chachybaby Posted February 7, 2022 Report Share Posted February 7, 2022 Hi, starting out building bass baits, has anyone used SS Snare Wire (20gauge) for building wire through harness? It comes on a roll. if not or is too soft, where is everyone buying their stainless steel wire (0.032, 20 gauge or what size)? looking to make balsa bass baits in 2 to 3 inch size. thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 I use soft temper stainless wire from McMaster-Carr online in size .041. Easy to form, good size fit for most bass baits, plenty strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSmallieGuy Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 I would guess that using stainless snare wire would work, although not ideal, but it would work. What I like to use for through wire and for twisting is WCS .041" stainless wire. Also, are pike or musky present in the waters you fish for bass? That could help you determine what diameter wire you want to use. If pike, musky, or tiger musky are present, you may want to scale up to .041 or .051 rather than .032. The WCS stuff that you can purchase on Amazon come on 1/4 lb rolls and 1 lb rolls, so you can decide how much you want if you just want to try it. I don't know a ton about stainless snare wire, but thats my 2 cents on that topic. JD_mudbug is going to be here pretty quick (I would assume so, he replies to most everything), he knows a lot more than I do haha.. Braden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chachybaby Posted February 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 thanks guys, yes I am fishing up north where Pike and Musky are present. So definitely need to take that into consideration. Question: Do they sell SS wire in straight pieces? I cannot find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSmallieGuy Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 (edited) I am not 100% sure if they sell their wire pre straightened, but there are some good ways to straighten it that I use. If you watch some of the lure making YouTube channels such as Marling Baits, you may have seen him straighten out stainless .041" wire by pulling a 1-2ft long piece, (depends on how big of a lure you're through wiring) bends a loop in one side, and chucks that end in his drill and then he clamps the other end in his vise, or just clamps it to a table or something where it wont slip out. Then he twists it with the drill, and it straightens it out. Let me know your thoughts on this. Braden Edited February 8, 2022 by RiverSmallieGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chachybaby Posted February 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 thanks I will check that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSmallieGuy Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 I actually posted a discussion on here recently, titled Cotter Pins vs Screw Eyes, vs Twist Wires vs Through Wire, and there is a ton of information on that discussion about wire diameter and through wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted February 9, 2022 Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 Honestly if you are building bass lures it doesn’t take much. Never used cotter pins but have used through wire, eye screws and twisted wire eyes through wire in my opinion is best if you are worried the wood itself is going to fail. I only ever do this by special requests never for my personal lures eye screws work fine but it’s a matter of appropriate size according to the species you are fishing. It’s also a good Idea to harden the wood with something like thinned Etex so it penetrates into the wood. This will help prevent tear out. Also secure them with epoxy Wire twist eyes same principles as eye screws use appropriate gauge of wire. Harden the wood. Use an appropriate pilot hole with epoxy eye screws and twist eyes will hold better if installed on an angle so the it’s not a straight pull on them I build lures mostly for larger species like salmon, pike and lake trout. I use .092 stainless steel eye screws 1 1/2 - 2 inch long. Most of my lures are resin pour but I use the same for wood too I have lifted fish up by the lure with they shaking up to around 30lbs without failure Bass pick any method you please they are not that tough that is my dumb red neck opinion anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted February 9, 2022 Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 Wrong thread lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted February 9, 2022 Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 There are plenty of posters here with way more knowledge than me. Before using TU, I primarily learned from failures, of which there were many. Having a bait break on a fish can sting for a long time. Some recent posts with good info on wire. https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/38342-hardware-for-wooden-hardbaits/ https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/36632-wire-size/ https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/38344-cotter-pins-vs-screw-eyes-vs-twist-wires-vs-through-wire/ I use stainless safety lock wire in .041 for typical bass baits like a 2.5 square bill and .051 for most everything bigger than that. I go up to .062 on larger lures 2.5 oz and up. I no longer use anything under .041 for hardbaits. I don’t think anything thinner than that would hold up to pike or musky. 20 gauge is .036”? I think snare wire might be more pliable than safety wire. You may get a pike landed but the lure may not survive if a wire eye gets tweaked and you have to bend it back. Hard baits are not like an inline spinner that can just be re-shafted. I have had a few baits with .035 that were one pike and done. .035 is fine for small baits where there is no pike or musky. Malin and Wire & Cable Specialties are the 2 most common suppliers of safety wire. You can find it on Amazon, McMaster Carr, and Grainger. The price varies from site to site. Yes, you can buy straightened wire. Sometimes it is called wire shaft(s). Sometimes you find it under wire forms or pre-cut stainless wire. You can find it with a closed loop, open loop or no loop. LPO, Janns, Barlows, and Musky Shop carry it. You can find it on eBay and Amazon too. This wire is not annealed and is stiff and harder to bend. https://www.lurepartsonline.com/search?keywords=wire%20shaft&page=1 https://www.muskyshop.com/collections/lure-parts-components/products/components-lure-building-pre-cut-stainless-wire-12-count Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chachybaby Posted February 10, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2022 ALL- thanks a lot, appreciate all the advice!! I will look into the videos provided and links to the parts for purchase for my way forward. Agree that after a few pike that snare wire (seems soft) will need to be rebent to shape and as a result lose its strength. I can't seem to find videos on building bass baits using twisted wire method, I will continue to search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted February 10, 2022 Report Share Posted February 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, chachybaby said: ALL- thanks a lot, appreciate all the advice!! I will look into the videos provided and links to the parts for purchase for my way forward. Agree that after a few pike that snare wire (seems soft) will need to be rebent to shape and as a result lose its strength. I can't seem to find videos on building bass baits using twisted wire method, I will continue to search. You don’t need videos just build it There is so much that is in videos on the internet. Honestly a lot of the YouTube builders are not doing anything fancy Just come up with an idea and go for it I learnt more from trial and error they I ever would of the internet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted February 10, 2022 Report Share Posted February 10, 2022 Engineered Angler, Marling Baits, TreysArt, zimmtex use twist eyes in some their builds. Engineered Angler has a bunch of vids on twist wire eyes. I wing most of my builds. I test the lure after sealing with hooks that have points bent over. I hot glue or tape any diving lip in temporarily. That way I can try different lips and adjust ballast if the lure is a dud. Once the lure works, I paint it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted February 10, 2022 Report Share Posted February 10, 2022 I see I still suck at typing on my phone lol JD try pressure fitting lips with a layer of tape less clean up then glue and no dry time needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 That's what I usually do. Fit it with tape on the part of the lip that goes in the slot plus a piece of tape on the backside of e lip to the body. If the lip is aluminum, I use some hot glue where the lip comes out of the body. The glue peels off with an Xacto knife. I have lost a couple of aluminum lips with just tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chachybaby Posted February 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/9/2022 at 8:35 PM, Hillbilly voodoo said: You don’t need videos just build it There is so much that is in videos on the internet. Honestly a lot of the YouTube builders are not doing anything fancy Just come up with an idea and go for it I learnt more from trial and error they I ever would of the internet Agree. I started messing around with what I had and this 20ga snare wire. Thru wire glued together with Devcon 2ton "home" version epoxy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killntime Posted February 22, 2022 Report Share Posted February 22, 2022 I use .032 ss lockwire twist eye epoxied in with etex and have never had one fail in either balsa or pvc. The process of twisting the eyes work hardens the wire so they don't bend. Bass, pike and steelhead and only failures are bent out hooks, split rings or line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSmallieGuy Posted February 27, 2022 Report Share Posted February 27, 2022 A good way to determine if your snare wire is suitable is to purchase similar diameter wire that is proven and recognized as a great wire and compare the stiffness and workability of the two wires. Braden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chachybaby Posted February 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2022 Ok got it. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
