Hey all. I’ll put this out there. Anyone know of any do it yourself alternatives to leash cups? I don’t happen to have a leash cup on hand and am not going to put off finishing my board till I can get one shipped. I’ve heard to a few, but any ideas would be appreciated.
Use a white PVC pipe end cap, with a 1/4’’ nylon pin through it. You can also use a stainless steel pin, carbon fiber rod, or fiberglass rod. Score some channels around the outside of the cup to provide greater surface area, and a mechanical lock. I never had one pull out.
Three options come to mind.
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You can take rovings (glass rope) and make a leash loop out of the glass.
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If you have a fin you don’t care about, drill a hole in it and hook the leash to that. Then when your leash cup comes in, retrofit the board.
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Drill a small hole through the board, reinforce the hole with epoxied in plastic tube. Tube must be small enough that you can put rope through, but not knot on end of rope.
Hope that helps.
–BCo
EDIT: Or, do what Bill suggests!!! Nice one, Bill.
a leash loop might be your best bet. i’ve never done it myself, however i’ve been present when it was done. it’s strong and i’ve never heard any of them breaking.
I’ve taken a small plastic cup and put in some epoxy and fibers. Before it cured I stuck a rounded off piece of wax down into the mix. The wax creates a tunnel for the string.
When it cured, I popped the casting out the cup, removed the wax, drilled a hole crosswise and with 5-minute epoxy inserted the neck of a stainless steel spoon as a crossbar.
As Bill mentioned, score the heck out of the outside so it doesn’t pull out. His idea sounds much easier.
Sorry, I don’t have a pic.
Are you putting a center finbox on this board? I don’t know what kind of board you are building, but if you have a center finbox you haven’t dropped yet, you could drill a hole about 3/8’s of an inch from the back of the box area all the way through the board after you route out where the box is going to be (the hole should be roughly 1/2 and inch wide), cover the hole on the deck with some tape, fill the hole with a little resin and drop your finbox like normal, and after it has hardened up and your box is set, drill through the resin-filled hole on the deck all the way through the finbox, take your leash rope and tie a loop, put the loop through the hole so the knot holds the rope in the finbox, and you have a drill thru leash plug. Most times drill thru leash plugs are too far forward on the board, but some guys like them that way. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Dutchy <><
The loop is simple and can be made to look good, I used to tint them to match the board. Roll out a piece of wax and lay the rope/roving over it, let it harden, then pop the wax back out.
Thanks for all the responses guys. I decided to browse my local hardware store to see what they had to offer, before i decided exactly what i would do, I planned on doing the leash loop, but it never hurts to look. Anyways, I came across something I personally think is too good to keep to myself. Perhaps it’s not as revolutionary as I thought but… Anyways it’s an epoxy putty stick. 
It bonds to anything is water proof and hardens just like cement. After it’s hardened you can sand it, drill it and whatever else you want to do to it. All you do to use it is twist off as much as you want, knead it till it’s all a uniform color and then do whatever. It is also great for ding repair or places where the glass has de-lamed or for air bubbles. Just cut out the glass and insert the putty, wait an hour and voila you got it fixed. It might be a slight problem if your board is white, but it can be obtained as white putty too. Anyways, it’s just so easy as well as strong. It takes 3000 psi to shear this epoxy putty. I used it to make a leash loop normally done with fiberglass rope. Agreed it looks ugly right now, but I haven’t quite shaped it totally, and it will be painted yet.
Hope this helps others out there. Thanks for the responses all.