It’s silly, but I didn’t even realize this was possible before I started reading Swaylocks. I’m going to take them to the belt sander at work tomorrow so they won’t look so ugly (and to foil them).
You can see maybe that I couldn’t decide what kind of fins to make, so I’ve got some quad variations, a scaled-down Lis-inspired Keel, some bonzer runners, and a wacky longboard experiment that looks turdy and which I did freehand. I also made some calipers, but I’m going to keep those looking as ugly as possible just so it’s obvious I made them.
you may want to use some ‘midwest birch aircraft plywood’ for those fins.
Good stuff, no knots, smooth quality, many layerings, etc.
where are you located ekadanta?
I’m in San Diego. I thought I put it in my profile, but it didn’t show up.
Actually, it’s funny you mentioned the knots. I was at the hardware store today and I found myself passing by the plywood section three or four times when I finally realized that I just couldn’t stop myself from buying a sheet and cutting some fins. It was only after I took a photo to impress my friends that I saw those knots, which looked pretty dumb. I also totally guessed on the thickness of plywood that would work and ended up with 3/8, which I’m hoping will give me enough depth to work with on the sanding.<bR
One thing that was cool, though, is that I started out on the internet (here first, actually) trying to find a fin template I could print out and trace, but I quickly realized it would be cool to just make up my own. They’re not totally original, however, all inspired by something I’ve seen or some fin-idea that lurks somewhere in my mind. Still, it’s fun and I enjoyed my hour or so of measuring and drawing out fin designs.
You’re in San Leandro? I’ve got family there.
there are how-to threads in the archives telling you all about plywood fins, what
thickness to start with for FCS, Probox etc, etc.
I dont think you need plywood any thicker than 1/4" as I look over some old stock
which includes 1/8". Find them old threads.
Searching tips: 3 letter words or less are not searchable like ‘fin’.
However if you search on multiple words like ‘plywood fin’ then the 3 letter word MAY work in that context.
There is a bamboo fin how-to thread in here thats THE STUFF…find it.(maybe the word ‘greenlight’ would help)
ha, small world, i have a sheet of ply i'd be willing to share if you were nearer.
it's probably not worth it to ship though...
looks like you got yourself some fun times ahead! good luck
101Fins here in San Diego make beautiful bamboo fins. I’d love to make a set like that. I’m still not sure how mine will turn out (especially with such think plywood). Good thing I cut so many that I can screw up 8 or 9 before I get a good one. I’ll be sure to practice on the ones I don’t like first.
Thanks for the search tips. I’ve started bookmarking threads I’ll want to read again because my search technique is apparently not refined enough to stumble upon the same thread twice.
wow. That bamboo fin thread is awesome. Thanks for the link!