I am looking for answers to a couple questions and I’m hoping they come from guys that have been in the industry long enough to have seen the pros and cons to what I’m asking.
On the leash cup, is it better to orient the rod lengthwise or widthwise, or does it matter?
Is it better to put it in the stringer or out in the foam? Or again, does it matter?
I know the answers could very well depend on other factors, and not really matter in the grand scheme of things. I’m just wondering if there are stronger applications that may have been tested in some way.
Yes… widthwise. Think of the pin as a lever. lengthwise puts more stress on one end of the pin than the other. Widthwise distributes the stress equally.
But it only matter sin big surf, and poor installations.
There is a greater chance that the metal bar in the leash plug will pull out and fail if installed aligned with the stringer. No matter which direction it is pulled when aligned width wise, it is more likely to pull on both ends of the bar instead of just the rear of the metal bar. Have repaired more than a few lengthwise installs on which the brass bar simply broke out of the plastic plug. Think about it widthwise spreads the load. Lengthwise puts all the load at the back of the brass bar. Lowel
There is a greater chance that the metal bar in the leash plug will pull out and fail if installed aligned with the stringer. No matter which direction it is pulled when aligned width wise, it is more likely to pull on both ends of the bar instead of just the rear of the metal bar. Have repaired more than a few lengthwise installs on which the brass bar simply broke out of the plastic plug. Think about it widthwise spreads the load. Lengthwise puts all the load at the back of the brass bar. Lowel. PS Years ago I did them lengthwise too. Until I started noticing that none of the the “Big Dogs” in the Business did them that way. I started seeing boards come in for repairs that had the bar broken out. I gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that widthwise is the more reasonable way to go. Sure is easy though to line them up with the stringer.
As I said when this thread went around the first time; two plugs, two strings thru the railsaver on your leash. If one plug and string fail hopefully the other won’t. Who knows though, you could snap or pull’em both at the same time. Another reason to prefer Futures leash plugs; under the glass.
I have under glass leash plugs which I used to use but had bubble issues and I like the look of the post glass option with coloured resin, no doubt its much weaker though. Since I have started setting Fusion plugs after the lamination, I might try that on deck side (after lam) for the under glass leash plugs too, Just patch over it once its set as I do with Fusions. Thanks