Hi there this novice shaper has got his first boards ready to set the fins up, Ive got a few tips but can any one tell me wether the side fins should be let to stand at there natural angle in the fin plug or whether there's specific angles, Ive got the layout formulas which were a great help from "geuthary"(thanks) . Also the holes you cut for the plugs are larger than the plugs buy a few millimeters and on other boards i have the resin the plugs are set in with is white not clear, do you use a pigment or is it Qcell? Any info would be great as I'm hopping these boards might actually work!!
Hey Fishwakeskates,
You normally use a dummy fin or jig to set the angles of the plugs. Typical angles I use are
6.5 degrees out from true vertical, maybe 5.5 degrees for bigger surf. Do NOT use Q-cel
for your fins, you need to get some fine milled fiberglass, and better yet a little colloidal silica
and combine these into the resin. Milled glass should be less than 1mm, colloidal silica is
a good option. Pigment is used, but just enough for hide value, as it compromises strength,
cure, and adhesion to the plugs.
With all that said, why not use the new FCS plugs (Fusion)? They are much more failure
tolerant, do not go through to the deck, and use much less resin (which does not need any
powders and pigment...)
George
If you’re doing FCS, I HIGHLY recommend getting ahold of the install kit, so you have all the poper bits and jigs required for a quality install. So many people make the mistake of trying to save a few bucks and do it with the wrong tools. Beg, borrow, buy… whatever it takes, to get the install kit. Consider it an investment. You spent all that time, energy, sweat and money… pouring your soul into building a board that’s now 90% finished. Don’t cut corners and blow it now. Every failed FCS install I’ve ever seen wasn’t done properly.
Craftsmen use the right tool for the job.
IMO, you should stop now & install FCS Fusion instead. So simple even a caveman could do it
Otherwise - Download & read this http://www.foamez.com/pdfs/FCSManual.pdf
do you get the same bubble problems with Fusion that you can have with Futures?
Hey Adam30,
No, they seem to lay down just fine. We do not have any problems with the Futures either.
A lot has to do with what stage of construction they are put in. We do both systems
after the board is laminated, and then do a couple other things to make them super-clean
looking and quite a bit stronger...
George
I have heard people doing futures after the lam. I think Drewtang told me he did his after the lam. I might have to try it although I think FCS plugs are easier