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jkustel

Hinge Pins For Jointed Plugs

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Hey guys,

Been playing with some of them multi-jointed swimbaits lately. I am using straight cut joints and screw eye attached to a recessed pin setup for each segment. For my test baits I am using 16 gauge finishing nails for pins. Once everything is aligned I lock em' in with epoxy or super glue. The one issue I see is that apparently when you cast the baits the last joint (tail) really takes a lot of abuses when it hits the water and see that the nail/pin in this last segment is wanting to bend. These are 9" baits in the 3.5 oz range.

I am looking for a source for some stronger pins to insure these baits are durable. I would assume guys are using some type of hardened stainless steel pins for this application. I see they have stainless steel finishing nails...might try that if noone has another cost effective solution? Any thoughts?

Thanks for any input.

JK

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I used SS welding rod for the longest time using that type of joint, i dont use nails b/c even the galvanized versions tend to rust and stain over time. I use carbon fiber rods for all mine now for many reasons, they are lighter, they are stronger, they dont rust, they have a slightly larger diameter so there is less play in the joint. Anyhow just my two cents

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For my prototypes, I have been using 2mm brass rod, but my next batch of lures will be 3mm diameter brass rod, for the reason Nitro98 mentioned, less hinge play. Also the larger diameter provides more bearing strength. When the time comes to fish these lures, I will switch to 3mm SS rod. I am not concerned about the additional weight, as it helps to keep the CoG in the middle of the section where I want it and reduces the added ballast volume.

Currently, my pins are fitted loose, for easy dissasemble. I fix them in place using soft rubber glue. The plan being to simplify refurbishment in the future.

Dave

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All depends on the material your using. Wood that weight might not matter but for resin baits, and baits that you want to behave the same way at high speeds and low speeds and sit horizontally in the water. that weight matters. ESPECIALLY for floaters and heavy floaters! I have had baits where i cut 1/8" of the threads of the eye screws and they went from slow sink to floaters. I wish i still had the video on it, i couldnt believe it. You would be suprised how little weight it takes to change the whole equation on these things.

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Thanks for the quick suggestions guys. I think I'm going to try the carbon fiber. These are resin (w/mb's) lures and I'm running a whole lot of joints so I'd rather keep my weight down low in the ballast and not above the center of gravity (they are two pin/two eye joints). I see the rod is pretty inexpensive and readily available through hobby supply places. I'm thinking of going with 2mm which is thicker than the 16 gauge I'm at now. I assume its pretty easy to cut to length.

Thanks again for the input.

JK

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