“there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers” the overlaping of cloth from bottom to top or top to bottom is one of the great mysteies of the surfboard universe-----just go for it—more glass is strong , less glass is weak—finding out is half the fun—
Freelapped clear resin won’t show if you neatly cut the cloth and pull/cut any errant strings. Cutlapped clear resin will show if you razor too deep and into the foam, paint or no paint.
I like to freelap the bottom up onto the deck rails, but do a “freehand” cut lap on the deck cloth. I don’t use tape… I just take a new razor and after the resin cures to a rubber-like state, I use my hand as a guide along the rail and do a pretty clean, even cutlap all the way around. Even though the bottom glass is cured, it’s still easy to cut through it, so go gently but firmly with the razor, and snip any strings that don’t cut the first time as you slowly pull off the excess lap. I just find it easier to grind down that one, even edge than a ragged, uneven edge with string “worms” hanging off it.
Freelapping the bottom onto the deck foam lets you put the pin line where ever you want, so you’ve got the option to move it in order to make it work visually with any other art on the board. Cutlaps commit you to the location of the pin line because you’re covering the cut mark with pin line.
Those are the “FCS” aparently plugs that i ordered here in nz. Got them and a tool that said euro fins so i take it they arnt fcs. Anyhow… these has like a dip between the face of it and the circumference,
do fcs also have this ? also what are with the little black sticks coming out of the sides? they from the mould or ment to be there?
When glassing… after the lam before the hotcoat?? do i just put in a peice of wood or sumthing like a fin to stop the resin getting into the plug and glass around letting the resin get into the dip but not the
tab bit if you know what i mean.
Just a couple of questions aha.
i also attached a picture of the fish as it sits now… ready for a spray paint then glassing.
Just asking a lot of question as its the first time using fin plugs and dont wanna mess up a friends board :?
Is the picture of the board complete? If I may make a suggestion, I recommend you take the stringer down a little more. Tuck the bottom under in the nose a bit? Stoked! Mike
First…I agree with the above post…I’d use the little block plane or spokeshave to get the stringer down to the level of the foam, and thin out the nose and give it a 50/50 rail all the way up to the tip.
The plugs you have look exactly like FCS. The little sticks are actually what keeps the plug at the proper depth… they span the hole. I strongly recommend you buy the FCS installation kit that comes with a template and all the bits/borers/tools you need to do the job right. If you don’t do it right, you might as well do glass-ons. But the process kinda goes like this:
When you go to lam the hull, mark on lines on the bottom exactly where the inside edge of your fins will be, and cut football shaped patches of cloth to cover them. Lay them down, wet them out, then put your bottom cloth over them. Lam the deck. Hotcoat. Mark out where the plug holes will go using the FCS template (or the fins you’ll use). Drill holes to a depth of 2-3mm deeper than the plug will go down into the bottom with a saw hole bit, then bore out the foam to that depth. Then, you have to drill down to the deck glass with another tool that carves out a ring of foam, so a side view of the hole looks like an H with a pillar of foam at the bottom just below the bottom of the plug. Put the plugs on a dummy jig or fin, scuff them up really good with 50 grit, and place them in the holes. Measure and set cant. Carefully pour resin down the edge of each hole to fill the space under and around the plug. Let cure completely. Take out the dummy jigs/fins and grind down the top of the plug and any escess resin until you get down to your hotcoat. Sand and polish.
The ears on the plugs are supposed to stop at foam level when you glass 'em in. When you grind off the lip, the ears come off too. So measure from the bottom of the ear to the bottom of the plug and that’s how deep to drill. If pupe, drill 1/8 bigger & deeper; if EPS/epoxy, drill 1/16" bigger & deeper. That’s how much resin & filler (chopped glass is best) you need to set them right. The ears also help you keep 'em straight - if you pencil the line your fin will go on, the ears will sit right along the line. You can also put a fin in, which might be agood idea for making sure they’re upright (or canted, if you wish).
Edit: all of this after hotcoating, but before sanding & glossing…
Thanks. im always open to some swaylockian advice with shaping.
Will get onto the nose soon. That picture was as it sat this second and was going to maybe do a little more things on her.
Yea the nos ehas been bothering me a bit as in pointyness. i thinned is SO much, you shudda seen it before.
Thanks for all the help with the fcs plugs. i am pretty nervous now that i know that i have to grind down those “ears” :?
I just got back from a WICKED surf with good mates in an empty lineup with bazzareling waves everywhere… good times
Im pretty shure that i know what to do with those fcs plugs. they sound pretty complicated but i know that they really arnt so trying to put that into my head. Those pictures really did help a lot aye. thanks chip.
Im shure that you dont need that fcs routing setup thing. Dont you just get a piece of wood. mark a straight line and cut two circles at the fcs plug circumference along that line at the specific intervals… or you could mark out dots on the blank with a pencil then when it comes to drilling the holes just get the right size hole saw… make a mark for drilling then drill the holes at the specific distances apart then get a chizel or watever and remove the foam from the hole sawn circle like you would with the leash plug and your away?? i wudda thought that this is the easyest way??? im prob wrong tho lol
Have work tomorow the whole day which isnt very fun but its more bearable when you had a good surf the day be4, so will have to finish the shaping on monday
If you decide to do it without the kit, make sure you put a fin in the plugs, measure the cant angle, and secure the fin so you’re cant and tow in don’t change when you fill the hole. If you don’t put a fin in, the plug will float in the resin and will (1) shift on you, and (2) won’t stay down deep enough in the hole, so you’ll have to grind down the tabs on your fins so their won’t be a space between the bottom of the fin and the board. Both of these situations have happened to me.
Also, it’s really important to get that hole saw “ring” cut all the way through the foam to bare glass on the deck side. 9 out of 10 people who complain about FCS plugs getting ripped out or crushed into the board never installed them to the manufacturers specs. That ring-shaped pillar of solid resin supports the plug like a bearing wall does a roof. You need that structural strength. Otherwise, the plug can easily get crushed into the bottom with just a minor amount of force.
Don’t forget the extra glass patches on the bottom. Some say do them on the deck side, too, but I never have.
Some time ago, one of the guys at Shaperoom.net posted this home-made tool for grinding foam down to the deck glass. Really easy to make, not too expensive, also a good thing that everyone should have at home (“…not tonight, Honey, I have a headache…”):
NJ_surfer Thanks for that info i NEVER EVER thought about drilling all the way to the deck glass… Good idea but how do you stop from gonig through the deck?? just go slowly?? I can see what’d happen with force on the fin with foam between deck and plug… SMASH
Also Balsa thats a pretty sweet tool. Is it just teeth carved into a bottle or sumin. Obviously havnt seen that hear in NZ.
Im assuming its headache tablets ? Is it just because its longer so you can go deeper ?
You guys seriously are SOO HEALPFUL i dont know how this would turn out with all your advice and ideas… prob absolute crap 8)
