Hagen's Vs. Boggs

[psilvers]

I have a Hagen's Wire Bender (the Commercial Wire Former) and I have used it a bit with some pretty good results. However, when wrapping loops of .051" wire, it is a bit tough to do. I have only played with it a bit for the .051 wire, and I seem to be getting better. Here is my question - would the Bogg's Tackle Maker be any easier to use for the heavier wire? It looks fairly easy in the video, but I am sure that the guy using it has a LOT more experience than I do. The Hagen's former rotates the loop while holding the standing end and shaft stationary. The Boggs holds the loop stationary and rotates the standing end and the shaft. Has anyone used both of these wire formers? If so, which do you prefer?

Thanks,

Pete

P.S. Oh yeah - one word of praise for Hagen's - they have GREAT customer service!

[kelly]

I own both and out of those two I would stick to the Hagen's. The boggs you need to buy an up grade two turn .051 wire. Not to mention the room you have to work with spinners that big. Just not enough room. Its been mentioned before that others were thinking about cutting it in half to make more room. In spike-a-pikes honor he would let all of us know how he regarded Boggs to be the best. I wish you luck in your decision.

[psilvers]

I own both and out of those two I would stick to the Hagen's. The boggs you need to buy an up grade two turn .051 wire. Not to mention the room you have to work with spinners that big. Just not enough room. Its been mentioned before that others were thinking about cutting it in half to make more room. In spike-a-pikes honor he would let all of us know how he regarded Boggs to be the best. I wish you luck in your decision.

Thanks. I already own the Hagen's and I think I will play with that some more. I am getting better with the .051 wire. The problem is purely aesthetic - the wraps with this heavy wire don't lie immediately next to each other. The wraps are evenly spaced, and they will be strong, but they go off at a bit of an angle and take up a bit more room than if they were snug. The Hagen's does a great job with the lighter wire. It may also do a gret job with the heavier wire - it may be 100% my fault. I was just wondering whether anyone could give me any insight into this.

Thanks,

Pete

[Fish Candy Bait Company]

Thanks. I already own the Hagen's and I think I will play with that some more. I am getting better with the .051 wire. The problem is purely aesthetic - the wraps with this heavy wire don't lie immediately next to each other. The wraps are evenly spaced, and they will be strong, but they go off at a bit of an angle and take up a bit more room than if they were snug. The Hagen's does a great job with the lighter wire. It may also do a gret job with the heavier wire - it may be 100% my fault. I was just wondering whether anyone could give me any insight into this.

Thanks,

Pete

I think if the video worked on the Hagen's site I would lean towards it. Right now for me I like how the Boggs works in the video. Seeing in action is what sells it to me. I don't see me using a heavy wire at this point because I don't have plans to make spinner or buzz type baits.

[psilvers]

My bad!!! In the post above I was talking about how I was having difficulty getting a nice wrap with .051 wire on the Hagen's commercial wire former. I had only tried it with the wire alone - not with an actual bait. I still haven't wrapped the .051 wire when it is part of a bait, but I just started wrapping the wire on some baits with .041 wire and it does a great job - the wraps lay right against each other. The problem that I was having was that the wire was being drawn towards the peg that revolves - thus, the wraps of the standing end were going on to the shaft in a spiral fashion (i.e. not right up against each other). This was true when I was just playing with the wire. It was NOT true when making an actual bait. I would guess the the beads on the bait, along with the fact that there was more for me to grab on to, kept the wire from being drawn towards the peg that holds the revolving loop.

Anyway, sorry about the confusion. I was trying to get this thing working BEFORE I messed around with a bait. It turned out that I needed to have an actual bait in the machine. Thanks for the help.

Pete