Topwater wire bending help

[obxbasser]

I am just starting making my own wire through topwater  prop baits. I am looking for a tool or technique that will help in making the final eye on the wire  bending process. Thanks for any help and advice!!!

[Hillbilly voodoo]

I have a commercial tackle maker that works 

round nose pliers work

a nail in a board and two pairs of pliers works too

 

[whitaker201]

I make my first loop with round nose pliers. Then I have a jig to make the rest of the bends.

[mark poulson]

6 hours ago, obxbasser said:

I am just starting making my own wire through topwater  prop baits. I am looking for a tool or technique that will help in making the final eye on the wire  bending process. Thanks for any help and advice!!!

If you post this question in the Wire Baits Forum I think you'll get a lot more replies.  Those folks really know wire bending.

[JD_mudbug]

I put a rivet on the wire, super glue/epoxy the rivet stem in the body) to prevent wearing on the lure body, put on an LPO disc washer or a bead on the wire for a bearing, put on prop, then another bead  (sometimes I will put 2 beads on here- see below) , make a loop with round pliers or a nail in a vise, when making the loop leave a small gap between the loop and the last bead, put the looped part of wire vertically in vise,  use vise grips or needle nose to grab tag end of wire, wrap the tag end around the main shaft of wire working from the loop back towards the lure body, wrap until desired tightness, clip off the remaining tag end.

The extra bead is a precaution. I use a hollow metal bead for this. If I wrap the wire too tight and the prop doesn't spin, I cut off the extra bead with side cutter pliers. Once I got the hang of it, the extra bead wasn't necessary. Instead of the extra bead, you could make the gap a bit larger than necessary and just add an extra wrap or 2 to take up the space. The gap between the last bead and the loop depends on the the wire gauge. You need a 1/8" gap to get 2 wraps of .051 wire.

Here are a couple of videos I found useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRDGgXnWbU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtYVmGtfx3s

This last one I followed to make a flaptail lure. No loop on end, just a hanger for a flap tail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fzSQgy_6QU

 

[DaBehr]

I was wire bending challenged until I bought these:

https://barlowstackle.com/-German-Round-Nose-Nesting-Pliers-P1025/   (Expensive, but they really work well. They will probably last for generations!)

Practice with some really light wire until you get the hang of it. Those and a regular pair of needle nose and some practice and you will be good to go!

[DGagner]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:55 AM, DaBehr said:

I was wire bending challenged until I bought these:

https://barlowstackle.com/-German-Round-Nose-Nesting-Pliers-P1025/   (Expensive, but they really work well. They will probably last for generations!)

Practice with some really light wire until you get the hang of it. Those and a regular pair of needle nose and some practice and you will be good to go!

Or what looks like a very similar item, but not exactly the same, for less than half the price. (no affiliation, just google searching and came across them).

https://barlowstackle.com/Round-Nose-Nesting-Pliers--P1026/

Edited April 15, 2020 by DGagner