Help with screw eyes

[countinsheep]

I am building a very large fishing lure with Western Red Cedar. Because of its weight, I am worried that the front screw eyes I typically use will pull out. In fact, some tests I ran showed that the screw would come out. I could use a more dense wood like maple but I very much enjoy using WRC and besides that it's a wonderful wood for making lures.

I tried flattening out the head end of a 3" wood screw and then drilling it out on the end for a line tie but it wouldn't quite work. Is there such a thing as a large wood screw with a hole on the end of it allowing something to be tied to it? I would like something about

3" long.

Any ideas or suggestions much appreciated!

thank you

II

[DanG]

I had a friend who used to make lures. He always buried stainless steel wire through the line ties and hook ties. He told me that those Steelhead would rip 'em right out otherwise. I realize you are not casting your lures, but perhaps you can drill all the way through the lure and install with wire rope/stainless wire, etc.

Drill through and twist a coil on the far side of the lure?

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Lew Hodgett]

It's epoxy time.

Drill a hole about 2 times the diameter of the screw, then fill with a soupy mixture of epoxy and microballoons.

When cured, drill the pilot hole for the screw eye.

Your local library should have a copy of The Gougeon Bros on Boat Building.

Lots of good info in it to solve your problem.

Lew

[countinsheep]

Hey thank you guys for the ideas. I don't want to use the "through wire method" because the lure is large.....about 16 inches in length! You can imagine tho the weight of the lure with it being so big. I have some two part epoxy, maybe I can try experimenting with it. Thank you again!

II

Lew Hodgett wrote:

[voodo96]

How about cutting out a plug and glueing in a hardwood filler?

[Andy]

Maybe a drilled-out thumbscrew? Just get something that looks like

from your local hardware store, borg, etc., and drill out the thumb part. Basically turn it in to a big screw eye (de-burr the inside edges if necessary). If you can't find one with wide enough threads, use the epoxy method mentioned above to secure the thumbscrew in the lure. Can I ask why you're making a 16" fishing lure? Going for Champ or Nessie? (I know it must be for display somewhere, but it sounds like a fun project to do something at 10X the normal scale...) Andy

[mac davis]

You might try one of those screws that they hang wire-suspended ceilings with... no idea what you call them, but they're about 3 or 4 inches long and look like a wood screw but instead of a "head", they have the last 1/2 or 3/4" flattened with a hole in it...

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Brad Bruce]

Suspended ceilings use some pretty large screw-in eye-bolts.

Brad

[countinsheep]

Some more great ideas. I thought about the wood plug idea and that may work although I was hoping for something with more certainty if that makes sense. I am guessing tho that the wood plug would work if I used a good hardwood to screw into. I like the thumbscrew idea and will look into that. I really like the suspended ceiling screw idea! I hope I can find some of them at Home Depot.

Oh, I am building the lure not as a novelty but as something that will be used...therefore the need for strength! Thank you again.

II

Brad Bruce wrote:

[countinsheep]

Some more great ideas. I thought about the wood plug idea and that may work although I was hoping for something certainty if that makes sense. I am guessing tho that the wood plug would work if I used a good hardwood to screw into. I like the thumbscrew idea and will look into that. I really like the suspended ceiling screw idea! I hope I can find some of them at Home Depot.

Oh, I am building the lure not as a novelty but as something that will be used...therefore the need for strength! Thank you again.

II

Brad Bruce wrote:

[bridger]

if it's gonna get used you should be using stainless.

stainless tie wire is probably the right thing.make a loop of it that twists up and flattens out to a bit longer than the body. drill a hole all of the way through the body lengthwise, pass the wire loop through and epoxy it in. now the wore is attached at both ends and the wood is just riding there.