Large Home Made Rattles?

[jigtier]

I'd like to get more sound out of a rattle. Anyone ever try to make their on rattles? If so how and what materials did you use? I would like to use a metal. I wonder if anything could be done with empty 22 casings? I want to glue them on a wobbling blade. Any thoughts? Thanks -Paul

[nova]

Another way would be to get a length of brake line(metal) and cut it into the lengths you need. You'll need to get it large enough to allow BB's to be inserted. Just pinch of the ends, seal them with JB weld and glue them on the blades with JB weld.

The 22's would work but how would you seal the opening?

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[Uncle Grump]

I'd suggest the use of .22 magnum shells if you go that route - more room for bb's, etc. As far as Nova's question regarding sealing them, do the same as brake line - pinch them shut (another reason for the .22 mag case - longer - more room/length to work with), and seal w/ JB Weld, epoxy, etc.

UG

[jigtier]

Thank you for your help. Do you think there other materials that would be louder?

[Unagi]

Have been experimenting with a variety of rattles for years now. Though I am not a hunter, i have tried every brass cartridge available including some of the smaller rifle calibers. Sealing them was easy enough if you inserted the bb's or glass beads then used a ball bearing which was just slightly larger than the opening which required a bit of tapping to persuade it into position. The ball bearing would easily bulge the brass sealing the hole nicely. The volume and frequency of the sounds could be "tuned" by manipulating; (1) brass caliber, (2) rattle materials (steel, copper, glass etc.) (3) quantity of rattles inside the chamber.

Making the rattle was the easy part, attaching it now became a bit of a challenge. My objective was to create a "better" rattle for flipping jigs which proved to be quite difficult. I tried everything from soldering, wire wrap, epoxy etc. None were sufficiently durable and aesthetically pleasing. In the end I switched to making aluminium rattles.

Though less than ideal as a material considering the softness of the metal, aluminium rattles were easier to make and attach. They proved to be still loud as heck and quite effective. I used 3/8" to 1/2" aluminium tube which is readily available at hobby stores. The tubing came in 36" lengths. Start by crimping one end with diagonal cutters as if you wanted to cut a small piece off. With one end now "sealed" drop in a few bb's and then cut the rattle with the diagonal pliers "trapping" the bb's between the crimped ends. I would make the rattle approximately 1.5" long. Now further crimp one end "flat" which will enable you to drill a hole through the crimped aluminium. The hook of the jig could be inserted through this hole like a trailer hook and with the addition of a piece of vinyl or plastic tubing, the rattle would swing freely and stay attached. You could also cut the crimped ends to a point which would facilitate the insertion of the rattle into a plastic chunk. Push the rattle lengthwise in a plastic chunk starting at the end where the tails/legs start. push the rattle through the plastic chunk body ending shy of the nose of the chunk. If inserted properly, the hole in the crimped aluminium would be perfectly positioned as if you were going to nose hook the plastic chunk in the same way that you would for pork.

Hope this helps!

[nova]

Here's a little twist for you.

Larger balls in the tube will make a low frequency sound and smaller ones will make a higher sound. Low frequncy sounds will travel further underwater.

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