tony simpson Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 I am make some rat swimbaits. What do yall recommend for the joint, two screw eyelets connected together or a screw eyelet with a pin through it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) Personally I prefer screw eyes connected together. More specifically, I like to make the screw eyes myself from stainless wire so I can control the gap between body sections. For me this has been a lot less finicky than using a pin configuration and it seems to have less chance of binding. On a minnow bait, I use 2 pairs of interconnected screw eyes on the joint and I can recess the heads of the screws into the body segments to make an unobtrusive joint. I'm sure other guys prefer a pinned joint but it seems to me that if you're working with wood, that offers increased chances for water intrusion. Edited July 20, 2015 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrybait Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I agree with BobP and the joint is very strong. It is my favorite hinge too. Down side is that once it is epoxied into position, there is no disassembly or adjustment capability to speak of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I use a single screw eye and pin. I make the joint deep enough that the tail section can't rotate, even if I make the joint with more gap, for better action on the tail. I like the screw eye because it lets me adjust the joint for more or less action. Since I don't have a hook in the tail section, I use a .072 X 1 1/4" screw eye, and a sst bicycle spoke for the pin. If I wind up having problems with the eye bending, I'll switch to the .092 eyes, but, for now, the .072 is working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Mark, I'm assuming your bait is fashioned from PVC as usual? You have no worries about the pin shaft causing leaks into the bait because PVC is non-absorptive. Guys working in wood do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) Yeah, that is a good point Bob. In fact, it is one of the major reasons I switched to PVC, first for my jointed swimbaits and then for almost everything I make. But I am spoiled, because water intrusion is no longer an issue for me. Have you ever tried epoxying in a screw eye, so you could still adjust the joint but the epoxy would make a waterproof plug in the wood bait? Edited July 21, 2015 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Mark, I epoxy a screw eye from each of the two pairs into one side of the joint and then finish the the lure including topcoat. I drill 2 holes in the other section, including countersink recesses and then epoxy the other ends of the screw eye pairs in to finish the bait. That's the point at which I set the gap by pushing the screw eyes in to a depth that I want the gap to be. Pretty simple. Since I use hand wound screw eyes, don't know if I could ever unscrew one out of a cured epoxy bed but that's academic since having 2 pairs of screw eyes in the joint would prevent me from doing that anyway. I've never tried to unscrew an epoxied hand wound screw eye from a bait and suspect the wire would bend before I could break it loose. On the other hand, I've never had one ever fail over many hundreds of installations, so you get what you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Bob, I was talking about actual store-bought screw eyes, to give you the ability to move them in and our by rotating them if you want to adjust a joint. I was just curious if you, or anyone else, had tried it in a wooden bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 That would work easily on a joint that uses a single pair of screw eyes, but how would you unscrew them if the joint has 2 pairs of screw eyes? I guess you'd have to pry one of the screw eyes of each pair apart to separate the joint, adjust the depth, then try to force them closed again in the very restricted space between the segments. Possible? Yes, but....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 I was thinking of the screw eye/hinge pin joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony simpson Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Thanks for the information. I have one more question. I have seen two screw eyelets connected together but they are bigger than .092 that Lure Parts or Jan's have. Do you know where these can be found in stainless steel? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
