I am almost finished shaping my first two boards and have a few questions on how to wrap up this great, crazy, more work than expected project. I have a set of fcs for the 6’9 shortboard i’ve made but didn’t cough up the 150 for the fcs kit. I know you have to connect the resin to the deck of the board. but, I still don’t know what an h-pillar is. I also don’t know why there are two tabs near the top of each fcs plug. Is it just to help you align them with your toe in mark?
Any tricks to setting the plugs in flush so that the fins do not end up at a funny angle?
The other board is a 9’3’’ longboard. I have a 10’ box for the center but do not know which end to set towards the tail (kinda silly i know,but i am no longboarder and i do not have a fin to stick into the slot to figure out which end is the front and which is the back.) the slot has one side of it slanted and one straight. which way is forwards…
thanks for your time.
Dan-
Ok, the little tabs at the top of the FCS plugs are there to keep the little suckers from falling in the nice little holes that you will be drilling for them soon. To keep them lined up, may I suggest putting them on a fin, dropping the whole setup into the holes you have drilled, and then using tape or clay to hold the fins where you want them. Then mix up a batch of resin and add a little white pigment, and some cut up glass fibers (cabocell) and pour it in there. You’ll need to go to the local hardware store and buy a hole cutter that the fcs plug fits perfectly inside of, I forget the size, but make sure you get one that has a drill bit in the center, to keep the bit from sliding around on you. I believe the “H” bridge is in reference to the way that you drill a hole for FCS. First you drill a hole that is a little deeper than the plug its self. Then you clear out the hole, with a router out whatever, scrape it out if you want. Then take the hole cutter and drill deeper into the hole until you reach the deck, you can take the hole cutter out of the drill and do this part by hand if you want. After that, don’t bother to rout/scrape/whatever anymore foam, you only do this part so that you can get a bond to the deck.
As for the Longbox, the slanted part of the slot is only there so you can drop in the little metal plate that the fin screw screws into. So it dosen’t matter which way you put it in. -Carl
the tabs on the FCS are to hold it in place, the alignment of everything else depends on the fin. The center is obviously the tabs belong in the center. But for your side fins You offset them by 1/8th off your line toward the rail, So essentially the Holes will be offcenter towars the rail of your line, The H You need a 1 1/8th inch holesaw, Blu-mol makes them available at any home depot for the saw and the collet its about 20.00, If you plan on doing More boards Blue Mol sells a set for 35.oo with like 5 holesaws including the collets and the 1 1/8th saw, these other ones are great for leash plugs etc,
To Install start the holes with the drill bit inside the collet drill all 6 holes at a time to avoid changing the setup 12 times, Drill through the glass but JUST barely remove the drill bit after all 6 holes then go back and put it in the hole again and for the SIDES ONLY slowly and on low RPM saw down to the deck, put one hand in the area it will come through, Once it hits the deck pull out, your done to make then you will remove the foam in the center ONLY 1/8th deeper than the FCS plug.
Example, I forget off hand But say an FCS plug is 1 inch, You want to remove pprox 1 1/8 of that center foam. thus forming your H
For the center fin, Say that 1 1/8 estimate of the plug plus an 8th is correct MARK your holesaw at that depth, THAT is the deepest you go for the center, the center DOES NOT get an H pop the centeres witha screw driver and your good to go.
For your box the angle can go either way your really not hurting anyone. it goes about 6 inches up from the tail.