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Most of these woods can be obtained at a lumber yard in large blocks or round logs. They can then be sawed with a circular saw or hand saw into convenient small blocks about 6 in. long and about 1 1/2 in. square. It's also a good idea to talk to woodworking friends, many of whom have piles of scrap lumber that are suitable for lure-building. The fastest way to shape wooden plugs is with a lathe. With a wood turning lathe or even a metal-turning lathe, for that matter, you can shape the plugs quickly and uniformly in fairly large quantities. If you already have such a lathe, so much the better. When turning down plugs with a lathe, mount one of the wooden blocks between the centers. Measure and mark the length of the plug you are making on the wood block with a pencil so you know where both ends will fall. Then start the lathe and, using the wood-turning tools, shape the wood to the correct diameter, taper, and shape of the model you are copying. After this is done take some sandpaper and sand the plug very smooth as it is turning. Then cut the finished plug off from the rest of the wood. If you have no lathe you can turn out plugs at a fair speed with ordinary hand tools. You can whittle plugs from the softer woods with an ordinary sharp knife if you prefer to work that way.
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