Cutting Lip/bill Slot

[basskandy]

Hey guys so I got everything down pat adding weight and sealing and painting and everything but prob the most crucial part is adding the lip/bill slot  i have seen a couple different ways to do so on youtube but nothing really concreat ideas.  I have looked trough the search option with not finding much maybe i am missing a tutorial or just a thread in general or a video to help point me in the right direction on technique to keep it consistant?

 

 

[mark poulson]

Starting out with a rectangular lure blank is key.

If you start out with a rectangular blank, trace the profile of the lure, including the lip location, angle, and depth, onto one side.  Then use a saw of come kind to cut the lip slot, keeping the blade square to the blank.

The easiest tool to use is a bandsaw, next is a scroll saw, or a hand saw.  You can tape a couple of sections of hack saw blade together to make a saw that's the correct thickness for your bill, but leave a little room for epoxy.

If you want to use a table saw, you can use an auxiliary fence on you miter fence to set both the angle and depth, but it's a little more difficult.  Do a Google search for miter fence and you'll see lots of examples.

Using a hand miter saw and a miter box works, too, if you make a wooden miter box and cut the angle of the bill slot into it first.  You can cut multiple slot angles into it, and use whichever one works best for your lure.

 

If you are trying to add a lip slot after the lure is already shaped, a hand miter box is your safest option.

Mark a centerline from nose to tail on your lure, so you can set it into the miter box parallel to the side, and lock it there with wedges.  Mark the depth you want the bill to go, and cut slowly to that depth, making sure your lure body doesn't move.  If that sounds difficult, it is.  

 

Getting the bill slot square to the centerline of the lure, and square at the bottom of the cut, helps you install the bill square and true, which is important.

If you trust your eye, you can set the bill into a sloppy cut and shim it with wedges (I use wood toothpicks) until it looks square to you, but that is an iffy proposition, and I only do it when I replace a broken bill, or try to turn a lure into a wake bait.

 

That's all I know about cutting slots for bills.  I'm sure there are lots more ways, and someone here will chime in with other ideas, I'm sure.

Edited May 26, 2014 by mark poulson

[basskandy]

Yeah I saw a few good posts with table saws and with the miter frences set like you said.  I am just trying to make sure the cut is even and yes the baits are already shapped while doing this.  just playing around with some baits from lurepartsonline at the moment.  anything set for a even cut is what i am looking for and obviusly saftey.  i kinda like my 10 fingers..

[BobP]

On pre-formed bodies, I loop a thick rubber band or a piece of flexible plastic over the front of the lure and adjust it until I get the lip angle I want, check it for symmetry, then mark it with a pencil.  Then I use a Dremel with a thin fiber reinforced cut off blade to cut the slot by hand.  It's advisable to make the slot a little thicker than normal to leave extra room for adjustment in case the slot is not perfectly square to the body.  I glue the lip in with paste epoxy (Rod Bond slow cure), which fills in any extra space and allows me to square up the lip to its final position.

[Vodkaman]

If your pre-shaped bodies are consistent, then a Bondo mold can be made to hold the body. I have written about this method before, the relevant post is No6.

 

Dave