I’ve been asked to install a traditional 10.5 " fins unlimited box in a 10’ longboard current set up with 3 lok boxes. I’m concerned about properly routing through the existing center box to make the slot for the new box. Has anyone done this previously?
Is there any problem I should anticipate prior to attempting the job? I assume the plastic box with burn or melt if routed too aggressively, so the plan is to go slow. the lok box appears wider than the 1 1/8" cut of my routing jig which will leave a small part of the old box visible. Is this “half moon” of material normally left in place when the new box is installed? Or should I try to remove the old box entirely? There is a small threaded insert in the existing lok box for the screw and tab, I assume I can just drill this out prior to firing up the router, am I missing anything? thanks in advance for your input.
If the board is colored you can route out all the lokbox and use pigment to match board or box with the new resin. You can always add another layer of glass in there too. I found the key is to have a fast rpm and a slow feed rate Taking 1/4 to 3/8 deep with each pass. Like you said make sure all the metal is out. If the mortise is too wide maybe pry out the “half moons” and fill cavity with pigmented resin. Good Luck.
Thanks for the post, I guess the biggest issue is that I hate to put a router to a perfectly good board. If it’s a mess when it comes to my shop, all I can do is make it better. in this case, I’m concerned about burning melting the thermo plastic fin box and causing a disaster. I’ll just proceed a normal when setting a box.
But one more question, I’ve read conflicting info on the topic… When you set the FU box do you break out the tab and put a fin in the box to verify vertical alignment, or simply rely on the tabs to orient the box to the bottom of the board like a production shop might do?
But one more question, I've read conflicting info on the topic... When you set the FU box do you break out the tab and put a fin in the box to verify vertical alignment, or simply rely on the tabs to orient the box to the bottom of the board like a production shop might do?
I've never worked in a surfboard shop. I made a plywood mock up fin that goes in the box. I leave the tab / tabs intact. The mock up fin looks like a square oversized FCS fin........
My favorite board has a fin that leans to one side....my mistake...board rides great!
Howzit stingray, I had a fin box fin that I removed the metal pin from and would just put it in the fin in the box till the resin mix kicked hard and then removed it, I would not completely trust the tabs because I had many boards where the tabs at the rear didn't touch the bottom of the board because the tail was to thin to route to the full box depth. Without the pin you put less stress on the box when removing the fin plus you can eyeball the fin to make sure it is perpendicular to the board bottom, also don't push the fin down to hard into the box and put the fin in before you install the box. Aloha,Kokua
Kokua, why did you say not to push the fin down hard into the box? It’s either fully seated in the box or it’s not. What am I missing here, it seems simple, how could I mess it up by pushing it in fully even if that requires some pressure?
Howzit BKahuna, I said not to push the fin in to hard because I had a habit of pulling it out before the resin was totally cured and didn't want to pull the box out if the fin was stuck in the box, plus when the box heats up from the resin kicking it expands and it is harder to get the fin out. If you want to wait tll the resin mix is totally cured and cooled down then go for it and push the fin in hard. Plus since there is no pin the fin can go deeper than it would with a pin in the fin. I just use a tender touch when it comes to certain steps of building boards. The fin only has to be in deep enough so it doesn't wiggle and it perpendicular to the box and bottom of the board. Aloha,Kokua
Thanks Kokua, I finished routing the box and setting the fin this evening. I’ll let that rascal cure overnight before I touch it, the fin was very difficult to install into the FU box prior to installation, I guess the mold is purposely tight to insure a long term snug fit, I can see why you cautioned about wiggling the box by pushing on it.
BTW, that Lok box was difficult to get out carefully, the dissimilar materials caused the router to grab and twitch but all went well, no disaster. TTL
Howzit BKahuna, Just a little trick you learn after a few thousand installs, glad you understand where I was coming from.We need to make sure we get these to let you guys on to tricks before we aren't here to pass them on, that's just one part of the Swaylock way. Aloha,Kokua
...is there any chance you took / could take photos of this lokbox to finbox conversion , please ?
i ask , because i soon will be getting fcs plugs removed in an existing board , to allow a finbox install [i want to ride the walden as a singley , ?possibly with bonzer runners, too ? in the near future ....
i'm not sure what the tabs on the box are that some have mentioned in this thread ..... we don't seem to have them here [but ours are not 'fins unlimited' boxes , that's probably why....
Ben, No, sorry I didn’t take any photos during the process, but here is one of the completed job. The procedure was straight forward, the box measured 10 1/2 x1 so I built a jig or pattern out of 1/4" plywood adding 1/16" all around, = 10 5/8 x 1 1/8" You also must allow for the width of your collet or plunge router guide in my case that was another 1/8 all around the dimension you want as a final size.
test the pattern on a scrap surfboard remnant or as I did use piece of wood, a 2x4. I routed the piece of lumber just to verify the final dimensions the pattern would yield and test fitted the FU box. The tabs are simply guides molded into the side of the box designed to support the box at the correct depth in the board, they get sanded off once the box is set, just like a FCS plug.
