Hi all.
Surfed a hollow wood surfboard I built and glassed yesterday and after 3rd wave I noticed vent plug was gone. Vent plug was installed about 1/3 back from nose of this 9’ longboard.
On install I believe I may have stripped threads on plug.
Another screw up was installing vent housing too shallow and allowing vent plug to rise above deck of board once screwed in.
I have since ordered new plugs (comes with housing as well)
My questions are:
-
If new plug screws in smoothly do you think it will stay screwed in or will the slightest bump to the non flush plug pop the plug out?
-
How tough is it to drill out old housing, increase depth of hole and install new housing?
Thanks for your help.
If a matching thread is done, the vent plug should hold. Be aware that the sealing O-Ring is in place and that the surface is deadly flat, any angle between surface and thread may result in leaking. The thread of my goretex screws is M12x1,5, you need a matching thread cutter. An M12x1.25 does not work properly.
To get it sitting deeper, use an appropriate forstner drill and drill to at least double height of the screw head. Hope you installed enough backing material below the deck. If lucky some threaded aerea of the original threaded hole remains. Get a bolt or screw with a matching thread and wire it with teflon tape. Screw this boot in and pour epoxy into the larger hole, up to the level, where the vent plug should sit finally. Let it cure. If done properly and hardened, you unscrew the teflon wired bolt with easy. The result is a layer of epoxy, already threaded. Take care that the surface is perpendicilar to the hole, if necessary use the forstner drill carefully and flatten the epoxy. Chamfer the edge if necessary, screw in the ent and head for surf.
Good Luck
If your going to take the old plug out USE A PLUNGE ROUTER with the exact size bit for the hole you want to make. Set the depth control.
You will have a perfect hole at the correct depth to set your new plug.
Drilling that out with bits is gonna end up ugly.
- also bent plug shouldn’t just fall out or pop out
Thank you guys for your responses!
I am wondering if a new plug is capable of screwing into the old housing will it be sturdy enough even though the hex head of the vent screw is above the deck?
Or should I just nip it in the bud and replace the whole housing?
The shop i built the board at said it may be possible to use a Forstner bit if I used a scrap piece of wood secured on top with exact hole cut out.
Thanks for the help!
Id not trust the forstner bit, even contained. Use a router or a dremel with carbide burrs. Lots of rpm.
OK. Im going to suck it up and buy a plunge router. What kind of bit would you recommened with the router? I think the hole is 1" in diameter…
I most prefer a 1/2 inch straight bit with a 1/2 inch shank in my mid 90’s bought Made in the USA porter cable plunge router.
I do use it on a router speed controller for certain tasks, but only reduced its speed slightly when I routed out a broken finbox fairly recently. I started at 1/8" depth and went in stages and only cleared all the old encapsulating perimeter epoxy on the final pass. All free handing it.
I use the router speed controller more on my angle grinder and belt sanders and shop vac. Not only for slower speed but less noise and or amperage draw. I think it is a great tool to have to tame down the speed of any tool that offers no speed control and which does not have a ‘soft’ start function
That is not the exact model I use as it does not seem to be available anymore, but they should be available for under 30$ and if mine smoked tomorrow I’d immediately buy another to replace it.
I have had issues with the switches on a 1500 watt hair drier and a ‘buckethead’ shop vac using the RSC feeding them partial power. they seemed to not like the reduced voltage or pulse width modulation but could have just been cheap low quality switches to begin with. I replaced those failed switches and now use the switch on the RSC itself to turn the tool on and off at reduced speeds rather than the switch on the tool itself. other tools like my angle grinders and belt sanders, the switches have had no issues on the PWM RSC speed controller.
Plunge router with a bit the size of the hole you Want.
Set the depth control to your desired depth.
Place it where you want.
Turn on.
Press down
done.
Should take about 10 minutes to set up and 30seconds to make your hole
