Jig Man Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 I have gotten tired of painting eyes on my jigs so I decided to buy some different sizes of eyes and give them a try. I thought the 2mm would make good pupils for my round head white bass and crappie jigs. Since they were inexpensive I bought 1000 of that size. They have been a challenge to work with. I have tried several ways to pick them up and put them on jig heads. The best I have found so far is a small knife, using it to pick them up on the tip of the blade. I have also found that they are so small that the adhesive is often not enough to hold them in place when I brush epoxy over them. So what I am doing now is painting the head with a coat of clear hard as nails polish, quickly applying the eyes, letting it dry then putting on the epoxy. This has become time consuming and labor intensive. I'm glad I'm not trying to sell them as no one would want to pay what I'd have to have. If any of you guys have what you think would work better please share it with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippinfool Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 When I purchase eyes they are on cards. A few hundred per. I cut them so they are only four eyes wide. I put the head in a tying vise and use a pick in one hand and the card in the other. Just get them in place and press them on. I use hard as hull http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=743664&WT.srch=1&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=google|fly_Fly-Tying_general|USA&WT.z_mc_id1=sAGLYGQih&rid=20&pcrid=13084779258 it's similar to clear nail polish. Just quick swipe as I am not trying to cover the head or eyes just keep them in place. After 30 heads or so hard as hull is dry and I can cover with the two part. It does take some time but you will get faster at it. I can do 6-9 heads in 1 min. I also designed and had made an eye press. It works on almost all the heads I use and gives me a flat spot. This makes putting eyes much faster. Make sure the heads and eyes are warm, it just works out better. This is a great cheap pick #615 http://www.barlowstackle.com/Threading-and-Dubbing-Tools-P1365C176.aspx It's stiff and makes quick work with eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 When you say pick, is it that thing that they call a bodkin? I have already decided to make my round heads more aspirin shape before I paint anymore that are getting these kinds of eyes. Thanks for the suggestions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 When I told my wife about this she pulled out a set of eye glasses screw drivers. One is itty bitty and may work a lot better than my knife. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) Jig Man, I've tried over the years several things to peel 2d and 3d eyes off the paper rolls or cards. What I found easier for me was apair of tweezers you use to take out slivers. If you are going to buy them get the ones that have the really pointy ends. This helps in digging the tips between the paper and the eye.. The tweezers then help in holding and positioning the eye on the jig. You can buy these at any drug center. I believe I paid around $7. As far as getting eyes to hold on before clearcoating, I get all of my eyes from WTP. They are a little more expensive, however their adhesive is much better than most any eyes I've used out there. Just my thoughts on it. Below is a pic of the tweezers. Edited December 17, 2012 by cadman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I use the tip of an exacto knife- just getting the tip under the center of the eye and lifting it up I place the eye,centered in the indentatuion of the eye socket and press dwon w/ w/ thump,sliding the knife out. I use C.S. water base epoxy on plugs and spinner baits and Sally Hanson's hard as nails for non-epoxy applications. I have used a very small dot of gel cynoacrylate but this operation is tricky and can be sticky or you end up w/ eyes stuck to your fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I use a lot of the 3/32" eyes and Barlows seem to be the only place I find them. I do the same as Cadman, I have a pair of tweezers but mine have slanted points, it works well as I can get the eys off the card and also hold them in place. WTP is expensive but they are the way to go as they do have good adhesive, to give you an example I paid less for 100 1/8" eyes from another company than I do for 40 WTP but it wasn't worth it, in order for the other eyes to stick I have to put a drop of super glue down and then put the eye in place because if I just stick the eye on it either falls off or it will move when I apply clear to it and it takes way to much time putting eyes on when you have to glue each one just to keep it on. Try the twezzers, you'll be glad you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I agree w/ the WTP eye adhesive- I still have eyes from others that require additional glue-what a P.I.A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSC Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Just .02 cents worth ... I use the knife point, WTP eyes and I install the eyes before the final cure. On the delux or special order I use the epoxy coat ... seems to hold ok with out epoxy __ which is what I fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Sorry for the highjack, but what does "WTP" stand for? thanks, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Sorry for the highjack, but what does "WTP" stand for? thanks, Ben WTP is WTP inc., it is a company that make holographic tape products. I believe the company was called Witchlight Tape Products but then just shortened it to WTP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippinfool Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 When you say pick, is it that thing that they call a bodkin? I have already decided to make my round heads more aspirin shape before I paint anymore that are getting these kinds of eyes. Thanks for the suggestions. Yes a bodkin.......I keep my finger on top of the eye and press it on to the bodkin. Place it on the head and slide the bodkin away from the head, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted December 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 I tried all of our tweezers and none of them work. I took my wife's eye glasses screw driver and turned it into a bodkin. It is working pretty well. It will have to do until I get to Springfield and check out BPS and the local fly shop to see what they have in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 I buy beeswax (you can get it at any hardware store). I melt the wax with a lighter and mold it onto the end of a toothpick. The wax is very hard but is also tacky and it picks the eyes up very easily. The eyes that have a very good adhesive I transfer to anything with a teflon coating so the eyes will pick up easily with the wax. I just put them on a hot plate. I use an exacto knife to break the bond of they eye with the backing they come on. I have no problem picking eyes up and positioning them this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atijigs Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 I just use a two sided old dental intstrument. I filed the tips to points. Scoop up an eye spin it, scoop up the other eye. Transfer the eyes to the jig. The process only takes seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 I buy wiggle eyes from Michaels craft store, I use a pair of forceps and Duco cement. I take a piece of tin foil and put a spot of Duco on it grab an eye with the forceps tap it in the cement and place it on the jig. I do all the rights first give it 5 minutes and then I do the lefts. If the glue gets hung up on the tips quick wipe with paper towel and they're clean. This is the first time I'm trying them but so far none have fallen off and the big test is this spring when I use them for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
