Good to hear its going well.
After I pop the original out I get little holes / voids where the plaster hasnt fully surrounded the fin, but I mix up a small amount of plaster and carefully fill the holes in. When it sets just gently scrape any bump down flat.
i did a mould in clear latex tupe rubber so you can see into the mold then bagged it packed it with glass and infused the resin into from the bottom and the mold slowy filled up over about 5 minutes
hello surfoils, im glad to see your post on moulding fins,
I have been trying to make some wooden fins with fcs slots by hand, but the results have been a pain in the ass! many hours filing down and then, the slots are not 100% straight or square, thus hotcoat again to try to get the right width and thinkness, but never satisfying my expectations!
Im very curious about the moulding, i would like to make the whole fin into a mould, to save materials and time…days ago, I saw a post on single fin base making using a wooden mould ( a simple ripe with a channel routered) then tape it down and placing the lay up fin inside and pouring with resin mixed with fiberglass powder…
im thinking to do the same, to improve my single fin base…but a shaper nearby said that fins makers do the slots bases by hand, without mould… do u think it is true?
i found this video in youtube and i found it super usefull…what do you think?
do you think that after lay up a fin panel, i can use fcs plugs into a wooden stripe to use them as a mold? i mean, covering them within moulding releasing agent and placing vertically the fin into them, then pouring some resin with fiberglass powder? i was thinking for mechanical properties, letting some panel inside the plug(mold) to guarantee to be strong enough…what do you think?
can you upload some more pictures again? plz…the links are broken!
well thank you very much and sorry by my bad english…Im from venezuela but living in portugal
You could always put a little base board and calk around it I guess.
I’m still lurking around and molding FCS and Futures fins and now 3-D printing fins with RDM’s help.
I found that amateur fins aren’t as rigid as pro fins but it’s easy to match them if you’re able to set up a vacuum system.
Here’s a simple glass and veneer layup that’s ‘carbon’ strong and made of scraps.
7 layers of veneer and glass in a square block, it needs to be shaped but it’s easier and stronger than trying to vac shape an exact fin design. Is the main issue with molding fins … 1/ the fin shape or 2/ the tabs …? s
