I just installed my first set of FCS plugs and I think that I got the resin to hot. Will the plugs expand if resin is too hot? Fins are extremly tight. Also, are the two little tabs on the plugs designed to lay on the foam as sort of a guide. Mine did not quite touch the foam. Maybe I did not have the depth set right on the bit? Would really appreciate any input. Thanks.
I just installed my first set of FCS plugs and I think that I got the > resin to hot. Will the plugs expand if resin is too hot? Fins are extremly > tight. Also, are the two little tabs on the plugs designed to lay on the > foam as sort of a guide. Mine did not quite touch the foam. Maybe I did > not have the depth set right on the bit? Would really appreciate any > input. Thanks. … …You can melt them down or brown out your board around the plugs. …Did they smoke?..Did you install after hotcoating? …Set them offf on the cold side,and always keep a bucket of icewater with rags in it.That way if the batch is too hot ,you just slap the cold towels on the heated areas to prevent swelling,meltdown,exotherming,etc. …The little tabs are suppost to be touching the surface of the board or as close to it as you can get it.Herb
I installed the plugs after the hot coat. I did not see it smoke but it was definitly to hot to touch. On the deck side where the fcs circles were, it bubbled up. fins fit extremly tight in the plugs. Too tight I believe. Thanks for the quick response. I’ll try ice rags next time and a little less catalyst. Thanks again.
chris, is it possible that it feels tight when you’re trying to insert the fins because the front plug slot and the rear plug slot are mis-aligned? or do the plugs themselves look distorted? did you install the plugs and let the resin go off with a fin in the plugs as a guide? the part about the plug arms not touching the bottom of the board could be that you didn’t make the hole deep enough. the hole should be deep enough so that right below the plug, at the cross-bar of the ‘H’, you should have somewhere between 1/16" to 1/8" of resin while the little ‘arms’ suspend the plug from the bottom.>>> I installed the plugs after the hot coat. I did not see it smoke but it > was definitly to hot to touch. On the deck side where the fcs circles > were, it bubbled up. fins fit extremly tight in the plugs. Too tight I > believe. Thanks for the quick response. I’ll try ice rags next time and a > little less catalyst. Thanks again.
chris, is it possible that it feels tight when you’re trying to insert the > fins because the front plug slot and the rear plug slot are mis-aligned? > or do the plugs themselves look distorted? did you install the plugs and > let the resin go off with a fin in the plugs as a guide?>>> the part about the plug arms not touching the bottom of the board could be > that you didn’t make the hole deep enough. the hole should be deep enough > so that right below the plug, at the cross-bar of the ‘H’, you should have > somewhere between 1/16" to 1/8" of resin while the little ‘arms’ > suspend the plug from the bottom. For FCS plugs the resin mix should kick at about 15 mins. There should be 1/8" between bottom of the plug and the foam. Did you leave the jigs in the plugs til the resin cooled. Pulling the jigs to soon can cause a tight fit. If you used the FCS jigs there should be no mis-alignment.
For FCS plugs the resin mix should kick at about 15 mins. There should be > 1/8" between bottom of the plug and the foam. Did you leave the jigs > in the plugs til the resin cooled. Pulling the jigs to soon can cause a > tight fit. If you used the FCS jigs there should be no mis-alignment. Don’t sweat the little stuff. To make your fins fit now that the resin has set and the plugs are in…carefully sand the fin tabs on the side of your fins alittle at a time untill they fit in snugly. Use less catalyst next time. (the opposite extream will happen eventually when you use too little and then the resin just stays malable and never cures hard enough) You should feel lucky. I spaced out last weekend and kicked my laminating batch too hot and it gelled on me befor I could get the laps completly down. Somebody always has it worse. Its all in the learning curve ma brutha!
thanks everyone. That was my first set of plugs. I will be installing three more more sets this weekend. Hopefully all goes well. Thanks again for the advice.