Block tin with a small percentage of lead added should be used for pour­ing metal squids. Block tin can be obtained at times from a junk dealer who handles scrap metals. Used alone, it has a tendency to crack easily but adding some lead will make it more flexible and easier to bend without cracking. Bar solder used by plumbers also contains block tin but has too much lead, and must be mixed with pure tin to get a metal squid with a white silvery finish.

It will be remembered that molds made from plaster of Paris or water putty have a short life and usually last just long enough to pour about two or three dozen squids. Then they chip up or crumble and a new mold must be made.

If you want to make a permanent mold for casting metal squids, do not use the plaster mold but send it to a foundry and have a bronze copy made. To save yourself work later, make sure you carve out a pouring hole in the mold before sending it to the foundry. Even so, when the bronze mold comes back from the foundry there is a lot of work to be done before it is ready to use. First you will have to file the face of the mold with a flat file so that it is level and smooth. Then file and grind the inside of the bronze mold, using small triangular and pointed files or a small electric hand-grinding tool. Smooth out all the rough surfaces and corners of the mold and then finish the job with emery cloth, starting with a coarse grade and finally with a smooth grade. After the inside of the mold is fairly smooth, polish it with crocus cloth.

The idea is to get the inside of the metal mold (which forms the squid) as smooth and polished as possible. Then, when you cast a metal squid, it will come out smooth and shiny.

To get the mold ready for pouring you need a flat metal plate to use as a cover, and you must file a slot in it for the hook. This metal plate can be about the same dimensions as the bronze mold except that it doesn't have to be as thick. You can use a C-clamp to hold the plate against the mold when pouring the hot metal. To make a mold which is easier and quicker to use, get a flat metal plate about V2 in. thick and the same length and width as the mold.

Then tap the two sections of the mold to take screws so you can add handles and a hinge. Such a finished mold is shown in Fig. 103. How­ever, it's more work to add the hinges and handles, so unless you plan to pour hundreds of metal squids, use one metal plate for all your molds and clamp it in place.

Metal squids are made in two ways, one type having a stationary hook which is molded right into the block tin body. The other type has a swing­ing hook which moves freely on an eye or escutcheon pin molded into the tail of the metal squid. These are shown in Fig. 104. Whichever method you use, allow for the hook, escutcheon pin or wire eye when cutting the slot or space in the mold or the cover so that it is held firmly in place while pouring. In other words, all the necessary parts must fit in place so that the mold can be closed snugly.

After the metal squids have been poured, they require some finishing. This can be done with a file first, then with steel wool to give the squid a smooth, shiny finish. The next step is to drill a hole at the front of the squid to which the fishing line is attached. This can be done with a hand drill but is easier and faster with a drill press or electric drill. Then you get some brass eyelets or grommets and slip one into the hole. The eyelet can be set in place with a large punch. To complete the job, flatten or curl the pro­truding edge of the eyelet to keep it in place. The eyelet strengthens the metal squid and prevents the wire leader from cutting through the block tin.

To bring out the best action in the water, a metal squid is usually bent in a single or double bend as shown in Fig. 105. The thin narrow metal squids are readily bent by hand but the broader, thicker ones have to be bent against a corner of a table or a vise.
The final step in making metal squids is to add feathers or hair at the tail or around the hook. You can, of course, use the plain metal squid to catch many fish. Or you can merely add a strip of pork rind to the hook. How­ever, most anglers add white or yellow hackle feathers or bucktail hair to make the squid more attractive and effective. On a metal squid with a sta­tionary hook you tie the feathers or bucktail around the tail end of the hook. Many anglers also add an additional swinging hook to the fixed one as shown in Fig. 106. To do this you merely open the eye of the hook with a starting punch, slip it on the hook, and then close it with pliers.

On a metal squid with a swinging hook you tie the feathers or hair around the hook itself as shown in Fig. 107. This is best done on the hook alone be­fore it is attached to the pin or eye of the metal squid.

If you do a lot of surf fishing you'll also lose many metal squids. It pays to make up plenty of squids during the winter months or the off-season so that they are ready when the fishing is good.

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