After a month and a half of taking it slow and steady and checking things out, i’m finally ready to get to work on my first board. decided to make it a single fin, stubbie style, but still pondering the question: glass on or fin box? considering i’ve never used a router, i really dont want to mess up the blank by making some sort of a mistake. advice anyone?
ONLY consideration is…are you positive on fin size and placement?
im basing the fin placement on dimensions i’ve picked up from around the site and experiences with other single fins. if i do a glass on ill be making the fin myself, but i don’t really have the right workspace to mould a base for a finbox, so i’d be buying the fin myself. is using the router too difficult?
“is using the router too difficult?”
No. There are several things to consider though…
1. Secure the board.
2. Have a good jig.
3. Place and secure it carefully making sure you understand where the bit is gonna go once you start cutting. (Maybe do a trial cut on a scrap of plywood first so you know for sure.)
4. Adjust the depth precisely… you DON’T want to cut all the way through the board.
FWIW, you don’t absolutely have to have a router to set a finbox. I’ve done many without one.
Hi SA,
I personally would’nt worry about the router. As John says, you can instal one without a router. But if you do it’s not that hard. Just measure twice, cut once.
Another thing to consider is: do you plan to travel with the board? Removable fins make it so much easier.
Rio
with the amount of travel i do, finbox would be a good idea. but at the same time i’m dying for that glass on feeling. then again, first board will likely be a disaster, so why not experiment and try the fin box? it’s a toss-up.
just my 2 cents…
i suck at fin boxes…they always crack in the front because finboxes are so deep you seem to cut throught the stringer when routing them in…
glass on fins are strong…pirod
easy to fix…easy to remove and replace in a month of r and d…
sure fin boxes give you instant gradification
but you cant beet the smooth lines of a glass on fin
if your traveling with a board of that size take the car…
Routers are very fine and precise tools when they are guided. Don’t try to cut a finbox hole without a guiding template. You would be asking for trouble. Here is finbox routing 101:
First, make sure that your router comes equipped with a copying ring such as this one:
Then, use a piece of plywood to make a template. The template should exceed the finbox dimensions by 1/16" or so all around and you should not forget to add to that the length between the outside of the copying ring and the cutting edge of the router bit:
Then, all you need to do is set the template firmly on the board (using tape or claws) and you’re ready to go. The router won’t go out of the track and you’ll get a perfect hole.
Go for it! you shaped the board, go with what you want!
I’ve done both glass on and box. Its way easier doing a box and much more work with glass on. I even used a dremel tool to cut out my box hole. Much easier when you make a simple router jig. I also use an old junk fin for my box, drill a large hole about 1 and 1/2 inches from the base of fin. Use this hole for taping your boxes straight. The hole should be large enough for 1 inch wide tape can pass through.
have fun and go for it.
fin boxes aren’t that hard, but consider this - if you glass on a fin and it sucks (wrong fin, wrong location, whatever) you can always grind it off, then install a fin box.
pretty hard to go the other way around though.