I've recently purchased my first board with a US fin box. The fin that came with the board is a tight fit, but not too bad. It fits with a bit of force but, I also have another new US fin that seems to be an even tighter fit. So tight I'm not even going to attempt to fit it. Is this normal and if so how do I fix it? I assume the correct method to fit a US fin is - Rear slots down and back, fin rotated forward until flush with bottom of board, screw tightened? Should the head of the screw protrude above planing area? I guess so. Excuse my ignorance
Its not unusual for them to be a bit tight, if u have a way of measuring the one that fits ok and compare it to the tight one is a good start. What I normaly do is make sure there is no grit in the box even give the box a very light sand to make sure its not scored up, then rub dry soap on the tight fin base and try to rotate it into the box as far as it will go with firm pressure, take it out and u should see black marks on the fin base, sand or file the high spots and repeat the procedure until it goes in all the way.
Cheers Jman. The new fin (base) looks to be about 250-500um thicker than the stock Drake fin (base) the board came with.... but havn't measured it so my eye could be way off. Will give your method a go and let you know how it went. Thanks for the reply!
Well, after what seemed like an awefull lot of sanding it finally fits nice and snug. Didn't expect the thickness of fins to vary so much.
Yeah, I was a bit surprised it required so much sanding. Was the main reason I was asking if this is normal for a US fin "base" to be so thick..... It is a Select fin by the way, a 25cm WaveFreestyle.
I sanded 2x X1 fins on the weekend for my K94 and E80.
The select fins for my boards (US and Tuttle boxes) all require a great deal of sanding. Not ideal, but i rather they be tight to start with than loose, at least you can work the fin to the right width for a snug fit but you still can pull it the fin out by hand. Also the fin needs to be flush with the board for the fin screw to touch the bolt. You will also need to make sure the fin box edges are sanded back to so they dont break away pulling out a tight fin.
Just replied to you via PM Windrider.... but yeah, after a little more sanding it now fits nice and flush with the bottom of the board. A firm fit but easy enough to remove. I was quite worried while sanding mine thinking I must be doing something wrong if it needed such a large amount to be removed. Good to know I went about it the right way!
thanks guys!
