Using wire keeper in jig mold

[andrewlamberson]

I really like the way that looks...and I'm really Dremel tool challenged and your method looks like something I might be able to do!

You just filed the hook slot at the bottom of the mold a tiny bit wider to fit the wire? Any other change?

[efishnc]

Little story about the wire....Several years ago I was cutting some 4" lengths of .025 stainless wire off a quarter pound roll for a project. I had them all stacked up nice and went to put them in a plastic box when the pile slipped. My natural reaction was to grab the wires. Not a good idea I found out. That stainless wire was like hypodermic needles and went thru my hand every which way and many of those 4" pieces were all the way in. After a nerve block in the er and an hour and a half of those wires playing hide and seek with the doctor I was able to go home. What a fiasco that was. Four or five of those suckers went in my palm and were easily pulled out thru the back of my hand. A few others were not as easily extracted. Not fun.

  (smiling, not laughing)... I think most of us have a story (or six) of similar proportions.  Maybe someday we'll be in a boat together where I can share some of these with greater depth.

[ctom]

That's all that's necessary Andrew on a straight wire. I'd put just a bit of an interference bend in the end that stays in the head.

[efishnc]

I really like the way that looks...and I'm really Dremel tool challenged and your method looks like something I might be able to do!

You just filed the hook slot at the bottom of the mold a tiny bit wider to fit the wire? Any other change?

Yes, only a few strokes of a very fine file... basically, you are creating a tiny triangle behind the hook for the keeper wire, and you need half of the triangle on each side of the mold.  When you are done, it should have the shape somewhat like a sideways ice cream cone when viewed from the bottom, and the cone (space for keeper wire) should be smaller than the ice cream (hook slot).

Although Tom brings a valid thought, I leave my wire straight and I've never had a keeper wire pull out in however many years I've been doing it... maybe it's because I'm using galvanized wire which it isn't as slick/smooth as stainless... the plastic is still the weakest link and tears with less effort than it would take to pull the wire out.

No other changes associated with the keeper... however you may have noticed that I ground and area below the 1/8oz to allow for a bigger hook with certain applications.