mike_skinner

You would just glass the fin onto the board - I would suggest that you included some support inside the board for this in the same way that you would add foam (or balsa wood) blocks inside the board to be able to router out the hole for a finbox. There will be lots of videos out there online showing how fins can be glassed onto a surfboard. Good luck!

The grain site seems to have finally died - feel free to shoot me any questions - here or mike.skinner1001@gmail.com

Hi Jon - seems the Grain forum has finally gone = only details are now here to feel free to shoot any questions my way in the meantime.Mikemike.skinner1001@gmail.com

Hi - the deck planks were cut using a tablesaw - 6mm thick and differing widths (the maximum width I could cut was 75mmx6mm). You could get a timber yard to do this for you, or even find (like I did) the western red cedar at 6mm thicknesses. These were then edge glued together in the arrangement I wanted. To do this, lay the boards flat and masking tape the joins together. Then, flip the set over and by "hinging" open each join you can run a bead of glue down the edges. Then, lay flat, weigh down (or sash clamp) the panel together and leave overnight to dry. Hope this help[s!

Where are you? I got my brass ones as free samples from Anchor Inserts in the UK. Any supplier to the injection moulding industry should be able to help, or you could make your own out of a pice of brass - drill right through then tap an M6 thread

I just used 3mm exterior ply - it is cheap and gets wrapped in fibreglass so doesn’t really matter.

Finbox - this must be central soyou must cut into the stringer. However, as you will have put support blockseither side then this means you have plenty of material to glue the finboxinto. I put it 140mm from the tail of the board so the finbox would be incontact with the underside of the top deck at the tail. It should be a tightfit. Roughen the glue surfaces of the finbox then mix up a thin paste of epoxyplus wood flour (from a sander - peanut butter consistency when mixed), spreadinside the hole and on the finbox and push into place. You may need to hold itwith a couple of clamps rather end of a strip of wood running across the board.Place a fin in the box and check it sits vertical... you can see I made asimple router jig and used the collar on my router plus the cutter size to worko...

Finbox - this must be central soyou must cut into the stringer. However, as you will have put support blockseither side then this means you have plenty of material to glue the finboxinto. I put it 140mm from the tail of the board so the finbox would be incontact with the underside of the top deck at the tail. It should be a tightfit. Roughen the glue surfaces of the finbox then mix up a thin paste of epoxyplus wood flour (from a sander - peanut butter consistency when mixed), spreadinside the hole and on the finbox and push into place. You may need to hold itwith a couple of clamps rather end of a strip of wood running across the board.Place a fin in the box and check it sits vertical... you can see I made asimple router jig and used the collar on my router plus the cutter size to workout the dimensions of this. Go careful with the cut depth and measure carefully- the last thing you want to do is burst through the top deck of the board.Measure the finbox depth and check in relation to the board. The plastic tabs on the finbox help set the depth, then you sand all this down after glassing (or even before - I usually sand the finbox first then glass over the top to ensure a good seal but if I ever knock a fin and rip out the finbox then it means a full re-glass. Remember to tape over the fin slot if you do this method). Vent is a little easier -make up a block (I use something like 15mm ply and about 50x50mm). Drill andfit the vent into this. The vents I use are brass threaded inserts and aresquare so drill a hole then chisel square. Use a bit of epoxy peanut butter tobond it in to the block. Then glue the block to the stringer and a rib at thenose of the board. anywhere in the first foot of length of the board so up against the second rib is a good place. This means the vent is off centre. Measure where the vent iswhen gluing on the deck planks (you can see my marking lines on the plank over the vent), transfer the position to the deck plank then drill a small pilot hole so that the board is vented. Prior to glassing I fill this hole up with plasticene or blue-tak and glass over the top. Then after glassing drill a hole say 12mm in the plank so that when this plank is glued inplace it sits directly over the vent. Make user all ribs and stringer have beendrilled so all compartments can breathe. You could fit the vent into thestringer if you want it central - you just cut a pocket for the vent to sit inbut you will have to support either side. This pocket has to be deeper than thevent so that it can breath. Remember though at the nose the stringer is pretty shallow so can easily snap...To seal it use a stainless or brass bolt witha rubber o ring. Make sure your surf bag or fin bag has an Allen key that fitsthe vent or you could use a hex-bolt and cut a slot in the head so it can be coin operated.... I have burst a board in the UK when forgetting to open up the venton a warm day so never skip the vent...

Wow that looks amazing! Really great work, let me know how the seahorse surfs as a twin! I like the colour scheme too.Mike

Those dimensions sound right too - the design is pretty flat rockerwise, slightly less on the tail.looking forward to see some pics!

should be 7'6" nose to tail overall length on the plans

Wooden blocks fine for the fins. Check the pictures for how I do my vent - I make sure the vent block is glued to the sound and a rib.Wet sanding by hand keeps the dust down. Also, regarding clamps- I've seen people use bike inner tubes, bungees and straps. The main thing is that you squeeze the rail strips together and to the rib. Good luck!

Looking great! it will be easier to glue up the frame once you cut the outline profile and add the support blocks to line up everything. I used 4mm ply and square section balsa. Take care here to get the centre line straight and the ribs at 90degrees to this = I used a big try square and measured to make sure it was symmetrical.I get all my glassing materials from Seabase in the UK - 4oz cloth and epoxy resin. There are no real fumes from epoxy but wear gloves as some people can get an allergic reaction. The dust from sanding hardened resin will need mask protection too. You will need to make some stands (check youtube "Grain Surfboard Laminating Tutorial with Entropy Resins" for the process and to see the stands ). I wouldn't recommend using polyester resin - this stinks and...

Looking great! it will be easier to glue up the frame once you cut the outline profile and add the support blocks to line up everything. I used 4mm ply and square section balsa. Take care here to get the centre line straight and the ribs at 90degrees to this = I used a big try square and measured to make sure it was symmetrical.I get all my glassing materials from Seabase in the UK - 4oz cloth and epoxy resin. There are no real fumes from epoxy but wear gloves as some people can get an allergic reaction. The dust from sanding hardened resin will need mask protection too. You will need to make some stands (check youtube "Grain Surfboard Laminating Tutorial with Entropy Resins" for the process and to see the stands ). I wouldn't recommend using polyester resin - this stinks and you would need a respirator. Outside means dust and flies in the lamination = not good! There are resins that cure instantly with UV light too but I have not used these.I love glassing - 700g resin per lamination coat then about half that for the fill coat. My tip for a first timer would be to use a little masking tape to hold the glass in place and work from the centre out to the rails. I masked out the top of this board as I was using colour on the bottom - this gives you opportnity to mark out where you will cut the lap. Laminate the bottom, wrap around the rails, then repeat for the top. Take care to get your laps neat. Watch a lot of youtube videos to suss the technique then watch some more. Watch how the rails are done, and you need a sharp blade to trip the lap before the resin fully cures. Epoxy resin work needs a warm, dust free environment so I did my first board in the house. Plastic sheeting on the floor and got the room up to about 25 degrees C.You could try https://www.woodboardforum.com/ or http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/ for further detailsGood luck!

Hi there! Knot free wood is best for the rails - softwood or hardwood will do, or even balsa. At 6x6 they should bend, or you can use steam (an iron and a wet cloth) to soften them. You will need tots of clamps - spring clamps, g clamps or home made pipe clamps (check out the pictures). Apply the clamps to close up the gap so you end up working at funny angles.For solid fins you will need to build some support inside, under where the fins will be. Some builders router a slot into the deck and glue the fins in. Glassing the fins in gives them strength - YouTube glass on fin installation.For a vent any non corroding insert plus a bolt will suffice - I got mine from a company that makes brass inserts for injection modules parts. Then used a stainless Allen bolt with an o ring. Good luck! Mike

Hi Peter, stoked you are building one - you are right, the tail block and noseblick are improvised using the outline template - - the outside shape matches this, and the inside shape is about 20mm inside. Good luck, and post pictures! mike

Fantastic!

That's ace! I wonder if pallet wrap and posts will keep carrot fly of gym carrots

*my

Awesome! Voted too :0)

Now that is s beaut!!