Hello everyone. I just have a question about making fins.How would i go about making a fin. I want to make my own fins i kinda have an idea,but would love to hear from theexperts we have here. (everyone is so helpfull). Doesnt need to have any color rightnow. But in the future color would be fun to try. I have allot of 7.5 oz volan cloth. would this work ??or do i need a special typeof cloth… Thanks Everbody.!!!
Hi John, I might be wrong on this because each wieght cloth takes a different number of layers to get the proper thinkness for a F/U box but I’d guess around 28 to 32 layers of what you have will give you the right thinkness. Lay up a panel a little bigger than the fin you want to cut out. Try and keep the resin content and minimual as possible. Let the panel cure till it’s pretty hard then cut out the fin/tab shape with a hand held jig saw or a dremel tool with a carbide cutoff wheel. Then go to work with a high speed small grinder. A little Makitah works fine. Start with a 36 grit disk cause you don’t want to move too much material untill you get the feel of things. Use an 8" half round bastard file to true your shape up and wet sand to a fine finish. drill you tab for the screw and cross pin at a very slow speed. You can use a brass machine screw and cut it off for the cross pin. Use catalyzed resin and wear plenty of protection for your eyes’ skin and lungs! The process can be a dangerous one for the inexperienced. Error on the side of safety and take it slow. Mahalo, Rich
I’ve had some fin makers tell me that they do the initial lay up on a piece of glass to get a true and warp free product.
Glass works great, make sure it’s thick. Or get a big floor tile with a gloss finish. Polypropylene sheet works too and it wont shatter. No Worries, Rich
Right on… i wanna try this out… should be interesting. A peice of glass sounds like a good idea too. Sounds kinda messy and itchy tho. I just hope i can get the extra time to try this out Thanks for the input guys/