[Seawolf]

Hi,

I have been experimenting with making welded loops using the shrink tube method with pretty good sucess. I tried it on one of my sink tips which I subsequently hung up on a snag and broke it off. I could not tell if it broke at the weld or was cut off on a rock or other shrp edge. Have other folks a good luck welding sink tips like T14 or similar? The material definitely melts different than floating lines and noticed that I tend to toast the area of the loop just outside of the shrink tube. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Thomas

 

[CharleyKehwa]

I had the same problem, my technique for welding floating lines does not work so well on T14. But, the little braided loops you can buy at a fly shop work great so I just use that for T-14/T-11 etc...

 

[Gray Ghost]

Rio T Tip has a Mono. core. It does not weld very well. You are better off putting a braided Mono. loop on the head end of the T Tip and striping to the Mono. core and tying a Non-Slip loop knot on the leader end. A better sink tip material to weld loops with is Meiser's Zink Tip. It has a braided Dacron core. You can make spliced loops with it also, which are my preferred loops.

 

[James Waggoner]

Yeah, I gave up trying to weld loops on T - material. I did find out if it gets cooked, toasted or burnt cut the loop off and start again; the burn makes the material week and damages the core...if you don't want to start over at lease test pull it real good a few times.

 

[Derek Day]

I do wrap-and-coat loops using aquaseal or seam grip. I have yet to have one fail.

 

[Mumbles]

I belive that R. B. Meiser sells zinc impregnated lines in spools of 100' for about $35. This material is reported to be weldable. I don't know yet but I'll know eventually.

 

[Brady Burmeister]

The 3 ft-15 ft. pre cut zinc lines from Meiser have welded loops on them, so i would assume you could weld them also. They are really awesome, super flexible and the turnover is amazing. I'll never buy t-8/11/14 again.

 

[James Mello]

Use a heat gun and keep the temp below 220 F. It takes some time, but you can get strong smooth welds doing this.

 

[Grayone]

If you have some airflo sixth sense sinking..........................cut some of the running line off the end and weld it on as a loop..............Don't over heat....also make the weld about 1 3/4 inch long where it is heated to the T-whatever....If color does not bother you use almost any airflo running line (I don't like the ridge for this,just my thought process, but it may work well, never tried it)...........some of my loops are blue from a 40plus...............lighter colors are easier for me to see when they melt.........but the dark look better..............also the tighter you make the shrink tube fit prior to heat seems to work best.........as a last note, make the shrink tube longer on each end off your weld. It tends to protect it......Have fun