Hi Folks
Finally started my board last night with a rough hewn around the outline with a hand saw, next (this weekend when i borrow some tools) i’ll tidy it up with a surform/sandpaper…HOWEVER 
I get the fitting of a leash plug…cut/drill whole, mix resin + finely chopped glass, dump in hole etc etc. Now that’s with poly resin but what about RR and it’s exothermic reaction. I remember reading a warning about it burning the foam. Am i worrying about nothing?
Cheers
Wal
You are worrying about something important! If you can, use the slow hardener, mixed with some white pigment (it helps slow the reaction) and chopped glass or cabosil. If it seems like the heat is going to buildup fast, place bags of ice on the other side of the board to keep the area cool.
Exotherm can melt EPS foam, so just be careful.
Alternatly you could search the archives on Leash Loops…
imho, they look nicer, are easier to make and don’t melt through your foam…
only cut the hole as big as it needs to be to fit the plug.
less epoxy mix = less heat and less chance of melting.
Hey.
I just finished doing my first one of these a couple of night ago.
First off I drilled the hole so it was a nice tight fit. That way the volume of resin accumulated under / to the side of the plug was minimised.
I’m fortunate that ireland does not exaclty have a warm climate so that helps in slowing down the reaction.
I mixed the resin with a tiny bit of pigment and I stirred it for a good 7-8 minutes… This action gives the reaction a head start and the stirring removes “some” of the heat out of the pot.
Mixing in chopped glass fibres is also a good idea.
The do the same as with any plug installation…
Hope this helps
Brian
swing by the hardware store and pick up some epoxy putty…pigment it white.
With Epoxy there is no need for filler for strength e.g. chopped/rolled glass ( pretty sure Greg L has said this also). As others have said make the hole so the plug is a tight fit. With the slow hardener no heating problems in UK temps. I nearly had a disaster by making the hole too deep. The plug can look fine but when you come back later it will have sunk.
Cheers folks. I never thought about doing a leash loop instead of plug but on some research i might just do that instead. So without meaning to drag up the debate:
Not on the stringer–you’ll step on it, as it’s gonna be like 7-8 inches up from the end of the tail. To the (your) toe side of the swallow, back a couple inches from the deepest point.
I think the straddle location shows expertise, but it looks like those put a lot more stress on the thing to me, like they look like a longer span, but more importantly, for me, is they detract from the clean graceful look of a good swallow–to me, big time.
See that little highlight on the right side of the swallow tail? That’s where I would put a leash loop.
The great thing about the central bridge though is that it works for both goofy and regular.
i like my leash loops kinda down in the crack on a fish. looks real clean.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that one–got a pic?
I like a super-clean, graceful, uncluttered, ah, swallowtail, but that’s a clean look for the, ah, centralmost location…
found this in the archives…
i like it even farther back in the crack than that, with the front end flared out just onto the deck, and the back end flared down to the bottom and out onto the swallows. but you get the idea…