Making Lexan Diving Lips

[YoungForge]

Hello all I just had some questions on cutting out lean diving lips. First let me say that the reason I am interested in making my own lips is because the ones I had purchased do not fit the widths of the lures I have carved.

I just do not know what tools to use to cut the lips out of the lexan. I think that a hacksaw might work but I don't know.

I am also wondering if the heat of the friction of the blade will melt the lexan?

I want to be sure of these questions before I start to cut because I do not want to ruin my lean sheet, as do not have a lot of spare money to spend.

Might I add that I do not have any power tools just basic conventional ones.

Thanks and tight lines,

Thomas

[RayburnGuy]

I used to cut my Lexan lips with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel. On a post that BobP made he said he uses sheet metal snips to cut his out and then cleans up the edges with a Dremel and a sanding drum. Since trying his technique I've started cutting my lips that way and find it much easier than what I was doing. If you don't have a Dremel you could easily clean up the edges with a sanding block. You can make a sanding block by attaching some sandpaper to a square block of wood. There's really not a lot of clean up when using the sheet metal snips, but it will make your lips look better.

Ben

[YoungForge]

I used to cut my Lexan lips with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel. On a post that BobP made he said he uses sheet metal snips to cut his out and then cleans up the edges with a Dremel and a sanding drum. Since trying his technique I've started cutting my lips that way and find it much easier than what I was doing. If you don't have a Dremel you could easily clean up the edges with a sanding block. You can make a sanding block by attaching some sandpaper to a square block of wood. There's really not a lot of clean up when using the sheet metal snips, but it will make your lips look better.

Ben

Thanks so much Rayburnguy I really appreciate it! I will be sure to pick up some of those metal snips and try it out.

[Seeking 56]

You could also use a coping saw.

s54

[BobP]

I draw the outline of the lip with a template and then cut about 1/16th" outside the line with metal snips. A Dremel fine sanding cylinder takes the Lexan down to the exact line and a Dremel felt polishing cylinder will clarify the edges of the lip. This works faster than a scroll saw and is more exact. I use Wiss straight cut metal shears (yellow handle means straight cut) from Home Depot for around $12.

[Vodkaman]

I print out a te,plate from the computer in PDF format. Glue to sheet and cut with band saw to within 2mm of line. I sand to line on the belt sander. Yes, I do understand that you don't have power tools and if faced with that situation, I would probably use a hacksaw and try to cut several at a time. Maybe rig up a lekky drill with a disk sander attachment, by holding the drill in a vice. A hand drill and a bench vice are very useful tools and won't break the bank.

Dave

[Griffond]

we used to use a jigsaw with fine tooth metal cutting blades in a jigsaw to cut letters out of lexon when I worked for a sign company... and if you were making the same letter I would just clamp multiple sheets together all cut into proportioned squares and cut the letter out... you have to go slow so a descent jigsaw is needed... either with speed control trigger or knob... after that clean it up with sanding blocks or sander of some sort.

[Basstad]

I use clear self adhesive labels to make some of the diving lips I fit to my lures, see below for a quick description.

I buy a pack of 10 labels at office supply supermarket, you can make around 20-50 lips from each sheet depending on size & shape. You can use ordinary copy paper and spray with adhesive and stick these on instead if you prefer. I have designed simple lip shapes using MS excel software and set them out to fit the label size. It takes a little time to set up but once done you can print as many as you like.

I print out copies of lip designs and stick them to ploycarbonate or aluminium sheet.

I

I cut out sections of & remove the plastic backing off the lexan and replace it with masking(paper) tape, it is a better medium to assist with cutting out individual lips. I then drill holes for towing clip and cut out each lip with a set of snips and tidy up with sanding disc, paper or file.

I have bandsaw which can make it a little easier for larger sizes using 2mm lexan etc but smaller sizes can be done easily with hand tools. If you are making small amounts or one off lips this is a bit of overkill but it suits what I do and maybe it can provide some useful info for others, cheers Sav.

[YoungForge]

I use clear self adhesive labels to make some of the diving lips I fit to my lures, see below for a quick description.

I buy a pack of 10 labels at office supply supermarket, you can make around 20-50 lips from each sheet depending on size & shape. You can use ordinary copy paper and spray with adhesive and stick these on instead if you prefer. I have designed simple lip shapes using MS excel software and set them out to fit the label size. It takes a little time to set up but once done you can print as many as you like.

I print out copies of lip designs and stick them to ploycarbonate or aluminium sheet.

I

I cut out sections of & remove the plastic backing off the lexan and replace it with masking(paper) tape, it is a better medium to assist with cutting out individual lips. I then drill holes for towing clip and cut out each lip with a set of snips and tidy up with sanding disc, paper or file.

I have bandsaw which can make it a little easier for larger sizes using 2mm lexan etc but smaller sizes can be done easily with hand tools. If you are making small amounts or one off lips this is a bit of overkill but it suits what I do and maybe it can provide some useful info for others, cheers Sav.

Thank for the great pictures, I was wondering where you got the lip templates?

[fishaholic5]

Turning a Rotary tool into a small Pin Router will let you cut Lips straight off a template

Cheers

Wal

[BobP]

Thomas, you can make your lip templates various ways but what I use is a freeware CAD drawing program named PowerDraw. I'm sure there are other drawing programs, this is just the one I found and use. PowerDraw gives you a grid you can size to whatever scale you need - I use a 1mm grid size and zoom the screen in until the lip is easy to see and manipulate. Then you draw your lip design using the tools in the program. Now the important part: print the lip design out on any inkjet or other printer and it will be sized exactly to the scale you used in PowerDraw. I print my templates out on paper and then trace them onto clear plastic sheets and cut out the templates. I save the template file in PowerDraw and I save the actual plastic template for later use. Eventually, you build up a "library" of templates that you can use for other crankbaits. You will find using a drawing program lets you make a template that you KNOW will be the exact size you need and, as importantly, you know the template will be perfectly symmetrical - which is hard to achieve when you are using manual methods.

Edited October 6, 2012 by BobP