so i have a board i never used and tried to put the fins in only to find out the screw was turning and just falling to the bottom of the board without tightening or catching the fin. in other words the plastic threading is too large for the screw not sure how this happened. a friend told me to put epoxy down the hole let it harden and then get a drill bit and drill it out a bit and then i should be good to go. anyone done this type of repair before? Any advise? thank ya
I would recommend doing the same thing, but make sure to cover up the hole that leads into the actual fin box so epoxy doesnt drain into it.
I would not try that just yet. I know surf shops use to sell a replacement screw that is slightly larger (wider) then the original and that would be the easiest fix. Idk if they still do, I don't see why not... You might have to call around and ask. I suppose your talking about fcs plugs? You might even be able to orde one from Amazon or something if you measure the original and get the next size up
I was about to say that I have found "next size larger" set screws at a local hardware store with a head that fit my fin key fine, and bit right into the reamed out screw hole and solved the problem for about 50 cents and no messy epoxy work. The "fill and drill" approach will work, but just buying a set screw with a slightly larger diameter is a hell of a lot easier.
Or one could probably get something at a hardware store or Home Depot. It's just an Allen set screw after all.
I agree- specially if you can find one in stainless steel! Maybe a boat shop would have one too... Or online order If you really want to try the epoxy method, he is some guidelines from big Z: http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?18634-Rethread-an-FCS-screw-hole/page2 Either way- You still have to buy stuff- unless you happen to have a tap and lock-tight... I think it's easier to try the bigger size first
I'd tap it for a 12-24 grub screw and use that. Others have just used the same size threaded screw, but a longer screw to engage more threads. But if that doesn't work, I'd tap it for the next size up so you can still screw/unscrew it as often as you like. This all happened because somebody overtightened the screw to begin with.
So the bigger screw worked perfectly and I also bought another larger screw. The shop told me to do out epoxy but I actually did this and the grip wasn't great plus you need to do this every time you surf. So yes the larger screw is the best plan. Go to a hardware store instead of the surf shop. They only carry standard screw sizes for future and fcs. Hardware store has all of em obviously.
