fatfingers Posted May 8, 2015 Report Share Posted May 8, 2015 Quick tip for the those newer members when making your own diving lip. I like to shape the lip on belt sander after cutting out the basic shape with a band saw. I use a heavier girt belt to get the lip shaped (using a paper template to both cut it and rough sand it) and then I polish the edges with a worn out fine grit belt on the belt sander. The heavier grit belt shapes the lip and removes all the saw marks on the edge, then the worn out belt removes all the marks left by the heavier grit belt. You are left with a lip that has an almost polished edge and a very accurate shape each time. Both the heavier belt, if somewhat worn out, and the worn out fine grit belt seem to allow more margin for error as you shape and polish the lip. So...hang on to your used and worn belts. I'll post pictures if it helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim2199 Posted May 8, 2015 Report Share Posted May 8, 2015 X2 I also finish them off by buffing the edges using a cheap polishing wheel on an bench grinder. Add a little buffing rouge to the wheel, and with a little light pressure the edges come out perfectly clear. Too much pressure and you can ruin the lip. The red jewelers rouge is best as it's the least abrasive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 I'm glad I posted this because I learned something in the process. I'll have to try the buffing wheel! I don't own one but I'll have to pick one up. I've been doing a lot of work with Kydex in addition to building a few baits and a lot of guys use a buffing wheel to polish the edges of Kydex too. There was a member on this forum who once posted that he used to polish each lip by hand. He would rub the edges on his carpet until they were like glass. And he was working with tiny lips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Hummmmm, got me thinking Vince, carpet stuck to a grinding wheel (or wooden wheel) might be a good 'fast' solution, must be the heat generated !!!. Also 'Flame Polishing' is used a lot on visors etc??? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim2199 Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Yeah I was pretty pleased with the buffing wheel, it's so quick and safe. Just have to clean the lips up with rubbing alcohol to get the polishing compound off. Word of caution don't use the higher abrasives polishing compounds like black or brown, or if you do use light pressure, as it can take too much off. Regarding the flame polishing, it's a very good solution on acrylic (plexiglass), but not so good on polycarbonate. I did a little research which was consistent with my own results when I noticed the lexan bubbling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
