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Easy LIPS
There have been reading quite a few posts on hand cutting lips, maybe this is of some help!!
Here’s a device for cutting round “Lips” (20mm or about 7/8”). I have been using it for years to cut Aluminum, “Lexan”, Brass etc,- steel may be a bit too hard, although I would love to have a go at 20 gauge S/S with it. As you can see from the drawing, the lip size is determined by the hole and punch size. I scrounged a truck shock absorber shaft which happened to be this size and also would be hard enough to be able to grind the face nice and sharp. If ground/filed at a slight angle the punch will cut much easier. I am sure mild machine steel bar would do the job, so pick a lip size and go looking for a bar to suit your requirements.
The hole below the cutting slot is slightly bigger to allow the lip to pass through the punch after it is cut. The snugger the punch fit in the bore, the better the cut will be, with less finishing required. I grind a curved face on the punch and when the metal lips are punched out the shape is also imprinted on the finished lip.
The finished lip will not be a full circle, but will have a small flat on one side, I use a paper punch to nip a ¼” hole here, which gives it a bit of grip when it is inserted in the lip slot.
To punch out a lot of lips, the punch can be fitted to a press. I have used something I made out of a few bits of flat bar and square tube, but you could use something like a cork or capping press for beer/wine bottles and you can probably knock out 100-200 lips an hour. If you can’t find a press, just give the punch a sharp whack with a hammer and out they pop. These lips can be seen in my avatar pic and as you can see they are aluminium, some have been a bit abused; they are probably about 15-20 years old.
For me hand cutting lips is one of the most tedious, time consuming tasks in lure making, so I hope someone gets some ideas from this. I will try and get some pictures tomorrow, so you all can get a better idea of what’s going on. Pete
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