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[Karl]

So KK the tape is the profile template in effect? Often thought about that but like to keep templates for later use.
Karl

[Kiterider]

So KK the tape is the profile template in effect? Often thought about that but like to keep templates for later use.
Karl

Hey Karl.
If K.K. means me,, then yes the aluminum tape is the template..
I use 2" thick eps of 1 -1/5# density. I use double sided tape to stick the flat (bottom) side of the foam to my vertically hung  wooden ( mdf ) jig...
 I lay out 2 layers of the sticky aluminum tape on the top rail, then lay out, then cut out, the desired deck foil only, then remove excess aluminum tape..
The hot wire set-up I use hangs like a  " plumb bob" and I follow the deck profile after leveling the foam core...

Bear in mind,, I use this system in conjunction with a rocker table built specifically for board building.. This allows me to bend the foam to the desired rocker, eliminating the need to hot wire the bottom rocker.
The rocker gets set in when laminating the skins,,, rails, and glass laminate under vacuum...
All this jig  does is allow for the hot wiring  of the deck profile, the bottom rocker is "bent'' into the eps core ensuring it's truly flat / square
 with the rails...

Cheers Kiterider...

[Kiterider]

Hey Guys/Gals..

  I've read a lot of posts on surf board building forums,,,  about  surfboard blanks made by blank manufacturers , and how great they are..

 I find it hard to part with my hard earned money and "pony'-up" $50 or$60 bucks ,plus shipping just to buy a chunk of eps filler material.....
 I remember reading a post by Paul Cannon,,, where he said he can get nearly everything to build a decent comp-sand board from the local hardware store ,,, and I think he was pretty accurate in his statement...

 I buy very high quality 1.5# e.p.s. foam at the Home Depot, right around the corner from me, and I form my own cheap blanks for $10 per board...
That's all you should be paying for this   filler stuff..!

In true comp-sand construction, the skins are more critical anyway,,,imho..
Use all this saved money to build a  $50 to $100 adjustable rocker table, that will allow you to build any style of board for years to come...

I come from a windsurf board building background that started by using Clark foam blanks.. The demands of the sport soon made Clark blanks not a viable option...
 Surf board builders have spent more time associated with this type of easy, pre-made blank, and have been scrambling to find pre-made alternatives...
 Let all of that go and you'll find the cheapest, quickest way to form a core blank........

Just my $02

Cheers Kiterider...

[soulvoid]

I've read a lot of posts on surf board building forums,,,  about  surfboard blanks made by blank manufacturers , and how great they are..

I find it hard to part with my hard earned money and "pony'-up" $50 or$60 bucks ,plus shipping just to buy a chunk of eps filler material.....
I remember reading a post by Paul Cannon,,, where he said he can get nearly everything to build a decent comp-sand board from the local hardware store ,,, and I think he was pretty accurate in his statement...

The EPS I buy at the hardware store is miles apart from the quality you get when you buy EPS blanks. You may be able to get better EPS at the hardware store though. The atua-cores EPS I've seen has extremely well fused beads, and so does the broken in half surftech wood series I have in my garage for a repair... When you break of a piece of foam from the surftech interior the break does not follow any beads, you can't really tell that it's made out of beads when looking at the break surface, though the bead structure is very apparent on the surface where a good bit of wood was ripped off. But here the beads seems to have collapsed, but the bead walls are still intact... No gaps or voids between beads. I wonder if the collapsed beads are e result of lower temp here compared to production temp? Anyway, if you ding a board with this kind of core I doubt it will soak any water at all, certainly far, far less then regular insulation EPS. I think water intrusion into EPS and balsa is by far the worst downside to the compsand type of construction.

[Kiterider]

Hey Soulvoid.
You bring up a valid point, as far as commercial surfboard eps blanks being of a high quality..

 I've never bought one, but I'm sure their quality will be high if not varied...

The 1.5# Home Depot foam I buy is green in color and the green stuff looks like glue, but I'm sure it's not..     Any way the beads are quite small and are stuck together very well making this foam a pleasure to shape..
 I think the green stuff allows this foam to be anti-fungal or mold resistant, meaning it would likely be somewhat water resistant also..
 I'll look up the name brand and product description and let you know it's properties..

Cheers Kiterider...

[lemat]

I soulvoid, i use eps from atuacores (30kh/m3 = 1,9#) for the most part of boards i shape. It's a good foam but like all eps it's become less resistant with time. Exposed to temp variation, inner pressure variation "fatigue" foam and it become "fragile". Like other eps, this foam drink water when you make a surfboard with.

Sorry for my english   

[Jarrod]

I get a big block of 1lb from my local foam supplier, they mostly supply builders with stucco stuff, then just cut it with a hotwire.   I don't worry too much about the core, it's just a filler, right?   Besides, if I was using that super-fused 2lb stuff, then I may as well just glass it normally and forget about doing compsands.

They don't make that stuff in 1 lb, right?

[soulvoid]

I get a big block of 1lb from my local foam supplier, they mostly supply builders with stucco stuff, then just cut it with a hotwire.   I don't worry too much about the core, it's just a filler, right?   Besides, if I was using that super-fused 2lb stuff, then I may as well just glass it normally and forget about doing compsands.

They don't make that stuff in 1 lb, right?

it's actually supposed to be easier to produce superfused EPS in lighter densities. Atua cores has it, and the surftech cores are definitely lighter than 2lbs.

Lemat, I would actually think that EPS break down more inside the beads than between them when it is very well fused. Even if they break down, I'm sure it's still better than the 5% water absorption which insulation foam is usually rated at.

[lemat]

I can see some of my borads break in half: EPS (from atuacores) failed between the beads like EPS from other block suppliers.

The best EPS i can shape is from marko foam, specific surf blanks. But it's a lot expensive and i can't preshape it with my hotwire.

Now i think that compsand are really superior.