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A quick update for all of you who have placed orders ( thank you again :-). The 28 continues to have the most difficult birth ever. It now appears to have disappeared somewhere over the Nullabor. I am hopeful that it will turn up at some stage. The foundry hasn't started on the pours yet, as they are waiting for the core boxes to arrive. I have no idea where they have got to either! (The core boxes form the hollow inside the fins) So as per usual, please continue to be patient.
The 28 cm fin print and the core boxes have been officially declared missing in action somewhere over the Nullabor.
Unfortunately the parcel was not sent registered post as per my request. So now it's back to square one and they are all being reprinted next week. The Minister for Excessive Windsurfing Expenditure has not yet been informed due to a complete lack of intestinal fortitude (guts) on my behalf.
The core boxes will print overnight and hopefully be on their way soon after. I am hoping to get at least some fins cast before they close up shop.
The double thickness print of the 28 will take almost a week so that will be delayed another few weeks before I have received it, smoothed and finished it, and then sent it off to the replacement foundry. Sorry for the delays everyone.
I am fairly certain this is down to either Elmo or Stretchy, but I just cant figure out how they did it...
Unfortunately the parcel was not sent registered post as per my request. So now it's back to square one and they are all being reprinted next week. The Minister for Excessive Windsurfing Expenditure has not yet been informed due to a complete lack of intestinal fortitude (guts) on my behalf.
Unfortunately the parcel was not sent registered post as per my request. So now it's back to square one and they are all being reprinted next week. The Minister for Excessive Windsurfing Expenditure has not yet been informed due to a complete lack of intestinal fortitude (guts) on my behalf.
I have some bad news and need to apologise to all of you who supported me and this project. The replacement 3D prints for the 28 cm fin and all the core boxes ( to enable the fins to be cast hollow ) have also disappeared between the 3D printers and the foundry. I am totally in the dark as to what/how this has happened. The foundry will be closed by the end of the week. I am a bit gutted to fail at the final hurdle, but I haven't given up hope and I will keep trying to find a cost effective alternative solution for a relatively small production run. In the meantime I will also concentrate on making my own core boxes and I will post here again when I have got a worthy solution.
Thank you again for all of your interest and positive comments in the past, and a massive thanks to all those that put in an order. I will try my utmost to 'keep the faith' alive in getting a set of fins to production.
Very sorry to hear that Fangy. I know the effort that you put in won't be wasted though....the Fangy Mk 3 will arise from the ashes.
One shipment disappearing would be bad luck. Two disappearing could indicate foul play
So Ross, how strong does it have to be? I have some 30kg/m3 foam here, I could have a go at shaping it for you.
Or maybe, some molding wax, that way the foundry could use the lost wax method.
Thanks Sue and Wazza. I should have added that with the 28 print being lost there is no chance of me casting that one until I can muster up enough coin to re print it ....again! But the 20 and 24 are still alive and kicking at the foundry, so they could be used in future when I find a suitable foundry. ( I have just this minute got some initial positive feedback from another foundry - time will tell if it is a go-er)
John - yes its super suss atm, I am hoping it's something benign and all will come out in the wash in future. But I will be really cheesed if I see the fins being pumped out of a factory in China somewhere.
Mike - Once I get the 20 and 24 prints back from the old foundry (fingers crossed ) I am going to make the core boxes out of some heavy body Polyvinylsiloxane. It's the same material as Astronaut Moonboot soles are made of, and should be durable enough. It has also got a little bit of flex so you can get it out of any undercuts and is dimensionally very stable with time.
At last a little bit of good news. The foundry owner has been extremely generous and offered to cast the 20 and 24 cm fins for me on a Sunday by herself, before shutting down and joining the grey nomads. We have no core boxes, so the compromise is the fins will be cast solid. She is doing them be herself today only, so I don't think it will be enough to fulfil the orders, nor will there be any finishing done at the foundry at all; but I felt that it was still better than nothing. When I know how many she managed to get done I will be in touch on a first come, first served, basis.
Please be aware they WILL be SOLID, so if you want to reduce the weight it will require some manual drillling from the base down the leading edge to create the hollow. On the 20 cm this is only a small amount, but the 24 cm requires a little more perserverance, if you feel the weight is an issue. I am totally aware that this is not what my initial offer was, so if you do NOT want a fin, I completely understand and it's is absolutely fine to change your mind - just let me know when I get in touch. Again, thanks everyone for you support during this rollercoaster ride.
You know how I said it was a rollercoaster....I just got this from the foundry;
"......unfortunately ran out of material before we could cast the fins. I will send the patterns back to you this week." 
If this was a story it would be considered too far-fetched to be reasonable!
I am still looking for the silver lining, cos its getting harder and harder to find. Here it is, I do have two possible foundry options for the future that are looking promising. But if any of you are just pwww.seabreeze.com.au/forums/EditReply/2110445#lain fed up waiting ( I know I am!!) just let me know and I will remove your order.
Stay tuned for the next unrealistic episode in this saga....
Presently I'm the speed restriction on everyone getting a fin, believe it or not!
I've got to say, that foil is looking Niiiiice
) )
. Nebs very kindly agreed to have a crack at printing the 28cm after its predecessors disappeared. It takes a loooooong time to print a fin that big, and get it right. Without Nebs, the 28 cm fin would have still been a pretty design file. Thanks mate 
woohoo
Nebs comes through with the goods and a print colour to try ensure this 28 doesnt get lost again :-)
And one during printing;
Yee haa! both core box and 28 cm fin done by Nebs in a fraction of the time of all previous attempts. 
Thanks Decrep. I've worked hard on my printers to get somewhat decent results.
The problem here is that a 28 cm fin, although it doesn't sound that big, is HUGE. My biggest printer could only print it in 3 sections. The green mat in the photo above is 440mm across, and the fin is bigger than the mat! I think I used around 600 grams of filament.
I'm keen to hear what Fangman thinks of the print.
No, not this time . I told Nebs he could keep both of his hands if he manages to get the fin to me. I am a pretty reasonable bloke, and I did give him the option of one of the *kids, or both his kneecaps as an alternative. ( *By 'kids' I mean, he gets one of my attention-seeking, hormone production units to keep for the entire school holidays)
