cadman

phillip, The answer to your question, is yes you can pour a different lead composite to get a lighter jig on a bigger head.

Tom, Hawnjigs gave you some very good advice. This is the info I can add to that. I have almost every common mold Do-It has. The football mold you have is not meant for a heavy wire hook. That mold is meant for majority of the aberdeen hooks on the market, this includes EC 570, Mustad 32756, Matzuo Sickles, Mustad 32746 and Gamis 114. There may be more. I know that all of the hooks I mentioned will fit that mold. If you want to PM me with your e-mail I can check all the hooks by hook size and which cavity it will fit. It will take too long to post here. Also if you use an aberdeen hook then yes it will pull open. The original aberdeen hooks were meant for that reason, so if it got hung up, the hook would open and you would get your jig back, then rebend it and continue fishing. With that said any other heavier hook you want to put in that mold will not fit and the mold will have to be modified. On another note, if you want to use a heavier hook, then you should be using any of these (3) football jig molds: FBB-3H-AF, FBB-4H-AFM and FBB-3M-AFM. They are meant for that purpose, and you can usually put in 1 size up or 1 size down in each cavity to adjust to your fishing needs. Hook sharpness is another factor. Although I think there was better quality control in years past, in my opinion Mustad Ultra-Points, are a very affordable and a sharp hook out of the box. Some will swear by Gamis and some will never use eagle Claw. There are pros and cons to everything, and then there is cost of the hooks. Gamis usually are at least twice the price of Mustad hooks. With all said and done at least now you have some good info on how to go about buying hooks and what fits what.

Hybrideye, PM me your e-mail, I can show you some jigs with a gray head pattern or shad color done in powder. Also I have about 100 colors of powder so I can give you some idea on how to obtain different patterns with powder paint.

I take the brush and squeeze out all of the D2T and then I clean it in lacquer thinner. Once you clean it don't leave the brush in the lacquer thinner. The lacquer thinner is too strong for the cheap brushes and will melt the bristles. Once I clean the brush I just dry it with a paper towel and then let it air dry. I can use a cheap brush about 8 times before the bristles start to curl. You may want to try acetone as well. Hope this helps.

Brendan, Here are several things you can do depends on how much time you want to spend. #1...Smalljaws answer to using a smaller eye diameter or moving it down is the easiest and quickest. #2...You can take the flat stick on eye with the backing on and take it between yoor thumb and fore finger, and squeeze slowly to deform the eye concave. You will see when your done the eye will be bent a little. Do not smash it with your fingers as you will put a crease in the eye. #3...You can almost use anything to make eyes if you are going to seal them with D2T. You can use colored elect'l tape for the eye and the pupil, you can also use thin plastic holograph ribbon, which will definitely conform to the eye and then put in a black pupil. On anything that doesn't have a self adhesive back, you can use spray on glue or buy thin double sided tape. You can use anything to make eyes, however all of this is time consuming......BTW nice colored jig is that Copperhead?

Brendan, The 9/32 flat eyes should work fine on a 5/8 oz banana jig. There is plenty of flat surface for the eyes to stick. You do not need to heat the jig. Stick the eye on the painted surface and apply your D2T. Now if you are trying to roll the flat eye over a sharper edge, the eye will start to delaminate from the painted surface.

During work days at 9:00 am, 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm. Then at 6:00 pm at home and at 10:00 pm. I think I need a 10 step withdrawal program.

As far as I know lead is the third heaviest metal not produced in a lab with a atomic weight of 207. Plutonium is #1 with an atomic weight of 244 and #2 is Uranium at 238. So I gueass no there is nothing you can add safely to lead to make it heavier.

I'm a sheet metal design engineer and a CNC turret and laser programmer. Buying a cad system to do small projects at home is not practical. I use Solidworks, and I don't know of a cheap 3D cad software that you could use to accomplish what you want. Delw hit the nail on the head. There are so many variables to consider. There is the cost of the software mine is about $7000.00 per year, then the updated yearly maintenance agreement about another $3000. Now you have to learn the cad software and no you are not going to design baits after a 2 week course. The course is a basic training course to show you commands and how the system works. I would say if you have had any prior cad experience on another 3d cad software than you could be somewhat proficient at it in a year. If you have no idea about 3d cad design and know nothing about radii, fillets or trigonometry than add another year with some one teaching you daily. Now that's the cad design side. Now you have to work with the Cam side and a machinist, unless you are one, to know the ins and outs of what the machine and the machinist can do. That's a whole different ball game. Just because you design it doesn't mean it can be made, or it can be made but it would be too cost prohibitive. I have been in design for 30 years and I design my own molds for spinnerbaits and jigs for myself. I still have to consult with machinists, since machining isn't my specialty. Not to discourage you, but everything can be done if you have the time and the money. If you have the money it's easier to work with a machinist and have him design everything around his capabilities and your design.

Dave, Welcome to TU. You will find that I spend majority of my time in the jig and spinnerbait section. I've been pouring and painting going on about 7 years. A lot of trial and error and R&D with about 100 different color powder paints. I do multiple colors up to 6 + a glitter coat and a clear coat............If you have any questions ask away guys are very friendly here.

This is the answer I received years ago from hook manufacturers and some fishing guides. Many if not at least 90% of the hooks were regular eye. The problem then arose that when guys started to drag and bounce these jigs across rocks and debris in the lake the line would get frayed and cut up because it would rub against rocks. So then they developed the flat eye hook. This hook sits high on a jig and it is turned 90 degrees. So when the jig is dragged on the bottom it will not come in contact with the rocks and the line will not get cut or frayed and it will not weaken the line. Believe it or not this makes a lot of sense, as I use flat eye football jigs in very rocky waters and never had issues with line breaking. This is the story I've gotten. Maybe others have another answer. I would like to hear as well.

Thanks for a great site Jerry and keeping TU current and going. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Happy Thankgiving to all of the TU family....................Ted(Cadman)

Netman, I have a list that I can e-mail you, instead of me writing everything down. PM me your e-mail and I will e-mail it to you.

Talk to Charles and go to his website at My link

My 1st choice would be Devcon 2 Ton (D2T) 30 minute. My 2nd choice would be Envirotex lite (E-tex). BTW welcome to TU

Nathan, Congratulations to you and Debbie on your new granddaughter. Sorry this is soooooooo late. I just started to read some of the other threads in other forums when I came across yours.

Well, just an update. I ordered some hook samples and they came to me with-in 3 days, like was promised. No BS, sad stories or excuses. Boy was I a happy camper. Also I'm sure many of you got the new post card in the mail of Stamina's new ownership, and their 10% discount by Dec 31st. A friend of mine ordered some items most of the stuff was in stock, and they explained that the other items would be in , in several days. They are still replenishing their stock from the last owner. So far so good, it looks like they are trying to make every effort to gain customer confidence back..............We'll see.

i sent you a PM. it said your EMAIL was private... thanks Richard Richard PM me your e-mail and I'll get you info later tonight.

ddl, There is no secret technique. I will agree with the others. Vinyl is the best if you want single colors. The only problem is the smell and you can't do multi-colors with vinyl paint. I use up to six colors. Since the smell bothers me, I use powder paint. If painted and cure correctly, it will not chip off. I lose more jigs before I worry about paint chipping off. Also you can clear coat your jigs and blades with a powder clearcoat or epoxy if you want them to last longer. If you're interested I can show you some pics of epoxy coated jigs. PM me your e-mail

Richard, Do-It has redesigned their screw locks. The new ones are much better than the old ones. If you want I can post a pic later or send me a PM with your e-mail as I'm headed off to work now. As far as the mold goes I have all three of the shakey head molds except the tip-up mold. I have their standard tip-up mold and it has some issues which I can explain to you in depth in an e-mail.

Hope you didn't get burned too badly. I always wear safety glasses, face shield and long sleeves. I also try to wear gloves, but sometimes they are a pain to deal with. Since I'm right handed I wear a leather glove on my left hand (the one that holds the mold), and latex or a nitrile glove on my right.

Brendan, If you are starting a new day with a cold pot and waiting for the lead to warm up and get hot then yes all three of my pots leak. First of all you have to be there and watch when the flow starts to do this, so you can catch it in time. #1. Always have a small can or two nearby to catch any lead that drips or starts to pour out. #2 When the lead starts to heat up it heats up from the bottom up, so your plunger will be tight in the lead at the top and looser at the bottom. As soon as you start to see the lead start dripping and then pouring out (before it is completely melted), take a hammer hand or a piece of small pipe and keep tapping the plunger rapidly on the top to stop the flow. You will have to hit it on the hard side, but don't whack it to the point of breaking anything. You will see the lead will stop flowing. Then just wait for the rest of the lead to melt. I hope this answers your question

I personally use one for a 55 gal aquarium. It may be overkill, but I got the air when I need it. Hope this helps.

BTW welcome to Tackle Underground. PM me your e-mail and I will get it out to you.

Bob P, I agree with you. The best thing I've always liked about Stamina, was that if I wanted a couple of sample hooks that they sold, they would mail me the samples no charge. I've yet to see other tackle companies do that. Yes you have to sponsor them, but with all the money I've spent at other places Stamina and Shorty's Hook Sales are the only ones that will do that for me. With me constantly buying molds and trying to see if certain hooks fit in certain molds that is a big plus for me. I hope they continue that tradition.