Howzit, just wondering if anyone can tell me where to get FCS plugs and other items. I recently paid a visit to their office by costco and was told that they only sell wholesale for reasons of “quality control.” They recommended that I contact a reputable glasser to install the plugs. Although they did say I could place a minimum of $500 order. Don’t they support us shadetree shapers? I got some O’fishl from Fiberglass Hawai’i, but would like to have options. Thanks in advance for comments and advice. surf’s up! sasquatch
Sasquatch, Welcome to the surfboard building world ! Try www.edgefins.kauaistyle.com from Kauai. We are setting plenty fins over here with much success. Aloha, Have a great surf ! Clyde Rodgers 808-651-1459
Howzit Sasquatch, FCS is a business and they do support us back yard guys. Do you want to use their products on a regular basis or is this a 1 time shot. You need to set up an account with them and give them your tax id #. This is a normal business procedure for all wholesale accounts. They also want to be sure that you know what you’re doing when it comes to installation,especially since most problems are caused by bad installs. I’ve done business with them for about 6 years and from what I’ve learned, our Haw. FCS reps are some of the best there are. If you’ve been in the surfboard business for a while you know some glassers who can show you how to do installation. I’m sure they would sell you some plugs to install. Another way to go is just ask your glasser if he add what you want to his order. What I’ve done is set up a small hui so we can combine our orders into a large order. FCS gives discounts based on total products odered over a years span, the more fins you order the better the discount. By combining our orders we get a pretty good deal. Who did you speak to at FCS, Barney handles wholesale, Brady does retail. As for the $500.00 start up order, you can get an Install kit ($95.00) and about 15 production fin sets, If that is more than you need then just let your glasser know what kind of fins you want on your boards and let him take care of it.Aloha, Kokua
I can pick some stuff up for you on my next order. Along with the install kit they sell a install video. Let me know if you need any help.
Just on the install of FCS I have found out the hard way a few things:- -You have to beef up the glass in the area of the install to make sure FCS is solid as a rock. Dont ever omit Deck patches top and bottom. - Dont over heat the plugs when sanding. Rotate from plug to plug , take a little off at a time. Use very coarse paper to remove the bulk, SLOWLY. - Find a way to accurately measure catalyst. And STICK TO GOOD QUALITY CATALYST - Reputable brands. I have seen unusually excessive resin shrinkage with the cheap stuff. A LAM resin is not designed to fill a hole around a plug so get it right. - Dont ever sand the instals within 12 hours as the resin will not have cured properly and the heat generated in sanding will cause extra resin thrinkage - loose plugs. All in all I would rather put FCS into boards than anything else including the dreaded Glass-on. Its just so I easy compared to how we used to glass fins on.
Thanks everyone for your help. I’m new to surfboard shaping (on my third board) and want to learn the whole process. As a VW fanatic, I guess I was a little surprised that you couldn’t just walk in and buy parts…and have them installed or figure them out for yourself. Thanks again for all the advice. sasquatch