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BC#1

Want To Make Old Devil Horse

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Fellows

I want to try and make some of the older type wooden 4 1/2" or 5" 1/2 oz. devil horse.

cannot find them anymore. If there are any bait makers on here who already make the devil horse prop style bait...Send me a message I may need to buy a dozen or so.

Questions

1. Where can I get the wooden blanks already close to the size and shape?

2. What type of wood is it?

3. When I paint them, do I need to seal the paint with an epoxy or lure sealent?

Some of the best ones I have the paint is nearly gone on them...

Also the better ones have the rounded prop blades on front and back...

Should I use a thru wire design or use the screw in eyelets for the front and back to tie to and to hang the back hooK?

Thanks

BC

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If you have a lathe or access to a lathe they are easy to make... I always use eye hooks in thefront and rear, and hook hangers on the body... to finish them I seal the wood with a sanding sealer. Then heat set each paint layer and finish with Devcon two ton... Smithwick still makes a Devil Horse. That's where I got my design to copy off of.

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http://lurepartsonline.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=613

A few lure hardware suppliers carry cigar shaped wood bodies. The above are from basswood. The company also carries the wire forms and hardware needed for the propellers.

You should seal the raw wood before you paint and seal the paint after you paint them. You can use epoxy for both tasks. Most guys use water based colors and an airbrush. There are hundreds of threads on this forum about paints and topcoats. Use the search feature and you'll find more than you can read about in a month.

The Devil's Horses I've seen all used screw eyes for the line tie and the hook hangers. No need to use through-wire construction on a bait made from basswood or other hardwoods. Through-wire is used mostly on soft balsa baits.

Hope this helps

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I am making some Smithwick Devil Horse lures. I split my blanks out of Basswood with a hatchet and hammer and then use my table top belt sander (outside, long story) :unsure: to rough them out. I will be using 3/4" screw eyes in the front and back ends and 1/2" in he belly as they grab harder. Mine are 4 1/2" long and about 1/2" round at the thickest. I bought all my supplies from Jann's Netcraft but I am sure there are other supplier and not sure if any are sponsers to this site. So I am willing to listen to other suppliers.

DevilHorseBlanks.jpg

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Good job on free handing those bodies, they look nice.

Have you done the through drilling yet? If not, read up on it first. Would be a shame to spoil all that work. Personally, I do the through drilling as soon as I can in the process, certainly before shaping. Less stressful.

Dave

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Have you done the through drilling yet? If not, read up on it first. Would be a shame to spoil all that work.

Are you talking about through wire? I did not drill them and had not planned on it. I have 1" closed eye screws in the mail from Netcraft I was planning to use on them. I was unable to pull them out of the the 1/2" ones out of a smaller plug without epoxy and though they might hold fine with epoxy.

I am new to this, so always looking for expert advise. So, what do you think. I was planning to catch bass in the river with them, but you jut never know. Using 8 pound test and if a muskie grabs it hopefully the 8 pound will hold and he can drag m and my kayak until tired. ;)So you think I have to do wire? Maybe try the screw and epoxy and hang one and see what weight it fails at?

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I could use some advice on the through wire for larger plugs. Where to get wire and which to buy for fresh water. Only use SS or other wire fine? Picture wire from lowes Home improvement fine? Where to get the long skinny drill bit?

Also, on another note. Do you have to have a certain amount of posts to be able to use your own Avatar?

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Are you talking about through wire? I did not drill them and had not planned on it. I have 1" closed eye screws in the mail from Netcraft I was planning to use on them. I was unable to pull them out of the the 1/2" ones out of a smaller plug without epoxy and though they might hold fine with epoxy.

I am new to this, so always looking for expert advise. So, what do you think. I was planning to catch bass in the river with them, but you jut never know. Using 8 pound test and if a muskie grabs it hopefully the 8 pound will hold and he can drag m and my kayak until tired. ;)So you think I have to do wire? Maybe try the screw and epoxy and hang one and see what weight it fails at?

You do not have to go through wire. If I was making this bait, I probably wouldn't either. I think the original was through wired, so assumed that you would be doing the same.

Rob - the personal avatar is not available to me either, so it is not post related. I have mine purely because it was in place before the system changed.

Dave

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Wow, OK, the props are very thin on the drilled hole. The 3/4" screws are .062 and the 1" are .072 and the smallest is 1/16" and it's too tight to go through. How else would you mount these?

I would need 18 (.0403) or maybe 22 (.0253) gauge steel galvanized wire to get through these. The 18 might be very close too, hopefully, not too big. If I did this, I guess up front you need a washer in front of the lure then prop then twist wire. In the back washer behind lure them rop, then washer then twist wire and more force will be exerted in the back from reeling and fighting a fish. Then I need a 1/16" bit 5" long at least. That seems like it would snap.

Or maybe drill the prop blades? This hole is really small and they are not that wide and it's nickel plated brass, so it's pretty soft. I got a Heddon Torpedo and it's blade has a much bigger hole.

Thoughts on what to do?

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Wow, OK, the props are very thin on the drilled hole. The 3/4" screws are .062 and the 1" are .072 and the smallest is 1/16" and it's too tight to go through. How else would you mount these?

I would need 18 (.0403) or maybe 22 (.0253) gauge steel galvanized wire to get through these. The 18 might be very close too, hopefully, not too big. If I did this, I guess up front you need a washer in front of the lure then prop then twist wire. In the back washer behind lure them rop, then washer then twist wire and more force will be exerted in the back from reeling and fighting a fish. Then I need a 1/16" bit 5" long at least. That seems like it would snap.

Or maybe drill the prop blades? This hole is really small and they are not that wide and it's nickel plated brass, so it's pretty soft. I got a Heddon Torpedo and it's blade has a much bigger hole.

Thoughts on what to do?

If you are going with the screws, you need at least one inch of screw in the wood, 1.25" would be better. There is not a lot of wood around the nose and tail, if a fish gets leverage it could break out. So your screw gauge is likely to be bigger again. You will have to drill out the prop to suit or make your own prop.

If you through drill, you will be able to use the wire intended for the prop. You would through drill at leas 5/32" diameter and the drill length only needs to be half the length of your lure body plus a bit more for the chuck.

I think beads next to the prop would be better than washers.

I have to be careful here, I have never built one of these.

Dave

Edited by Vodkaman
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I am thinking of doing this, but only one hole in the bottom middle of the bait.

through_wire_2.gif

Then I should be able to find a thin longer 1/16" bit to hit the hanger hole from each end. Then fill with wood putty and continue like it was all wood. I will up date pics as I continue and everyone can learn from the ones I make into firewood instead of lures :D.

I realyy do not like this "No Avatar" thing. Why was this done?

Edited by archeryrob
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Can an admin change my display name back to "archeryrob" or "ArcheryRob" it was playing with this and it set it to my e-mail adress and I don't want that out there for he spammers. It says it will not let me do it again for another year. :unsure:

Thank you

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I finished these but, not real happy, they work, but should be better. The are Basswood, 4.5" long and are thin, like they look. The through wire slot filled with wood putty and sealed and painted and sealed again. They float only from the tip. I have to raise the rod tip high and constantly pull to get the action. They don't float flat for dead sticking on the start. They float with only the tip up and the back sinks. Sigh What should I have done differently?

I noticed on my spooks, which are fatter with less metal, they float low too. I guess I an just used to plastic hollow lures, huh?

SmithwickDevilHorse.jpg

Edited by archeryrob
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Rob,

Buoyancy is something we all struggle with in hard lure making. That's why most builders use balsa for smaller baits, to get the maximum buoyancy and action.

Epoxy is relatively heavy. So is epoxy putty. Try to find a way to minimize the filler you need, and the size of the hardware you use.

I use screw eyes, and run them in and then back out, coat the threads with crazy glue, and run them back in one final time. I find the crazy glue reinforces the threads that were cut into the lure the first time, and lock the eye so it doesn't unscrew when a fish hits it.

If you're using basswood, it should be strong enough to hold a .072 guage 1" screw eye, set in crazy glue. Anything bigger or thicker just makes the lure heavier, without giving you any substantial gain in strength. With metal props at both ends, the weight of the hardware adds up quickly.

Try and keep in mind the fish you're targeting, and the line strength you're using. 8lb test will fail long before a 1" screw eye pulls out.

And a pike or muskie will probably bite through your line, or your bait, before the screw eye ever has a chance to pull out.

I wouldn't try to make a small, thin topwater like the Devil's Horse strong enough to stand up to those fish. By the time you get it finished, it'll lose all the buoyancy and action that make that lure work in the first place.

Good luck.

P.S. Really nice looking baits! Good job.

Edited by mark poulson
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I only used them in one spot and the musky had all the bass out of there and they would not whack one. I am going to try this Saturday with a big jitterbug, a 4" spook and a 8 " diving plug and follow them all with a 7" fluke on a leadered trailer and make the retrieve erattic to make the fluke attractive and see if any bite. My buddy has some big spinnerbaits we might try.

I don't thin the through wire is what weighted it. It seems the hooks, propellers and washers seem to do more. It's just frustrating to make a bait and say wow, lets fish it. Then it the topwater action diluted but it sinking.

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Notice my disappointment! Here is a Spook floating next to a devilhorse. The devil horse is completely underwater, 1/4" and slowly sinking. This would be good if I was making a badonk-a-donk, but I an not! They are very ass heavy as you can see where there is not wood. This one is worse than the yellow one I fished.

DevilhorseFloat.jpg

Sizing to the spook and extra metal is visible. Spook have long screw eyes from Jann's and the devil horse is through wire.

Devilhorsefloatcomapre.jpg

I am assuming I need to make a Spook/horse maybe fatter or longer as the spook is 5/8 under water without the props and through wire. Is Basswood this heavy?

Edited by archeryrob
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I think the Devil's Horses I had were pretty crappy as far as build quality (why I never much liked them) but maybe it's that way 'cause of buoyancy considerations. The wood was fairly rough stuff, maybe white cedar. It wasn't basswood. The hardware was standard size screw eyes and props mounted on simple cups - pretty basic construction.

A body that thin is just not gonna support much hardware and still float, so IMO you should be thinking about minimizing the hardware and weight of the finish. Try using CA glue as an undercoating and urethane as a topcoat (like Dick Nite S-81 moisture cured urethane). Small props, brass cups, 1" screw eyes, light #6 trebles like the original. If you can find or build bodies from balsa, they can support somewhat heavier hardware and maybe light through-wire construction. Float test the results before applying the paint to get them floating the way you want.

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@ acheryrob

...............just briefly browsed through all the write-ups in here , .......but the final comparison picture of a stickbait and your "Devil's Horse" is evident to me , that the wood you are using lacks a good share of buoancy(unless the stickbait has some internal ballast) .

I'm not familiar to your local basswood , .......but if I would turn down a stickbait of comparable size out of my favourite abachiwood(Scandinavian lure manufacturers like Nilsmaster and Turus Ukko use it as well for some models) and mount screweyes to it , it would pop up like a cork and would require about 1/3 to maybe even 1/2 ounce of ballast in it's rear to get it to work properly and still float up quite a bit .

Also the thru-wiring "eats" up a lot of buoancy on your slender propbaits , ........not only the wire shaft and props are quite heavy , but also the drilled away buoyant wood material is replaced with heavier glue , .....one thing adds to the other and all to your disadvantage !

Try making a "Devils Horse" of same size and material , but utilize epoxied screw eyes this time , ........you should find a positive difference in the grade of remaining buoyancy , ........if still not enough , you oughta switch to a more buoyant material(maybe PVC decking ?) and/or make the lure body somewhat more voluminous , thus more buoyant .

good luck ,............. greetz , diemai :yay:

PS :

These kinda round-bladed props that you've rigged are quite heavy and made of thicker brass sheet , ....try rigging the pointed type widely available at component stores , these are lighter , .........make sure to care about prop sizes matching your lures .

Edited by diemai
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Fellows

I want to try and make some of the older type wooden 4 1/2" or 5" 1/2 oz. devil horse.

cannot find them anymore. If there are any bait makers on here who already make the devil horse prop style bait...Send me a message I may need to buy a dozen or so.

Questions

1. Where can I get the wooden blanks already close to the size and shape?

2. What type of wood is it?

3. When I paint them, do I need to seal the paint with an epoxy or lure sealent?

Some of the best ones I have the paint is nearly gone on them...

Also the better ones have the rounded prop blades on front and back...

Should I use a thru wire design or use the screw in eyelets for the front and back to tie to and to hang the back hooK?

Thanks

BC

Funny you mention it...I just made some 5" devil horse based off a pattern I made from an old original...I used basswood, and i think screw eyes threaded into the plastic inserts works well..I would be leery of through wiring such a thin body. As to sealing it, I seal all mine before paint. I turn my bodys down on a mini lathe I made myself.

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FYI, when I bought the Props from Jann's the hole was much smaller than the screw eyes. I drilled two out and they seemed to get weak and bent to easy. I did though wire so the props would work and then the lures sink. :rolleyes:

I guess it depends on what you have, but it was not all peach's and cream. I tried to do the screw eye and the props seemed like they would fail once drilled thinner in the middle.

Edited by archeryrob
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FYI, when I bought the Props from Jann's the hole was much smaller than the screw eyes. I drilled two out and they seemed to get weak and bent to easy. I did though wire so the props would work and then the lures sink. :rolleyes:

I guess it depends on what you have, but it was not all peach's and cream. I tried to do the screw eye and the props seemed like they would fail once drilled thinner in the middle.

I know , what you mean , .......these round-bladed props have smaller bearing holes , as they are supposed to be mounted onto wire shafts , I guess , ........the pointed ones , that I've mentioned before have larger holes , especially meant to be used with screweyes .

Please have a look at my latest topic , there is a detail picture of such prop somewhere in there :

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/22659-weedless-topwater-bait/page__p__169315__fromsearch__1#entry169315

It's post #15 , .........I've just had a look !

greetz , diemai :yay:

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new to this fourm but i just finished a wood devilhorse type lure that works well using 1 inch screw eyes front and back with a hook hanger in the middle its 4 1/2 inchs long made of poplor/aspen wood ,i just spray a clear coat out of a can to finish it 3 coats works well i think you can dip it into

a clear finish too but spray it once to keep the paint from running before you do

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