the fibers that rose and hardened from the glue. We again clamp the float into the drill and remove these fluffs with sandpaper, preferably a new sandpaper.

Then pour some baby powder into a plate and pour regular emulsion into a jar. Dilute it with water until it becomes cream. The emulsion should be the simplest, which is not advisable to wash and wipe.

Now rub the powder into the foam.

Dip into emulsion.

Sprinkle with a little more powder.

We begin to rub this slurry into the float. Well, the main thing here is not to overdo it with powder, otherwise everything will quickly thicken and smear poorly. Here you need to watch how the slurry falls on the foam. It is advisable to achieve fewer open pores the first time.

The float must be raised slowly! So that, due to surface tension, the excess emulsion, and then the varnish, flows into the jar immediately, and does not form streaks when drying the float.

After drying, the surface should be smooth, without pores or irregularities. Now let’s take a waterproof and super-white emulsion. We dilute it with water in the same way as cream, and without any powder we simply dip it in and slowly pull out our float. Let's dry it. Dip again and dry again. After drying, use a brush to paint the antenna with this super-white paint.

Well, all that remains is to paint our homemade floats with your own hands. Yes, I forgot to write that I dry the floats using clothespins. I hang it either by the keel or by the antenna. Nowadays there are many different dyes; you need acrylic ones, which are diluted with water.

It is best to use automotive enamels, nitro paints, and they also sell very bright nitro paints in small bottles in stores for those who like to collect various models. But all this requires costs, and you won’t buy several multi-colored cans of expensive car enamels in order to use a few grams from each can. The main thing here is to carve the body of the float out of wood, which is quite problematic using a drill.

Well, this is all speculation, and we will proceed from what we have. Now our homemade float (foam) is also protected and can be painted with nitro paints. But I will tell you how I did it and about my mistakes that appeared after a while.
We take a jar and pour super-white waterproof enamel into it (it was above in the photo) and add dye to the shade we need. Don't forget to dilute everything with water. We will paint the bottom of the float with this composition.

The color itself plays a role here. If you fish at depth, then you don’t have to bother and paint it any beautiful color. But if in shallow water, then it is advisable to choose the color of some driftwood, a leaf that has fallen into the water, etc. You yourself know that large fish are very careful and are careful not to come close to bright objects.

We immerse the float in our paint and slowly raise it. The paint should flow evenly and easily. I raise it for about 10-15 seconds so that the excess glass is immediately released and there are no smudges later.

Of course we dry it. One dip is enough.
Next, make the next color in another jar. You only need a little bit of it, and you can apply it directly with a brush, but only 2 times. The brush should be very soft, because we will then apply the varnish to it. I bought several of these, they cost about 17 rubles. Don’t forget to rinse the brush well immediately. Yes, I just added a little PVA glue to the yellow dye, because if you add dye to the enamel, the color becomes pale.

From the keel of the float, we use a knife to clean all our previously applied layers of putty and paint down to the skewer. I thought for a long time about what to paint next. I tried to spread all sorts of colors and, while slowly rotating the drill, draw rings with the thinnest brush, but since the skewers were still crooked and beat a little, the width of the lines with the brush was different and I decided to continue painting with markers.

The drill operates at low speed, we bring the marker, the ring is ready. First we draw light and then dark tones. We wait until the marker dries.

Right in the jar of varnish, we rinse the brush from marker residues that have stained the bristles. Again we dip it in varnish and with the same quick movement we cover the bottom of the float, and then the black rings on the antenna. Dries very well. And we do this 2 times. The third time, you can cover the body of the float with a brush, but you need to ensure that there is not too little varnish on the brush. He swiped it a little, dipped it, then again...

The third time you can go through the entire antenna, almost to the very tip. If only you could then take the float and not get your hands dirty. We will paint the very tip with a brush last.

Had a little snack

Well, now you can apply two final coats of varnish by immersion. Only, of course, after each layer I dried it for 12 hours, and after the second layer - for a couple of days. We lower the float into the jar of varnish so that the varnish covers the first black ring, and gently raise it - 10-15 seconds. We hang it in the same vertical position to dry.

Then we varnish the antenna with a brush. That's all!
This applies to those who attach the float to a bicycle nipple. But, since I use sliding floats made by myself, we continue further.
We buy a 2 kW nichrome spiral from the store and unwind it onto a reel from an old fishing line. Carefully cut off the tip of the keel and peel off the varnish down to the skewer.

This is so that the fishing line or carabiner does not cling to the beginning of the turn. You can, of course, pick up a ready-made spring from oil seals for cars, they are stronger, but you need to hang around near a car service center and rummage through the trash.

All that remains is to paint and varnish. That's the whole technology for making a float with your own hands. It may have turned out a little dreary, but I think everything is clear.

Well, now about what should not have been done...
It turns out that the varnish discolors the marker! After two months of making the floats, the blue color became completely pale, and the black color also turned pale! But the yellow, which was diluted with PVA glue, remained bright, and the body of the float itself did not turn pale! The conclusion suggests itself: it was necessary to dilute the paint with PVA glue or waterproof enamel! But then you would have to apply it with a brush.
Let me remind you once again that tests of homemade floats in the field have not yet been carried out, and we will only find out how they will perform in the spring. If I could help someone, or was just interested, I would be glad.

Here's the end result:

Homemade floats, made by a fisherman to suit his own needs, which are the result of experience gained through the practice of fishing, are distinguished not only by their originality and uniqueness, but also bring indescribable pleasure to its owner through the direct manufacturing process. After all, the soul invested in this production subsequently brings a lot of unforgettable and vivid impressions from the fishing session, in which homemade fishing floats play a primary role, bringing the mystery of the biting process into a visual show.

Making floats with your own hands, knowing the essence of how the accessory works and imagining the conditions that will exist on a pond in reality is not so difficult and expensive. Fortunately, today in our daily life there are many materials suitable for making a high-quality product, and for this work you do not need a specific tool. A suitable arsenal of technical means can be found in every household.

About the processes of manufacturing bite alarms for various fishing conditions from all kinds of available means, information will be presented to the fisherman, which will help solve the problem of obtaining an effective fishing accessory and will give pleasure to the fisherman when solving it rationally.

Looking around, the inquisitive mind of the fisherman will immediately identify a lot of materials suitable for performing work on making a float at home. For those just beginning their steps into fishing skills, it will also be no secret that the properties of suitable options for production should have high buoyancy qualities, low density of the substance and relatively low, preferably its complete absence, water absorption.

Important! The main float materials include foam blanks, a feather from the wing of any waterfowl, reed and wood, including one of its varieties, balsa, which is most suitable for the role of an alarm.

From products used for household needs, all kinds of plastic tubes can be used for floats, for example, an empty ballpoint pen or a candy holder such as a lollipop, a medical disposable syringe, a wine stopper and even a container from used plastic shoe covers.

To give the blanks an attractive look, you need to stock up on acrylic paints in bright colors; sometimes instead of paint, nail polish can also be used. Have steel wire available, preferably alloyed stainless steel with a diameter of no more than 1.5 mm, and quick-setting waterproof glue. Toothpicks or thin bamboo sticks, which can be obtained from a discarded kitchen table napkin or rug, would be useful.

Most of the above options for blanks do not even require a special purchase from the fisherman, because they are either a by-product when consuming the main product or container packaging and a banal bottle cap. Therefore, making floats at home will not require large material costs, but will only require free time, imagination and the desire of the fisherman to engage in this exciting and interesting activity.

How to make a float

Having decided on the material component of the work, the fisherman must prepare some simple tools. To complete the work you will need:

electric drill or screwdriver;
a set of small diameter drills ranging from 1 to 3 mm;
sharpened stationery and pocket knives;
pliers;
needle file set;
fine sandpaper;
hacksaw for metal;
vice;
awl;
measuring tool, preferably a caliper;
small chisels;
scriber, which can replace a pencil.

It would also be useful, before planning to make a homemade float, to have a model, sample or sketch in the form of a sketch of the final product. After all, knowing a clearly defined end goal, it is easier to achieve the required parameters and performance characteristics of the simulated alarm and obtain exactly the product that can cover the required fishing conditions. Further on in our article, we will talk in more detail about the most popular types of floats that you can make yourself at home.

How to make a feather float

The feather version of a fishing alarm is one of the oldest ways to provide a fishing rod with a float. For the product you need to get feathers from the wings of a large waterfowl. Most often, domestic geese and ducks become reliable suppliers of these products, but wild ones will not be an exception.

You can make a float from a goose feather, taking into account the painting operation, in about one hour. A large fly feather of a goose is cleaned of the fan and side fluff, leaving only the shaft and quill for use, which will be the body of the future signaling device.

Important! The fan is in no way torn off by hand, but is cut with a razor or a sharp knife against its direction of growth. Otherwise, the hole in the hollow eye will fill with water, and the product will completely lose its buoyancy.

After trimming the fluff, its smallest fibers are removed with fire by running a lit match or lighter along the length of the feather. Next, the workpiece is painted from the thick end with bright paint, which will clearly stand out in the water; scarlet and light green colors best satisfy this requirement. As a rule, the product itself, the length of which usually remains in sizes from 12 to 15 cm, is painted exactly in half, leaving the lower part in a natural white color scheme.

Now, the almost finished product remains to be equipped with two nipple rubber rings for fastening to the fishing line, weighed to determine the exact weight, to carry out marking, setting a number on the body of the accessory, which will help you navigate easier when making further loading during installation.

Plastic tube float

A homemade float from a plastic tube can be constructed in literally twenty minutes. The easiest way to use the blank is to take a cocktail drinking straw with a diameter of about 5 mm. To make a simple but effective stick-type float, you will need a piece of tube 15 cm long. The main construction operation is soldering the ends of the tube, which is done in several stages by heating, melting and then compressing the fused plastic with pliers.

The tube is sealed at both ends, one of which is cut off, making the end even, like a cylinder; this part will be the top of the accessory. The other end of the tube is made flat and a hole is pierced in the center to thread it onto the fishing line from the equipment; this will be the lower part of the alarm. If necessary, the tube is painted in a color that is attractive to the eye and is equipped, as in the case of a goose feather, with a rubber fastening ring.

How to make a float from foam plastic

This type of manufacturing is more labor-intensive and requires skill in handling and compliance with safety precautions when working with an electric drill. Before you start making a foam plastic float, a rectangular blank is cut out of a piece of material using a knife, which is threaded along the central axis onto a wooden toothpick and attached to the chuck of an electric drill. Next, the drill is used as a lathe, clamping its body in a vice and turning on the chuck in automatic mode. Using a belt of sanding paper attached to a rotating piece of polystyrene foam, the desired shape of the alarm body in terms of diameter and configuration is formed. Grinding of the foam blank material occurs due to an increase in the pressing force of the abrasive material or a change in the number of the stone fraction on the sandpaper.

Important! For final polishing, use paper with as little abrasive as possible, bringing the foam planes to a smooth, pore-free surface.

Having turned the required shape, the workpiece is removed from the mounting wooden axis and, using waterproof glue, an antenna and keel are glued from pre-selected material options, which can be either wood or plastic tubes of various diameters. In particular, using a plastic tube as an antenna, you can make a luminous float by inserting a chemical firefly into the hole of the tube from above, which helps to control the equipment in the dark.

All that remains is to reduce the diameters of the tube and the firefly into a suitable backlash-free interface. The very foam body of the alarm is painted in different colors, exactly along the border of the maximum diameter, the upper part is covered with catchy paint, and the lower part is painted in tones that do not arouse the suspicion of fish. You can use either nipple rings to match the diameters of the antenna and keel of the alarm, or by placing a special wire fastening loop in the body of the accessory.

To do this, a thin wire, 0.5 mm in diameter, is twisted, leaving a ring at one end, and at the other end of the wire, the ends twisted into a braid at a length of at least 5 mm. The twist is glued into foam plastic into the upper part of the alarm, soaking everything with the same moisture-resistant glue.

Homemade fishing float from a wine cork

A cork float is made using a technique similar to processing foam blanks, using an electric drill or screwdriver as the main device for grinding the configuration required for the float. The only difference is in the composition of the material itself, where cork is a more capricious substance in its structure.

Important! It is more difficult to form holes in cork due to its increased fragility, and also to bring the surface to a perfectly smooth state, since the material has high porosity compared to foam plastic.

The final finishing is carried out manually, scrupulously monitoring the grinding of each deep pore and subsequently, before final painting, covering the body of the accessory with special varnishes that hide microcracks and pores, preventing further penetration of water into the body of the alarm.

When preparing holes for the keel and antenna, it is recommended to pierce them step by step with a thin awl, drilling them together to the required diameter. This is especially true for the option of working when forming a float from a champagne cork, which is characterized by the high fragility of the material structure. A cork float, as well as a polystyrene foam version of the alarm, can be easily made to fit all possible luminous floats for night fishing by inserting a fluorescent element into the antenna.

DIY wooden float

A float made of feathers and wood is considered one of the most environmentally friendly and natural options for alarms. But working with wood to form the body of any float will require a significant investment of time and certain carpentry skills from the fisherman.

Important! Hardwoods and, in particular, oak and larch are selected for wooden floats.

The first stage of production involves cutting a wooden blank into a parallelepiped of a certain size using a hacksaw. Next, the parallelepiped is drilled through along the central axis and placed on a metal rod, the ends of which are secured in two oppositely located and rigidly fixed drill bodies. One drill is placed in the neutral position of rotating the chuck without turning on the electricity, and the second should become a drive for rotating the workpiece.

After starting this improvised lathe, float bodies of any configuration are formed from a piece of wood using a file or sandpaper. The last operation will be the final polishing of the surface with the finest sandpaper. After polishing the sample, to avoid water absorption, it is coated with a waterproof varnish and allowed to dry completely at room temperature. The formed body is equipped with an antenna made of plastic or thin wire, gluing into the hole from which the metal pin originally inserted for operation in the machine is removed.

A wire keel is glued into the lower part of the float body, or a wire ring is mounted to make a sliding float. Now you can proceed to painting the alarm and marking the accessory after control weighing.

Homemade reed float

This technique is suitable for making an extraordinary float right in the field fishing conditions. After all, it is rare that a body of water is not the place where reed grows.

Important! For work, select a smooth and dense reed stem without burrs or cracks and cut it so that the length of the future float is approximately 15 cm.

The lower part of the workpiece is ground into a cone, which reduces bite resistance, and a seven-centimeter metal antenna can be inserted into the upper part. The homemade product is painted from the top in a color that is noticeable to the fisherman and is equipped with two nipple rubber bands for attaching to the fishing line.

Match float

The match float must have a certain mass and have high aerodynamic properties. For its production, a main body made from foam plastic or a wooden blank is selected and equipped with a massive antenna and a weight with a ring. The easiest way to assemble the antenna is from four cotton sticks, freed from cotton wool and tied with a polyurethane cambric, which, when heated with a hairdryer, tightly compresses the plastic sticks into a rigid structure.

The top of the antenna is equipped with a foam or cork boss, connecting them to each other using waterproof glue. The antenna itself is glued into the hole in the housing. A weight with a fastening ring is mounted on the lower part of the body. The easiest way is to make a load from a tin cone with a pin for fastening in its blunt part and a soldered fastening ring at the sharp end of the figure. After assembling the structure together, the accessory is covered with bright paint or nail polish.

Homemade water-filling float from a container for shoe covers

A fairly sensitive float with the ability to change its mass can be made from a container for shoe covers, having previously selected a twist-up box of the desired color in order to subsequently eliminate the operation of painting the product. A winding ring is mounted at the bottom of the container to secure the structure to the fishing line. This can be done either with an awl or with a small-diameter drill. A hole is drilled in the upper part of the container to match the diameter of the antenna.

Important! After installing the fastening ring and antenna, the holes are hermetically sealed with glue or silicone, preventing spontaneous accumulation of water inside the container.

All that remains is to paint the antenna in a bright color and directly on the reservoir by collecting water or installing a lead weight, achieve the signaling load required for the fishing conditions.

Homemade float for long casting

A heavy and long-range float for fishing in the current is constructed on the basis of an elongated cone-shaped body, which is made of dense extruded polystyrene foam. A long, up to 20 cm, antenna made of bamboo cane is glued into the upper part of the workpiece, equipping the top with a bright foam ball-shaped boss, strung with glue, on the tip of the element’s axis. The lower part of the cone is cut off to make it possible to drill a hole into the depth of the material for subsequent installation of the load. The load is prepared from a lead stick. Solder a winding ring to its lower part to attach the accessory to the cord of the tackle. Depending on the thickness and length of the load, the required mass is selected, which will form the main performance characteristics of the finished accessory. The weight is mounted into the foam body using moisture-resistant glue. After the glued elements of the product have dried, it is painted and tested, testing for range and strength in real conditions of a reservoir.

How to make an underwater float

This type of signaling device, which is radically different in operating principle, is most easily made from extruded foam plastic, turning the workpiece into a ball or oval shape. An important production criterion is polishing the surface of the product, which is done manually using the finest type of sandpaper.

The polished form is drilled through with a millimeter drill along the entire body, shifting from the central axis to one of the edges of the workpiece.

Important! A rubber or polyurethane nipple is glued into the hole exits onto the surface of the foam mold, which will prevent the hard nylon line from cutting through the soft foam.

Underwater floats made using this method are painted scarlet with acrylic paint.

How to make a sports float

A float for current and standing water in a sports design will require a more careful approach to production. To do this, the fisherman will have to acquire expensive materials for blanks and the highest quality paints for coloring the finished product. Every little detail in sport fishing affects the final result, so the elements to be glued are additionally checked for strength and visible glue deposits are sanded with a file and sandpaper. Surfaces are polished to an ideal state and when painting, smudges and uneven application of paint layers are avoided. In terms of their design and production principle, sports versions of float alarms do not differ from amateur homemade ones.

Making a tube for floats

You can make a tube for floats with your own hands from polyethylene pipes and, in particular, a sewer pipe with a diameter of 50 or 100 mm. Before manufacturing the container, the dimensions of the floats for storing which it will be intended are determined. According to the number of accessory units and the longest length of one of them, with a margin of one and a half, two centimeters, a piece of tube is cut. One of its parts must have a factory socket, which is plugged with a shaped part in the form of a plug, placed on glue for immobility. The tube cover is made of a coupling with a plug glued into it. To make opening the tube easier, remove the sealing rubber from the coupling. For massive float collections, a 100 mm pipe is used; for smaller floats, a diameter of 50 mm is suitable.

Important! The sewer pipe is lightweight and does not undergo compression, which guarantees complete safety of the float collection and ease of movement.

For single options for storing floats or protecting delicate models from breakage, you can use cases for drills, in which they are sold in hardware stores. The cases are made of lightweight and often transparent plastic, which allows you to decide on the type of accessory you need at the moment without opening the container. Tight fitting of the two parts of the case guarantees both water resistance and spontaneous opening of the tube.

We'll tell you how to make a float with your own hands at home without making much effort with the help of our article.

The homemade float is a success and is often used by fishermen. After all, it is made with soul, for various types of fish and from inexpensive, improvised materials. This article will tell you how to make a float quickly so that it pleases you, is noticeable and convenient when fishing.

A good quality float should be made from materials that easily float on the surface of the water. The most accessible and sensitive materials:

Bird feather (duck, goose, swan)
Plastic tube (cotton candy, flag, balloon)
Styrofoam
Small traffic jam

Before you make a float, you need to decide what kind of fish it will be designed for. For small crucian carp or rudd, floats made from a plastic tube or bird feather are a good option. And for predators such as perch or pike, a cork or foam float is more suitable. Such floats hold bait well and prevent it from tangling the fishing line. Therefore, powerful bites are always noticeable.

Considered the most sensitive bird feather float, thanks to its keel-like shape, it responds well even to light pushing of the bait by fish. This makes it possible to make a successful hook. In addition, it is easy to make, or rather nature itself made it, and you only need to improve it a little. Let's move on to the lesson on how to make a float from a bird feather.

We carefully clean the rod from fluff so as not to damage its water resistance. You can cut it with a knife and clean it with fine sandpaper or scorch it with the flame of a lighter or match.
To attach the fishing line, you need to put a rubber ring on the thin part at the bottom of the keel. It can be cut from a 5mm long nipple.
For better visibility on the water, our invention needs to be painted. To do this, use waterproof or regular paint, which it is advisable to varnish. But the best option is to borrow nail polish of a suitable color from your wife or daughter and cover the float. Usually two colors are applied, one part black, the other red or bright orange.
We stretch the fishing line, attach the weight and our float is ready.

P melt made from plastic tube, It is not inferior in sensitivity to a pen, but is more durable, has a proportional, attractive appearance. The manufacturing process is simple:

Measure the required length and cut it.
The edges of the tube must be sealed to prevent water from getting into it. To do this, heat one end of the tube at a distance of 5 mm from the edge, with a candle fire or a lighter, until the material softens.
As soon as a kind of bubble appears, twist the tube into a pigtail. After cooling, the seal is ensured. We perform the same procedure on the opposite side of the tube.
Then we take any edge and heat it again and flatten it with pliers.
We make a hole for the lock; a nipple will be put on it, through which the fishing line is pulled.
We cut off all the excess ends and paint the float.

P it's time to tell you how to do it float made of small cork or foam. Let's combine these two materials into one section, since their manufacturing principle is the same.

We cut out a blank from a wine cork or polystyrene foam and use a sanding machine with an emery attachment to give it a smooth look.
We make a through hole and insert an ampoule from a pen, a lollipop stick, a plastic tube or something similar through it. There is no need to seal the edges of the rod, since the buoyancy is provided by the foam itself or the cork.
We put a nipple on the stick and paint our float
Once completely dry, it is ready for fishing.

As you can see, making homemade floats is not at all difficult. Of course, the first copy may not turn out perfect right away, but you will be able to make the next one much faster and look attractive. The big advantage of such floats is that they can be made in large quantities in a short period of time.

In the summer they gave me a piece of hard foam from an old life jacket. Well, since in the summer I lose up to a dozen floats, I decided to try to make them myself. I don’t go fishing in winter, I have a lot of time.

We cut it into pieces. We choose the size at our discretion, but since I’m happy with small ones, I cut this piece into 4 parts.

Now we give the approximate shape of the float with a stationery knife.

Insert skewers into the pieces.

Place a drop of Chinese super glue between the skewer and the foam. This is done so that when we grind the foam, it does not scroll.

The glue dries instantly, and after 5-10 minutes you can grind it down. Here I had to call my wife for help to hold the drill and regulate the speed. There is a simple way out of this situation: hold the drill in a vise and adjust the speed using the speed control pedal from the sewing machine. But for this you need a drill without electronic speed control, otherwise it doesn’t work, the drill immediately takes up more than half the speed. You can also adapt the dimmer for a chandelier.
Next, we attach our float to the drill so as not to crush the skewer. Just press it a little with your hand and that's it - it will hold on.
Yes, I forgot to write that we choose the skewers as evenly as possible! But they will still hit, so you need to lightly hold the antenna with your left hand.
Since we did the initial processing with a knife, the float will wobble. To avoid this, you need to take something hard and put sandpaper on it. I came across a flat file, so I took it. The lower end of the file needs to be rested on the table or, like mine, on a cutting board. Spin the drill to medium speed and smoothly bring the file and sandpaper to the float. We start with coarse sandpaper, remove all the beating and gradually shape the future float.

When the beating is gone, you can remove the file, and then work using the hardness of the sandpaper, moving on to finer sandpaper.

This is what happens when you are in a hurry. I pressed the file a little harder and the keel broke!

Before completing the processing, we change the direction of rotation of the drill and lightly sand it with very fine sandpaper. This is done so that the fibers of the foam, which were licked during the rotation of the drill, are ground off and the pores open.
Now we dilute the PVA glue to a milky state and coat the foam with a brush. Let's dry it. Now our float has become like a hedgehog! It was all the fibers that rose and hardened from the glue. We again clamp the float into the drill and remove these fluffs with sandpaper, preferably a new sandpaper.
Then pour some baby powder into a plate and pour regular emulsion into a jar. Dilute it with water until it becomes cream. The emulsion should be the simplest, which is not advisable to wash and wipe.

Now rub the powder into the foam.

Dip into emulsion.

Sprinkle with a little more powder.

Let's start rubbing in this paste. Well, the main thing here is not to overdo it with powder, otherwise everything will quickly thicken and smear poorly. Here you need to watch how the slurry falls on the foam. It is advisable to achieve fewer open pores the first time.

Level the slurry evenly over the float, wait until the slurry begins to keep the pores closed (this is about 30-40 seconds), and again dip the float into the emulsion. I’ll say right away for the future: there should be no air bubbles (foam) in the jar, as they will stick to the float. The float must be raised slowly! So that, due to surface tension, the excess emulsion, and then the varnish, flows into the jar immediately, and does not form streaks during drying.

Then we dry it again. Flint from the foam plastic may appear again, remove it as before. Again we lower and pull out the float into the emulsion and see how many unsealed pores remain. If they are, and they will be 100%, then rub in the powder and repeat everything. And so on three times until you achieve that when the float was lifted from the emulsion there was not a single open pore on it.
All this is dried until completely dry each time. After drying, the surface should be smooth, without pores or irregularities. Now let’s take a waterproof and super-white emulsion. We dilute it with water in the same way as cream, and without any powder we simply dip it in and slowly pull out our float. Let's dry it. Dip again and dry again. After drying, use a brush to paint the antenna with this super-white paint.

Well, all that remains is to paint our floats. Yes, I forgot to write that I dry the floats using clothespins. I hang it either by the keel or by the antenna. Nowadays there are many different dyes; you need acrylic ones, which are diluted with water.

We can talk a lot about the color of floats. There are no problems with floats that are not afraid of nitro paints, and these are mainly made of wood. Everything is simple there - sand it thoroughly with fine sandpaper, dip it straight into nitro varnish (it will reshape and fill all the unevenness and pores), and then paint it with any dyes. It is best to use automotive enamels, nitro paints, and they also sell very bright nitro paints in small bottles in stores for those who like to collect various models. But all this requires costs, and you won’t buy several multi-colored cans of expensive car enamels in order to use a few grams from each can. The main thing here is to carve the body of the float out of wood, which is quite problematic using a drill.
Well, this is all speculation, and we will proceed from what we have. Now our float (foam) is also protected and can be painted with nitro paints. But I will tell you how I did it and about my mistakes that appeared after a while.
We take a jar and pour super-white waterproof enamel into it (it was above in the photo) and add dye to the shade we need. Don't forget to dilute everything with water. We will paint the bottom of the float with this composition.
The color itself plays a role here. If you fish at depth, then you don’t have to bother and paint it any beautiful color. But if in shallow water, then it is advisable to choose the color of some driftwood, a leaf that has fallen into the water, etc. You yourself know that large fish are very careful and are careful not to come close to bright objects.
We immerse the float in our paint and slowly raise it. The paint should flow evenly and easily. I raise it for about 10-15 seconds so that the excess glass is immediately released and there are no smudges later.

Well, now comes the crucial moment. We will coat our float with colorless nitro varnish for wood. The fact is that the varnish dissolves the marker! Therefore, we do this: turn on the drill at the slowest speed, dip the brush in the varnish and literally just touch our coloring. In one motion, for one second, we cover the blue rings and the black ones nearby with a thin layer of varnish. Right in the jar of varnish, we rinse the brush from marker residues that have stained the bristles. Again we dip it in varnish and with the same quick movement we cover the bottom of the float, and then the black rings on the antenna. Dries very well. And we do this 2 times. The third time, you can cover the body of the float with a brush, but you need to ensure that there is not too little varnish on the brush. I swiped it a little, dipped it, then again... The third time you can go through the entire antenna, almost to the very tip. If only you could then take the float and not get your hands dirty. We will paint the very tip with a brush last.

Had a little snack :)

Then we varnish the antenna with a brush. That's all!
This applies to those who attach the float to a bicycle nipple. But, since I use sliding floats, we continue further.
We buy a 2 kW nichrome spiral from the store and unwind it onto a reel from an old fishing line. Carefully cut off the tip of the keel and peel off the varnish down to the skewer.

Next, we are looking for something like a mandrel for winding a spiral from purchased nichrome. It should be literally a little thinner than the keel of the float. We clamp the mandrel into the drill, secure the beginning of the wire and wind the spiral onto the mandrel. Then we bend a couple of turns of our spiral with a knife, insert the tip of the pliers into the resulting ring and bend the ring so that the beginning of the wire is almost hidden under the main spiral. It is clearly visible in the photo. This is so that the fishing line or carabiner does not cling to the beginning of the turn. You can, of course, pick up a ready-made spring from oil seals for cars, they are stronger, but you need to hang around near a car service center and rummage through the trash.

All that remains is to paint and varnish. That's all the technology is. It may have turned out a little dreary, but I think everything is clear.

Well, now about what should not have been done...
It turns out that the varnish discolors the marker! After two months of making the floats, the blue color became completely pale, and the black color also turned pale! But the yellow, which was diluted with PVA glue, remained bright, and the body of the float itself did not turn pale! The conclusion suggests itself: it was necessary to dilute the paint with PVA glue or waterproof enamel! But then you would have to apply it with a brush.
Let me remind you once again that the floats have not yet been tested in the field, and we will only know how they will perform in the spring. If I could help someone, or was just interested, I would be glad.

Here's the end result: