From Fg-30 To Wire

[Painter1]

I have a football jig mold that I would like to use with twin wire guards instead of the FG-30 fiber.  Any ideas how to do this?

[Jig Man]

When I went from FG30 to a 90# leader I filled in the wg cavity with JB Weld then drilled to the proper size.  I recently redrilled to go back to FG 30.

[smallmouthaholic]

Wire guards will eventually come loose and fall out w/o L-bends @ the bottom

[Painter1]

You put JB weld in the mold?

[Jig Man]

You put JB weld in the mold?

Yes in the weedguard cavities and filled the hook eye holes with it as I drilled new ones to accomocate the flat eye hooks.  I decided to go back to fg 30 so I drilled out the jb from the wg slots.

[smalljaw]

There are 2 ways to do this, the first is to use a rubber skirt collar, you can do 2 wires, I have done it a lot. Put the wires with the L-bends as Smallmouthaholic has mentioned, in the skirt collar and line it up in the weedguard slot and pour, you may get a little smaoke but not much, you should get quite a few pours before you need another collar. The second way is JB Weld High Temp Epoxy Putty, what I do is make a cast with no hook or weed guard so when I put the putty I can get it exactly flush with the weed guard opening. Once you finished with the putty you can leave it go overnight to cure and then cut slots for the wire with a dremel or you can press the wires in and make the slots before hand, the only thing about that is when you do that, have a razor blade handy as the putty will come up a bit and not flush in the weed guard slot. The putty will stay in by itself for around 20 pours and then some Teflon tape will be needed to hold the inserts in but this will keep you from having to drill out the JB Weld if you ever want to go back to the fiber guards.

[smallmouthaholic]

There is a third way that works for the rest of your life . Although somewhat expensive,custom molds w/ wire guard slots produce the best,long term results.I'm old school and firmly believe to do it right the 1st time and you'll save money in the long run.I use a double L-bend on all wires-single and/or double. They must me able to withstand repeated adjustments( width and forward positioning) and bass abuse w/o loosening or pulling out.

I personally believe,through experience. they are far superior to fiber weedguard for various reason-

 

1- they do not inhibit positive hooks sets as do fiber guards.

2- unlike fiber guards ,they can be positioned forward for excellent resitance to rocky substrate and submerged wood.

3-flexible wire guards,whether single or double, hook fish better vs. stiff wire.

4- fiber guards positioned close to (even barely touching the hook point) are snag masters working through submerged wood.

5- powder painting is a breeze w/ wire- no laborious tim e spent using  teflon pins and glue in fiber guards.

6- double wire guards can be somewhat time consuming to set-up in a multi-cavity mold, but the end justifies the means I.M.O. and experience.

 

I 've made and sold 1,000's of fiber guard jigs over the years but  the majority of jigs now sold have wire guards that accept single and double wire guards for performance and durability .

 

I venture to say if Do-it molds made a good double wire  guard( that didn't flash and poured each time) for the beloved Snootie jig and others, there would be a stampede to obtain these molds

 

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e133/smallmouthaholic/UnderwaterpicofthePredatorclaw02-2_zps83a89f08.jpg

 

Edited for spelling

Edited November 26, 2013 by smallmouthaholic

[mark poulson]

For us hobby guys, could we use an L bent piece of heavy fluorocarbon line and set it in epoxy, so we can use the jig heads that already have the weed guard hole?  I realize it would take some experimenting to come up with a jig to hold the line in place while the epoxy sets, but I really line the idea of a soft, split dual weed guard.

Maybe setting it in bondo, and adding a drop of super glue to make the bondo stronger after it sets, would be easier than epoxy, or the epoxy putty some builders use.

Edited November 26, 2013 by mark poulson

[smallmouthaholic]

Mark- mono is not adjustable as is flexible wire.I'm sure a hobby guy can spend a great deal ok time figuring it out w/ quick set,JB weld.Of course there will always be caveats when heating and powder painting aside from melting the mono weedguards.

Edited November 26, 2013 by smallmouthaholic

[mark poulson]

I know you're right.

I'm just sitting here, drinking coffee, and reading what real bait makers do, and kind of day dreaming.

I know I'll try it now.  I can't help myself!  Hahaha

[EironBreaker]

Here is the easiest way I've found to pour two cable wires into any mold made for fiber guards.  Get a short piece of insulated wire, 1/2 to 1 inch - whatever fits nice in the guard slot.  I forget what size is right, 12 or 14.  Put it in your mold to see if it fits snug.  Strip the copper wire out of the center.  Take your two pieces of cable and slide it up in the insulated wire sleeve and then lay into your mold.  Make sure the cable wires come out of the sleeve and lay across the head cavity to hold it well.  Make sure your sleeve end lays right at the edge of the mold head cavity so you don't have to trim,  Put your hook in there and close the mold.  Closing the mold will tighten the sleeve around the wires and hold them in place.  Pour and clip the wire guards to length.  Spread them out.  You can just pour a single wire guard just the same.  I think I use 90lb seven strand wire.  And you don't have to modify the mold, can pour fiber guards as well.  If you get a little flashing, just trim it.  Sometimes you get a little lead up in the plastic sleeve if it warms up after pouring several.  Good luck!

[CarverGLX]

Originally sent this as a private message but thought that several will benefit from this and don't plan on making a living making baits anytime soon. If anyone has listed this as a method before I apologize and I'm not trying to steal your thunder. So here goes:

 

Whenever I first started pouring jigs I did so because I wanted wire guard jigs and there weren't a lot of options. I tried several different methods of putting in wire guards..... many of which are listed above.

One day I got tired of guards falling out with the various methods and decided I would come up with a way to have the wire/cable around the hook to prevent this from happening. The insulated coverings worked but were aggravating and stretched, burned..... So I tried to come up with another collar idea to keep this from happening. I needed a stiffer more durable tube.... something metal. It hit me... the metal sleeves used on the cable in the first place!

 

These sleeves are perfectly sized to two strands of the cable and are made of steel. The 90# cable that others are using is what I generally use and fits perfectly and tightly into a size 4 sleeve. I sometimes also use 135# cable for flipping jigs which will fit into a size 5 sleeve. 100 of these cost around $5 and they are indefinitely reusable.

 

To make this happen cut a length of wire (4-5 inches) and double it over forming a loop. Insert the tag ends into the steel leader sleeve and adjust the loop to what will be left in the head. Run the loop over the hook shank and pour. Never get it out without remelting. Wires also generally sit side by side in the mold instead of front to back.

 

The football mold that uses the FG-12 guards may have to be slightly modified to do this. I am away from my pouring stuff at the moment or I would check mine. Go almost into the mold using an 1/8" bit and a drill press. Or an easier quicker option is to close the mold on a bit with a hand drill and a partner and slowly apply tension to the handles to close the mold on the bit held at the depth you want it. I suggest as close as you can get to the cavity without going in. this keeps the wires tighter and prevents much flashing.

 

Other important tips:

-remove sleeve and separate wires before powder paint curing

-clean powder paint off wires before curing with your fingers

-Trim wires evenly to about the barb of the hook or a little shorter.

-Larger size hooks take heaver cable to get the weedguard effect. Bending forward and bringing wires together helps too.

!!!!!---Burn coating off the wire that will remain inside the head as it will create a gas bubble when pouring.... hollow pours.

-you can also burn all the coating off a strand of wire to get a lighter flex wire.

!!!!!---- Wear a respirator when burning off coating. Burning vinyl isn't very healthy.

-Hold the spout slighly off the mold (still touching but not pressed tight)  and slightly tilted when pouring to avoid flash and partial pours.

 

Hope this helps and give it a try. Wire guards are worth the effort.

[CarverGLX]

One more....

 

If you wanted to turn that into a hidden eye mold in the process (not really as great since do-it has one now ).....

-Lay a hook in the mold in the opposite direction it would normally go (hook eye is now at the bottom of the mold instead of the top). This gives you more room between the hook eye and the bend in the 1/2 and 3/4 sizes. The eye, depending on your hook, will be all or mostly inside the head. Smoke the mold and use a wire to mark the center of the hook eye on the mold face. Using a small nail or punch mark the spot on the side of the cavity. Repeat for the other side. Use a small 1/32 inch bit and drill through the mold to the outside. Drill back toward the center of the mold from the outside with a 1/8" bit. This will fit a basepin which is roughly the size of most hook eyes or slightly smaller. If you wish to use larger eyed hooks adjust accordingly.

 

Countersink a basepin into the hole 1/2 the width of the hook eye from flush with the face of the mold. Epoxy in place. Repeat for the other side. Now you have a hidden eye jig.

 

Place hook back in mold and lay a wire at the angle a weedguard should go. Close mold. Hit with hammer until closed. Your weedguard is marked. Enlarge the mark with a triangle file on both sides of the mold and drill in the method described in the above post for a weedguard mod.

 

Presto. Hidden eye football with wireguards.

Edited December 6, 2013 by CarverGLX

[Darkman]

take a peek on the swim jig post...bass100 has a pretty slick way of adding a wire guard ....I am not able to post the link cause I suck lol

[sdsaw]

You can fill the existing weed guard channel with high temp RTV silicone (overfill, then trim with a sharp razor blade after it cures.

Lay the wire on the silicone and close the mold.

The silicone will compress and pinch the wires.

Silicone is easily removed when you want to switch back