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Hey Voodoo, confusion is my job. Stay out of it Dave

You can use that Mustad straight eye hook. I first heat the eye to a cherry red for about 30 - 45 seconds, let it cool a bit and cast my jig (I was using a sparky jig),the using a drill press and a pin punch gradually open the eye as needed. Then it paint, tie, attach blade and close the eye and done. This reduced the broken eye significantly and i don't know of any that broke during use.

But just imagine how much we could confuse someone as a team your technical talk and my A.D.D ramblings that head in all directions

Thanks Mark same goes for me if I can help I will. I have learned how to build baits by winging it and screwing up LOTS for the most part so I don’t always do a good job explaining how to do things or why things work. Very much a hands on builder/problem solver. TU has helped simplify some of my projects for sure But hey my mind is open to be picked even if it might lead to more confusion

I'd suggest you buy a plopper copy from Predator Baits, or some other online supplier, so you have a sample in hand when you begin you tinkering. It also helps to know what the plop should sound like. The shape and depth of the tail's lip is critical, but it's easy to duplicate, once you've figured it out. Please feel free to ask me anything you'd like. Everything I know about making baits I've learned here on TU, from others who shared with me, so it's only fair to return the favor.

I used the 90# nylon coated for tube jigs that were unpainted and they were 1/8oz to 1/4oz range. For what you want I would use the uncoated as it will be easier to work with on the smaller heads. The nylon coating needs to be trimmed back on the end that is going into the cavity, if you pour with the nylon coating on the wire your heads will end up with holes. For 1/16oz jigs go with 60lb uncoated which is .018 diameter and for the 1/8oz I'd go with 90lb which is .024 diameter. One thing to remember with the uncoated wire is when you paint your jig also heat the end of the wire and dip that in the powder as well and then cure. The powder on the end of the wire will keep it from unraveling since there isn't a nylon coating keeping it in place. https://www.cabelas.com/product/American-Fishing-Wire-SurfStrand-Uncoated-Wire/711866.uts

Maybe Cedar Run has some. Wayne

Mark if you ever want to look at the fluorescent yellow use a black light it gives you a better idea of what you just painted. Wayne

Get well soon.

Actually that's a twist on something I heard from a designer in Bulgaria I sometimes work with. He says around where he lives they say, "The better is your 4x4 the further you have to walk to find a tractor when you get stuck."

I bought some Do-It Essentials molds some time back just to see what everybody was complaining about. Sure they have a less than smooth surface and dry out of the molds the baits look a little dull, but in the water where most of us actually fish with them they look great and catch fish. My thought was … here is a cheap mold that produces baits that catches fish somebody can buy if they just want to play a little bit. I voiced that opinion here some time back and get a little bit of a thrubbing for it. Some guys complained it was NOT a good deal if they didn't get a zillion cavities for it, and others complained about the dull finish all over again. Sure they don't have the finish of a machined mold, but then they don't have the cost either. In my opinion the only real draw back is for the reseller. A bait that doesn't look as pretty in the package doesn't sell as well. My opinion of them hasn't really changed. They are a cheap mold that produces baits that catch fish. Its not a Cadillac, but its not priced like one either.

Dave here the main thing that you want to create a machine.

Dave, I bought a CNC machine for aliexpress. And a program was written to me by a friend. He put the processing speed into the program.

We, too, have made many copiers. There are many solutions, here is one of them.