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I've owned my 12 Heritage Laker tip-ups since 1993. I am pretty hard on my gear, and these traps did show quite a bit of wear. Some of the brass axles were bent, the zinc coated bolts and wing-nuts were rusted and corroded, spools were loud when spun, the flag rod holders were bent and loose, flag springs were damaged, cross pieces warped a little…you get the picture. There was nothing that would render them inoperative, just battle tested, worn and proven from years of hard service.I completely tore each tip up down, removing every piece of hardware. I then sanded each piece of wood until they were silky smooth. Wood burned my first initial and last name into the top cross piece. My two sons have the same first initial, so they won’t need reworking when they are handed down. I stained six of them one color and the other six a different color. I then triple coated all of them with a spar urethane. I replaced all the hardware with stainless steel and added washers and lock washers. I sanded/filed the lip off on the trip mechanism. The flag holder and trip pieces were originally held on with spiral nails, I replaced those with stainless wood screws. The brass axles that were originally pressed into the wood were what I considered to be a design flaw. They all pulled out semi-easily when I was removing hardware from the traps. Although I never lost a spool, I had heard the stories, and could see it happening. I replaced the brass with a polished stainless steel rod, which I had threaded on both ends. I put a dab of epoxy in the hole and screwed the new axle in until it bottomed out. It won’t fall off now! Added new nylon spacers and washers, got rid of the star drag and just added a lock nut to secure the spool with the desired tension. I couldn’t find a stainless lock wing-nut, so I settled for just a lock nut. The spools spin like they are on a well lubed bearing now, way better than new.Cleaned up the flag springs, and changed the flag material from orange to fluorescent lime green. I added some new reflective material to the top of the trap to give them a unique look. Now when I hear “FLAAAAAAG”, I’ll be able to tell if it is one of mine almost instantly.They look absolutely awesome IMO. I’m pretty sure they would have lasted my lifetime the way they were. I’ve just made them so they will last for my sons’ lifetimes as well. I'll try to take some pictures tonight and post them tomorrow.
sounds great buddy, now catch some lakers
Go to Wallyworld and buy a flour orange deer-hunting vest, the one made from a slick oil-cloth type material. Cut out the flags and goop-glue them to the shaft.
you can get flour. duct tape now I picked up a roll and redid all my flags with it works great
It's early yet