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So who's building ??

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8K views 31 replies 10 participants last post by  baitfish 
#1 ·
I haven't been doing much actual building lately as I've decided to take the plunge and maybe start selling a few plugs, it's crazy how much is involved in gearing up for an actual production run.
Ordered a Vega duplicator yesterday and I'll be cranking out some of the designs I've been working on over the past few years. Now I'm trying to track down some places to buy the rest of the stuff, lips, eyes, hooks, swivels, etc in bulk.

These are a selection of the designs I'm deciding between:
(The giant Jitterbug obviously not included)



This is the Magnum Roundnose Pikie 9" and 8"

(just finished these two a few days ago)


Big Fish Little Fish (BFLF) Popper



The Peanut




An Arbogast inspired flaptail


Don't have a name for this one yet


And then I have an original pencil design and an original popper design that I've been keeping under wraps while they've been getting field tested. Not quite ready to post pictures though.
 
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#2 ·
Nice work thumbsup.gif

How bout anutha "DAMn Plug"? lol. husky made some last wintah for me to test out upriver during the Herring Run, but they didnt have enough weight in the rear (husky makes outta foam) to get me up into the suds/rocks where the Bass stage on the outgoing tide. They just lie in wait for the Alewives to come out tha fishladder. Gotta imitate a herring/alewive, & track between the surface and/or 2' down max. I try to test atleast a few new plugs out every Spring up there since the fish are so concentrated in one area, and they are all marauding for the same feed thumbsup.gif



 
#6 ·
Oh yar dood, look at those muthahz thumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif

Suds, I'd say about 40 yards max lol. Only good pic I could find in my archive....



See behind these kooks lol, there is an ol' wooden covered bridge. I be castin to tha suds N rocks in front of it.
 
#8 ·
I use airbrushable acrylics, Createx, Delta Gleams, Anns .......... All stuff you can get at the big box craft stores.
 
#9 ·
Hey Rock,
I really like that eel and the skinny Cowboy style (first one second pic.)
 
#11 ·
For paint I use Delta Ceramacoat and Delta gleams with a top coat of envirotex lite 2 part epoxy..... some just get sprayed with rattle cans....


Suds, the eel is new this year, most of the weight is in the nose, that gives the tail good action,it digs right in and Runs down about 3'

I pulled the big pikie out of the oven this morning and fitted some hooks on it tonight, she come in right at 4 ounces..
 
#15 ·
one motor,belt driven, the middle one is direct drive, I keep track of everything I build, so here's a pic of the running gear, the motor is a motor from an oil skimmer, the belts and pulleys are from a defunct copy machine... the top and bottom turn around 4RPM the middle is twice that
 
#20 ·
stmnO,

what you can do to see how much weight is needed is to attach your hooks and wire with rubberbands, thenwrap the plug with solder, its eaiser than trying to attach lead weights, once you reach neautral boyancy and know where your lead will be placed (usualy in the belly between the front and rear hook) now weigh the solder on a food scale, you'll know exactly how much lead you will need and where to put it.... then you can drill your holes, make sure to write down everything you do, it will help you in the future...

Most people use anealed 304 Stailess steel, I have some 303 (it has sulfur added to aid bending) but it is tough to work with, I still use .064 brass wire, on alot of my plugs, it's quite durable and I've been using it for years without any problems...Others use 316 stainless but 304 is the most common....
 
#21 ·
You sure about that Roc? 304 is pretty soft, the overwhelming majority favor 308 - 1/16th diameter
I personally find even 308 a bit too soft for my liking and normally use 316L - 1/16th

When I build super heavy duty I bump it up to 316L - 3/32's and 6x VMC hooks on 550 lb. ball bearing bar swivels. You can go after Blue Fin tuna on those plugs. :)
 
#22 ·
yes, it only becomes soft when it gets annealed, that's why they like it, because they can wrap and unwrap in the field, that's another reason I like the brass, that said my HD plugs (that I use for SBFT) and giant Pikie's are made of 303 SS, as stated before it is enhanced with sulfer to assist its ability to be bent, it is not anealed, once you bent it thats it if you bent it back it will break, it has incredible tensil strength, I dont have the #'s infront of me but i can get them... but as far as the 304 (which I buy in 1 lb rolls through work) check out what they sell pre-bent at nj tackle... it's 304 annealed wire...
 
#23 ·
Interesting, I'm not sure the majority of plug builders are familiar with 304.

I had just run out of a huge stash of 320 that I'd been using for years and it was time to reorder. I knew I didn't want any more 320 - stuff is strong but it's a bear to work with.
To help me decide what to order I did a survey over on another site asking what wire everyone was using. Of the 11 replies 6 builders use 308 and 5 use 316. Add to that out of 5 builders that I'm friends with one uses 308 and the other 4 use 316.
I decided to go with 316 as I like the extra strength and it's ability to hold it's shape particularly on the nose loop, which is easily knocked out of position in the softer 308 while fishing around and banging the lure on rocks.
BTW I found a great deal on, of all places, Ebay (weldingsuppliesatioc) $69 for 10 lbs shipped.

Never once, anywhere, on the survey thread or in person was 304 even mentioned. Honestly, none of us that I know are metallurgists or machinists so there is a lack of knowledge on this subject across the whole plug building community.
 
#24 ·
translation please happy3.gif will leader wire work?, how do i put the wires in?whado i do?to make it sink ive been drillin shallow holes and tapping in splitshot cigar.gif then sealin it w/ epoxy. :lol: it was gonna be a fairly normal plug, but i ground to deep w/ the sander, and now its like a verry skinny mirrolure,rattletrap, somethin. :) soon ill have a shop to work in.
 
#26 ·
nice !!

Roccus your a clever and skilled craftsman. I have looked at alot of your post and tools, working jigs etc. NICE WORK ! wow have you got time on your hands. Every time I start a plug start working on the boat- time to drive one of the kids here or there drop every thing!
 
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