Cuttig The Lip Cut Out, Oh The Struggle.....

[Theine]

I have been working on some 9" muskie diving baits.  Similar to the grandma and Jake patterns.  I have begun to try and cut the lip cut outs and am failing miserably.  I have been trying to make 40 degree cuts on my table saw to accommodate a .20" lexicon lip and the results are splintered wood around the lip and basically trashing or cracking the bait.  I'm guessing if I use masking tape to mark off the cut line it may reduce the splintering.  However I can not figure out for the life of me what blade to use.  I have tried the standard table saw blade and several thickness of a dado blade.  I badly need a bit of advice as trial and error is only resulting in errors.  Any suggestions would be awesome

[Mr Jaws]

Hi

I had the same problem.I saw a YouTube video .where this guy was cutting lip slots from behind the table towards him .Instead of pushing the lure foward away from him. I tried it and it works.

[SW Lures]

.20 is about 13/64 of an inch, which is just thicker than 3/16". Must table saw blades are an 1/8" kerf cut. So a dado can cut a 3/16", but that is going to be a tad tight. Which is probably breaking the wood out.

What has been shown to me is to make your cut while the wood is still in its rectangular form. I have a slide jig for my table saw to hold my pieces in place while making this cut (homemade). This will take some math to get your cut deep enough. You could do a little sanding to get the slot wide enough if it's to narrow for the bill.

You can also use a band saw if you have one or a scrolling saw. But to me I would buy lexan at 1/8" unless you feel you need a thicker bill or you can't find it. Don't force the bill in. Epoxy drill holes, tow line hanger can secure your bill or just drilling in a pin and epoxy it to hold the bill.

The bill/lip should go in snug, but not forced.

Hope this help,

Dale

[SW Lures]

Another thing, it appears the grain of the wood got you to. Sometimes some people here will seal and harden the wood before installing the lip. That could help you to.

The only time that I blew out the nose of the bait is when I forced it.

Dale

[Chuck Young]

A table saw may be a little too coarse and break the wood. A band saw seems to be the best tool. If the blade wanders too much, cut a slot in a piece of plywood and clamp it down. Make your cut with the plywood in place. Cutting the lip slot before carving the block makes it easier to get it consistent and square. For balsa blocks a simple jig can be made by laminating 3 pieces of wood. The center piece rests against the top of the block. The two side pieces establish the slot (lip) angle and depth. The saw is three hack saw blades glued together.

 

If you are buying blanks preformed, there are some nice jigs in the archives. Use the search function and choose "forums"  not "this topic" which is default.

[ravenlures]

I tried two blades with a shim in between them and it worked, but it left a fine line in the bottom of the slot. I went to the local blade sharpening place and they made me up a blade to the right size slot and had it squared off, perfect slot. I also cut slots on the radial saw gives you more angles and is easy to do, just be carefull when doing the cutting.

[mark poulson]

A bandsaw is, by far, the easiest and safest power tool to use to cut lip slots.

[RayburnGuy]

Have you tried placing the lure blank between two pieces of scrap wood like a sandwich? This will usually prevent tear out.

 

Ben

[SW Lures]

I agree with Mark. If you use a band saw try this, draw your pattern out on a piece of paper with the lip marked out. Then wood glue it to your wood piece. This will help you with staying in the area that you want the lip at, depth, width etc. There is a con for a band saw, the multiple kerf cuts. You will have some clean up. I don't have this with the table saw. I also can put any angle that you won't with the table saw. From parallel to the Y centerline (or greater) to perpendicular to the line (or greater). If I wish I can clamp the work piece down for safety, by using wood clamps that installed on my jig. Which is most of the time.

If you are going to stay with a table saw then get a fine cut blade. I use a angle gauge and a height gauge to get a precise cut. These gauges are not real expensive. I have no blow outs even on soft woods, but what Ben has stated will help a lot. Use hard wood for the sandwich pieces and clamp it together in some way.

I like the table saw to do this and I get very precise and clean cuts. This is like anything else, the work piece of wood, saw adjustments and jig most be square. I have a 3/16" blade in my band saw for fine contour cuts, which is not fun for lip cuts. I do other work in my shop other then just lures. With the band saw set up with the attachment for that blade, I leave it alone. Very nice for tight cuts. So that's why I don't use a band saw for lips.

Let us know if there is something that we have not touched on.

Have a great day all,

Dale

Edited May 26, 2016 by DaleSW