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aaron4mvp

Drilling Lure Lips

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Hey guys, I was wondering how some of you guys attach your front tow eye to the crankbait. Do you drill a hole in the lip and then put the wire eye thru the lip and then into a hole in the bait below the lip? I have seen this done a couple of different ways and was wondering how you guys do it?

Of course this would be using a barrel twist formed eye, not a manufactured screw eye. The bait on the top has the wire that goes underneath the lip in the link.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tim+earick+crankbaits&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&biw=1437&bih=705&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=KnV-XdxCZGrtAM:&imgrefurl=http://fdcolors4.exblog.jp/12337343/&docid=EaHflwoIobtkhM&imgurl=http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201103/28/39/a0094239_23184193.jpg&w=500&h=315&ei=N8yNT9DRDeav6AGT2_z7Dg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=191&vpy=55&dur=393&hovh=178&hovw=283&tx=82&ty=72&sig=111249415415224130452&page=3&tbnh=156&tbnw=225&start=36&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:36,i:167

Edited by aaron4mvp
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I use thru wire method and put the formed wire in a slot. I make the line tie part by bending wire to form the eye for the line tie and bend the eye to an angle that will protrude through a slot in the lip from the bottom of the lip. The rest of the wire gets extended into the body and continues for the first hook drop and so on. It takes some bending then checking the fit and bend somemore till I like the way it fits. After I install the wire I fill the lip slot space around the eye with a dab of epoxy with a toothpick.

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Edited by EdL
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I do mine the same way as Mark and as in your photo. There are various ways and one is not better than another, some are just a little easier to do.

Some guys drill 2 small holes in the lip, insert the ends of the line tie in the holes, then bend the wire underneath and straight into the bait body, untwisted.

Some use heavy gauge hard temper stainless wire, make one small hole in the lip, then bend the end of the wire into a circle for the line tie, bend the shaft 90 degrees, insert it into the lip, and anchor the single strand of ss wire in the body.

I make a long hand-twisted screw eye for the line tie, bend it 90 degrees and insert it into the lip, then back over the top of the lip into a slot cut in the rear of the lip. Trim the excess. It makes for a fairly rigid lip package. You have to cut grooves in the top and bottom of the lip slot to accept the wire. On deep divers with the line tie far out on the lip, I run a bead of 30 min epoxy along the sides of the line tie under the lip to further anchor the line tie. I see more custom baits with this twisted line tie running into the body than other line tie schemes and for me, it's the easiest to do.

Whichever method you prefer, it's critical to bend the wire accurately - so you need to use wire that will allow you to do that. I like to use soft temper .040" stainless wire because I can bend it accurately and easily with hand tools. The soft temper wire holds up well and makes the bait easier to tune if needed. I drill holes in Lexan or circuit board lips exactly the same way - with a set of micro drill bits chucked in my Dremel tool. I feel it's important that the line tie have a good tight fit through the hole in the lip, and a set of millimeter drill bits ensures I can do that.

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Here is the way that I do it , .........please check out post #20 of this older thread of mine , some pictures there .

Usually I would lead the rear tag end of the internal wire form backward into the "U"-bend of the belly hook hanger , ....but in this case the belly slot was not deep enough , so I anchored the rear tag end as shown .

Usually I do not pin the lip , only did it on this particular lure , because it is so long , .....normaly I'd only drill through the lips base and/or cut some little grooves into it's surface for a better bond of the epoxy glue .

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/13043-new-banana-lure/page__hl__%20banana%20%20lures

In Australia such pinned lip designs are quite popular , ......the guys over there would just place a little wire form sometimes called an "omega clip" through a centered slot in the lip , secured by a splitring , ........due to the little play of the clip versus the lip this construction also self-centers the lure on it's path of retrieve , ........no tow eye tuning neccessary,

Not even possible though, quite accurate lip alignement essential , I guess .

Off course such design requires real rigid and unbreakable lip material .

greetz , diemai :yay:

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One last thing.

I am no Metal Meister like Dieter, or a good wire bender like BobP.

Typically, I bend a loop by doubling my wire around a nail, and then bend the loop at 90 degrees to my tag ends.

Then I clamp the loop in a bench vice, with duct tape on the jaws to protect the wire, and clamp a pair of vice grip pliers on the very end of my tag ends.

I twist the vice grips to twist the wire.

When I'm done, I try and fine tune/straighten the whole arrangement so it's all in line while it's still in the vice.

I seldom get it perfect.

But I've found that the key to a straight running bait is to get the line tie aligned with the centerline of the bait. The twisted part that extends below the lip and into the bait isn't as critical, because the water is hitting the top surface of the lip, so what's going on below isn't as critical.

Don't get me wrong, I try and get it straight, too, but I am not as worried about the underlip wire as I am about getting the actual line tie loop on the bait's true centerline.

I've been fortunate so far. My medium and deep running cranks, which have the line tie out on the lip, have worked out well. Knock on wood!!!

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Just found a timber bait still under construction equipped with such an above mentioned "omega clip" and shot some pictures .

The lip consists of 3mm thick Lexan , the wire pins and the omega clip are made of 1,5mm stainless steel welding wire , .........at final assembly these pins will be snipped off flush to body outline off course , prior to glueing them in one by one .

The lure blank is 5 1/4" long .

@ mark poulson

One more thing to add to your stats , Mark , ......amongst my recent bunch of lures receiving topcoats right now there are two baits , that I've probably messed up !

Made the same way as pictured in my post above , but somehow the belly slot was too narrow and/or not aligned well on the center lengthwise axis of the blank , .........as a result the lip was pushed a bit sideward by the springy force of the wire form whilst the glue was still curing , ....when I finally took notice at last it was too late , the epoxy glue had already bonded the lip entirely .

Still going to finish them , .........the flaw is clearly visible , but toweye tuning or maybe even doctoring on the lip's outline might get these lures to track true , ...I shall see !

.................so far for the "Metal Meister" , Mark :huh::lol: !

greetz , Dieter :yay:

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I feel your pain, Dieter.

I have a bait I made with a crooked bill because I left the line tie twist wire too long, and tried to force seat it when I set the lip. Of course, it moved. Grrrrr!!!!!

Now I drill an oversized and overdeep hole for the twist wire line tie under the lip, dry fit it several times until I'm sure it's not going to be under any strain, and then fill the hole and the lip slot with epoxy to set both the lip and the line tie in place. I cover the area next to the lip slot with blue tape, and use my finger, dipped in alcohol, to remove the epoxy squeeze out.

After I've gotten all the excess epoxy cleaned off, I recheck both the lip and the line tie to be sure they're centered.

Once that's set, I check again to be sure the line tie is centered. Now is the time to fine tune it if it's not.

Then I put blue masking tape around the line tie on top of the lip, so I can fill the drilled hole in the lip with epoxy, and then turn the bait on it's back, belly up, and lock both the line tie and the twist wire stem in place with D2T. I use my finger in alcohol to shape the epoxy around the twist wire. I've found that the twist wire doesn't have to be perfect in order for the bait to run true, and I haven't had it move when I've gotten bit.

It 'aint purdy sometimes, but it holds.

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