JP MYERS Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 I read Hazmail's tutorial on bending lexan 2 nights ago.. I gave it a try today.. It worked great.. And I thank you Hazmail..! I used 1/8" lexan but will make the lips from 1/16" as soon as I get a small sheet to do cut-outs on to reduce nose weight.. The 1/8" bent in about 25 seconds using pure veggie oil at a medium stove top setting.. They came out perfect, the flare at the ends even came out nice.. Some of the lips I pre-drilled & they had fine line cracks horizontally from hole to hole.. The undrilled lips did not crack--live & learn.... The weight of the 1/8" lips ( 5g) match exactly to the metal ones I used for the "sandwich" tho, so I'll try 1/16" to cut down the weight.. I need a medium musky size lip about 2.5g- 3g.. Assuming the weight will be cut roughly in half by using a lip at half thickness, they should work for my applications on a frog lure--the metal lip was sinking the head too much.. Then I can do a swim test to see if the lexan will bite into the water similarly to the metal jitter lip.. Dont know if the pics show the bends well enough or not, but they are near exact replications of the master.. If the lips dont work out on my lure, no problem, I learned a new trick, ..!!!!! Anyway, just thought I'd post this, maybe someone out there might have interest.. Again, thanks Haz for the tutorial.. JP~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genekickinit Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 (edited) I read Hazmail's tutorial on bending lexan 2 nights ago.. I gave it a try today.. It worked great.. And I thank you Hazmail..! I used 1/8" lexan but will make the lips from 1/16" as soon as I get a small sheet to do cut-outs on to reduce nose weight.. The 1/8" bent in about 25 seconds using pure veggie oil at a medium stove top setting.. They came out perfect, the flare at the ends even came out nice.. Some of the lips I pre-drilled & they had fine line cracks horizontally from hole to hole.. The undrilled lips did not crack--live & learn.... The weight of the 1/8" lips ( 5g) match exactly to the metal ones I used for the "sandwich" tho, so I'll try 1/16" to cut down the weight.. I need a medium musky size lip about 2.5g- 3g.. Assuming the weight will be cut roughly in half by using a lip at half thickness, they should work for my applications on a frog lure--the metal lip was sinking the head too much.. Then I can do a swim test to see if the lexan will bite into the water similarly to the metal jitter lip.. Dont know if the pics show the bends well enough or not, but they are near exact replications of the master.. If the lips dont work out on my lure, no problem, I learned a new trick, ..!!!!! Anyway, just thought I'd post this, maybe someone out there might have interest.. Again, thanks Haz for the tutorial.. JP~ How long did you cook the lexan? Couldnt find haz's tutorial... Edited April 4, 2010 by genekickinit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishwhittler Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 (edited) How long did you cook the lexan? Couldnt find haz's tutorial... Here you go: Compound Bending Lexan. Here's another by Hazmail: Polycarbonate (Lexan) Lip Former Edited April 4, 2010 by Fishwhittler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP MYERS Posted April 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Hi Gene, Fishwhittler posted the thread link to the Tute for ya.. But all member tute's are on the Forum List start page about midway down.. Several good tute's to read there.. I got the oil up to temp then cooked the lips for about 20-25 seconds.. You can clearly see the form squeeze and bend the lexan to shape just by removing the sandwich from oil and eyeballing the progress.. I was dipping mine for 5 seconds in & 5 sec.'s out just to keep the clamp from melting & lips from cracking...They are 1/8" and Im sure if you're using 1/16" it would be less cooking time, guessing 15 seconds.. Doesnt take long.. As you can see from my pics, I used plastic spring clamps.. The tip of the plastic clamp will melt to your pan if you dont do the In-Out every 5 seconds.. Perhaps metal clamps would be better suited for this as Haz used in his Tute.. I didnt have a thermometer so I just experimented with heat settings on my stovetop range 'till I got the right setting.. On my stove it was setting 5 (mid-range temp) at 25 seconds doing the 5 sec In-Out dipping.. Take Note: Your results may vary, kids dont try this at home, some side effects may occur, consult your doctor if symptoms persist....I love those strange drug commercials with all the possible bizarre side effects listed at the end.! JP~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 JP- If your Polycarbonate is cracking/crazing the oil is probably too cold, heat it up a bit an dip for shorter period - thinner Poly (1mm) is better because it retains less moisture, which also causes it to craze/crack. If you want to use thicker poly, place the blanks in the oven @ about 150F for 1/2 an hour to dry it. To test the oil for correct heat, place a strip of scrap poly in the oil and stir it around, when the right temp is reached it will bend easily, just by the movement through the oil.pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genekickinit Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 [/color][/font] Here you go: Compound Bending Lexan. Here's another by Hazmail: Polycarbonate (Lexan) Lip Former THANKS .....EVERYONE.....great info & pics.....sometimes,me & the search engines just arent on the same page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP MYERS Posted April 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 JP- If your Polycarbonate is cracking/crazing the oil is probably too cold, heat it up a bit an dip for shorter period - thinner Poly (1mm) is better because it retains less moisture, which also causes it to craze/crack. If you want to use thicker poly, place the blanks in the oven @ about 150F for 1/2 an hour to dry it. To test the oil for correct heat, place a strip of scrap poly in the oil and stir it around, when the right temp is reached it will bend easily, just by the movement through the oil.pete Thank you Pete for adding your keen wisdom to the thread,.. I was thinking the cracking was from the oil being too hot or because I had pre-drilled the screw holes...So Im very glad you posted.. I will be trying some here in the next few days.. I have some thinner lexan now too but I hope I can get consistant results w/the thicker 1/8" stock... And I will definitely put some scraps in first,.....Thanks again, much appreciated.. JP~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontPhisher Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 That is totally it!!! I am so happy about this topic:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
