About 10 yrs ago I bought a longboard from my local shop. When the owner was putting the fin in the fin box it was real tight, so tight that it would’nt go in. So he sanded the base of the fin so it would fit in the box. It was still real tight but it went in. Now 10 yrs later the fin is pretty banged up(this is my favorite board and it gets the most use) and i want to change it but I can’t get it out. It is a basic fin box. I dont want to damage the board by prying it with anything, and i dont want to snap the fin off and make it even worse. Any suggestions?
rubber mallet?
probably stuck with salt. Stay away from impact and disolve the salt. try warm but still fizzy Coke. Let it soak a while
i use Pam
I,ve thought about the mallet but its so tight i’m afraid i’ll break the fin and make it even harder to get out
Thanks. I’ll try that but I think the fin is just jammed in there too tight.
little taps?
Lay the board over a bench and clamp a couple of sticks over the box - one in front and one behind the fin, then tap it out with a hammer wrapped with a rag. The danger is that you’ll pull the box out of the board, but with the box clamped down, all the force is put on the box itself, not the box/board bond.
Use WD-40 or GT88, remove screw + base plate, then slide a wide scew driver in behind the fin a lift up, don’t go for impact go for constant and gradually increasing pressure between the box and fin, if no joy ofter 5 mins re spary and leave it somewhere cold over night.
Here is my 2 cents. Cut the fin off even with bottom or finbox. Next, take a dremmel tool and cut down the center of the old fin base. It would be a good idea to remove the plate and screw first. I love demo.
liquid wrench penetrates better than wd-40.
i’d use that and the mallet.
good luck, i’m interested to hear how you do it.
Be careful with WD-40. It will work well in the short-run, but it is a degreaser, so if you spray and leave it can actually make it worse. Any silicon or teflon based lubricants should work fine. I use to work in a bike shop and everyone who used WD-40 to lube their chain ended up needing a new one because it would cause it to become frozen.
You could try Drilling a hole through the fin (just big enough to fit a screwdriver through) and putting a block of wood on the other side of the fin and lever it out with the screwdriver?
GT88 has teflon in it. Fin boxes are not like bike chains, they are not greesed.
If you make surfboards then silicon is one of the very worst thing you can have around place - don’t even storei t in the same building, seriously.
so you say the fin is beat up/
does this indicate the box
is also showing wear
at the front of the box
in the form of hairline crax?
this being so you are warranted
in your concern for pulling out the box.
If the box is pristine clean
no cracks no stains
the rubba hamma is the tool of choice.
salt residue is a concern only if there was a gap
for the salt to invade …parafin in the sun is a lube of merit.
THE FIRST WHACK IS THE MOUT EVEREST FIN MANIPULATION
it only takes one sharp well aimed whack to do the job
from the back on the tip upward away from bottom
it will either fix it or wreck it you are right.
if it is gonna wreck it it is in need of repair anyway.
the time to leap is to be at hand.
secure the board to whatever with grey tape that duck abuse stuff
a couple wraps.all the way around the picnic bench
and sit on the bench to hold the board and bench down
to resist the whack of a life time.
COURAGE TO YOU
…ambrose…
if the box is lame just sand down the damaged fin and gloss it
continue to love the board as it is…for ever.
when you change the fin it will be diffrent.
you may not love it as much.
The finbox is in fine shape. The fin itself is just lookin a little rough. Glass fibers are starting to come through, ad the foward edge is looking a little lumpy.
Right now I have it soaking in wd-40, I took a couple of taps with the mallet to no avail, I’ll try again later. I hope I dont’ F… up my go to board. Then again I’ve got 5 others that get neglected.
After a thorough soakind with wd-40, some tapping with a mallet, some harder hitting with a mallet, and some plain ol pulling I got the fin out. Now I can go find a new one. I just wanted to thank everyone for the help.
oooh, good one Sparrow.
that’s thinking outside the box
(no pun intended)