I went to Menards or any big box store and got 3-ft long 1/8-inch strips, cut them into roughly 3 1/2-inch pieces and bent them in a semi-circle in a vice. Trust me, they weren’t pretty. Then, I either had a buddy weld them on if he had the time or clamped with vice grips, drilled thru the jaw and pop-riveted them on. Either way worked well.
It was a lot of work but there were years when I was broke, liked to tinker and had more time than brains. Then I discovered No BS double jaws, tried a few and bought plenty. I still own 4 dozen. They’re a heck of a trap. Caught my first incidental otter in one of them. Held it on a drowning wire.
The problems I encountered by making and attaching my own included having to replace the springs with 1.75 or #2 springs to move the extra weight. In the end, I took a used trap, added about a $3 in cost and an hour or two apiece of time. Buying the No BS traps gave me a superior holding instrument that had great springs right out of the box. Being they were already powder coated made it even better.
Duke also makes a double jaw as did Sleepy Creek. I’m sure others do too. At least these are the ones I’ve tried and was very satisfied with them. The No BS in my experience were simply the best of the bunch.
If you have the time, a welder, and enough $$ to pop for new springs, doing the home made thing is the way to go. But if you want ready-right-out-of-the-box traps, buy them.
Last edited by Teacher; 06/04/20 06:11 AM. Reason: Misspelled word