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mikechell

flip flop popper

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I thought I'd done this before ... but I can't find it. Since there was a recent thread about "getting into making poppers", I figured this cheap way of making them could be useful, to other cheap bass-turds like myself.

I use popper hooks - but you could use straight shanks, since the thread will make a glue base anyway.

Start thread, wrap back and tie in tail material.

 

 

Tie in leg material of choice ... I am using rubber legs for this one.

 

 

After punching out a body from flip flops, you'll need to measure it, cut it and "skewer" it. If you push hard when punching the body, it will "deform" and have a slight taper in it.

 

 

Using a large sewing needle, pull leg material through the foam. A drop of superglue, then pull into final position.

 

 

Apply superglue to the threads and slide the body into place.

 

 

Trim legs to your desired lengths.

 

 

When the foam body gets too chewed up by attacking fish ... cut it off and glue on a new body.

 

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These work great for panfish too.I punch mine out with a small copper tube or pipe that i sharpen on one end.Twist it like you are driving a screw into the flip flop then push them out of the tube.

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I got gasket punches from Harbor Freight to cut the bodies out.

I put he body on the hook and then run rubber legs thru the body.

I have not used super glue on the legs so will have to try that.

Also I have a Dremel tool that I put a 1/64" bit in to drill holes for the hook to go through.

 

Rick

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Re: punching out foam with sharpened tubes.

 

I've used both sharpened steel tubes found in hobby shops and cheap manual hole punches (hit with a hammer kind). You can buy a set of punches inexpensively ($10ish?) at Harbor Freight etc. Which is better? Six of one half a dozen of another as far as I am concerned since both work. Both will need to be sharpened before use, the tubes are less expensive if you just want one or two sizes and you generally have enough material to make some friends with the extra, but the punches are studier and have a cutout on the sidewall to allow the cylinders to come out or to poke them back out of the front. Theoretically the steel quality is better in the punches, but well, they are cheap not just inexpensive so I would not bet on it. I'm not paying $25-$50 a piece for quality steel leather punches for this. If you have a bench top drill press it makes sharpening very easy and is also very good for the actual punching. Just hold a series of backed pieces of sandpaper (glue paper to wood/metal) or a metal file to the tube/punch while it spins. Years ago I read an article on using a drill press to punch foam with, but I ended up with smeared foam and deformed pieces. My really cheap bench top drill press has stepped pulleys instead of a true variable speed and even the slowest speed built up too much heat. However I figured out that it works very well if you just leave the motor off. This allows for consistent bodies and precise punching so you get more out of the material. Punching by hand works just fine though, so no need to buy machinery unless you need the excuse. Use a chunk of wood or HDPE to punch/press onto so you preserve your tool edges regardless of technique.

 

As an aside, I also bought a second set of punches that I ground to make half moon shapes. These allow me to cut a clean radius on the ends of foam strips very nicely with a bit of practice. The fish don't care, but it looks neater to the human eye. If you modify punches, grind slowly and carefully as to not overheat the metal and destroy any hardening/temper it may actually have. Constant dipping into water to cool the metal helps tremendously. If the metal turns colors, it's bad. The same goes if you power sharpen with the drill press or use a metal lathe to sharpen like I do.

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Or use an old knife sharpening stone.Hold the tube or pipe at a slight angle.Grind it against the stone as you slowly roll the tube with your hand.It won't take you a minute,gets it very sharp and you don't have to worry about heat building up or a drill press.I don't punch this through the foam.I twist it as i push it through it and makes a really clean cut.I do put a block of wood under the foam.When i get 10 or so cut...i take a small dowel rod and push them out of the tube.Works great for me and is very inexpensive.

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Lots of good answers, and I can only add my version.

One of my punches is a tube from a set of wind chimes that broke. One of them is a dowel pin from an engine I worked on. The one I use the most was a spacing collar out of some piece of equipment ... I don't even remember what. It's something that was sitting around, waiting for a use.

 

I sharpened them with a bench grinder, a file and a stone. They are sharp enough to push through the foam. A straight push will fold the foam in a little as I cut, resulting in a taper to the body. If I spin it as I push, it leaves lines around the body, which looks good for some bugs. To make it easier to control, I drilled out a hole, half way through a super-ball (Dollar Tree) and glued the tube into it. Makes a nice large handle for my hands to hold.

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Or use an old knife sharpening stone.Hold the tube or pipe at a slight angle.Grind it against the stone as you slowly roll the tube with your hand.It won't take you a minute,gets it very sharp and you don't have to worry about heat building up or a drill press.I don't punch this through the foam.I twist it as i push it through it and makes a really clean cut.I do put a block of wood under the foam.When i get 10 or so cut...i take a small dowel rod and push them out of the tube.Works great for me and is very inexpensive.

I agree, once you have an edge it is easy to maintain with a stone or backed sandpaper . Some of the punches I have purchased where butter knife sharp at best. It was much easier to sharpen them with the dill press or lathe since I already owned them. I could have sharpened them with a whetstone or a bench grinder, it just would have taken longer. I bought most of my woodworking gouges and chisels second hand, I often spend hours reconditioning by them by hand when I get them after decades or even a century of misuse. Takes just a few seconds to maintain an edge on them after that. I would not buy a drill press or lathe just for this.

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Lots of good answers, and I can only add my version.

One of my punches is a tube from a set of wind chimes that broke. One of them is a dowel pin from an engine I worked on. The one I use the most was a spacing collar out of some piece of equipment ... I don't even remember what. It's something that was sitting around, waiting for a use.

 

I sharpened them with a bench grinder, a file and a stone. They are sharp enough to push through the foam. A straight push will fold the foam in a little as I cut, resulting in a taper to the body. If I spin it as I push, it leaves lines around the body, which looks good for some bugs. To make it easier to control, I drilled out a hole, half way through a super-ball (Dollar Tree) and glued the tube into it. Makes a nice large handle for my hands to hold.

A very good friend who was a tool maker by trade made some foam spider punches for me out of some brass tubing by pinching the tubing in to form the right silhouette. He attached hard plastic round knobs on them, they work great. A super ball sounds like it would work beautifully and is a lot cheaper(knobs like that are probably $5-$10 ea.). Dan was a consummate professional when it came to tools he made and wasn't afraid to spend money on things like that, especially for other people. I miss him very much and always smile when I see those tools. I think I need to tie up some foam spiders and raise a glass again soon...

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this was an awesome thread. i didnt even know this was on the site. gonna start punching some old flops tomorrow. thanks guys

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One can also use a scroll saw to cut some square and/or rectangular popper bodies. If you would like a red face on a yellow body you can glue some craft foam onto the flip flop and then cut out the body. CA glues works fine for this. Just another way to do this without a punch and the square bodies work just as well. I personally do both. Your imagination is your only limit.

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What is a flip flop?

A small shoe with a sole, and straps that's it haha some are foam and cheap some not

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