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For my most recent project my cost for the board came in at around AU$180. Then I went and bought some reasonable fins and good pads/straps and my costs doubled on the spot. It seems crazy that so much effort and technology goes into the board and yet the accessories cost just as much.

I was wondering if anyone had tried making their own fins and footpads/straps?

Cheers
Matt

Yes tons of that.
fins out of marine ply wood covered with glass and resin. A shit load of work and an inferior product.Cheap.
Car seat belts resined into the board with insulation foam. Also work and an inferior product. cheap.
Car floor mats, eva foam cocktails, neoprene layers. A lot of work and .............. . Cheap.
Either make it or bight the bullet.
Regards
Nico

Found this link to people making them out of premade G10 sheet.

$60 fro 12"x24" x#1/4 inch but for small fins that will do a lot of them.

http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/g10-fins

Anyone got tips on what foil cross-section to put into them? How much does it matter?

Cheer
Matt

you should look for hydrofoil sections, that way you'll delay the cavitation if you're building a raceboard where lift is really needed. but if your board is just a standard tt i wouldnt spend too much on fins, imo cheap plastic fins do the job just fine.

I've made small fins for a twin tip with 1/4" lexan. Got it from the free scrap bin at the local plastics shop. Cut out 4, clamp them together and finish the outline all at the same time. Then grind a foil onto each one, sand them more and finish them nice if you care (I no longer bother getting too pretty). I drill holes into them that are smaller than many fins use, and use self-tapping screws, not machine screws.

In windsurfing days I have made fins by laying up all the scraps of fibreglass cloth into a sheet, using polyester resin. The cut out, grind, sand etc. Very messy job with all that grinding and dust everywhere. I suspect the foil matters most on a race fin.

Peter

I made just the foot pads using those interlocking mats you buy for kids to play on, each pkg has 4 @ 22"x22" mats, enough for lots of foot pads, contact cement and a thin (flexible) polyethelene cutting board, some thin insole foam I got from the shoe repair guy. I used my LF pads as a template for size, shape and hole locations.

I cut them out on a band saw which did a real good job. I used two layers which was about an inch thick, plenty of shock absorption so far but I don't go very high.

Relatively easy to make, no mess, used env friendly contact cement and did the job in my living room except of course the cutting part which only took 5min. I can send you pix if you're interested.

I'm surprised the glue is holding but so far so good. You could use a 1/8" ply for the base instead of the cutting board, or even aluminum. I glued the shoe foam on the bottom of my plastic base to protect the board deck, it's similar foam as what's on real foot pads. Does the job.

I've only used them one session a couple weeks ago and they worked fine, no troubles. I used store bought straps that I already had. I just needed a 2nd set of foot pads for my higher wind board and didn't want to spend the money for new ones. I don't get out on the high wind board that often.

I keep this link in my bookmarks, maybe you can get some inspiration of it.
It certainly does give me a good laugh everytime I look at it

http://web.media.mit.edu/~tim/pix/footpads.html

foam-n-fibre wrote:I've made small fins for a twin tip with 1/4" lexan. Got it from the free scrap bin at the local plastics shop. Cut out 4, clamp them together and finish the outline all at the same time. Then grind a foil onto each one, sand them more and finish them nice if you care (I no longer bother getting too pretty). I drill holes into them that are smaller than many fins use, and use self-tapping screws, not machine screws.

In windsurfing days I have made fins by laying up all the scraps of fibreglass cloth into a sheet, using polyester resin. The cut out, grind, sand etc. Very messy job with all that grinding and dust everywhere. I suspect the foil matters most on a race fin.

Peter

Thanks Peter. BTW, your videos on board making on youtube are great. Thanks for putting them together. I tried the idea of vac bagging directly on to the baord to get a smooth finish. Work well.

Glad you like the video!

For footpads, I have scored the foam with a router to give it the more grippy finish. Use a straight edge and do it before you cut out the shape. Then, on the back, hollow out the middle, and build up the arch support by gluing in some more foam. When you flip it over and glue it down, it leaves the nice shape you want. I also have cut out the foam with a router too. Get a template for the router to follow, and use an angled or rounded bit for the router.

Peter