Fin Box recommendations

Okay guys, I am building my mini longboard and I am going to foamez tommorow or Saturday. What do you guys reccomend for ease of instalation. This is my first board and i will be using just a 5.5 surform and small hand plane and sand paper. Do you guys think I should get a box fin or should I glass on a fin. Also what do I need to glass a board. Is all I need 7 yds. of 4 oz cloth for a 6’0 board, and 1 gallon of laminating resin and 2 oz of both surfacing agent and catalyst. I can glass an entire board with just that right?

Thanks

If you don’t have a router, then I would say a glassed on fin is your best option. In that case, you may want to get some fin rope and make sure you have enough extra cloth for your fin layups. Also, make sure you have a good pair of scissors to cut your fiberglass. On my first board, I just used a normal pair of scissors and it left the cloth frayed and resulted in sloppy, bumpy laps. In my opinion, a shaper is only as good as the tools he has (or however the saying goes). Maybe the experts will have better advice.

You can put boxes in with a sharp knife and a chisle but a router it the tool for the job. of doing a box get some white pigment and chopper strands or micro ballons.

I’m assuming your using poly resin to glass your board. Good on you for giving it a go, you’ll remember glassing your first board for the rest of your life.

Get a few syringes for measuring out your additives. and some measuring jugs or buckets.

A couple of reals of the expensive masking tape, aluminum oxide sand paper, a rubber squeegy, 2x 4" chip brushes (4x if glossing)

You’ll also need a face mask with organic vapor filters, and some gloves and eye gogles.

get some acetone for cleaning your tools.

Good luk and post some pics of th eresults.

glassing: presuming you’ve never glassed before.

get acetone. 1st thing to do before you start glassing. unscrew the cap from the can of acetone. then replace the cap loosely on the can so you can get to it ASAP.

recommend you get: 1/2 gal lam resin, 1/2 gal sanding resin. mekp catalyst (2 oz). 4.5 yds cloth (1 layer each side). fin box. single edge razor blades. roll of 1’ tape. respirator. gloves. 4" brush for sanding coat. two 3" brushes for turning the laps (don’t bother cleaning these, just throw away). scissors. 8" squeegee. two 2 qt buckets. some Qcell.

shaping. get a nice straight piece of 2 x 4 for your sanding block. suggest you pick up a piece of drywall screen (120 grit) to help shape the rails. take your time shaping.

read the archives reference setting in the fin box. and shaping and glassing, for that matter.

good luck.

pete.

Hey Drad:

If you are going to Foam EZ on Sat. be sure to talk to whoever is working the front about what you will need. You don’t need just lam resin, you need sanding as well. I can remember my first glass job even though it was light years ago. I had to pull the glass as the resin went off before I had wet out the whole board! I had to wait for another paycheck to finish up the board.

Anyway, as others have said, you need to go to Home Depot or Lowes for some other stuff:

180 grit or lower screen (helps the rails with adhesion of the lam)

acetone (cleanup or boo-boo’s)

good scissors (thick cloth or better)

mask with organic filters

throw-away brushes

#2020 3M masking tape

Pay attention to PeterG’s list when you are at Foam EZ for the laminating stuff. They also have a good kit that is cheaper than buying all the stuff seperately. I have a 12 yr. old squeege from them that is still in great shape. Also, the white pigment will last you forever if you don’t use much of it. If you decide to do color lams on another board, you can use the white as a base for mixing out other opaque colors. (Pink?)

Don’t look at this as the only board you are going to make and don’t be afraid to spend a little more for the extras. It will pay off in the long run.

As to the fin, I would go with the box. It is hard to glass on a fin perfectly the first time, especially with the timing on the resin, fin rope, patches, etc. I would suggest that you buy a 1/4" chisel at Home Depot/Lowes when you go for your other stuff to cut out the stringer for the box. Also, a razor blade and a steady hand will give you as good a cut as any router on the edges. Just make sure you use the white resin to do the box set so it will blend in with the foam. Do a search for any info and print the string out before you start and you should have a blast, especially when you are finished! Best of luck,

BKB

Okay Guys I am almost done shaping. Here is my question, when do you put the box fin in. I have read the archives and surfer steve.com but it seems very complicated. I just don’t know what stage to put it in, I don’t have a router and I don’t really know the process.

Drad,

Complete your profile, or post where you are. Someone near you may be willing to provide some hands on assistance. The most common time to mount a finbox is after hotcoat, before sanding. There are exceptions for certain types of boxes. Before I owned any power tools, I would rent them. So, there’s an option for you. Rent the router.

Go next door and borrow your neighbors router. Then get a Probox set up from Robin Mair.

Every man needs a router!

if you are making a longboard and it is a single fin i would reccomend a box in fin. if the fin is single and large it will be very difficult to glass it in strong enough because on my first longboard i glassed in a fin and it fell out. plus boxing in a fin is super easy and you will have to do it some time anywayse. just router before the hotcoat and then fill in the hole with resin mixed with strands of fiberglass this will be stronger than cabosil. anywayse glassing is a very very hard task and most likely u will make a mistake anywayse so don’t worry about it too much

I am in San diego county. I may have a neighbor who can help. Okay last question I am thinking about getting this stuff to make the board red. http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_34&products_id=332 Will I still be able to do a logo, if I use this stuff. Also at what stage do you put the logo in and what is the process for it. Thanks