This may be the last time I do one of these. It’s made from recycling EPS foam. My wife gets these coolers every 2 weeks. After a while they stack up and if there’s no one to give them to I have to throw them away. They are about 12" tall and the foam is 2" thick. I had about 9 or 10 so I decided to do another board. I had planned on making another 7’ egg, but this ended up 6-10. I still have a bunch of Balsa wood that model makers use, so I glued up some 1/2" thick pieces to make a stringer. Then I took the coolers and cut them into 3 1/4" rectangles, and glued several together to make larger blocks.
Once I had enough blocks glued up, I started gluing them to the stringer. I should have glued up enough for a complete side, but I glued small sections. In hindsight, it would be better to glue up one side then glue that to the stringer. It got complicated once the foam was longer than my longest clamp. I ended up cutting up an old bicycle tire to make long rubber bands.
I also used off cuts from slab cut blanks for the tail and nose.
Once the foam is glued up, I plane it some to be able to get a clean outline drawn, then I cut out the outline. The initial blank is narrower than my intended shape because I use a single long strip of foam along the outer edge for an easier to shape and cleaner rail.
After cutting the outline, I went to town and mowed foam until I had a flat slab. Then I added the outer rail bands, cut them down to match the bottom and deck and redraw the outline. Then I turned the rails and foiled the deck. The side pieces were about an inch short nose and tail, so I made wood nose and tail blocks.
I glassed the bottom with a single layer of 6 oz and small football patches over the sidebites, used a light blue tint to show all the glue lines in the foam. Then I bagged a 1/32" balsa skin on part of the deck. I had a small cloth I planned to use for an inlay, so I left a space for the inlay, but I cut the cloth to match the opening, and I glassed 2 layers of 6 oz with the cloth at one time. The cloth is from Japan and has a comical Ninja print. I’m going to call this board the Ninja. The deck has been fill coated, and tomorrow I’ll do the bottom filler coat.
You’ve ended up with a piece of functional art, from what would otherwise be headed to the landfill. I am truely impressed with what you do.
Thanks Bill, that means a lot to me.
