How to replace FCS boxes

[rcompton]

Hey,

I just got a good deal on a 6'10 travel board, because the FCS screws holding the fins in are stripped badly and impossilbe to remove.

I think that my only solution is to replace the fin boxes. As far as I can tell all I need to do is drill the old ones out, add some resin, stick the new boxes in and hope it works. Has anyone done this before? Any advice?

[isaluteyou]

yep ive done it quite a few times but never because of a stripped screw that seems a tad extreme. Just find a drill size that is small enough and drill it out. Some people might have abetter way of doing it but ihave always done it that way.

[the.ronin]

I've never done that before but if I had too, I would probably try using a dremel with a cutting disc and outlining the sides of the fin box ... but I wouldn't even begin to know hot to deal with the bottom side of the fin box assuming its been epoxied onto the foam.

[rcompton]

Cool, so how do I drill the screw out? I'm going to try that first as it occurs to me that will be very hard to remove the boxes with the fins stuck in them...

[kitesurfer]

Is the screw still stuck in there? If it is it is likely to be stainless steel and that is going to make it very difficult to drill it out without snapping drill bits.
As for removing the old fin boxes neatly you will need to drill lots of small diameter holes around the circumference of the box to break the resin bond to the box then carefully wiggle the box free and out.
When re fitting boxes make sure you use a mix of resin and micro balloons as resin alone is not strong enough.

KS

[CHarvey]

Just get a carbide drill bit, if you feel it is needed get a carbide bit that is tin or tungsten coated. Should drill out no prob. Just make sure you have some light oil like WD-40 or something so you don't build up too much heat from friction and melt the fin box. You are going to want to probably do it in two steps so you don't drill the threading out of the hole. First size should be able to fit in the allen key hole, next size should be a few thousanths smaller then the hole itself. Make sure you line it up properly and don't go too deep. Take the screw out of one of the other fins and put the drill bit in it. Mark the bit at the max depth of the hole so you know when you should have hit bottom. Piece of masking tape works good for that.
Good luck.

[surf patrol]

You could try the glue route as suggested on this forum a while back.
Use a bit of superglue to attach your allen / hex key to the screw (taking care not to glue it to the fin box also). Once dry and hopefully secure go ahead and unscrew.

I have never tried this myself but it seems a lot simpler than drilling. Worth a try?

[rcompton]

Yeah, I tried the glue. Didn't work. I'm going to try and drill them out in a few weeks (I have a trip to Baja coming up so no point in messing anything up before then).

[CHarvey]

Going off of SP's idea instead of using glue try using something like JB liquid weld. Once that sets up it is as good as if you welded it it to whatever surface you applied it to. May loose your allen key though.
Just an idea.

[isaluteyou]

good idea for the glueing bit never though of that.

I just though of something though. Are you using a plain fcs key to try get the thread out. Those things suck. Just go to a hardwear store and find a decent allen key that will fit you get much more leverage and i guess if you use the glue trick it wil probably work. If it still wont budge just make sure you give it a really really good clean as tiny sand particles can get down there making it near improssible to remove.

[the.ronin]

rcompton, I came across a fairly specific DIY on the Future Fins site on how to deal with stripped screws. I believe both FCS and FF use the same screw ...

DIRECTIONS FOR FIXING A STRIPPED SCREW HOLE.
Step 1: Level board so the resin doesn't run out the top of the screw hole.

Step 2: Clean the box in question with a little fresh water to remove any
sand or grit and make sure the screw hole and work area are clean and dry.

Step 3: When dry, use masking tape to cover the screw hole on the inside
cavity of the box so the resin doesn't run out the bottom of the hole.

Step 4: Prepare the epoxy by following the instructions on the back of the
package. Fill the screw hole with the five minute epoxy. NOTE: Leave a
little void at the top of the screw hole, to allow the drill to be started
easier. Allow the epoxy to dry for a few hours.

Step 5: Use the #21 drill bit to drill a hole through the epoxy following
angle of the original screw hole.

Step 6: Now use the 10/32 tap to re-tap the drilled hole following the angle
of the original screw hole.

Step 7: Screw in screw and check for tightness, then go for a surf!

source