New jig maker questions.....

[HuntNnut]

Hello all. I just found TU several weeks ago and decided to join up and see what was going on. It is a great site loaded with tons of information. I have used the search function and looked through several upon several pages of post and still have a few questions that I hope someone will be willing to help me with. I've also found the answered to a bunch of questions like using loc-tite epoxy, thinning D2T and even found what D2T stood for.

I've been making custom turkey calls for about 7 years now and needed something to do during the off time of that, so I decided to get into making a few jigs. Mainly because I wanted a few skirt color combos that I couldn't find anywhere. So now I have a couple of molds, some skirt layers and all the rest to make some jigs, but along with that came these questions.

My buddy and I have been using powder paint. We've gotten the hang of it and they are turning out pretty decent. The problem we are getting is that the hook eyes are covered enough that we can't get it out without chipping the paint pretty bad most of the time. Is there a way around that? I've tried a hot hook, tried taking it out before curing the head, after curing, right after dipping. I can't think of anything else. Would a fluid bed ease this problem?

We are using 3-d adhesive eyes. Will the adhesive hold the eyes or do we need to back up the adhesive with something else? I've dipped a few heads in D2T so that I could add some glitter and would think that would hold the eyes. Is it better to dip the jig or brush it on? I have been thinning the D2T with denatured alcohol.

The last thing that I can think of is what are the pros and cons of powder paint over vinyle paint?

Thanks in advance for any help that someone is willing to give.

[BobP]

I use a very small 1 mm drill bit chucked in a Dremel tool to clean paint out of hook eyes. Works pretty good. As far as powder vs vinyl, I can only say that, as a user, I like powder because it's more durable. A fluid bed would be a big help in getting the powder paint applied uniformly.

[Basseducer]

HuntNnut,

I have tried all of the afore mentioned techniques, but nothing works as well as tape. I use high temp fiberglass tape to cover the eye, then heat the jig on a heat gun and dip in a fluid bed. I then pull off the tape and bake. You will never have to drill, scrape, chip or poke with hot wire because you will never have any paint in the eye to begin with. A few seconds spent up front eliminates any time spent fixing things. Hope this helps.

[mark poulson]

I use a pair of needle nose vise grips, with curved jaws, to hold the jig by it's eye while I heat and dip it. Then I hang it in the toaster oven to cure.

If you can't get the pliers that are bent, use regular needle nose vice grips, and pour the powder over the jig head as you rotate it over the paint reservoir. Not as quick, but it works.

I use a propane torch, standing on my workbench, to heat the jig.

To protect the eye from being scared by the jaws, I ground them smooth. They still hold the jig well.

Edited July 8, 2009 by mark poulson

[Jig Man]

Similar to Mark. I use needle nosed vice grips to hold onto the eye while I dip my bait into the fluid bed. I heat them in the toaster oven 10-20 at a time, pull them out one at a time, put them back in and bake when all are painted.

[HuntNnut]

Thanks for the info. Didn't think about holding the jig by the eye and dipping them that way. When you do it this way, how do you keep from painting the hook also? I like the idea of the high temp tape also. Thanks again.

[mark poulson]

I hold the jig by the hook over the torch to heat it, then grab the eye with the vise grips and dip, with the vise grips going into the powder first. It's not elegant, but it works.

every once in a while, I knock off any powder that's stuck to the vise grips.

At first, I tried just dusting the powder over the hot jig, but I got uneven coverage, so I tried it this way. Works for me.

You have to kind of play around until you get a system that works for you.