sdsaw Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 After I had made a reply to this post: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/21918-weedless-swimbait-head-mold/ I thought that it was a good enough idea to try on my own molds At this point, the mold modification is in it's early stages. I did a 3/4oz. cavity for the hook eye relocation only. I wanted to test for how a swim bait will track with the eye on the front of the jighead instead of back a little like the original is designed. If it tests okay, I will add a slot for a 1/8" fiber weedguard. We did do some testing on a few heads that I had poured using a 4" paddletail swimbait. It looked good to us so I will proceed to adding in the weedguard slot ^^^ This is the new location for the hook eye that I machined in the Do-it Style "9" Shad Head jig mold ^^^ These are Mustad32786BLN 60 deg. hooks in 4/0, 5/0 and 6/0 that I rebent to fit the 3/4oz. cavity. A Mustad 32886BLN 30 deg. will also fit with a more subtle bend but the before mentioned hook ends up being slightly longer which was a concern that I had with doing this mod to make a weedless swimbait jighead ^^^ This is how the hook lays in the mold before pouring I bent the hook until the shank is centered in the collar area ^^^ This is what I've done up to this point (test jigheads) made with a 4/0 and 5/0 hooks I will update this after adding the weedguard Thanks for looking Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCFish Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Scott, those look awesome...very curious to see how you modified the mold. Can't wait to see it with the weed guard. Thanks for posting this info... Hook forward like that makes it way more weedless. I've used arky and other style jig heads with swimbaits for the simple reason that the hook eye was at the front of the jighead. Makes a big difference for being weedless in saltwater. And most saltwater fish bite hard enough to lay down the weedguard and get hooked... Thanks again Scott... Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Way improved hook eye position for horizontal swimming IMO also. 3/4 oz. seems heavy for fresh water - what is your target application for this head? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsaw Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 ^^^ This is the type of cutter (ball endmill) that is used to make the eye cavity A CNC mill is programmed to cut a circle and the depth is a little over half the wire diameter per mold side. If the cutter diameter is smaller than the hook wire diameter, then you need to make two circle cuts, one to get the OD and one to get the ID ^^^ This is a collar and barb that was done on a CNC mill A ball endmill cutter was used for the collar and a flat faced endmill cutter for the barb I've seen guys drilling a hole for a weedguard in this head but not moving the eye to the tip This head will have both features Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsaw Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Way improved hook eye position for horizontal swimming IMO also. 3/4 oz. seems heavy for fresh water - what is your target application for this head? hawn, This head usually swims slightly down in it's original form but it is a proven design for me and does get bit. I had some concerns that it would start swimming "nose up" after moving the eye. It seems to swim level during the visual test using the first test heads Over here, these will be used in the saltwater around breakwaters, artificial reefs and kelp for any fish that might be around them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCFish Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 So Scott, I've got the basic garage tools and such, but no access to CNC machine. Is there any way to modify this mold without getting a hold of someone who works with CNC? I basically want the same position you did with the hook eye and then an added weedguard slot... So how difficult was it to bend the hooks properly? I've got quite a few of those hooks, but was just curious how you bent them... Thanks again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsaw Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 So Scott, I've got the basic garage tools and such, but no access to CNC machine. Is there any way to modify this mold without getting a hold of someone who works with CNC? I basically want the same position you did with the hook eye and then an added weedguard slot... So how difficult was it to bend the hooks properly? I've got quite a few of those hooks, but was just curious how you bent them... Thanks again... For the eye cavity, one of the guys here has good success by drilling a hole in the correct position and filling it with Permatex high temp silicone (orange stuff) then trimming it flat with a razor blade. The silicone will compress and seal around the eye when you close the mold. I'm not sure what can be done with the weedguard slot with basic tools. PM me if you need help with the mod I'm pretty sure that we are not too far away from each other Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsaw Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Forgot to add... The hook bending is not too hard. You may break one now and then. What I've found is not to try to bend the existing bend, but bend the straight part of the hook shank. I'm using needle nose pliers to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCFish Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Thanks Scott...appreciate the info. I'll shoot you a PM.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Some softer temper jig hooks can be bent at the eye stem elbow up to 30*, usually "classic" styles. The newer black nickel hooks being harder tempered pretty much all snap at the elbow, tho most can be shank bent like the "sdsaw" example. I've bent thousands of hooks to adapt for mold fits, & the only ones that shank snapped were 1/0 Gami 604s and certain brittle batches of Sickles. 8/0 & 9/0 heavy Mustads are a chore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythos Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Forgot to add... The hook bending is not too hard. You may break one now and then. What I've found is not to try to bend the existing bend, but bend the straight part of the hook shank. I'm using needle nose pliers to do this. Scott, that's an awesome looking mod you're doing to the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsaw Posted April 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2011 Hey guys, I finally got around to finishing the molds Added the eye cavities and a weedguard slot in the 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 1 1/2oz. cavities I set them up to use a variety of hook sizes However, there is a compromise with the position of the weedguard to hook point, depending on hook size. I set it up for the hook size that I thought would be best for each size ^^^ This is the 1/2oz with a 4/0 mustad 60 deg. 32786BLN The 1/2oz will accept a 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0 hook ^^^ This is the 3/4oz with an 3/0 Owner 90 deg. 5319 The 3/4oz will accept an Owner 3/0 5319 or 4/0, 5/0 and 6/0 Mustad 32786 ^^^ This is the 1oz with a 5/0 mustad 30 deg. 32886BLN The 1oz will accept a 5/0 Mustad 32886BLN 30 deg. or 6/0 and 7/0 32786 ^^^ 1/2oz with a 3/0 Mustad(top) and 3/4oz and a 3/0 Owner(lower) ^^^ 1oz with 5/0, 6/0 and 7/0 Mustads Notice how the weedguard is close to the hook point with the 5/0 ^^^ 1 1/2oz with 6/0 and 7/0 hooks These are the two sizes that this mold will accept. Hope you liked it and it gives you some ideas for your own mods. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madbasser Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Wow amazing work. Did u add the eye sockets? i don't see any of the jig heads with eye sockets in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsaw Posted May 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 Wow amazing work. Did u add the eye sockets? i don't see any of the jig heads with eye sockets in them. No plans to do eye sockets I'm not convinced that they make that much of a difference If I made molded in eye sockets, then I would have to add eyes to every one. If needed, I will add flat, stick on eyes and clear coat ...But, if someone wanted them on their own mold, it can be done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
