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Silent Killer to Slide Swimmer Conversion (how to)


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Since the prices on Slide Swimmers have increased so much, I thought I’d post up a tutorial on converting a Silent Killer 250 into a Slide Swimmer 250. SK prices have increased as the SS prices have pulled the market up but not to the same extent so it’s possible to buy an SK and convert it for $20-$50 less than the price of an SS.

 

While I have successfully done this conversion, I do not claim to be an expert. If you disagree with anything I say or have something helpful to add, please do so.

 

The molded foam bodies on the SS and SK are exactly the same, as is the outer skin and the hooks/hardware. The SK has a bill installed while the SS just has the empty slot. The SK also has a weight in the tail fin (visible in the picture below) that the SS does not have. Lastly, the SS has weight in both ballast compartments in the front section while the forward one is empty on the SK, so that it floats.

 

Here is the Silent Killer 250 in wakasagi, as it came from the factory. It was about $100 shipped on ebay.

 

post-1174-14252988891417_thumb.jpg

 

 

Step one is to remove the hooks and rings. Then, you remove the lead weight in the tail. There will be a tiny hole in the bottom of the tail. Carefully make a small incision using the hole as a starting point. Since the rubber outer skin will streatch, a slit about 2/3 the width of the weight should be sufficient.

 

post-1174-14252988891862_thumb.jpg

 

 

Using slender needle-nose pliers, reach into the slit and grab the weight. Now, carefully work it out through the hole you just cut. Be careful not to tear the plastic and stop to make the incision larger if it will not fit through. I left the small slit as it is but some people like to glue it shut. I don’t think it matters.

 

Also, I have been told (by people more experienced than I am) that you can work the weight out under the skin to the front of the cover and get it out that way. This is probably true, but I was worried about tearing the foil, so I didn’t try it.

 

Do not remove the skin on the back section to get the weight out. This will cause more problems than it solves.

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Now it’s time to remove the bill. I used a small pneumatic auto-body saw to cut it off, then ground it down with a bench grinder. Be very careful not to damage the outer skin. At this point, it does not need to be perfect, just low enough for you to get the plastic skin off.

 

When I was finished, it looked like this:

 

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Close-up:

 

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Now you are ready to remove the plastic outer skin from the front section. It is not glued on, so it is easy to wiggle it around. To remove it, you want to slide it forward, over the head of the bait.

 

I recommend using a flat blade, like a standard screwdriver or a kitchen knife, to help guide the skin over the hook hanger. Slide the blade under the skin from the back up to the hook hanger and use it to gently lift the hole in the skin so that it will slide over the hanger. The top and pectoral fins can be used to get a good grip. Be careful not to tear the skin or damage the foil underneath. Once it starts moving, it’s pretty easy to slide off. Again, remove it by sliding it forward.

 

With the outer skin removed the bait should look like this:

 

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On the bottom of the Silent Killer, you will see that that there are two holes for weights but only one has lead in it.

 

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At this point, you should do any additional grinding/smoothing required on the bill. Also, I used clear acrylic to secure the edges of the foil. They tend to work loose over time, as the outer skin shifts around, and you might as well fix that issue while you have the bait apart.

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Now, measure out the correct amount of putty:

 

post-1174-14252988893724_thumb.jpg

 

 

Next, add it to the bait by carefully working it into the forward compartment. Start with a small piece and add it in layers to make sure there are no bubbles or empty spaces.

 

NOTE: If you do not have an accurate scale, don’t worry. Just fill up the front compartment and go from there. You will almost always have to add or remove a bit of weight to tune the bait anyway. This process is just designed to get you as close as possible to start.

 

post-1174-14252988894422_thumb.jpg

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Now, all you have to do is slide the outer skin back over the bait and install the hooks and rings. Here is the finished bait, ready to go:

 

post-1174-14252988894802_thumb.jpg

 

 

Mine swims extremely well and the total cost was only $110.

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Nice Tutorial. Thanks for taking away the mystique out of modding these baits. It looks like weighting a pinewood derby car. :)

 

Is that Tungsten putty that you put in there? Approximately how much does the existing belly weight weigh and do you need to add the same amount of weight in the other chamber to get it to sink flat?

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Is that Tungsten putty that you put in there? Approximately how much does the existing belly weight weigh and do you need to add the same amount of weight in the other chamber to get it to sink flat?

 

It is tungsten putty. I thought I had a paragraph in there talking about it, but it seems to have disappeared. It is MUCH easier to use than lead.

This is how the paragraph should have read:

 

 

Now, you need to figure out how much weight to add. This is going to vary from bait to bait based on which hooks and rings you use and what sink rate you are trying to achieve. I used 178 grams as the target, which results in a ROF of about 4. So, put the hooks and rings you are going to use on an accurate scale. Now add the bait, and the outer shell. Do NOT include the weight you removed from the tail, as it will not be used in the finished bait.

 

Subtract the combined weight of all of the components from the target weight. This will tell you how much weight you need to add in the forward compartment. I strongly recommend using tungsten putty instead of lead. It is denser and MUCH easier to work with. Any hobby store that sells Soap Box Derby supplies should have it. It is also available on ebay. If you are converting one bait, one ounce of putty is plenty. In this case, I used 24g.

 

Now, measure out the correct amount of putty:

 

 

If an admin can put it in the right spot, I would very much appreciate it.

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Now the question is what happens when you pull the rear weight out and weigh it, replace it with tungsten putty which would allow you to distribute the weighting in the front two ballasts differently. A little heavier in the rear cavity or a little less in the rear cavity and a little more in the front cavity which may result in a bait that stay down a little better or changes the glide a little. small changes in ballast size a location can effect how a bait reacts and swims alot.. just some words for thought 8-)

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Now the question is what happens when you pull the rear weight out and weigh it, replace it with tungsten putty which would allow you to distribute the weighting in the front two ballasts differently.

 

I thought about doing that but mine swam perfectly from the get-go. Definitely something to play with if you had a wonky bait, though. Or if you just wanted a faster sink rate.

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Now the question is what happens when you pull the rear weight out and weigh it, replace it with tungsten putty which would allow you to distribute the weighting in the front two ballasts differently. A little heavier in the rear cavity or a little less in the rear cavity and a little more in the front cavity which may result in a bait that stay down a little better or changes the glide a little. small changes in ballast size a location can effect how a bait reacts and swims alot.. just some words for thought 8-)

 

Exactly. I had a flash carp that was setup a little heavy in the front. Just 1.5g. It weighed less than another 250 I had, but would sink a little faster and stay down a lot better since it nosed down a bit as it sank.

 

If you completely closed up that tail bubble after removing the weight, you would have to play with the ballast up front to compensate. It's supposed to take on water from what I understand, so if you're shooting for perfection, trapping air in there is going to change things.

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