Ok so i have been thinkin alot about getting into the hobby of making my own tackle Spinnerbaits and Crank baits.... So i thought i would start off with spinnerbaits... How hard is it to use the molds??? and what size wire do you use for 3/8 spinners??

hers is my shopping list...

Swivels

Skirts

split rings

wire

lead

callors

clevise

paint

blades

hooks

O.. and a mold

Anyting else that i'm forgetting?? any info or advise would be appreciated.... thanks guys

I live in an apartment and needless to say, it's not a place I want to start melting lead in.  So hopefully someone will chime in about molds and pouring for you.  

As far as spinnerbaits go.

Swivels:  Ball bearing are the best and most expensive, crane are the worst.  Janns has something called a roller swivel that are around 2$ a pack and a good economical/performance choice.

Skirts:  Do you want to put together your own colors or buy something premade?  What material?  Rubber, hydro-silk (extruded hollow silicone), and starflash (round silicone, not sure if hollow) have better action than flat silicone tabs.  However, they are more limited in color selection and rubber breaks down/melts over time.  With flat silicone there are more colors available in different patterns, ie. barbwire, and glitter combinations.  You get less action but no risk of melting/rotting in normal conditions.  It's less expensive too.

Split rings: Ball bearing swivels come with, crane and roller do not.   size 2 should be good.

Wire:  You can buy this in different diameters, on a roll, or pre molded.  Thinner wire gives you more action/vibration but less longevity, thicker ...vice versa.  I'd go with the fabbed wire, or getting a mold to bend the wire around.  Bending wire by free hand is tough.

Lead:  A great source of lead is wheel weights from a tire change place.  The metal clip needs to be pulled off and slag skimmed off the top.

Collars:  Black, red, white, seem to hold up better than amber.  You can thread or wire tie for a sure non slip grip

clevises:  Haven't tried the quick change, they look cool.  Wire, size 3 for 3/8 oz.  

Paint:  Powder paint will gives you the best finish and durability.  You can heat hot enough to paint and cure in an old toaster oven.  350° for 15 min. to heat hot enough to paint.  Then another 350° for 15min to cure.

Blades: For that weight I like size 2.5 or 3 for the front and 4.5 or 5 for the back.  Colorado thump, willow fast and flash, indiana in the middle.  Colors are up to you, most of the time it's copper on low visibilty and silver on high visibility.

Hooks:  I wouldn't go less expensive than a Mustad Ultrapoint.  3/0 for that weight.  You might think about some trailer hooks, to add on for those short striking fish.

Stuff you might have missed

Beads:  Hollow metal beads can act as a spacing material so the blades have enough room for both of them to spin.  They also let the front blade spin freely and not hang up on tubing or long hollow bead if used for spacing. I like 1/8" or the size bigger.

Round nose pliers:  They kind of look like needle nose but are rounded.  These guys really help in bending the eye to attach the swivel.  IMO they are worth having even though you could struggle through with needle nose alone.

3D eyes:  I think these really bring baits to life, whether on spinnerbait, crank bait, or paddle tail tube.  They stick on and then you can put a thinned layer of devcon 2ton on other the top to secure them in place and give your bait sharp look.

Trailers:  Some guys like them, some don't.  *.com is the best place to get them.

Vice:  If you're tying the skirts, a fly tying vice really really helps.  Also a small clamp on table vice can lend an extra hand when bending.

Copper wire or fly tying thread: for...well duh.  24 or 26 gauge copper wire.  Can be found at Joanne fabrics in a variety of colors.

Skirt making tool:  These range from 4$ to way to much money.  They all spread the collar to aid in making skirts.  

Stores:

www.fishingskirts.com - my first choice for silicone skirt material.  great colors, great owner.

www.jannsnetcraft.com - They have all the hardware and skirt material/pre made skirts.

http://www.barlowstackle.com/  -  Another good store with hardware and skirt material.

http://www.lurecraft.com/ - They have living ruber, hardware and premade skirts

http://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/index.cfm - arrr hooks

http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10267

A sticky about lead pouring and lead safety.  A definite read if you're going to pour!!!!

And that's been about my experience with making spinnerbaits.

Good luck and post up some pictures when you get going.  

Cory

Have to agree with Cory

I used to build a lot of rods in the early 90s and Jannsnetcraft has a lot of do it yourself itmes at very reasonable prices

And they always had molds, blades, wire & everything else needed for spinnerbaits

I agree for the most part with cory n.  There are just a couple things to think about.  The powder paint is great but hard to paintpatterns with.  If you are just going to paint one color on each bait than that is probably the easiest.  If you are going to get real creative buy an airbrush.  If you are going to get creative but want to handpaint go with vinyl.  It is just as durable as paowder paint but takes longer to cure.  In the long run the airbrush is the cheapest way to go.  The other thing to consider is the swivels.  Yes ball bearing swivels are the best as far as eace of turn and strength, but what difference does that make most of the time.  I'll probably get blasted for this but the blades are only going to turn as fast as we reel the bait in anyway.  The roller swivels are a great alternative.  The are close to a ball bearing swivel in performance but not near the cost.  I think sometimes we buy into the hype that manufacturers are putting out there.  If the fish hit the blade I would be the first to use a ball bearing swivel, but they don't so I guess I just don't see the point.  I'm sure there is one in certain instances.  That's just my opinion.  Probably not worth much.

Dan

I Appreciate all the info guys thanks a lot!!! I just have to wait till pay day now!!! ;D

To go along with what dan said about the spinning of the blades and ball bearing swivels.

Have you ever looked at a slow moving fan and it looks blurry but if you focus you can pick out an individual spinning blade?  Bass can do that 24 times better than we can, so who knows if the little bit extra speed obtained with ball bearing swivels makes a difference in how they perceive the blade.   I can't comment on the durability comparison either   .

Why not buy the pre-made heads and wire, that eliminates the need to pour them. You can find them in variety of colors, shapes, and weights at the sites mentioned. It will save you alot of time in the pouring and painting phases.

Why not buy the pre-made heads and wire, that eliminates the need to pour them. You can find them in variety of colors, shapes, and weights at the sites mentioned. It will save you alot of time in the pouring and painting phases.

I would but it would def be bad ace if i could say i made the whole thing you know?