Crankbait lip slot

[danderson]

you could turn down the whole block to a cylinder the same width and measure with a caliper. Then turn your lure down. The cylinder would be fine since your lure is cylindrical also. It would get your lip slot square since the lure would be square to the outside cylinder. I think that makes since. I know what I mean anyway. haha

[spoopa]

That would work to! lol how about just making a square jig for the round stock to fit in?

Thanks, Jacob

[diemai]

@ spoopa

Jacob , ....funny , but I also don't remember , on which ocassion I mentioned turning a lure in my lathe with an off-centered block:huh: ?????????

But it surely wasn't about making lipslots prior to having turned the lure blank finish , since I never tried to cut the lip slot this way .

Only made such experiments on round lureblanks , that had a kink somewhere along their length or in center . I'd first turn one side finish , after set in the lathe's center tip into another offset countersunk on one side of the stock and then turn the second part of the blank ,...... the transition between these two disaligned body portions I'd smoothen by hand .

Used rectangular stock for this , wasn't very satisfying , though ,......only made two sinking gliders that way .

Anyway .......sorry for a little off-topic .

I believe that I have mentioned turning an off-centered blank from rectangular stock and leaving the flanks plane , virtually only rounding back and belly ,.... blank ends either , off course .

I guess , that I have mentioned , that the flanks would most likely turn out uneven this way , so I had thought about turning the lure from square blank(or previously cutting a square end to a round dowel) ,......leaving the square dowel end connected to the blank and utilized this square end to clamp the finished blank under certain angles into the vise of my hobby routing machine to cut the flanks even and symetrically and also the lip slot perfectly angled .

Guess , that would be , what you had read about , just came into my mind as writing this post ?????

greetz , Dieter:yay:

[CL Rods]

Try using a simple mitre box, most come with 2 or 3 pre cut angles that if you were to hold a bait against the side of the mitre box, with a jig supporting the bait at the proper angle to be able to use one of the precut slots, it works pretty well for a simple method. Just make sure you use a fine tooth saw. You can create a jig to support the bait from the blank wood you cut the shape from to begin with as it will match up perfectly to support it.

[fatfingers]

If you cut the lip slots before you turn do you have trouble with any of the wood chipping around the lip slot when you turn the bait down? I recently got a lathe up and running and the lip slot is my only problem. I have only made flat sided baits before.

You can cut the lip slot while the stock is still square.

I have never had any problem with "chipping" near the lip slot while turning the wood down to the right shape.

Its a bit tricky to cut it deep enough so that when the stock is rounded via the lathe, the slot is the right depth. With a bit of practice it isn't that tricky though.

Also lathe-made baits are somewhat more forgiving that ordinary cranks when it comes to lip size, angle and installation.

Try to be sure to cut the lip slot on the appropriate side of the stock. You will want the lip slot on the belly of course, and you will want the belly to have the screw eyes installed across the grain for the strongest bond.

Edited June 8, 2009 by fatfingers

[hazmail]

Maybe this would be useful, can be made one from round tube as well. As I think V.M is saying, use a long ruler/straight edge to check slot is plumb.pete

[spoopa]

Maybe this would be useful, can be made one from round tube as well. As I think V.M is saying, use a long ruler/straight edge to check slot is plumb.pete

That would be the best way i bet, lol i tried to make some of your bubble float lures and that would of been really handy:lol:.

@ diemai

Sorry about that, i didnt mean about the off centered block but cutting a lip slot on a lure that was turned on the lathe:o. But some if your work has inspired me making some lures with lips from the lathe, lol its tough to get them to swim.

Thanks, Jacob

[danderson]

you'd still have to be careful though because the lure could still rock back and forth I think. Unless I missed something. It could get you started though.

[diemai]

@ spoopa

I had figured out before about those spindle shaped , lathe-turned blanks to be difficult to wiggle nicely , ......they most likely tent to roll too much for my liking , ...especially with an "ordinary" , pointing somewhat downward lip (like a "Rapala Original" , "Bomber" , etc.) .

To prevent too much body roll they should have some kind of plane on their heads , a kinked lip (like "Creek Chub Pikie" , "Heddon's Wiggler" , etc.) does it even better .

The lures gain more sideward stability on retrieve this way , since the water pressure on those planes or downward pointing portions of the kinked lips tracks them back faster , when rolling sideward , thus the lures do wiggle better .

The slots for such "Pikie" style lips are easier to cut under correct angle and plane , anyway , since they go down somewhere from the nose just parallel to the lengthwise center axis .

One can just carefully clamb the lureblank vertically in a vise(utilise some softwood blocks or very thick cardboard either side to prevent blemishes on the blank) , support it with one hand(since it still should not be fixed too hard to squeeze)and cut with a woodsaw .

The shorter such lure blanks are in relation to their greatest diameter , the more pronounced they would wiggle ,.........at least as a rule of thumb:huh: !

good luck:yay: , Dieter

[spoopa]

Thank you very much diemai:worship:, i would of never thought of that, i always thought that the head on the "pikies" were there just for looks and did not serve that much of a purpose. Now that i think about it though most of the lathe turned lures do have a downward shaped head. Once again thank you very much:yeah:

Thanks, Jacob

[diemai]

@ spoopa

Just my theories , Jacob:huh: , ........if the lure starts to roll or capzise to say i. e. 45

[u63405]

after cutting the lip slot from block of wood, can the shape of the lure change the angle of the lip?

[hazmail]

U62879*** if you use an aluminum /plastic/cardboard template for the lure shape and a jig to cut the slot, the lure and the lip angle should be the same every time, if it does not work alter the lip angle.pete

[balsa butcher]

@ U62879, if you are building different shaped baits, you should have a different fixture for each one. If you are making flat baits, the 1 x 4 method I use is simple and fast. Trace your pattern in the center of the 1 x 4 (or whatever size board for that matter), then use a ruler to draw a line on it exactly where you want the bill to be. I like to draw a center line from the nose to the tail so that when I draw the bill line I can measure the bill angle and make notes. If I need to adjust the bill angle all I do is make another fixture, as it only takes a couple of minutes if you have a bandsaw.

[jlarnold1966]

I always use a fixture to cut my bill slots. If you are making flat baits get a piece of 1 x 4 or something of similar size depending on how big your bait is. It should be something fairly hard like yellow pine. Trace your patern on it along with a line showing where the bill slot is to be. First cut the line that would represent the bill to get the blade into the center of the 1 x 4, then cut the shape of the bait out. After you carve the bait, put it inside the fixture and eyeball it for square. It needs to fit snug, so either carve it a little big or make your fixture a little small. Use the saw kerf on the fixture as a saw guide to cut your bill slot. I have several of these for all my different baits, but instead of using the saw kerf for a handsaw guide, I use a miter guage on my bandsaw to do the work. For round body baits I make a fixture out of fiberglass resin. I put some tape on my saw table with some marks on it so I know where to stop every time. It takes a little practice, but you can make some very accurate cuts doing this.

Balsa Butcher...I'm one of those visual kind of people...any chance you could take a snap shot or two of your jigs for cutting bill slots?

[BobP]

There are several different Dremel circular Cut Off disks you can use to cut slots. The best is the fiber reinforced cut off disk because it will not shatter like the others if you bend or drop it. They do a quick job of it.