EironBreaker

A friend of mine gave me a piece of rod that was machined on the end to screw into the center of the hitch-hiker. Plugs the weed guard slot perfectly and you can slip the hitch-hiker over the hook so it is positioned perfectly every time. Nothing to clean up, just unscrew the rod and paint. A buddy of his owns a machine shop and cut it for me.

I've a 10 lb pot but really didn't like it much. It was nice to have a larger volume of lead ready to go but I hate the constant battle with dripping. I've also become so accustomed to pouring from a Hot Pot with my left hand, I really struggled to keep up the speed of pouring with the bigger pot. Works fine for molds that I don't paint like a weighted swimbait hook but when I paint immediately after pouring, it messes up my movements on the bench. I pour with weedguards in when I can because it saves time over redrilling and glueing. Any suggestions to keep the spout clean or cleaner if that is possible? I've used perfectly clean lead strips and still ran into the same problem. I do use some dirty lead that came in sheets from a X-ray office demo with a little wheel weight lead mixed in to harden it up a bit. I flux but there is always crude left in the pot. Thoughts?

Hey Casey, I was waiting to see if any board sponsors would like to reply to you. I think I can help you out if nobody else will. Send me an email at eisenbacher@sbcglobal.net with what you are interested in. Maybe I can get you what you need. Hope this isn't stepping on toes on the board but nobody responded to him for a day. If I'm going past the line, I'm more than happy to step back.

I've tried those type of skirt tubes, not my favorite and time consuming. If you want a cheap one of maybe a smaller diameter, go to the sewing dept of Wal Mart and buy a knitting needle. Cut the end off of it or knock the cap off and there you so. Same as the higher priced tool that is made for this. You can get different sizes. I prefer a small nosed hemostat pliers. I slip one collar onto the end, open it up and slip the skirt in to the desired distance. Mine are the curved style. You have to lay the skirt layers together, fold the skirt end in half and slide it in to the middle. Easy, faster and no need to wrestle with the collars on the tube.

Sorry, forgot to check back with this thread. Send me an email at eisenbacher@sbcglobal.net with your address. I've got more than that. I'll send you a dozen of each. If they work for you, we'll work something out later. Merry Christmas everyone!

I've modified many molds of mine to accept a flat-eye hook. Not hard to do. Does Do-It have a standard roundhead mold that you like? I could look at the way the standard eye is cut but I could machine it to accept the flat-eye if it is like most molds. Let me know if you have a picture of a mold you like. Maybe I could help you out. Matt

Can you send me an email at matte@leighenvironmental.com? I have a question about shakey head screw locks. Thanks! Matt Eisenbacher

I've got some clear, black and brown stashed in a box if I remember right. I think the brown are the smaller size and the rest are 1/8". How many are you looking for?

You can bend the eye of the 91768 to fit inside a 60 degree mold. The hooks aren't brittle like other brands and will not break. I've been doing this for some time to fit inside a football mold and haven't had a single problem. Just grab below the eye with a needle nose and make the proper bend. I'm sure if you did this several times, it would likely break but making one bend hasn't seemed to impair the hook. The bend is also inside the head so I'm sure that supports it as well. Many anglers really like this hook in a football jig.

I pour the wire into the head directly. I've used a coated wire before but the coating will melt/bubble during pouring and the wire can come out later while fishing. I use 7 strand wire, I don't remember off the top of my head what the size is or brand, I think it is 90 lb. I'll have to look when I get home tonight. To pour a single wire, I use a regular mold that has the fiber weed guard slot cut already. You can do this with any mold that takes a weed guard. To fill up the guard space, I use a section of electrical wire insulation that is 1/8" in outside diameter to fill the hole usually taken up by the weed guard. Pull out the electical wire and slide it over your cable section and place it into the mold with the end sticking out into the head cavity. Drop in your hook, close and pour. I dip the head directly into powder paint while it is hot after you slide off the wire "cover". Make sure the bottom end of the cover is flush with the head cavity and you will have a perfect pour each time. To do a double wire, cut off a section of cable and fold it over. I use a larger inside diameter insulation cover and slide both ends into the cover. I slide the hook inside the loop at the end and set into the mold. You will never be able to remove the cable from the head. With a single or double cable guard, they will usually be at the perfect angle but you can bend them to however you like them without any trouble, like if you want a V with a double cable. I trim to length with a strong shears. Good luck!

I've tied some custom skirt combo's on the Omega jig. The paint is textured and then dipped in a clearcoat for additional durability. Most of the hook eyes were sealed shut when I removed them from the package. The paint coating is similar to the Jewel football jig without the clear. The Columbia veined powder paint is more gold than black but the same texture.

Hey Red Shad, I can make you some buzz bait bodies or even sell you one of my used Do-It spinnerbait/buzzbait molds if it is one I can part with. I have several different head shapes to choose from. Drop me an email and I'll take care of you. eisenbacher at sbcglobal.net. I think I have a Mann's buzzbait stashed in my buzzbait pile that I can look at to match up to. Drop me a line, we'll get you hooked up.

I usually don't but you can if you'd like. The paint is flat but I don't think it matters to the fish on moving baits. We give them a little more credit than we likely should.

Sorry to be so slow. It is an acrylic paint in a flip top bottle. They just say craft paint. After baking, it is pretty darn tough. If I bump two heads together and get some on another bait by accident, it is very hard to scrape off after baking. Have to use a sharp knife and I manage to cut some of the powder paint away also. Just look in the craft section of Wal Mart and they have a bunch of it.

I use a plate glaze paint that comes in a small squeeze bottle and a Q-tip cut in half to dot eyes on. I can't remember if the paint is enamel or epoxy, I'll look when I go home for lunch and get you the brand. My wife bought it at Wal Mart. I powder paint the heads but have to make sure the paint is fully melted before applying the eye paint. A sweep through a flame takes care of this. This paint is cured in the oven just like the powder paint and very durable. I just use a plain black dot on light colored paint and a yellow for dark heads. Then I use a sharpie to make the center dot after the paint is cured in the oven on the yellow. Looks pretty good and is durable with little fuss. Just did some buzzbaits before coming to work this morning. You can go the other route and put stick on eyes and epoxy over them to make them stay for good.

Mix away. I buy glitter separately and add to certain colors to get effects without buying large amounts. Glitter doesn't melt. If the powder paint is the same kind, mixing will do what you want. You can't mix a vein with a smooth and expect to see the veining unless you add very little of smooth. I try to keep track of my combination % so if I get a good color, I can make it again.

If you are going to repeatedly paint heads with guards pre-poured, here's what I made so I can reuse them and it is cheap. I take 1/4 inch dowel and cut it down to lengths just longer than the guard. Drill a 1/8" hole down the center of it on a drill press and wobble it out a little so the guard will fit in easily. Take a big drill bit and make a funnel on one end so you can get the guard in. All done and you can reuse them for years. Guards come out perfectly straight every time.

Sounds good, we didn't need to pay the excise tax but if you'll ship them that will work for me. Send me an email with your address and I'll give you mine. Thanks, Matt Eisenbacher Eiron Breaker Lure Co

Hey Cadman, I got the SS samples from Mustang wire. They are the same as the old screw-locs without the hook. Not what we are looking for. I broke down and bought a small bag of Do-It from Bass Pro to get me by but will order 1000 from Barlows at some point. We tried. Would like to know who is making them for Do-It.

I'll split them with you. Send me an email to jigs@eironjig.com with your address when you get them in so I can send payment. Or did someone already say they would take them?

Thanks Cadman, I thought it was Hagen's but they must have just changed their website around. Didn't they used to have their catalog in a pdf format? I need the ones with the clip attachment. There is a place out in Ok called Mustang Wire, they make a SS like the Do-It but I've never called them about a clip on style. They likely make the screws for Do-It to repackage, I don't know. I tried the SS ones recommended from Do-It but had some come loose in the lead. It needs another bend in it to make sure it holds, the copper clip takes care of that. I've heard of them breaking off but I've never had it happen. Anyone else have that problem? I wonder if heating them at a high temp in the oven has something to do with it while setting the powder paint. Any thoughts?

I've forgotten who had the best price for hitch-hiker type screw locks, 1000 pk. It is a mail order company up north if I remember right but I can't come up with the name. Anyone remember?

I might be able to help you out. What sizes and hook brand/style are you looking for?

Here's what I needed here in Missouri: Employer Identification Number, 637 exemption number - use this so you don't pay exise tax twice on materials you buy, State business license I'm registered with the State and IRS. The State sends me the tax form to submit sales taxes collected from in-state sales on a quarterly basis. If you sell more or less determines how often you need to submit your collected State taxes. They also tell me the tax rate and if any changes occur to the rate. The excise tax is paid quarterly. The IRS sends me Form 720 to submit 10% of my quarterly sales with. The 10% is part of the sale price, just have to figure it in your price and out of your pocket. Not on top as a State sales tax would be. Once you get set up, it is pretty easy. I had a local IRS representative come to my production facilities (garage, LOL) and see how my manufacturing process worked. If you have questions, someone will be able to help you out within the Department. I'd recommend getting set up the right way, having the IRS working you over because you sold some lures isn't worth it in my opinion. Plus the FET goes towards our resources (at least I hope it does). I don't like to write the tax checks every quarter but yet it does give me a little satisifaction knowing I'm doing my part.

yep