Looking to make a set of symetrically foiled wood glass-on keel fins for a fish I just shaped. I have a template from a Larry Marbile shape but have some construction questions.
Firstly the board I’m basing it on has fins that only appear to be 5/16 thick after being glassed on, is that a little thin, what is an optimal thickness.
Also I cant find any decent ply wood, ie baltic birch etc, as others have mentioned, would laying up an appropriate thickness of doorskin luan work?
My other option is to lay up multiple layers of thin balsa that I can get at the local hobby store, though this will turn out to be really expensive.
Also, what is the best glue to use, or could I use epoxy resin for the lay up.
My intention was to to have several layers of fiberglass at the center of the lay up to prevent water seepage if I damage the leading or trailing edges, any comments on how many layers of 4 oz to use.
Thanks in advance
Paul Boardman
i dont know how long you can wait ??? but when i get my digital camera .
i was gonna post the production line series of photos and decribe how to make wood fins ,ive made thousands now and have a good system in place to make em durable and well finished…im doing a barter deal on the camera .so it just depends on when he fronts up with it???
regards
BERT
If you go to your local hobby store, they often carry a fairly high quality of plywood in various thicknesses (birch, typically) right near the balsa supplies. It’s expensive on a per-foot basis, but a lot cheaper than buying fins!
How thick you want your keel fins is a matter of preference. If you’re going to glass them heavily, make the wood thinner.
Paul,
Any lumber wource that services cabinet makers and such will have nice ply. It does not have to be baltic birch. I’ve make them from maple ply and teak ply. I scrounge scraps from my buddies cabinet shop. I saw some nice maple ply at Home Cheepo last week. Mike