lip jig

[Theflyingplatypus]

Does anyone have a plan for a lip jig? I want my lips to come out the same every time cause I will be useing them for trolling sometimes.

[BobP]

I've heard of various techniques, from having a punch die made up and punching them out on a benchtop press to having them cut professionally on a laser cutting machine. Neither option is inexpensive. The only reasonable cost option I know for small batch lips is to buy them ready-made from one of the hardware providers. I think there are other considerations if you're building trolling baits and want them to perform exactly alike; lure weight, body shape, ballast position, lip angle. Everything affects everything else on a crankbait.

[Theflyingplatypus]

What I meant was a sanding jig. Cause i use a drum sander to do alot of my sanding. A punch is not an option cause i use to many different syles of lips. I also hate buying comercial lips. I guess I am going to have to think something up.

[Palmetto Balsa]

Lexan 1/16 inch and Micarta/G10/FR4/Circuit Board 1/32 inch can be rough cut with scissors like Dura Shears or the heavy duty shears like athletic trainers use. The use your drum sander to finish the job.

Did I read that some people will polish the edges of the Lexan by rubbing it on carpet. If I did read that, is it the heat that polishes it or the abrasiveness of the carpet?

[cheesehead]

If I did read that, is it the heat that polishes it or the abrasiveness of the carpet?

it's both the friction and the abrasiveness of the carpeting although you are better served to use a loose cotton buffing wheel and polishing compounds.

Either way the edges need to be sanded to 600 grit for a mediocre finish. for better finish finer grits of abrasives should be used.

[Theflyingplatypus]

Ah, carpet is a good idea.

[Vodkaman]

I designed a lip jig system for controlling the profile. But when I built and tested it, I found that their was no real advantage in accuracy or time saving. I found that the best method for controlling the shape is the glued paper pattern and sand to the edge of the line with a drum sanding bit (Dremel).

For larger numbers, you will need to get a punch machined up. The problem with this method is that you cannot change your design once the expensive punch has been made.

I would be looking at a small NC router set-up, capable of cutting A4 size (210x297mm). The lip shape can be changed at will and each change can be saved. May also be used for cutting body masters and master molds. Expensive, but if it is for a business it could be well worth it, always nice to encourage the tax man to contribute his share. I am seriously considering NC milling (or routering) now and I am no where near a business.

[Theflyingplatypus]

Yeah thats what it looks like. I get the lexan with the protective covering on it and I trace my template right on to that with a fine point permanent marker.

[Legendary Lures]

If you are tracing a pattern onto your blank material, here's some ideas that may speed things up a little and give more consistancy. Use Microsoft Paint to design the lip, if making a new lip, or draw one of your current lips into Paint. You could take a digital picture of an existing lip and strip the picture to just the outline and other features.

When you have the lip in Paint, find the center and copy half of the lip. The half is top to bottom, not side to side. Paste the half back and reverse it. Join the original half and the reversed half. This will make both sides the same. Mark the places where you want holes or bends. Write the name of the lure that the lip will be used on, right on the lip. This comes in handy later when you have bags of lips, especially if the bag contains a mixture of different lips. Save the picture.

Now copy the lip and paste it back. Arrange the lips so they are in a continuous 69 pattern across the page. Space them so they are one saw cerf apart plus a little wiggle room for sanding. This way, when you are cutting them out, you are actually cutting the sides of two lips at once. I use a scroll saw on Lexan.

Print your page of lips out and glue it to the lip material. Cut them out, sand and drill. Leave the pattern glued to the material until you're ready to use the lip.

By having a computerized sheet of lips, you can print out another page later and make the exact same lips again. You can also copy the lip or entire page and make changes for a different lip. Save the new design as a new filename.

Hope this helps.

[woodieb8]

a simple way for squared coffin style is a bandsaw. you can rough cut approx 500 an hour. de-burr on a fine belt sander.

[Hoodaddy]

Vodkaman,

Check out MAXNC if you are interested in a hobby CNC Mill. Not a bad price for a self contained unit. Make sure you go with closed loop....more options and better running program. The only downfall is their support leaves a whole lot to be desired.

[BobP]

I do mine using plastic templates drawn with a free autocad program (Powerdraw) to insure symetry. A bit less accurate alternative is the old "paper doll" method where you fold a 3x5" card, draw half the lip at the fold, cut it out and unfold it to get a symetrical lip. I make 3-6 baits at a time so volume and speed are definitely not issues. I just want the few lips I do to be right. I trace around the plastic template with an ultrasharp Sharpie, rough cut it to about 1/16" with metal shears, and then sand down to the exact line with a fine grit Dremel sanding drum. It's a good way to make accurate lips with almost no equipment. To polish the edges, I use a wool Dremel polishing drum without polish. Sort of like doing it on a carpet at 20,000 rpm but don't leave the drum on any part of the lip too long or it can begin to melt Lexan.

[Vodkaman]

Hoodaddy.

I checked it out a while back, price is not too scarey.

Do you own one, if so I have a bag of questions for you, if you do not mind.

Sorry for the mini hijack, but my PM does not work on this office system, the security is as tight as a ducks a---.

[Bowman]

Please excuse me being so vague here as I don't have the time to properly research the name of the machine I will refer to.

A few years ago I worked at a company that manufactures oil drilling equipment. We had to attach lot and serial numbers to each finished piece. We had a machine that we used to engrave the tags. This machine had a place where we could put pre engraved numbers or letters spelling out what we wanted to engrave onto the tag. We would then follow along the letters or numbers with a "needle" that would move the bit along the tag engraving the letters or numbers we had chosen in a professional looking format.

If we would leave the needle in one place too long, the bit would bore completly thru the aluminum tag. I would think that if you could etch out or even trace the outline of an existing lip. The bit would cut the exact shape in lexan or whatever material chosen to make lips.

Again I apologize for the vagueness of this post. I will try to research and find the name of the machine and maybe link to their website to make my ramblings more clear.

Bo