What wood is the best to make a floating rat for bass.

[The wondering fisherman]

I've recently discovered the wooden baits and I am wanting to start doing them myself but I don't know what wood to use. I know I need something strong to hold the eyelets and something to float but i'm not sure what it would be. 

[BobP]

Well, you want a wood that floats and which wood depends on several things:  how high you want it to float and how easy it is to cast (weight), how much hardware you plan to add to the bait, how durable you want it to be, and what tools you use to build it.  Woods most often used for bait building in ascending order of buoyancy are pine, basswood, cedar, paulownia, and balsa.  The lighter and more buoyant the wood, the easier and faster it is to shape and sand.  You can build durable baits with any of these woods but balsa requires more finish reinforcement to make it durable.  Personally, I would try balsa or paulownia because I could ballast the bait to ride upright after casting it, but any of them might work for you depending on exactly how you build it.

[The wondering fisherman]

What would be the best size of eyelets for the hooks and I'm making it jointed for better action 

[iabass8]

morning

[timsford]

A lot of the custom rats are cedar because it floats high and it's tough. I don't know what size screw eye to use maybe look on tackle underground. I'd use something with a bit of an aggressive thread and epoxy them in place so you don't have to worry about them pulling out

[BobP]

In cedar or any of the woods mentioned except balsa, I like 1" or longer screw eyes.  I prefer the open type that you crimp shut after inserting the split rings for the hooks.  Lurepartsonline.com has a good selection.  I would drill a pilot hole a little smaller than the shank of the screw shank and apply some super glue to it before screwing it in.

[jr231]

Looks like @BobP knows his stuff. You're a good read sir.