" And please, lose the 'carbide grit saber saw blade'- they are really made for cutting tile, coarsely, and no more than that. "
....g a s p !
shock
horror
....I've been doing it 'wrong ' for the last decade or more then , doc ? ('chuckling' , in bewilderedmentness ... :) )
[mind you , is a 'sabre saw' the same thing as a jigsaw ? ....I never know with you guys having difficult / different names for stuff we have down under ...no , i'm not talking about what is below the belt , either...australia , guys , austraaaaliaaaah !]
certainly one slip with the thick 'CARBORUNDUM' blade, in the past , and ...'re-templating time ' , here we go ... ha
[might be one of the reasons I like smaller fins , eh , 'Doc' ? :) .....I miss our mad 'skype' chats , by the way , mate !]
I had similar issues in making mine. I ending up doing what others have mentioned and used a file to fine-tune the size of the tabs and the width between them.
[img_assist|nid=1068179|title=wood FCS fins with tabs cut out|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
If I were doing it I would cut the tabs first while the material is still a square using a table saw or if I was using wood I would use a Mortise & Chizzel bit like the one pictured below.
Hi doc,that jig is the exact idea I was talking about. The grit blade they are talking about is a jigsaw blade with a coarse sandpaper like edge I believe. I use one and it is great for a rough cutout.
Scribe lines with the aid of a steel ruler and a square. Ditch the fat marker lines.
Use a rigid vice/fin holding device and not a wobbly thing.
Cut where you can get to with a well tensioned hacksaw with 24tpi blade. Learn to be accurate. Metal blade blunts but lasts well enough.
If you need to use a jigsaw to rapidly get rid of excess then try to only use straight cuts. The blade angles outwards when you cut in a curve. Better to use a bandsaw if you have one.
Get the biggest file that fits within the tabs. I use a 14 inch Stubbs England 2nd cut as I do 4wfs but it is too wide to get between fcs tabs. Learn to use it. Even on g10 only a few passes with the file are needed provided the hacksaw cuts are accurate.
Look at what you are doing from several different angles as its easy to work to a line and have the cut plane at the wrong angle.
the bottom of the tabs , where they sit in the fcs plugs , flush ?
an overlooked factor ...
if they are not square [ ie: as Mark shared , there may be a slight ANGLE on them ...]
yes , THAT can cause headaches , when the fins are put in the plugs !
....." P R O B O X " , anyone ?
[ no , I am not a dealer ! And , I don't represent them in any way ...I just like one long tab , instead of having to make extra cuts and taking extra time , on each fin [ it DOES add up over the years , believe me ! ]
