pikeman1 Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 I'm just starting out on making spinnerbaits. I ordered a mold,melter,wire,and hooks and beads yesterday ($100). I have old lead to melt. But my questions are. Does anyone use the jap swivels for spinnerbiats or are they junk? Or should I spend the extra 7 bucks for the worth swivels. I'm trying to keep cost somewhat low but most stuff you have to buy 100 of to get a good price. I also want to put one colorado blade on and one willowleaf on what size should they be? I will be making 3/8 and 1/2 oz. I was also looking at skirts at fishingskirts.com and was wondering how many strands they are and how long they are? I figure I still have a 100 bucks worth of stuff to order between the skirts,blades,swivels,clevises, and some type of paint. Thanks for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dampeoples Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 My personal take on swivels is this - If i'm gonna be burning the bait, I'll put a roller bearing on it if that's all I have, it's not an issue, but if I'm slow-rolling or such, I'm gonna want a ball bearing swivel. I was getting the Japanese swivels, then got some from a guy off here, Hippo Tackle, and like them, they are the same, pretty much as the Spro swivels, I've been told. If you check either Jann's or Stamina, they both have size charts to help you with blade selection, but by all means, experiment, don't let that be the rule! Heard good things about that place, but never tried them, the owner answered in the thread, give him a call. If you want cheap, though, consider using rubber skirting, Kim at Lurecraft sells 50' of it for $10, $3 for 10 ft. The other places sell it by weight, and I'm just not smart enough to figure that out. The best thing to do would be find one place that has everything you need, and order it all from them, to save on shipping, either Lurecraft, Jann's, Stamina or Barlow's will have you covered on all that, each with different prices on their stuff, and different shipping totals, so if saving money is paramount, shop around. Another thing to consider would be purchasing pre-made, even pre-painted heads for now, and work your way into pouring your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabite Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 i started making spinnerbaits about a year ago. decided to buy pre-painted heads, if i got really interested i could always start making heads. good thing because now i don't think i will ever make heads. have now spent hundreds on parts, made many patterns and colors, got ideas for many more patterns and colors, and am working on building a lifetime supply of spinnerbaits... somehow its hard to buy half a dozen $7 spinnerbaits, but its easy to place another $50 order to try out some new idea. i'm building spinnerbaits for my own use. i save a little over retail but not much. what i really want is to control the quality, design, and colors. i go only with the ball bearing swivels. there are various charts out there for blade sizes. here's one from Jann's http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/content/spinnerbait_topics.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 pikeman, I am going to have to agree with the two posts above mine. It sounds like you already bought the molds, and the pot, and you already have the lead. I am not trying to discourage you on your venture, but you will have a lot to learn about everything. You have to learn how to pour the lead, that is an art in itself, once you get good at that, you now have to paint the body, buy all the blades, and all the other things that go to make a spinnerbait. One thing for sure take it slow, think things through, and ask a lot of questions. I know everyone sees all the pics posted here, and say, that's exactly what I want to do. Trust me a lot of the guys that post pics here, have been through a lot of trial and error, and have been doing it for quite awhile. If you have any questions, or need help, you will get a lot of help from everyone here, myself included. I can e-mail you a painting tutorial, that I made, which will be here on TU shortly. PM me. Benjamin fromT'js tackle (a TU member) has a painting video tutorial, which is very good, he also sells powder paint. Lastly get as much information as you can about everything. Read all the threads and posts on TU, there is a ton of information for you here. There is a lot to absorb. Just remember never give up. We'll help you become another addicted lure maker................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piddler Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 i've tried them all. Sampo swivels are the only way to go. the cheap stuff is ok for rookies but when you get really tuned in to what your spinner is doing, you'll see and feel the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basssj Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I posted a similar question about spinnerbait design basics a few months ago. Someone put me on to the article that bassdozer wrote. You might search for "spinnerbait design" to find that thread or just search it out on bassdozers site. That article will make you think a lot about what spinnerbaits are capable of doing with different blade configurations, wires, head weights and shapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabite Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/bd_spinnerbait.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 IMO, you don't need the premium swivels. Get any ball bearing swivel you feel like. I know on my spinnerbaits, I have absolutely no problem with the blades spinning at any speed, unless the bait is laying on the bottom on its side. You might eventually see a decrease in the cheaper swivel's performance, but by that time, the spinnerbait should be trashed. They'll only hold up to so many fish. If the wire doesn't wear out before the swivelk does, the bait doesn't catch enough fish anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dampeoples Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 ah, clamboni, you can come sit in the rookie corner with me, since we don't use some guys opinion of the best thing to use! I agree with you, they probably spin just as well with just about any swivel, honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 ah, clamboni, you can come sit in the rookie corner with me, since we don't use some guys opinion of the best thing to use!I agree with you, they probably spin just as well with just about any swivel, honestly. LOL...Like I said the cheaper ones from Barlow's spin just fine.....Plus, I rarely need a swivel to last more than a few months, I use .031 wire and throw spinnerbaits into some nasty stuff. The bait is either lost or trashed long before the swivel becomes a problem. If it catches 10 fish, it did its job. There's just no sense putting a $3 swivel on a $2 bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 I've tried a bunch of swivels and the best bang for the buck seem to be the Worth swivels. I bought the import swivels for a few bucks cheaper in 100 pks. and they do spin well but the only problem I've encountered with them is consistancy, out of 100 I usually get about 5 or 6 that are unusable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 The only problem I've had with them is once in a while a split ring is no good. Other than that they've been great for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
