cadman

Hey John, Good info, I never heard of slow willows. Learn something new every day.

Just my personal opinion, but I would not use rolled stainless steel wire. I have always had bad luck when it comes to keeping in straight. You can buy straight pieces at McMaster Carr. Also why not buy pre-bent, as it will be more consistent from spinnerbait to spinnerbait, Unless you want a custom size wire. As far as slow roll willow, maybe some one else has heard of this, but I have not, with that said, if you put on a good ball bearing swivel, even the cheapest of blades will spin when slow rolled. JMO.

Mark the 730 hook by itself is a bronze hook and will rust quickly. If you can find them a 730BP is a much better hook for salt water. You can also use Mustad #32786BLN (EC equivalent L786BP). If you want an EWG hook then you can use EC L111BP. So here is the terminology. Eagle Claw.......BP stands for Black platinum or at one time black pearl finish. This finish is similar to Mustads BLN and these finishes are a much better non-corrosive finish Mustad.............BLN stands for Black Nickle finish. The only other hook that would be more corrosive resistant would be a cadmium/tin plated hook. These hook numbers are EC413CAT and Mustad 34184-DT. These are made for saltwater fishing. I only have the Mustad 34184-DT in a 6/0. Although this hook is too big for the biggest cavity in that mold, I am confident that a 5/0, 4/0 or a 3/0 will fit in there nicely.

Yep that is the same color I was referring to. I couldn't think of the name. Thank You.

I looked up the color you mentioned, and it looks like fishingskirts.com's solid brown. Now you have to understand that everyone's monitor color images are different. So don't hold me to it. Your best bet is send a sample to fishingskirts.com and they will match a skirt for you. Plain and simple. No-one here is going to match it for you without seeing the item you want to match. Also I have never heard of a color called "Cola" could be a fancy name for brown.

Mike, Here is a place that sells to the hobbyist as well and they have very good prices. He may have what you want. Call them up and talk to them. They are right in my backyard (not literally). I have bought many items from them in the past. Here is the link. http://www.oharespring.com/Tackle_Hardware_Catalog.pdf Also for guys looking for some good prices on wireforms as well, they have a wi9de selection of products, also they do custom runs if wire and springs.

Well, thanks for the info. Problem is I'm one of those guys that when I get a new toy, I start using it for everything. Unfortunately I will probably start vacuum sealing everything in the house. Now you did it, costing me more money.

I also heat my hooks in winter time. My go to recipe is an old black teflon pan and a 100 watt light bulb with a reflector shining directly on the hooks. The teflon pan is irrelevant to anything, but the black inside conducts heat, and those hooks can get pretty hot. There are a lot of tricks of the trade to this pouring business.

Anyone have any of these hooks in 5/0 and 6/0. I need about 12 of each. I just placed an order to Shorty's and the order I'm working on is a one time thing. If you do please PM me and we can work something out monetarily or trade. Thanks in advance.

Do you have a Do-It mold model number so we can give you the correct information? That would help.

Slammingjack, I know for a fact, that anytime you have a small Aberdeen hook like a 570, there will never be a pin in there to hold the hook eye in place. I don't have a pin in my mold (or any mold that has an Aberdeen hook) and I have over hundred molds, many with the Aberdeen style hook. There would be know way to put a pin in there that small to fit inside a hook eye for those style of hooks, your mold (jme-7-a1). Now on the other mold that one doesn't have one either, mine is the same as yours also. Actually they make the bored out hole in the mold to fit the outside of the hook diameter, and I have never had any problems with these molds with lead seeping in the hook eye and filling. So the way your mold cam in is the way it has been made for quite awhile.

If you are referring to a vacuum sealer. Well dang I've never thought of that. That would sure be the ticket for me, might be a little expensive investment for my use though. But I like that. Why didn't I think of that.

I keep mine in a tightly sealed container as well, and then in a zip lock bag. They stay shiny easily for a year, but by that time 6 months into the year, I have used them up. Exactly what smallmouthaholic said, no air no oxidation. Been doing this for about 5 years now.

Mine is set for 7-8. I don't check my temp either, because I don't seem to have any problems with it.

I have two sets one for painting and one set for pouring. No they do not wear out. The ones for pouring get really dirty, but I've used mine for about 6 years so far and no problems at all. Why don't you do what I do and glue them in by sticking the non-fused end in first. This way the strands don't get splayed out. Also if you do it the way I do it, and it is too tight, you can take a couple of strands off. Once they are glued and dried, take a pair of side cutters, and cut the fused end off. I've always done mine this way. Don't know if it works for you, but it is a lot easier for me to put in the weedguards this way. Just a thought.

Like mentioned above, there are several ways to make them. I've done the mushroom head along with the way smalljaw makes them. It all depends which way you want them and how you are going to fish them. You can also add a wire flexible weedguard, which I had a request for. The choice is yours.

I totally agree with you. The wire form only holds a spinning blade not the hook. I would bet, that if you go thinner, the eyelet would never open up. Even at .030, that is pretty thick material to bend. My problem now comes from the fact, that if i go to a thinner wireform, I'll be back to the problem of having too much slop in the mold where the wireform eye sits, causing lead to seep in. So, if I use the same wire diameter, all is good, if I go thinner, then I might have to fill some gap in the mold. I'll keep working on this, when I get some time.

Chris, I like the looks of your jigs. No mine does not fit in both directions, and yes I can modify the slot that holds the wireform to accept the wireform both ways. With that said, if I modify the slot and make it bigger to allow installing the wireform in both directions, I run the risk of having lead fill in the wireform eye. I don't want to do that, because I don't want to be cleaning lead from the wireform eye. So I am fine with the way it is, no big deal for me.

I have had some stock samples sent to me last week. The samples I got were larger in diameter, and also the leg that keeps the blade was shorter as well. I have not had a chance to talk to the manufacturer, as this is my busy season, and I am swamped with orders. I will try to follow up on this, this coming week. I am also looking into a reducing pin, which I think I finally can get them cheaper.

It's really no big deal to me. The mold pours fine for me the way Do-It designed it. Yes quality is slipping on lots of items in this world.

I'm thinking, that there is such a variation in the molds now, that you happen to get a mold that the wireform fits both ways. Like I mentioned above, Do-It told me that it was designed for the opening in the wireform to be in the back. I guess if I would have designed it, I would have made it in the front and/or multi-purpose. If you made it this way, people then can put it whichever way they want. I also noticed that as the years go on, their molds are less accurate and less polished. I have some molds that have little dimples in the casting, so when you pour, it shows up in the head. This is usually not a problem, as you can grind this out of the mold. I guess, if they need to keep the cost down, everything can't be perfect. Do-It is definitely not going to start machining their molds.

Do you have this pot? If you do, how do the standard Do-It molds work? Will the bottom guides hold or help support a standard Do-It mold? I do like the way it looks, and the price is very attractive.

I know of only one person on this site. I have a customer that is looking for a spincaster to make jigs for him. Is there anyone else here that does this for a living or a hobby or know of someone that does. If so please post your name or PM me, and I will pass it along to my friend.

Very good tutorial. The problem is many guys don't have a drill press, along with a drill press vice and, many guys don't know what an end mill is. Note: Guys on this forum don't take my remark as personal, I don't want you to think that I am questioning anybody's knowledge. But I am sure that there are a lot of guys that are not handy. School Master, you must have been in the trades as I currently am an engineer and understand what you are doing. I myself do not want to make these, as I am way too busy. Also since I am a perfectionist, if I offer these to guys on my website, these have to look like something someone would want to buy. I am not criticizing your work, as many fixtures and quick fixes I make for myself are functional, but very crude. I do like your idea though.

Guys, this is an old thread, and I've solved my dilemma back in 2007. I just replied to a guy that had a question about wireform wire diameter. I didn't want you guys to think I'm ignoring your replies.