With all the recent discussions about Home Depot EPS foam I thought I would give it a try. The board came out OK but I am not sure if I would do it again. Not sure when I will have a chance to get it out in the water but am looking forward to seeing how she rides! 7’8" X 16.5 X 22.5 X 14
What type of stringer did you use?
The stringer is 3/4" ceder. Very much overkill but I had it on hand.
Howdy,
lokking well sweet. I take it it’s epoxy glassed? What adhesives did you use to stick the layers? I wouldn’t mind giving this a go after my next hollow wood project.
Cheers
Jase (MMM)
Hey RandR, Good looking board.
Couple questions if you don’t mind… I know that all this is covered in the archives, I just wanna know what you did with this board/ other boards.
1) which EPS foam did you use? (if you were choosing from among a few why did you chose the one you did?)
2) Did you seal the blank? (if so which method did you use?)
3) Did you paint on the foam, the hotcoat, or is it pigment?
4) How much glass did you use?
5) How does the weight feel to you?
Thanks
Joe~
I picked up a 4 x 8 sheet of 1.5 inch foam from HD. I assume that it is the 1# EPS. I cut the sheet in half and glued it up with the yellow Elmers carpenter glue. If I were to make another one I think I would use epoxy resin to glue it up. The Elmers took a loooooong time to dry.
I sealed the blank with lightweight spackle. Again, next time I think I would use a small amount of epoxy resin with microballoons to seal the blank.
I painted over the foam/spackle before glassing. Used waterbased acrylic thinned out with future. Used multiple light coats and let it dry fully between coats.
As for the glass schedule - on the advice of many here on Swaylocks, I went with 3 layers of six ounce on the deck and two layers of six ounce on the bottom. The 1# EPS foam is very spongey and the extra glass is needed. I even added an additional fin patch on the bottom before installing the fin box and FCS plugs because it just didn’t feel strong enough.
The weight is alot more than what I had initially expected but I tend to like heavier boards. The weight ended up to be 12 lbs. I attribute the weight gains to a number of different things, the most being my inexperience with epoxy and the very thick stringer.
Looks good. There is definitely something about saving $150 for the blank and shipping. The other thing is you built it from scratch you own the whole design. Congratulations.
just a hint, you can get make your own hollow wood blank for $50 with 1/8" luan plywood.
…or , if you know a blank deliverer, get ‘packing blanks’ free !!
R and R , that looks a good board !
Did you spray or brush on the paint ?
Did you lam the glass with a squeegee ? …3 layers at a time ? [on the deck]
Do you remember what quantities of resin the two layers on the bottom took , please ? [I ask , because my polyurethane foam 8’er will be glassed with epoxy]
thanks mate !
ben
p.s. - was that the first time you had used epoxy resin ?
Ben,
The acrylic/future paint was sprayed on. I let it dry for a few days before laminating.
I did use a hard plastic squeegee for the laminate as recommended by Greg Loehr. The plastic squeegee worked very well.
The three-layer glass layup was done all at once in order to try to get the best bond that I could between the layers. However, if I were to do it again I think I would probably break the glassing into a one-layer on the deck, let cure, and follow it up with the two layers on top of that.
Trying to get all three layers wetted out was a real pain, I ended up using almost twice the resin amount that I had expected and still ended up with dry spots on the bottom of the board.
The amount of epoxy resin that I used for laminating ended up to be about 20 oz on the deck and 12 oz on the bottom (with appropriate amounts of Additive F).
This was the second time I have used epoxy resin but it was the first time on the EPS. Will definitely be using it on future boards that I make.
Rick
Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is EPS? is the foam made of many little white balls? If so, how do you shape it? I think the white balls foam (called unicel in mexico) is too weak to build a board from it. are there different densities?
I know what is XPS because it’s pink, and there’s only one pink foam in my home depot. but don’t know what EPS is.
Jack
Very nice board. I like the colors, the thick stringer, and the shape.
My question is cost… and hassle… and time. I live in the north part of San Diego county and I can buy a Clark foam blank to do that board for less than $100.00.
Have fun riding your new stick !
Ray
My question is cost… and hassle… and time. I live in the north part of San Diego county and I can buy a Clark foam blank to do that board for less than $100.00.
Ray,
I agree that there is a bit more hassle and time involved going the Home Depot EPS route. I could have picked up a blank at Mitch’s in Solana Beach but I just wanted to try something different. As for cost, I think I paid less than $20 for the 4X8 sheet of 1.5 inch foam and lightweight spackle.
To be honest, when I started the blank I really didn’t think it would turn out good enough that I would even want to glass it.
I doubt that I will make another “Home Depot Special” but it was a fun project.
I also live in North San Diego and surf around Cardiff/Swami’s. Your welcome to try the board out if you see me in the lineup.
Rick
Very nice board. I like the colors, the thick stringer, and the shape.
My question is cost… and hassle… and time. I live in the north part of San Diego county and I can buy a Clark foam blank to do that board for less than $100.00.
Have fun riding your new stick !
Ray
Hey Ray, does seem like a hassle to go through all that to make a board but I think it’s the “Do it yourself” idea behind this way of making a surfboard blank is what is appealing to total home builders plus you can actually build a board
from stuff bought from Home Depot or Lowes.
RandR, looks nice…what weight # is that Home Depot foam?.. I took a look at it the other day and it looked way to soft IMO. How’s the deck side holding up after riding?..pressure dents??? float? flex? I am planning to make an EPS Epoxy board in the future…I hope it truns out half as nice as yours… keep up the good work…
Shipman, thanks for the kudos!
I believe that the Home Depot foam is 1# and your right, it is very soft. With three layers of six ounce on the deck and two layers on the bottom, I am hoping that it holds up. If I do attempt another EPS board I will definitely track down some 2# foam.
As for riding it, between work and the weather, I have not had the time or inclination to hit the beach yet.
Rick
Very interesting. I guess I need to start reading all those EPS foam threads that I have been skipping. I have an open mind. My surfboard building goal for 2005 to get the traditional methods wired. After that who knows !!!
I met this guy at the beach named Shipman who shapes boards and he has been talking about making a board like yours.
Ray
The HD is indeed 1#. Triple 6 can be a little mushy if you laminate with too much resin. Drier lams come out much harder. Your board looks great and sounds like you must have laminated well.
To get it really strong - as hard as a poly/poly board - use double 10 oz. Or use one 6 oz under wood veneer and one more 6 oz over. I made a test piece with just 1/16" balsa between 2 6’s and over 1# EPS. Even though its just 4" square, I literally can’t dent it with my thumb.
I like the EPS mainly just because I don’t like being on the hook for the (virtual) Clark monopoly. Alternative materials, locally sourced, environmentally benign and all that. But after 2 HD boards with Elmers glue ups and everything, I did look & find a local EPS supplier who can get me thicker blocks…although I still use 1#. If its good enough for Bert, I figure its good enough for me. 
To get it really strong - as hard as a poly/poly board - use double 10 oz. Or use one 6 oz under wood veneer and one more 6 oz over. I made a test piece with just 1/16" balsa between 2 6’s and over 1# EPS. Even though its just 4" square, I literally can’t dent it with my thumb.
Benny1, The use of a wood veneer sounds interesting. I have seen EPS boards that have a full veneer over the entire board. Is that what you mean or are you saying that you would put just a small section of veneer on the deck? If so, wouldn’t there be a bit of an “edge” where the veneer ends? Do you think the single cloth over the veneer be enough to “blend” it in? Has anybody done this? Got pictures? Thanks, Rick
Email CMP at: http://surfgear.cc
aside from Bert Burger he seems to be the most active with epoxied-wood veneered-vacuum boards.
He’s also very open in helping those interested out with what he knows.
Bert’s busy… he’s got guy’s waiting who’ve laid down $1000 bucks or more for his work.
What Bert really knows is way too dangerous for us backyarders and the industry in general.
If he let up and squeal, it’d probably hurt the independant cause more than help it.
He knows… there’s spys out there with dollar bills just overflowing their wallets lurking out behind the trees waiting for the opportunity to pounce and take the advantage of the secrets to make a killing…
Surftech and Cobra are mere benevolent demi-gods compared to the demons that haven’t showed their faces yet…
2lb EPS core + Wood sandwich buttered inside and out with RR epoxied glass = GOOD STUFF!
Benny knows this already… he’s seen it and done it.
Better than the banana peanut butter and guava jelly classic we grew up on…
You even put it in a sealed plastic sandwich bag with a zip lock… Vacuum fresh!
We did the board below in just 2 1/2 weeks probably could’ve been sooner if I wasn’t such a grem at it.
Before shot (out of the bag)
After shot:
This original board took the shaper 5-6 months to finish
P.S.
That’s a fine board you made. Love the pulled in tail…
Mustn’t have much rocker though if you just used two 1.5" sheets as a blank unless you bent it…
Good job!
Yep, I’ve used it over 1# EPS just like from Home Depot. CMP and Oneula have used a lot of pre-cut veneer. Bert uses balsa, but we don’t really know what thickness or what size it comes in. I cut my own balsa strips - 3/16 thick on a longboard and now <1/8" for a fish I’m in the middle of. epoxy & glass under the wood - into a vacuum bag to stick it to the blank. Then final shape & sand and more epoxy & glass over. Killer strong and way lighter than you’d think.
Read the whole thread by Bert Burger on Vacuum forming & Sandwich Construction and just imagine wood wherever he used divinycell. There are other threads too - maybe search EPS + veneer or something. I’m not talking about veneer like Surftech or like on an Ikea entertainment center - that’s 1/64" thick and has no glass over it.