capt mike Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Lately i've been using .72 screw eyes and a SS pin for my hinges in small swimbaits (1.5-2 oz.). A friend of mine gave me a Fish Arrow monster Jack the other day. This bait uses .72 eyescrews with an "eye to eye" connection for the hinge. The joint is a wedge shape and the eyes are screwed in tight to the wood. My question is, how in the heck is this done. How are the eyescrews squeezed closed into each other in this tight space. Needle nose pliars won't fit in that joint. Anyone familiar with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Possibly the eyes are not screwed in, but drilled larger and pushed in. Nothing wrong with this method, as long as you use epoxy. It would be no different than using twisted wire for the eyes. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 I think Dave is right. I use hand-twisted screw eyes built one inside the other. I drill holes, fill them with epoxy, butter the threads with epoxy, and push them in the holes. There is some epoxy squeezed out, no problem. When cured, I use a Dremel with a millimeter drill bit to get in there and clean any epoxy off the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hehhna Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I think Dave is right. I use hand-twisted screw eyes built one inside the other. I drill holes, fill them with epoxy, butter the threads with epoxy, and push them in the holes. There is some epoxy squeezed out, no problem. When cured, I use a Dremel with a millimeter drill bit to get in there and clean any epoxy off the eyes. Will that hold up to a good size fish? I drilled a 1/16th hole and my screw eyes are 7/16. Am i in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bass Man Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Will that hold up to a good size fish? I drilled a 1/16th hole and my screw eyes are 7/16. Am i in trouble. I took apart an Excaliber Spitten Image topwater bait and it had the twist wire line ties. I once caught a 9lb 4oz largemouth on a popper, just like the one I took apart. So I would say it will hold up to big fish just fine. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hehhna Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) I took apart an Excaliber Spitten Image topwater bait and it had the twist wire line ties. I once caught a 9lb 4oz largemouth on a popper, just like the one I took apart. So I would say it will hold up to big fish just fine. Patrick I don't have line ties. Like I have holes drillled. your reccomending me fill in the holes with epoxy and then push my screws in that later? Edited September 22, 2011 by Hehhna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Will that hold up to a good size fish? I drilled a 1/16th hole and my screw eyes are 7/16. Am i in trouble. Hehhna, the shanks on my hand twisted screw eyes are 2-3mm thick and the wire is 190lb test .029" diameter ss leader wire. These are not commercial screw eyes. Since my screw eyes don't have actual threads on them, I drill holes that are slightly larger than the thickness of the their shank and epoxy holds them in. But lots of guys used commercial tapered chrome plated brass or ss screw eyes and they also work fine. They get screwed into pilot holes that are smaller than the shank diameter so the threads have something to grip. Many guys butter them with super glue or epoxy before screwing them in for added security. Many musky bait builders use the commercial screw eyes and they perform just fine, so I wouldn't worry on that count. I just prefer the hand twisted variety on my bass baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hehhna Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I get what your talking about now. I made the mistake of drilling a 1/16 pilot hole and tried putting 7/16 diameter screw eyes in that I bought.I think they're to loose. If I just epoxy the holes and the screw before putting them in they'll hold fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 if it is a resin poured lure, there is a good chance the screws were poured in. I've done this before, but my mold wasn't set up to really hold the eyes screws properly. However, you can do exactly what you mentioned by doing this (if you plan for it before you make the mold)... you can get the screws in a tight place. Also, pouring the resin around the screws is probably the toughest structure aside from a true through-wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I drill pilot holes in my PVC baits, thread the screw eyes in, back them out again, coat the shank with brushon crazy glue, and screw them back in. The excess glue collects on the surface around the hole as I screw them in, and it forms a kind of a seat for the eye when it's tight to the lure. They hold find. The biggest bass I've caught on one of my small PVC poppers, with .072 sst screw eyes, is the one in my avatar, 8lbs8oz. I can still unscrew them if I need to, but I have to "break them loose" from the crazy glue/top coat seat. I use a double screw eye/hinge pin system for my jointed baits. With two screw eyes, unscrewing isn't possible, since the hinge pin keeps them from rotating. For really small sectional baits, I only put a hook hanger in the first section, so I can use sst cotter pins instead of the larger screw eyes for my hinges, to save space and weight. Since there's no stress on the hinges, other than the swimming action, I've never had one fail. Like Rayburn Guys said, the glue is stronger than the wood or PVC, or whatever you're using, so drilling oversized holes, filling them with epoxy, and then pushing the screw eye in is a strong method. Just try to make the holes the same size as the outside of the screw eye, coat the treads with epoxy before you insert them, fill the hole, and push the screw in. Cleaning up the excess while it's still a liquid is a lot easier than having to drill it out later, so do it if you can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hehhna Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I drill pilot holes in my PVC baits, thread the screw eyes in, back them out again, coat the shank with brushon crazy glue, and screw them back in. The excess glue collects on the surface around the hole as I screw them in, and it forms a kind of a seat for the eye when it's tight to the lure. They hold find. The biggest bass I've caught on one of my small PVC poppers, with .072 sst screw eyes, is the one in my avatar, 8lbs8oz. I can still unscrew them if I need to, but I have to "break them loose" from the crazy glue/top coat seat. I use a double screw eye/hinge pin system for my jointed baits. With two screw eyes, unscrewing isn't possible, since the hinge pin keeps them from rotating. For really small sectional baits, I only put a hook hanger in the first section, so I can use sst cotter pins instead of the larger screw eyes for my hinges, to save space and weight. Since there's no stress on the hinges, other than the swimming action, I've never had one fail. Like Rayburn Guys said, the glue is stronger than the wood or PVC, or whatever you're using, so drilling oversized holes, filling them with epoxy, and then pushing the screw eye in is a strong method. Just try to make the holes the same size as the outside of the screw eye, coat the treads with epoxy before you insert them, fill the hole, and push the screw in. Cleaning up the excess while it's still a liquid is a lot easier than having to drill it out later, so do it if you can. Thank you! This will save me a bunch of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt mike Posted September 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Wow, thanks for all the replies. I forgot I posted this question. When I looked at the joint in the Monster Jack bait, it was so neat and tight, I had a pretty good idea that the eyes were simply pushed into the holes filled with epoxy. I'm glad to know that this is strong enough. I will begin doing this right away. Heck, it should be easier. One more question. How do you guys "fill" the hole with epoxy. What tool do you use for that. Sounds like an obvious answer, but I know I will get multiple answers. I appreciate the help guys. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hehhna Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Wow, thanks for all the replies. I forgot I posted this question. When I looked at the joint in the Monster Jack bait, it was so neat and tight, I had a pretty good idea that the eyes were simply pushed into the holes filled with epoxy. I'm glad to know that this is strong enough. I will begin doing this right away. Heck, it should be easier. One more question. How do you guys "fill" the hole with epoxy. What tool do you use for that. Sounds like an obvious answer, but I know I will get multiple answers. I appreciate the help guys. Mike After reading what you guys said, I went ahead and got some waterproof epoxy. I just dabbed the shaft of my screw eye in the epoxy and inserted it into the hole. I kept doing this until I was sure that the epoxy had filled up the hole. It ended up working amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 You can also use a syringe to apply epoxy in a hole. It probably works better on deeper holes. When filling a hole I push the needle to the bottom of the hole and start slowly pulling it out as the epoxy is squeezed out of the syringe. This makes sure there are no air pockets trapped under or in the epoxy. Just be sure to have some denatured alcohol handy to clean your syringe and needle. That way you can continue to use the same syringe indefinitely. Most drug stores and pharmacies carry syringes and they're cheap. Try to get one with the largest bore needle you can find. The larger gauge needles are much easier to push epoxy through. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt mike Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 what kind of epoxy are getting into a needle? I use devcon and bob smith. That stuff is thick. What size needle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I've shot both D2T and Bob Smith, thinned with a couple drops of DA, through an 18 ga. needle. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
