Ask the guy who is making those SHINAI boards over in Perth.
Checked out his web page the other day and saw that he sells inserts and stuff for board building.
Pretty sure there is a link there for all things DIY board building.

I just put a front strap and glassed 2 fins on a surfboard last night but I didn't put insertloin the deck.
I did a pretty shady job, but it will work for the short term.
Just got some nice stainless screws screwed the strap n the fibre glassed the screws in. But my board is a 20yo dodgy thing that I don't value,iOS I can do a half arsed job. Took it for arest run today and it held up really well.

^^^ that's what I used - routered a groove and epoxied them in (epoxy board not polyester ) - 5 holes give you some flexibility about strap placement and width !!

vendeavours said..
Have 2x plug brass inserts from US AVAILIABLE use them in our boards SMOOKBOARDS

pics of inserts ,prefer brass inserts , have been using for 3 years also have singles

Those brass inserts look sweet,

But if your short of cash and only have a hole saw, then get a plastic cutting board at a $2 shop, cut some circular discs and then cut holes in the top of your surfboard, resin the disks in to the board and then fibre glass over the top, use a reasonable patch, pre drill and then screw the straps on with a coarse thread stainless screw.

plastic cutting boards are thinner than they used to be, so I glued 2 disks together before glassing into the board. a bit of epoxy will do the trick.

TerryMcTool said..

vendeavours said..

vendeavours said..
Have 2x plug brass inserts from US AVAILIABLE use them in our boards SMOOKBOARDS

pics of inserts ,prefer brass inserts , have been using for 3 years also have singles

What we found with anything that has brass inserts, and its the No 1 reason all the board brands use stainless inserts, is that brass corrodes when a stainless screw is screwed into it due to a process called electrolysis, especially in salt water.

The plain chinook brand blocks work best with self tapping screws, one on each side of the stringer, 25mm between holes allows for double screws, straight inline on the board, which also allows for goofy or natural stances, or switching.

Yes you may say this But in all of the boards that have been made other the last 3 years not one person has had this problem ? And if you use the chinook type they are fine But as I have and many others if you take off the straps on a regular basis the thread will be loosened and screw will not hold