IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Jigging => Topic started by: Slimdog on Dec 20, 2011, 10:14 PM
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(Mods, please move if this is not in the right place...)
This is my attempt at a St. Croix-style Strike Indicator Spring. The St. Croix design is one of the most sensitive on the market, but they are pricey at $8 or $9 a piece. With the materials used below, one can produce a similar spring for about 68 cents in materials. If was to include my time, I figure each spring costs me $1.90. I have not been able to test these yet, but I did by a Light St. Croix Spring and they seem to “feel” very similar; my spring is probably more like a Medium Spring.
The Boring Stuff – Skip to “the Good Stuff” if you just want to see the process.
R & D Notes
Stainless Steel Leader Wire
After quite a bit of research, I found some info from another icehead that had made his own springs that used .016 diameter wire so I used that for my starting point. I looked for a wire that was available in several diameters so that I could make springs with several different tensions to allow use with different weight jigs/lures. I settled on AFW Tooth Proof Stainless Steel Leader Wire. I went with #7, #9, #11 and #13. It is my hope that #7 will result in a medium spring, #9 will result in a medium-heavy spring and #11 will result in a heavy spring. Not sure what I am going to do with the #13 wire.
(Note: I didn’t purchase the St. Croix spring until after I already had the leader wire. A light spring uses a wire that is .013 inches in diameter, or #4 Tooth Proof wire from AFW.)
Nails
I had a heck of a time finding suitable mandrels to use to create the coil section of the spring. The opening in the rubber grommet that the coil slides into is 1/8 of an inch in diameter. After a bunch of mind-numbing math, I found the following maximum diameters for mandrels for each spring:
#7 = .089 #9 = .081
#11 = .073 #13 = .063
When finished, the coil needs to be snug in the grommet, but not so snug so that you mess up the coil when installing or removing. Finally, over the Turkey Day holiday I found suitable mandrels. While digging around in my parent’s garage for something totally different, I came across an old mason jar full of miscellaneous nails. Using digital calipers I measured somewhere around 976 nails and found a couple 3 for each different wire diameter. They weren’t exact but they were with in a couple thousandths and at least 1 ¾ inches long. Once I had my mandrels and started testing, I found that the mandrel I selected for the #11 wire worked best for the #7 wire and the mandrel for the #13 wire worked best for the #9 wire. I have yet to locate a mandrel for the #11 wire.
The Good Stuff – Making a Strike Indicator Spring
Tools
Calipers
Variable-speed drill (very important that it’s variable speed for winding the spring.)
Nails, various diameters and lengths (these will be the mandrels for winding the spring.)
End or Side Cutters
Slip-Joint pliers
Round Jaw pliers
Tape Measure
Materials
Stainless Steel Leader Wire (#7, #9, #11)
Soft Glow Beads (4x6mm)
Storage Tubes
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30766&d=1323490380)
Chuck a nail in your drill so that there is approximately 1.25 inches from the jaws of the chuck to the end of the nail.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30771&d=1323490433)
Cut a 24 inch piece of wire and make a 90 degree bend about 5/8 of an inch from one end. Slide this end in between the jaws of the chuck.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30769&d=1323490414)
Slowly pull the trigger on your drill with one hand will applying slight downward pressure on the wire with the other hand. This is where the variable speed drill is important. Continue until the wire is at the head of the nail. DO NOT LET GO OF THE WIRE! There is tension on the wire and you could be injured! Slowly let the wire “unwind” to release the excess tension. You may lose a coil or two, but not enough to make a difference.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30764&d=1323490358)
Remove the nail from the drill but don’t remove the coil from the nail just yet. Bend the wire that will become the arm 90 degrees away from the coil. Then make a 45 degree bend 2 inches from the coil.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30770&d=1323490424)
Slide on 2 soft beads. Then use round-jaw pliers to form the loop.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30768&d=1323490404)
Trim the wire so that it does not extend past the 2nd bead.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30767&d=1323490391)
Bend the loop down 90 degrees from the arm of the spring.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30765&d=1323490367)
Slide both beads up to close the loop.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30763&d=1323490348)
Here is a picture of the completed spring bobber. Remove the nail and trim the coil to a finished length of 7/8 of an inch. Make sure it fits in the spring bobber holder before you make a bunch.
(http://www.nefga.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30742&d=1323233040)
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nice work!.... :thumbsup:
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great post slim, and nice looking finished product.
Maytimes I see these DYI threads and the final product may do the job but just doesn't look great.. but this one looks great
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Greast Post, thanks for sharing it with us ! :thumbsup:
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Thanks guys!
BTW, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!
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wholly cow 2 days after getting half a dozen st croixs. :'( excellant post slim way to go thanks for sharing.thats what makes this site so great.
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That's nice workmanship.
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Thanks for sharing.
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That is some good quality stuff!
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Awesome! :)
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sweet! looks awesome, wil definiatly have to try and make one
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If your spring fits a little tight in your grommet, take a 1/8" drill bit and by hand insert into the grommet and turn by hand till it bores out the opening to fit correctly
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If your spring fits a little tight in your grommet, take a 1/8" drill bit and by hand insert into the grommet and turn by hand till it bores out the opening to fit correctly
Excellent tip, G-O! I've lucked out so far... :)
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Great thread! Thanks for sharing your work.
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You my friend.. are bad ass! :bow:
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very nice, thanks for sharing......MM
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Very Nice. Love seeing a DIY that not only functions, but looks good as well!
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Thanks Slim, nicely done.
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Nice!
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Very nice work and write up. Where do you find the spring bobber holders? And how do they attach to the Rod?
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Thanks, lefty. The holders are actually size 8 single foot rod guides with a grommet with a 1/8" opening.
Very nice work and write up. Where do you find the spring bobber holders? And how do they attach to the Rod?
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First off Slim, beautiful piece of work there! I balked this weekend at the price of the St. Croix bobbers ($9 @ Scheels!) and that was without the guide or the grommet!
What size (or diameter) nail did you end up using? The one in the picture looks to be a paneling nail of some sort, I think I've got some of those in white...
With the #8 guide, do you remove the ceramic interior of the guide or will the grommet slide in as is?
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First off Slim, beautiful piece of work there! I balked this weekend at the price of the St. Croix bobbers ($9 @ Scheels!) and that was without the guide or the grommet!
What size (or diameter) nail did you end up using? The one in the picture looks to be a paneling nail of some sort, I think I've got some of those in white...
With the #8 guide, do you remove the ceramic interior of the guide or will the grommet slide in as is?
Thank you for the kind words, Z!
The diameter of the nail depends on the diameter of the wire you are using. #7(.018" dia) wire ended up being a light spring and the nail I used had a diameter of .073. And with the guide, I leave the insert in.
I finally got on the ice last weekend to try them out. I didn't catch or really mark any fish, but was impressed with how they helped me "tune" my presentation.
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Awesome! I'm going to try this. I really don't like any of the spring bobbers out there.
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Thanks a lot for the directions. I made up a dozen lightweight out of #6 wire and another dozen out of #9. I had a large set of drill bits and was able to use them instead of nails. It was easy to use the next size up or down to get the proper fit. Caught the first fish on them today!
Thanks again.
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Nice,
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Well I bought the stuff to make my own springs this should be fun.
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Question? does any one have a better mouse trap for a spring bobber I have St Croix spings on all rods I keep them short 18 to 24 inch no need for a long rod as the spring does all the work. NOW the big bummer the line gets rapped in the spring and you have a cluster on the ice.
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Don't let it get caught in the spring. then you won't have that trouble. ;)
Yeah, I lost a good fish because the 2# line got caught. But I still think it is best way to go. I have had other spring bobbers with tangle problems.
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Awesome job. Very good work sir!
Not to hijack.. but yes, you can lose nice fish w/ spring bobbers that have the wrapped spring... (like the st. croix). I have caught hundreds of fish though and only had it happen once. A bigger pain is the line getting stuck in there while re-baiting, etc...
These style of bobbers are well worth it though. Only way around it is to maybe design a wire like the "tripwire" from thornebros.
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Awesome job. Very good work sir!
Not to hijack.. but yes, you can lose nice fish w/ spring bobbers that have the wrapped spring... (like the st. croix). I have caught hundreds of fish though and only had it happen once. A bigger pain is the line getting stuck in there while re-baiting, etc...
These style of bobbers are well worth it though. Only way around it is to maybe design a wire like the "tripwire" from thornebros.
Lacko makes one like the tripwire, just not made out of titanium like the trip wire is. I have several, but not a huge fan. Not because of it alone, just not a big fan of spring bobbers.
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OK I miss spoke just looking for something else other than a spring I have allot of bite indicators that are so so.
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I have to agree with Gemcityslayer. These bobbers increase catch rate significantly. I have lost a few fish or had a few times when I have had to untangle the line from the spring.....But it sure helps detect a lot more strikes and the gain in fish landed is significant.
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Yep. A good spring bobber adds a decent "kicking" or "fluttering" action that you can't achieve with a bigger stiff rod - that alone will catch you fish you otherwise wouldn't. And on those days when they are lightly hitting... you will miss the majority of bites without one.
I love my new Tripwire from thornebros... Way less tangles. With that said though, I enjoyed my my old st-croix legend a lot too. The spring bobber on the st croix is the best part... I'm not real crazy about the rest of the rod. Good thread.
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That is awesome. I have to say you are one heck of a "Ice fishing engineer". I am going to have to try rigging up a pole with one of those spring bobbers.
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Here is what my spring bobber came out like. I used #09 afw tooth proof SS leader wire. Let me know what you think thanks
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There are excellant springs in larger type lip seals from
any mechanical overhaul shop that i have used
when they are removed they are put in the garbage
that saves time winding up wire
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Here is what my spring bobber came out like. I used #09 afw tooth proof SS leader wire. Let me know what you think thanks
Very nice, Bigfish713!
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Finally got around to trying this out last night, what a slick project and sweet result. I used stainless steel leader wire from Cabelas, 0.016" diameter as I wanted a light spring for gills and crappies. The project came out great, I may try some with slightly heavier wire as we ended up adjusting the spring fairly deep into the grommet to balance nicely with a typical jig. That is the beauty of this setup though, adjustability.
I bought apparently slightly larger OD grommets as I had to open up the #8 guide slightly with a drill bit, but that wasn't a big deal and resulted in a nice tight fit once seated. Going to pick up a few more guides and set up two more poles this way later this week; try to find some slightly heavier wire as well. No one around here carries the light stuff.
Thanks again Slim!
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Any of the guys that did this ever had a problem with the wire unwinding? I can't get it to stay as a coil. What am I doing wrong?
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Any of the guys that did this ever had a problem with the wire unwinding? I can't get it to stay as a coil. What am I doing wrong?
After you make the initial coil, it will unwind and you may lose 3-5 coils, but it should stop after that. I don't know the correct terminology for it, but it's almost like it hits a point of equilibrium.
What kind of wire are you using?
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very nice job. but I can make a dozen with a guitar string while you are making one. I just cut a 6" length then bend a loop in the end. I put a kink in the end of the loop so I can hook it back over itself forming a catch. Then I bend the loop at a 90 degree angle. Tape it on the rod and you are catching fish.
The reason for the catch is to allow you put your line and out without threading the line thru it.
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Nice work!!!!
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Nice work!!!
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Nice work!!!!
Nice work!!!
Deja vu ;D
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Im impressed twice!!!!!
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I saved this thread for review, but now I don't see any picture attachments??
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I saved this thread for review, but now I don't see any picture attachments??
Thats the problem with posting pics the way it is done here.. If the pics are moved / removed from the photo sharing site we loose them here. pm slimdog, He may still have the pics.
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I saved this thread for review, but now I don't see any picture attachments??
Sorry guys. I had the images hosted on another forum that has gone through some changes in the last year. I'll see what I can do to get this fixed.
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BTTP.....good info here guys.....wish pics were on it yet.