Glass eye question

[iceman]

I?ve seen some glass eyes for sale on ebay awhile back. The ones with a small piece of wire with a glass eye on each end and I was wondering how does one attach them to a wood lure? Do you drill a hole and glue them in or something like that or is there a special way to put then in. Thanks

[Mallard]

Here's how I do it:

Before I seal or paint the bait I use a 1/4 forstner bit to make a shallow hole for eye to sit in. 1/4 works well for the 6mm and 7mm eyes. You can decide how deep it should be based on what you think looks good but I make mine about 2/3 as deep as the glass part of the lure is high.

Next I use a dremmel tool to smooth the edges of the hole and shape the eye socket a little bit, this is optional.

After paint I clip the glass part of the eye off the wire leaving only about 1/8 of wire attached.

I use a dremmel tool and a very small bit to drill a pilot hole in the center of the eye socket for the wire fit in. Sometimes you can just press the eye in place with soft wood like cedar, but I usually drill any way. I glue the eye in place and do not use the wire to secure it to the lure as in older baits, I just use the wire to keep it from sliding until the glue dries.

I use a small amount of Devcon 2-ton epoxy to secure the eyes in place. The 5 min stuff can yellow if leaks around the edges, so I use the 30 min stuff just in case.

Another neat trick is to get the clear eyes and then paint the back of them to create a custom color for the iris.

I'm sure others have even better tips.