I saw a post on here about fins and was wondering how do you go about making a fin from scratch? I have some old fins that i would love to replicate anyone have any info they will share on the construction process and materials needed? Mahalo
Consensus is…use roller instead of squeegee.
5 layers at a time, end up laminating around 36 layers of 6 oz flatweave…you calculate for different weight cloths
Lam resin is fine, no hotcoat needed
Start with a plate of flat glass or flat, true surface, use wax paper and mold release to keep resin from sticking.
Don’t mix all the resin at once, it takes some time to laminate all the layers…mix cold batches, as the thickness produces lots of heat
Go with different color resin, to get a rainbow effect, if you want.
have fun…
UV catalyzed resin works great for laying up fin panels, no rush no fuss. You can get away with tinted layers too as long as you allow for reduced light transmission, catalyze slightly. As Lee noted, about 32-36 layers of 6oz. I like to wet out/laminate 5 layers at a time. I use a trash can or a work top that allows me to backlight under my piece of scrap tempered window glass so I can see any air voids in the layers as lay the panel up. About 48 oz. of polyester resin for a sheet 24 x 15.
Tom S.
I just made a fin using woven roving and didnt have to use so many layers. It looks pretty cool too. It is just harder to saturate the glass.
How about making a wooden fin? It would be lighter. Isn’t that a good thing?
Lighter weight, probably.
Stiffer, most probably, even tho wood flexes, you have to sandwich it with glass/resin, and prolly make it slightly thicker for durability. If it flexes lots, incompatitibility of materials might delam.
Much harder to foil accurately, might hummmm or buzzzzz. Straight glass is easy, as it’s consistent.
Looks retro…positively!