I want to install a Bahne style single fin box in a board with a thin tail. Can I install the box in a routed slot that is shallower than the depth of the tabs? How much shallower can I get away with before I compromise the integrity of the box? Or, better stated, what is the minimum thickness I can have between the bottom of the box and the deck of the board. I'm glassing with 5 oz glass/poly resin; double on the deck, and double on the bottom (that includes the tail patch over the box).
You can shave off 1/8" off the face of the box, not it’s backing at all.
But fin fit is going to be a consideration/problem.
Better to use full height box, go up thru the deck, glass it on both the bottom and top, so it’s attached bottom of board AND top, poking thru for a bit of the length of the box.
…do the slot, install the box THEN grind down the top with 36 grit and angular sander; you can go more than 1/8. Sand the area besides to the lam and apply 2 4oz on top.
I have very thin tails in bonzer HPSB shapes, etc and put small Bahne boxes there…not only on longboards; I m saying this cause the boxes are a bit different; the small ones do not have tabs; the FU are made in China, so when you grind down, from time to time, you can find small bubbles…
Thanks for the feedback! The person buying the boad wants to go glass on, which is fine. I still think I could do a box as the board is 1" thick at the minimum and only the back portion of the box would be shallow. The fin will be a 7" bonzer or parish wide base. I’m using fcs boxes for side-bites as the fin set up will be 2+1. If you grind down the top of the box won’t the fin tab stick up above the box? Kind of a moot point now but I’d like to know for future boards.
“If you grind down the top of the box won’t the fin tab stick up above the box?”
Hi Lee -
I typed a long winded response but it didn’t take. In a nutshell, yes. No big deal. A little ‘customization’ of the fin with a Dremel tool, file, and/or sandpaper and you’re good to go.
A little planning, has been my approach in the past. Knowing the intended fin, and it’s intended location, I use calipers to establish the box thickness plus 1/8th inch where the box will be placed in the tail. I check frequently during the shaping process, to make sure I have the proper thickness, in the proper place. Not a difficult exercise.
Hey reverb, that’s some nice work on those fins. I haven’t gotten brave enough to try to post a photo in this new format, and I probably don’t have any close ups that would show the boxes clearly. Most of ours are fusions or futures in multi-fin set ups so I’m hijacking already lol. Cheers.
I remember a thread from years ago where Jim Phillips was describing how he would have boxes coming out the deck in some instances like this. Somehow it turned into a heated exchange with I-can’t-remember-who, but it was both informative and entertaining.
