Anyone know where to get a replacement fin for a vintage 60’s Hansen Competitor? Probably a big ask, but am wanting to replace with as close to original as possible.
Pics of the board & the fin box?? Or it was a glass on?
Ummm, those are the ones held on with a Great Big flathead stainless machine screw that went down through the deck? Molded fiberglass fin box? Typically the fins were injection molded polyethylene? Hansen used them and a few others, not sure if there weren’t variants by other makers.
I’ve got good news and bad news.
The bad news first- the thick, heavy aluminum molds for those things are long gone, likely recycled into skateboard trucks. Making new ones needs a good machinist*, time and access to a fairly healthy injection molding machine**. And a bunch of money, machinist time and injection molder time is expensive. Typically, a production run is in the thousands to amortize the mold cost and all.
You might find one on eBay. Also expensive, for the reasons above plus rarity.
Now, you can, and I have, make one from a thick HDPE cutting board. Saws, grinders with very coarse wheels, wood rasps, etc. . The HDPE has this cool thing it does with high speed tools, especially carbide: it cuts, half melts and then the chips stick together, you wind up chipping those off.
Now the good news. We live in an era of cheap 3D printers and relatively inexpensive CAD/CAM machines. Making one-offs, well, the computer operated milling machines are a chunk of money but the printers are not, so lots of people have them. For all I know, one of the machines that are used for rough shaping surfboard blanks might be able to do the job as well.
As an aside, one of my cousins came up working in the family auto repair shop. All well and good, but he wanted to do gunsmithing and he picked up a lathe and a milling machine. But he wanted to do more, maybe some production runs.
So he learned P-code, how you talk to CAD/CAM tools to do what you want. And he picked up a raft of not-the latest industrial CAD/CAM machines for more or less scrap prices. Instead of having a squad of *well paid machinists and **expensive molding gear, he has a nice little shop with no sign, he goes in when he wants and between programming and keeping the machines tended/fed and in spec, nice little business. He’s happy and he has plenty of time for the wife and kids.
And he makes, among other things, a really nice 1911. Or contract jobs, producing a few hundred widgets for third parties.
Anyhow- hope that’s of use
doc…
Thank you for the insight! And how might one reach your cousin? Would love to maybe hire him!
Ahhhmmmm- ok, I prolly didn’t make that real clear. My cousin does stuff like making semi-custom guns, licensed and certified and all that, out of steel or aircraft-grade aluminum or, for all I know, titanium. In numbers, up to, say, a thousand in a production run. Not one-off fins.
So, your options are
Get one from eBay for crazy money.
Make one from some 1" or better HDPE sheet with woodworking and/or metalworking tools. A small ( Craigslist) CAD/CAM rig might be nice.
Get somebody to 3D print it or get one of your own. A lot of schools and colleges have shops or innovation labs that might help you out with that.
Hope that’s clearer
doc…