Lure strength

Hey fellas,
                 I had my first lure fail last weekend and it's got me questioning a few things. I had a pinned bib pull out while I was tightening a loop knot. The bib broke behind the pin and pulled out. I did get the bib from a mate and I'm pretty sure it was polycarbonate but I may have also drilled the pin hole too close to the back of the bib, leaving not much meat. The last 12 months my other lures have been tested on some good fish which have stretched heavy duty split rings and twisted up 3&6x VMC hooks but I havnt broken one bib or pulled out a twisted wire or straightened any omega clips. There was even a stingray I foul hooked that was every bit the width and length of my 4.6m boat (Anyone who's visited the gulf will know the ones I mean) I seal my lures with norglass penetrating wood sealer which is a 2pac epoxy and it does clearly say that it should be applied after gluing, filling and sanding but after I swim and check them I seal, prime, paint, glue, then clear. Should I consider changing my process that will see me drilling wire holes and bib slots after sealing allowing the glue to bite into fresh timber or do you think this might be an isolated failure? My lures are white beech but the particular lure that pulled the bib may have been a piece of pine, glue is 24hr arildite and the bib had a 3-4mm glue hole.
Cheers
Dan

The bibs I usually use have a 6-7mm hexagon glue hole in them and then once set, the next day I'll drill and pin then. The particular bib in question had a 5mm glue hole that I may have put in it, I can't recall. Another thing I left out was the lure had caught fish previously.

Yeah ok, that's interesting. Send me a pm. I will have to catch up with my friend and find out where they came from.

I have heard of araldite no agreeing with polycarb but only on really old, sun affected stuff. All my bibs are polycarbonate glued with 24 hr Araldite, I really score up the bibs on the section that will hold the glue and always run a file through the bib slot prior to gluing to ensure it's clean fresh timber. Not a big fan of putting holes in bibs to give plugs of glue, they just make shear points in my opinion......the only holes I drill are for the pins. Also not a big fan of White Beech due to its "greasiness" which I feel doesn't hold glue as well as some other timbers, hence 99% of mine are in WRC.
I've stretch my lures pretty seriously during testing in a controlled environment and also on some fairly serious fish, had no failures when I've been on the end and have not heard of any failures from other users.

Just my two bobs worth.

When you say you've never had a bib pull out, have you ever tried to physically pull one out. Are your bibs glued in so strong that you wouldn't be able to pull a bib out if you tried. I was fairly swinging off this lure when I was tightening the loop knot but doubt I would be putting 150kg plus weight on it but maybe.

polycarbonate has a UV stabiliser added to it when its molded ,the amount of stabiliser added determines how brittle or flexible its going to be when subjected to heat or glues.i know this because i worked in a factory that made polycarbonates.polycarbonate bibs affected by glues has also been discussed on this forum before.I'm not saying anyone elses lures are no good  I was just stating my opinion.as ive said before i usually use makrolon polycarb in my bibs and have never had a problem with this product.just for the record ive been making lures since 1985

Danny wrote: When you say you've never had a bib pull out, have you ever tried to physically pull one out. Are your bibs glued in so strong that you wouldn't be able to pull a bib out if you tried. I was fairly swinging off this lure when I was tightening the loop knot but doubt I would be putting 150kg plus weight on it but maybe.

Nicho wrote: When i used super glue ...loctite type glues i found that the poly would flash/change color instantly from clear to white where glue was applied...so like you said chris the glue/heat obviously reacts with poly in some way and probably some polys are more prone to this... I had a bib pull out once but on inspection i found i forgot to glue it at all :) Frock me i said.

that was the 2012 lure expo?,i think you could be forgiven that one time Jas

Danny wrote: Cheers fellas. Yeah trying not to get too hung up on it. Just want to make the best lure I can. I've had angry barra and threadies up to 90cm hang from them and had split rings stretch and hooks all twisted up so I have plenty of faith in the glue but was questioning my process. I'll be more careful from now on.

you could try cutting your bib slots a little deeper too Danny,although you'd have to change your bibs a little if you did this,another thing you could do is to run your tow wire through the bib slot to the body and that'd take a lot of pressure off

puglee62 wrote: Actually you know me too well it was around that time :)   good memories :) Nicho wrote: When i used super glue ...loctite type glues i found that the poly would flash/change color instantly from clear to white where glue was applied...so like you said chris the glue/heat obviously reacts with poly in some way and probably some polys are more prone to this... I had a bib pull out once but on inspection i found i forgot to glue it at all :) Frock me i said. that was the 2012 lure expo?,i think you could be forgiven that one time Jas

All faith has been restored in my lure strength after a friend today caught this 119cm beast. I'm going to chalk that one failure down to the fact that maybe I forgot to glue it. Haha.

you got to be happy with that, that fish would have pulled like a freight train.

thats a good chunk of fish,pretty good test for your lures thats for sure

Lazerworx has a standard catalogue of polycarbonate bibs available in 1,1.5 and 2mm and for a fee they will also take your design and make your own style of bib for you. There been very good to deal with.

Oh geez that sux. I’m amazed how many friends (fishing friends, not lure makers) bag out polycarbonate or what they call “plastic” bibs after a breakage or bad experience. All my bibs come from lazerworx and I’ve bent them back and forth and demonstrated their strength and yeah, it’s clear to see who has the better product. I know strength isn’t the be all and end all and it’s horses for courses,but when you have that metre+ Barra or cod on, for me IT MATTERS.

Per i think any glue or clear would effect the strength of the bib to some extent,try rubbing a scrap piece of polycabonate with a rag soaked in acrylic lacquer paint thinner,i does not like it!.i usually fit my bibs after painting too mate Less chance of getting paint on the bib