New polar style tipups have ? need help thanks

[skyphix]

All,
I've fished tip ups but never owned my own. Recently a friend gave me 5 brand new tip ups complete with laker sized spools (no line, but he was too generous as is!)

They're typical wooden traps. Should I coat them with something before fishing them? I'm talking Linseed Oil/etc to protect them.

Also, without a bait bucket or a close by source for live bait fish, are there any alternatives to fish with? For lakers, obviously I'll use minnows, but since I fish for every species in the book (or not in the book) I don't mind catching smaller fish on them. I know I've heard of people using crawlers on them, anything else?

Any other advice for owning and maintaining? I've been reading through this forum a bit to educate myself but any other advice is welcome. As I said, I've been fishing with tipups for a couple of years now, just never owned my own.

[SALMONEMIA]

So I just got 2 new Frabill classic wood tip ups see link for pictorial reference
http://frabill.com/tipup-and-accessories/1664.html

Ive always use the basic wooden style tip ups from 40up
looking for a smoother tip up more stealth/sensitivity  for the bows
Im literally pulling my hair out right now. Im the kinda guy that gets new gear and wants to tinker with new gear all night until I fig out every detail its an illness I know....
I had to relube them because the shaft was tight, prob sitting in a warehouse too long... That wasn't to bad.'
My Issue is this. when I drop the shaft straight down (as if its in the position of function for fishing)
Theres a wing nut seen in pic that Im assuming needs to be tightened enough so that the shaft and spool basically stay in an upright position.
Problem is the base is oak and very hard so I cant really tighten the wing nut too much with my hands. Does this have to be so tight that the shaft and spool do not move/rock back and forth like a pendulum? Am I over thinking this?..... Please help as I have never used this kind of tip up before. Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Wayne

[NH Trout Fisherman]

Hey Wayne,

I own a couple dozen of these and use them for trout. They can be adjusted in a few ways for sensitivity. To answer your question. Yes you want to make sure the wing nut on the side is snug enough so that the spool/shaft doesn't move. Normally it doesn't take much effort to do so. Where as you just got them try loosening the wing nut with a pair of pliers? Could just be tight because its new?
Otherwise maybe bring them back to the place of purchase to make sure they are functioning r\correctly? I've never had an issue though.

As far as adjusting them for sensitivity, there are a few ways to do so.  One is which side you set your flag on. One side of the dial is notched/slotted and the other is shorter/rounded. Typically the rounded side trips a lot easier. For the most sensitive trip setting, set the flag with the shorter/rounded dial on the same side as whichever direction your line comes off the spool. There is also a tension spring that can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the dial itself at the top of the shaft.

Hopefully that makes some kinda sense and you'll be able to figure it out.

[SALMONEMIA]

Thanks, I can loosen wing nut fine but in order to
Get it tight so shaft stays fixed I need to use
Pliers to do so. It just seems like a lot of work
to tighten with pliers. Plus I'm afraid I'll break wing nut. Other tips Are appreciated. Glad to know I can tweek sensitivity.

[jchunter]

Thanks, I can loosen wing nut fine but in order to
Get it tight so shaft stays fixed I need to use
Pliers to do so. It just seems like a lot of work
to tighten with pliers. Plus I'm afraid I'll break wing nut. Other tips Are appreciated. Glad to know I can tweek sensitivity.

I have used Beaver Dam Tip ups for years, they are the same style as yours. I just hand tighten the nut then adjust the shaft so its straight up and down. My opinion is this, you do not need to tighten it so much. If the shaft has a little give that is fine. It has never affected my fishing in 30 years of fishing. If you hand tighten it and the shaft swings back and forth easily something is not right. I have never used a pair of pliers to tighten the nut. The way mine are set up its loose enough that I can swing the shaft down for fishing and swing back up when I'm done fishing without messing with the nut. I will occasionally check the tightness of the nut and re hand tighten if I feel its becoming loose.

[boss j]

i only use polar tipups and the 1 thing that comes to mind is the washers. the smooth flat washers will cause the need to tighten. the textured "lock" style washers, i am not sure of the correct name, will allow you to keep it looser and able to swing as jchunter explanes. if you look at any polar tipup in the store you will see the type of washers i speak of...

[SALMONEMIA]

Got it. My washers are flat. Gonna
Get some lock washers today
 And try it out. Thanks guys.
Also noticed the washers on mine are brass, not sure that matters.
The tipups seem fine other than this issue. Ill try to fix washers before I consider sending back.

[rockhound57]

Another thing to check: the holes the screws go thru might be too tight, so you're just tightening against the first piece instead of pulling them together. An easy way to check is to loosen the wing nut til it's away from the wood, then tighten the head of the screw with a screwdriver or drill to free it up. If it spins fairly freely, then it's something else   

[stripernut]

Another thing to check: the holes the screws go thru might be too tight, so you're just tightening against the first piece instead of pulling them together. An easy way to check is to loosen the wing nut til it's away from the wood, then tighten the head of the screw with a screwdriver or drill to free it up. If it spins fairly freely, then it's something else

X2
Had the same problem and making the hole a bit bigger did the trick!

[SALMONEMIA]

Thanks for all the tips, I had to add an extra washer, seems to work a lot better now. Also had to have frabill send me a new trip mechanism as one was not machined properly. Re lube spool shafts and they glide perfectly now. Gotta get these tweaked before the ice hits.