Building the double J..

[Rockfish9]

as the awl spreads the wire to each size hole, move it to the next... you are probably wondering why not just have one hole.... well, you need a progrssion of holes , if the hole is too big, you end up driving the wire into it with out spreading it, if the hole is too small, the awl cant sperad the wire... hence the progression of holes...

when you finish, sometimes the wire or lip will have marks or burrs, simply polish it with a piece of # 600 sand paper.. do it now!! or you will forget...

[Rockfish9]

now get your tail piece., select a length of wire, the factory loop is too large, you must form another, start by bending approx 2" of wire arond a small pair of needle nose pliars, pusing the round jaws of the pliears as tight as possible inside the loop bend each "leg" out at about a 45degerre angle, then close the loop, like all thing sin plug making, practice makes perfect... this loop should be considerably smaller than the factory one.... if it's not..DO IT AGAIN!

slide a nose gromet onto the wire, hook the loop onto the front half of the plug and inser the wire into the tail section. be certain to seat thenosr gromet... instal a .375 tail gromet onto the wire and bend it up ona 45 degree angle, using your needle nose pliars, make a neat round lop around the pliars... some guys continue the wrap in their hands, I have small hands and arthrits so I use the vise, I have substituted the original jaws in my vuise with a pair of soft jaws, made from 1" aluminum angle ( it can be bought at Lowes) counter sink the screws and you have a set of jaws that wont mar your wire....clamp the loop in the vise, as you make the first wrap pull the plug the oposite way ( slightly) to bind the wire tight to the body, as you continue around pus the plug in the oposite direction, now continue around theplug with each sucsessive wrap on top of the other, forming a neat loop that doesnt look like it was spun in a boat propeller!

Continued in the next frame...

[Rockfish9]

now using a dab of 5 minute epoxy secure your belly gromets, this could have ( should have) been dont prior to wireing, but I am trying to keep things in related fields for the purpose of simplicity...

the eyes... one of the few problems I ever had with envirotex was on ocassion I had foaming of the eyes, it was a randome thing, after much head scratching a nd a little reading, i figured out the problem, seems the tiny divit made by the forshner bit trapped an air pocket in the plug, my spinner is heated with apair of 40 watt light bulbs, as the trapped air expanded, it caused micrscopic bubbles, much like an areator to from, I could hit them with the torch and they would disappear, but, seeing as both my spinners have timers, I like the Ron Propeal approach... set it and for get it!... so, now using a wooden q tip that I have sharpend the wooden endon, I apply a thin coating of 5 minute epoxy to the eye hole, smoothing it along the whole eye socket, one it becomes tacky, I apply the eye... no more eye rabies!

now we need to revisit the prior post on mixing epoxy... I have found, 6 teaspoons ( 3 each of hardener and resin) is enough to apply a good flood coat to 6 meduim to large plugs...

once each plug is coated, I like to look at each plug as it spins under different light and agles, checking for "holidays" or bare spots, last year, I started "flaming" each plug using a small propane torch, the carbon dioxide ( just like when you exhale on them) breaks the tiny gas bubbles, thsi is not entirely nessary, most of the bubbles will disapear on their own, but by flaming the plug ( 4-5" away or you WILL catch them on fire) it gives the finish a glass like look, also if you should discover a bad spot when the epoxy first starts to thicken, a light application of heat will alow you to repair the spot... this can be done for about the first hour.. it depends on the temp in the room ( or spinner)

[Rockfish9]

allow the plugs to cure for 24 hours before you mess with them, yes they will be dry, but full cure on etex is 72 hours...

to make the fins and tail..

I start with about a 2" section of .030 stainless wire , I wrap it around a 00 phillps and wind it up...

I cut ach "fin:" to about 3/4" and the tail about 1"...

start by ch#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g a fin (or tail) "bone" in the vise, wrap the shank with thread secure with a half hitch and coat with sally hansens hard as nails...

[Rockfish9]

start by cutting a small amount of bucktail, less is more... gently pinch it between your fingers and thumb as you roll it onto the "bone", make two loose wraps around the bundle and gently tighten the thread , if done correctly, the hair will roll arond the shank coveering the entire "bone".. make two or three more wraps and secure with a half hitch, trim the excess hair on a taper then finish wrapping the thread.... I'm no going to explain a wip finish here,so secure with three half hitches , cut the thread and apply tow coats of sally hansen hard as nails...

For the tail, long saddle hackles work best... prepare your "bone" and secure your thread, find 4 saddle hackles approx. the same length and strip the fuzzy fiber away from the base... in a simular manne to the deer hair, arrange two hackeles on each side, shiny side out, make two or three tight wraps around the stipped base of the hackles, secure with a half hitch... check that they are straiht and lay along the shank, once the are,trim the base of the hackle and wrap in a simular manner to the bucktail ,making a nice taperd finish.. secure and coat...

the fins should be installed mid body in line with the hook, I secure them with tiny SS open eye .eye hooks ( purchased from stamina tackle) a pilot hole is drilled and a dab of 5 minute epoxy is applied to the screw eye for sealing purposes... the tail is affixed via a split ring...


on this plug, I prefer to use cut hooks, I cut my 2/0 VMC's with a dremel, after crimping,I apply a small amount of silver solder to the "wound" to help ward off rust...

[Rockfish9]

that comncludes the tutorial, I have other pictures that I left out in the interest of keeping it as short as possible, if something was not qute clear,I'll be happy to post supplemental pictures, this plug has caught me alot of fish, some real brutes at that, even it's predesessor was a fish killer, often times outfishing the real thing.... Enjoy!

Tight lines all

Roc

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Rockfish9

I have other pictures

this plug has caught me alot of fish, some real brutes at that,

Roc

When you find the time JOE

show us them BRUTES