Question about Articulation Shanks

[AllenOK]

I've started tying a few articulated flies in the past 6 months. There are some patterns I want to do that require Articulation Shanks. Unfortunately, money is always an issue with me. Those shanks aren't cheap.

I also happen to be a wire-bender, and will make my own inline spinners. I've been tossing around the idea of bending my own Articulation Shanks. Has anyone tried this? Anyone know what size wire is used for the commercial ones?

[kengore]

Most hook shanks are tempered. I think you will find it difficult to get good bends without heating the material. A lot of articulated fly patterns just use shank cut to length and a mono loop tied in with thread. That sounds a lot easier then bending.

REVISION: my bad. I thought you were thinking of bending the hook shank, not using music wire. Music wire should work fine. Guitar strings might work as well, I use them for weed guards.

[whatfly]

Have to disagree with kengore, plan is quite feasible and no different a process than making your own spinners. Diameter of the shanks depends on your target species. Musky fishers I've heard would use something as large as .051" diameter wire shafts, while a steelhead fisher I know uses .035" for his Intruder style patterns. This is not something I have tried myself because I have yet to invest in a wire former, but definitely worth experimenting. You might find this discussion interesting: http://globalflyfisher.com/tie-bette...wire-and-hooks.

Personally I would argue making shanks for something like a Game Changer would just not be worth the effort (there are better options than "spines" in my mind), but if I just needed a few shanks in specific sizes and I had a wire former, this is definitely something I'd want to play with. At the moment, I'm just cutting up cheap hooks and that has sufficed. YMMV.

[ducksterman]

These will work...good price...multiple sizes...can trim...some what on the crude side...I ran out of cheap hooks...

http://www.harborfreight.com/555-pie...use-67558.html

[rainbowchaser]

I just made one from a paper clip that should work just fine. A #1 paper clip will make them up to "1.5 inches easily

[fishbum]

Has anyone tried this? Anyone know what size wire is used for the commercial ones?

If you make spinners then this is a snap. I use 0.035 music wire for the heavy shanks and 0.024 stainless steel leader wire for lighter weight ones. I have used 0.012 for very light weight shanks but they ae difficult to work with because of their flexibility.

Jerry

[AllenOK]

Thanks gents!

[Jayatwork]

Amish hair pins can be made into shanks. They are pretty heavy wire and are not easy to bend though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2725174...&ul_noapp=true

[cycler68]

I use stainless steel leader wire for making inline spinners. I like it because its tough and won't rust. it should work great for making articulated flies.