twells Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Ok, I have searched both on this site, and other interent sources. What is the best hinge/joint style for making a jointed swimbait. The key elements are: 1) Ease of manufacturing 2) Realisim, not big gaps in the bait! 3) Cost 4) Strength of lure & durability of the hinge/joint What do you guys think? My dad and I have been debating this all week as I continue my quest to make the ultimate shad swimbait. I am looking forward to your comments! discuss....... Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 My vote is hand twisted interlocked screw eyes. They are very strong, simple to make and easy to install. They can be customized as to wire diameter, size of eyes, length of the screw. Mount them into dimpled holes to control the gap between the segments. There is virtually no chance of water infiltration after you epoxy them into the bait. I use 2 per segment and I like to back cut the segments slightly so the gap is not noticable to a fish following from below/behind. OK, I admit a V-notched joint with a pin has some esthetic appeal. It's the obvious joint for mass produced plastic lures but not so easy to make in wood. I never have any problem with hinge binding or water infiltration, and IMO dependability has its own esthetic JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR KNOW IT ALL KIND OF Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Im with Bob!!! The gap doesnt mean a thing!!!! Action of the bait!!! That is the KEY ELEMENT!! you dont even need to paint it.... If you get good action you will get strikes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jflures Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Im with Bob!!! The gap doesnt mean a thing!!!! Action of the bait!!! That is the KEY ELEMENT!! you dont even need to paint it.... If you get good action you will get strikes.. I agree that the action is what counts. I have been working on a 4" shad swimbait. I had the prototype out unpainted, with the hinge pins cut 1/8" long sticking out of the top. I casted it just to see if it ran straight and had action, and what do you know a 12" largemouth came ip and smacked it. So I believe action is what counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hey, if it works, it works and that's what counts. Pin hinges are just too hard for me and I can't get them to work as freely as the double screw eye type. To those who can... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpholeo Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Theres A guy using kevlar flexible strand for his hinges, but I havent seen exactly how that works yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jflures Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Theres A guy using kevlar flexible strand for his hinges, but I havent seen exactly how that works yet.[/quoteI messed around with the "thru wire" method and just didnt have any success. If you can get it to work I believe it would be the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomah21 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 jrhopkins makes all his swimbaits with the "thru wire"....I believe he is the one using that kevlar type material. He has some great stuff on here if you search for it. (fyi...his baits are amazing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Im with Bob!!! The gap doesnt mean a thing!!!! Action of the bait!!! That is the KEY ELEMENT!! you dont even need to paint it.... If you get good action you will get strikes.. This is a voice of experience talking here. Rook has sold a lot of beautiful swimmers with well-done pin-style joints and no visible gap, for top dollar, and these baits have caught some huge fish...and he's telling you that it is not necessary to go to great lengths with the finish, and the appearance of the joints, if you just want to catch fish. This is what he's learned from gin-clear Lake Norman where he tests his baits, from jaw-dropping finished lures to crude unpainted prototypes (Thanks Tater!) finished only to the extent that he can check weighting, or action etc. When a lure builder advises you opposite of his vested interest, that's just being very honest . Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thomas, If you're thinking of mass production, I would look at the most successful commercial jointed baits. Those folks have already found the cheapest way to make a durable, "foolproof" hinging system for mass production. Think BBZ. It's the cheapest, best fishing mass produced swimbait on the market. If you're just making them for yourself, I'd stick with screw eyes and hinge pins. The screw eyes let you adjust the gap of your hinge until the bait swims right, and the pins make it reversible, so you can disassemble it before you prime it, and then put it back together for you finished paint job. Then you take it apart to put epoxy in the joints without the pins in the way, and then reassemble them to put epoxy on the faces. Sounds like a pain, but it's really a lot easier than trying to clean out the joints after the epoxy has gotten in there, and it holds up just fine, as long as you remember to soften all the edges with sandpaper, and lap the joint epoxy out onto the lure face a little, so there's an overlap with the top coat on the faces. Ok,I have searched both on this site, and other interent sources. What is the best hinge/joint style for making a jointed swimbait. The key elements are: 1) Ease of manufacturing 2) Realisim, not big gaps in the bait! 3) Cost 4) Strength of lure & durability of the hinge/joint What do you guys think? My dad and I have been debating this all week as I continue my quest to make the ultimate shad swimbait. I am looking forward to your comments! discuss....... Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Ive also been working on a beefed up version of jr hopkins style bait for muskies and all I have to say is jr hopkins is the master because I messed up three baits trying. Hats off to you Mr. Hopkins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Man 26 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 The inner locking twisted screw is the best in my opinion. Easy to make, even more secure when you bend a small 90 deg barb at the end of each wire to fit into a small drilled hole. Also paint and devcon peal easlily off SS after painting and finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thomas -I have only ever made one jointed lure, because of the size (3") I used S/S leader wire (coated @ about 15lb) which was the lightest I had at the time. I just drilled the holes and attached some crimps/ferules to the wire ends, then dropped them in the holes with some D2T, back first, let it set, then invert and do the same to the 2 front wires. It is pretty easy and the lure works O.K, but may be better if the wire was finer. Only time will tell if the wire will fray from constant bending, all O.K so far. pete 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excaliber551 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I am doing the same thing with wire for my joints too. The wire I'm using is size .028 45LB and .026 30 LB. I have the real small connector sleeves size 2. I am going to peg a small brad in the sleeve to offer a bit more area to hold for the epoxy. Nice looking lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I use to use spinnerbaits with the upper armbuilt from coated stainless like that; I caught many fish on them, they had a high hook-up ratio, and they never needed tuning. Sorry to say that it wasn't a question of if they'd fail, only when. I always hated that i'd lose good blades and ball-bearing swivels. Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.dsaavedra. Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 well my first swimbait i used ss bead chain to make the joints. my second i used two interlocking loops made from ss wire. what i dont like about the first is durability issues, the bait moves freely but i dont know how durable the chain is. it took a lot of force for me to break it though, im sure it will be fine. what i dont like about the second one is how far apart the joints and and how much of a pain in the butt it was to install the hardware. im thinking about using either a screw eye to screw eye connection or a screw eye to pin connection on my next bait. i just dont trust screw eyes though maybe i'll buy some with extra long screws, cuz the ones i have have very short screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
