Hey everyone I’m new to board building and just finishing up my second board. Lots of lessons learned so far on both boards and I’m excited to keep improving. I’ve run into an issue with both boards and was hoping to get some help. I’ve used futures for both setups and I am putting in the fin boxes pre glassing. Once I’m finished with the boards and I cut out the tape over the fin boxes I’m having a very difficult almost impossible time getting my fins into the boxes. Not sure if anyone has had this issue and has advice on a way forward. I appreciate any help!
also if this is already covered on a different post please direct me to it. i have been able to find one. thanks again
Problems with fin boxes used to be the bane of my existence when starting out. My issues typically came from not sealing them all the way with tape (even when I thought I had). Have you tried shining a light in them to see if there is any resin that spilled over. Even a tiny amount and the fin box wont go in. If you do have resin in them, even a tiny amount, I would get a dremel with a skinny sharp tip and sand them out very carefully. This has worked for me in the past when I had a small amount of resin in them.
I haven’t done any Futures boxes but with a normal centre fin box I always apply some mould release wax inside with a cotton bud incase any resin finds it’s way in. It pops out with a thin blade then and helps lubricate your fins anyway.
Thanks for the response! The resin spilling over into the box was my first thought so i sanded them out and was able to get some resin out but still had issues with them fitting. The main issue seems to be the depth with one of the boxes. The fin doesn’t seem to go deep enough for it to catch the notch on the end of the fin. I did buy a mix of side boxes and one middle fin box but the middle fin box was labeled. I’m wondering if the shop accidentally put a middle fin box instead of a side and i just did not take the time to check before hand because im trying the fun in some other boxes i bought and they are going in just fine. Im thinking about cutting out the box and replacing it with one of the others I have that i have verified the fin fits in. Thanks again!
It’s possible - side boxes (or the leading of quad boxes) are supposed to be 3/4" and middles are 1/2" depth - you could check w/ a ruler quickly. Is it possible the board maker wanted the leading box of a quad setup to be the 1/2" for a twinzer setup - just thinking out loud without seeing the board in question?
If the notch on the fin isn’t quite right you may compare that fin-base to another future fin that does go in the box and see if the fin manufacturer just goofed with the notch.
I’ve had horrible time getting resin out of the boxes while glassing a board (faulty tape seal or too aggressive pulling resin w/ the hotcoat and a squeegee) so I’ve gotten to the point where (like an idiot) I bought a couple cans of play dough from the local dollar store and I stuff the boxes full of play dough to block out the areas where resin could get in then glass/hotcoat as normal and spend 20 minutes picking out the play dough after the final sand. It seems to save my sanity although I question it during the cleanup process. It only takes one more futures box w/ resin stuck in the corner to make me go back to this technique though. I like the Dremel and pointy acrylic bur idea. Good luck!
Thanks for the response! Upon further investigation and testing with a center fin I’ve determined that the fin box was a center box and I overlooked this by not double checking before I installed it. Oh well ya live and ya learn. I’ll definitely make sure to measure twice resin once moving forward Thanks again!
Are you using genuine Futures boxes? The imitation boxes are notorious for not fitting properly - too big or too small. There is a supplier that is geared toward newbie shapers, and they sell the knock-off Futures boxes.
The tolerance for genuine Futures boxes is less than a human hair, so there should not be fit issues. If you are having fit problems and using both real Futures boxes & fins, then it would probably be best to contact Futures support.
You can always rout out the hole again to the correct depth and install the correct box. Really no different than a broken box repair. Remove the metal screw and just rout right through the old box. Move the router very slowly in the jig so you don’t end up ripping part of the box out along with some foam. Worst case you fill it w Q cell and rerout it from there. Drop a new one in with a good patch over it and you should be good to go.
Thanks again!