I am in the process of making a DP trap and was wondering how many others also make there own. I don't have pics yet but anybody that does that would be great.

I have (once) set a trap and covered it with a 6 inch pipe cap with a 1.5 inch hole drilled in the top. Never did catch a coon, but there are several people who have.
Mink

Hey I make my own DP traps What do you see in this picture? Should have had 3-4 more thraps in that area. Yancy

I knew you made your own. ADC give you a lot of advertisement. Thats good advertisement too, because he's a great guy.

i'd like to try yancy's trap, just waiting for the go-a-head from the state on the traps. they aren't legal yet, working on it.

just made 3 of them a couple weeks back. have not set them yet. here is a couple pics.
not quite sure which one i prefer since i kinda made these without ever seeing another dp trap in person. i made mine with a push or pull trigger.

of all the ones i've tried,i like the yances dp's the best.i modify them a little(cable the end caps thru the trap with snare cable,keeps them from getting lost).thats it.set and bait it at home.stake it down.catch coon.couldn't be easier!!

Hey ack what did you use for your spring?

ack, is that not the same as a lil grizz?

It may look the similar but I bet it only cost him like $5. That means he can make 4 for the price of a grizz.

I would also like to point out that with this post I do not intend to speak poorly about any manufactured DP traps. I just would like to see what type of trap my fellow trappers have come up with. I will bet that grizz and yancy just started tinkering around in their garages when they made their great traps. trying to save money and improve their trapline with something nobody else is using.

for some reason them springs that yack was using are half of #110s

When I was a kid, my uncle would take a board about 8" wide and a foot long and drill a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2" dia. hole in the middle of it and then he would take nails and drive around the edges and bend them in like a funnel. He would put an egg in a coffee can and put the board over the top of it. The coon would reach down in the can and try to get the egg. When he would get hold of it he couldn't get his foot out. He used them in his barn all the time.

Are those 110 springs?

combine spring from tractor supply.(kinda overkill but cheap) kinda like the grizz but with a push or pull trigger. no i ain't making them to sell just incase anyone ask. i just like to tinker. i have also made myself 2 dozen #2 double coils. like a monty but with a different pan setup. no pics of those.

Are those 110 springs?

Ack i have 2 questions then. What did it cost you and how hard are your to set? There not going to like rip the darn things foot off are they. that would smart.

Beav
They are springs to go on a combine, a grain crop harvester.

as usual i already caught myself once! yeah it smarted! about $1.5 each on the spring. the rest i had laying around the shop. not real easy but no tools needed to set. much easier then a 220 bodygrip! i have never held another dp trap only seen them in pics so i have no way to compare the ease of setting. i just wanted to make a couple to try. i catch most of my coon in snares.

sweeeeeeet.

My trap has been on the market since 81. and it was a tinker ideal. and something to use in the city limits that would not catch a dog. Yancy

he shoots, he scores. thanks yancy.

ack great job in the d/p traps. it sure would be nice if you could help the rest us out by telling us how to make them!!!!!

they can be made with a drill press,hacksaw, and a welder. the push or pull trigger needed a tad bit more work (bridgeport mill).
i have been a tool and die maker for 25 years. i made these at home with the tools listed above.
take a closer look at the "trigger hole" on the brown one. not a great pic but shows why i needed the milling machine. if you want just a push or a pull type trigger then no milling machine needed.

Interesting quote. The DP Trap was not invented by Yancy....as far as I know, Yancy purchased the DP Trap Co from Harry Winters who supposedly purchased it from the original inventer of the DP Trap.

Getrz

I'm sorry if I offended you getrz. I am unaware of how any traps came into production and was just stating a point that trying out some new designs can only make the market and their own personal trapping better. your proof of that.

I have seen the Black Hole Mole trap and It looks a lot like the little grizz. In fact the only thing I see differnt Is the dog and the spring strength. What came first the chicken or the egg Lol

The springs he is using are springs off a combine head, or a swather head, if you go to a CaseIH dealer they would be part number 700709760, i'm sure you could go to a tractor supply store and get them also.

Corey

yes the springs came from tsc. http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Home_10551_10001

i used the weakest i could find. after bolting the spring to the pipe, i "unwound" the spring to weaken it slightly. the spring i bought was from a john deer.

I looked through some of my springs this morning, I think mine are all too strong to use in that application.

You did a great job on those traps ack, I might try my hand at making some.

Yancy,
Did or do you make the adaptation for a 1 1/2 coil? I'm referring
to the triggering method of the DP.

Dutch: I do not. Yancy

corey- you might try "unwinding" or "winding" one of those till its only "stroking" the amount needed to close the trap. you are not out much if you do mess one up. the straight tines can be bent 90 degrees once without breaking. if i remember right i wound the springs i used to lesson the strength. i put a socket inside the coil then just wrapped the straight end until i got the proper position.

ack< What is the diameter of the pipe or tubing you used. I too have never held a "dog proof " trap. Thanks for sharing. I wonder if a small long spring could be used for a spring?

i am going to guess since i have no idea (they are at the shop). i'm guessing 1.75 or 1 3/4 for those who like fractions.

give the longspring a shot! might work. you will never know until you try. i doubt if a weak #1 spring will be strong enough though.

Thanks ACK, I'm gonna take a longspring to the shop and try it out.

The problem I see with the use of a long spring Is that when it's attached to the trap body won't It be In the way of the trigger? Just a thought.

I have been fooling around with this concept for some time I have a trap body built but I haven't figured out the spring yet.

Do you want me to send you a couple of this type of spring Gary? If you do pm me your address and i'll sure send you some.

Corey

Thanks Corey
But I have a case dealer just down the road and will be making a trip soon.
We have a de mulcher on the farm (Straw berry)and It has similer springs to what are shown but the outside dimentions are over 4" wide just seems to be to cumbersome. Maybe the combine head things are not so wide.

CaseIH part number ZA106550 is 3" wide thats the narrowest I can find. If you happen on something narrower let me know the part number of it.

tt

thanks guys you have a lot of good ideas.

Not a metal worker,but been wondering if hay rake teeth would be a good solution ?

I made one of these traps with a longspring at work today. I mounted the trigger beside the spring instead of on the rim and it crosses diagonally across the compressed long spring. It seems to work great and I could not pull my finger out of it! I still need to make some adjustments and maybe I'll post a pic. The longsprig was a piece of cake to attach and set. Think we're on to something.

Ack, what did you use to cut the holes for the wire jaw and the dog. I think that I am going to use a dremel tool unless somebody has a better idea.

How about a MB 650 spring. And i thought It would be easier to use square tubing Instead of pipe. It would be a lot eaiser to just drill holes Instead of slots. You could drill a 3/4" hole for the trigger And 3/16ths holes for the paw holding devise.

The design I am working on right now uses a mb650 spring. as for the square tubing I guess I don't see why it wouldn't work, but you still need slots for complete closure. I would bet without slots you would get a lot of pullouts.

The trap I made is made with pipe and I took a die grinder with a cutoff wheel and cut a slot half way through the pipe. the slot is about 1/4" wide. It was a lot eiseir than milling and it has plenty of clearance for the trap to close all the way. I believe ACK used a mill to cut the notch for his push/pull trigger leaving a small tab in the middle to catch the trigger. I drilled three 1/4" holes in the side of the tube in the shape of a clover and then filed out the small amount of material leaving a sideways heart shaped hole. the piont in the heart is what the trigger catches on. I tied to post a picture of the one I made but I'm a little better (not much)at fab work than I am at figuring out the internet.

yep i used a mill. if you don't have one just drill a large hole the lay a nail part way over the hole and tack it in place with a welder. much easier then milling.

as for the slots, mark and drill the proper size hole then very slowly twist the pipe allowing the side of the drill to cut the slots. go too fast and your drill will become two! i know there are easier ways to make a trap but i was after a method for anyone with a drill press and a welder to be able to make one. i do like the idea above about using square tubing. might have to try one of those sometime in the future.

For those slots on the paw holder couldn't a guy just use some care with a chop saw and burn out a slot on each side?

With the use of the square tubing you could just drill two holes Instead of slots. And the U shaped paw holder could be bent with two 90s so when It was pulled through the holes It would pull up tight to the Inside surface of the tubing.Just like two trap jaws coming togeather.And to keep the paw holder pulling straight you would just cut two segments of smaller tubing that would slip Inside and bracket the paw holder.

Also curious about what you are doing on the back side of the trap. I am assuming there is a tail or other end of the spring that is going into the rear of the trap?

Same as the Grizz you connect the throw arm of the spring to the U shaped paw holder

What type/gage of wire are some of you using to make the U shaped paw holder?

10 or 12 gauge would work. 1/8 inch threaded rod would give you better hold on that coons foot over a smooth wire or rod.

Thanks Beav.

Has anybody tried using a heavier wire or a flat piece for the foot wire. I would think it would work a lot like lamination and cut down on foot damage and make the animal more comfortable. This is more important on the accidental cat catches.

With a coons tapered foot I would think you would get more pull outs with a flat paw holder.

Yes you could use an abrasive saw to "burn" slots for the U shaped paw holder. Thats what I did with the cutoff wheel on my die grinder. Using a thin wheel meant I had to make two cuts and remove the metal inbetween. ack is right, you could easily make elongated holes with a drill bit. I used a 4" 20d nail for the catch band. It has a dia. of 3/16". The body of the trap is made with galvanized 1-5/8" tubing that is commonly used for chain link fenceing. It is farely thin walled and easy to work with but seems plenty strong. I also had a lot of it laying around.

did you have any trouble welding the galvanized metal. That stuff usually give off quite a bit of weird fumes.

Beav can you bend a threaded rod much without breakage?

I am talking about the other end of the spring with my other question Beav. Looks like he is bolting it in possibly in the picture, but the angle is messing me up. That srping has to be solid and welding it is not an option.

I think I got a picture here It's not as pretty as ack's traps. I didn't want to spend too much time on a prototype that might not work. Galv metal is nasty to weld but for the small amount that I welded it's not a problem. Flux cored wire will weld well to galvanized but hold your breath!

Gonna take it out and try it?

I gotta tell wst, that is not a pretty trap. But if it works is all that matters. how does your trigger work.

ya DO NOT breath that smoke off gal metal its very toxic

Interesting post.

I will give this one a try. the nail that you see running into the side has a notch in it that the point in the hole hooks on. Push that nail up or down and SNAP! There is definitly something to be said for buying a proven trap like Yancy's or Grizz that you will have confidence in but It would feel great to put up a little fur with my own contraption. Hopefully I dont just give all the local coons a free edjucation!

i made one with #9 wire for the "jaw". it works but seems too bend to easily. one of the others i used a spring pin from a #2 double coil. i had 4 coiled some and had extra pins left over. they are about the same dia. but much stiffer.
the spring on the ones i made are bolted down. a 3/8-16 bolt with a washer will hold the spring.
the arm for the trigger i used two different materials. one was #9 wire and the other was a 20 penny nail. both worked fine.
they are cheap to make, they just take time. like i said before, the springs are all i bought and they only cost a buck 50. i looked at other springs but could not find any localy cheaper then the combine reel springs.
some time in the near future i will make a couple with square tubing and post some how to pics. just not sure when i'll get the time!

wst what size long spring did ya use thanx welder

It'd be pretty easy to take the galvanizing off....especially if you do it after cutting to length.

You'll must have a LOT of time on your hands! Great looking work you done there!

i've been thinking of a design with a small loop of easily replacable cable for the paw holding device,sort of like a small enclosed powered foot snare. maybe a single #3 or #4 coilspring spring for the power,no lock,just two holes close together on one side with a slot cut opposite to hold the loop in place. I would close around the wrist like a cable handcuff inside the pipe. Havn't had time to play in the shop yet,and not sure on spring size,but what do you think?

just got done winding 2 dozen springs for my traps. turned some arbors down in the lathe and made my own. they look just like the double torsion springs on the griz. made a fixture to create the loop also. i'm using 1/8 inch music wire and still need to strees releive them in the oven at 450 for 45 minutes when the wife aint lookin.lol i want to make a video on winding springs but havent had time yet.
matt

Man I really would like to see that video.

Welder, I used a #1 Victor. I thought about the cable idea also. I think it would work fine.

Cable might work but I think the wire loop has been time tested on the grizz and we know that works.
I don't think most of us have the tools to wind springs. But It would be great to know how It's done.

i've been think'n of makin mine from square tubing and the spring that you use and i got some of those that are broke but the spring is good yet

i added a thread on spring making if anyone reading these ideas are interested. you'll have to look down the list. i dont know haow to put a link.

You just have to highlight the url, and copy and paste.
Heres the link he was talking about.

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/688194#Post688194

freeburgtrapper- nice job!

Thanks for the video. Where do you get music wire to make springs?

i order mine from Small Parts inc.

Do you have a web address?

TTT

Freeburgtrapper what length wire are you ordering, what is the length of the wire for spring before winding. Just curious.