Wondering if anyone here has any experience with Common Surf Foam Blanks made on the East Coast, I believe out of Viginia?
I am highly considering buying 3 or 4 blanks as they are few dollars cheaper than similar US Blanks options. Also, my closest supplier is stocking these but out of the typical US Blanks sizes I would order. So in an attempt to save a few bucks but still get the blanks I am after(roughly) I am probably going to grab a few of these and see how they go.
Anyone have any feedback, good bad or indifferent on these blanks?
I am concerned as I cannot find much on Common Surf Foam anywhere. I cannot find a web site or descriptions of their blanks, like what shapes they will be best for, although I can figure that for myself. But it helps to have a little narrative, like “this one would be a good fish or egg shape”
The rockers on this either seem to bee perfect in the nose but too much in the tail or vice versa. Feedback appreciated.
Greenlight supplies these in NJ. Brian posts here regularly (Greenlight) and should be able to help you. I think ‘Common’ is really new, therefore lack of historial info. Personally, I’m getting away from PU and going all EPS otherwise I’d give Common a shot.
In an ordinary industrial warehouse space in Norfolk, surfer/chemist Seth Brunner is creating something extraordinary. An unprecedented operation for the East Coast, Brunner is formulating, molding and building the literal core of the surf industry — surfboard blanks.
Unless you’re a gear head, shaper, pro surfer or sling surfboards for a living, the blank is something most wave riders take for granted. However, in Seth’s world concocting the best possible polyurethane is equal parts profession and passion that is Common Surf, the name of his current surfboard blank venture. Seth, a Virginia Beach native, began surfing during his high school years before dedicating his education to the study of chemistry at VMI. Grad school brought him out to one of surfing’s mecca’s — California — where he worked as a chemist for a biomedical company before shifting to a company that developed surface coatings — all in between surf sessions, of course. After taking some time off to travel, Seth returned to Virginia, where he began formulating polyurethane foam four years ago while working full-time for Mitsubishi Chemical.
Brunner is a true pioneer in that no East Coast-based company has ever produced surfboard blanks. Prior to 2005, a vast — and I mean vast — majority of the world’s blanks were produced by the now-defunct Clark Foam, which abruptly closed its doors that year and sent the surfboard-building world into a temporary tailspin. From Clark’s ashes rose U.S. Blanks, which before Seth set up shop was the only domestic producer of surfboard blanks.
Due to industry loyalties and tight lips involving foam formulation from those in-the-know, Seth started Common Surf from ground zero. Though this may appear to be a limitation, Seth saw it as an opportunity to innovate the process by relying on his scientific background and a old-fashioned trial-and-error. He’s been going at it full-time for the past year-and-a-half and truly believes that he’s crafted a superior product. His formula has received positive reviews from the initial shapers who worked with it, and more and more boards are hitting line ups across the Eastern Seaboard.
“The main hurdle is to get people to try it, then they’ll see how good these blanks are,” Seth says.”It’s as good, if not better, than any foam that’s made in the U.S.”
He hopes that over time, the quality of his product will speak for itself and locally-produced blanks will become a cost-effective leg up for Right Coast board builders. Common Surf offers 20 molds that fit a wide array of shapes, but plans are in the works to further expand these offerings, including blanks with custom rocker with virtually no lead time.
“The formula will prove itself over time,” Seth says. “We have 100 percent confidence in that.”
Wait, what was that ? no east coast company made foam. Yes there have been many attempts that fizzled. I bought blasnks in RI in 68 that a local boat builder made, inside was good exterior had the boundry layer of bubbles, but was super strong.
East Coast Foam out of Brevard was a long running company that supplied almost all the local builders, the owner had made blanks in Hawaii previously. He opened Fiberglass Florida and sold the foamimg biz to Tom Dooley, Pete’s brother. It was strong, came in colors, I think Greg Loehr might have made some of the plugs. I used them for a long time as Dick Catri had the Clark distributorship and we were not seeiing eye to eye, Dick suggested I “go back to New Jersey”.
The blanks look good, I don’t know if he did any of the plugs as I’ve never met him, but Virginia surfer shaper, Chris Darby ? did a bunch of King Mac plugs and another Cal. foamer. About time the right coast gets some good home town materials
Three major Pply manufacturers. Four or five others producing EPS . Imports from Brazil, Australia and S.A. Varial and a couple of others using new technology. It’s a wonderful life for a shaper who likes options. Not a business I would want to get into. At least not the manufacturing end. I currently stock and resell Arctic, Millennium, Marko and US Blanks. It’s nice not to be restricted to one supplier like in the Clark days. Lowel
Didnt write the article, but let me apologize for the error. I know of the operation in Florida back in the 60s-70s. There was even a furniture company in North Carolina dabbling in surfboard foam as recently as 2006. I know we arent the first, but we’re the only PU blank manufacturer operating on the East Coast and one of only two pouring blanks in the US.
Our initial molds were actually the fiberglass ones left over from Homeblown’s operation in San Diego. We’ve since scrapped those and are rebuilding our catalogue from the ground up using the more favorable concrete construction. We’re are currently working with some East Coast shapers to develop east coast specific plugs. I welcome any input on plug design.
Good to have you joining in here. (For those following this discussion, let’s keep in mind this may end up being moved over to the Swaylock’s Surfshop section.)
What kind of average densities are you producing? Is it still the case of having the strongest foam close to the skin/ softer in the middle as most are accustomed to with PU blanks?
We don’t want to rush you as you may still be geting some ducks lined up, but how soon do you anticipate having a website/catalog available?
Are you at liberty to disclose the name(s) of any shapers working with you to produce the plugs?
I’ve lost track of where the whole industry has gone with regard to MDI vs TDI. Which type of formulation are you working with?
Also curious as to the formulation, or about the chemistry of surf blanks in general since everybody seems to be so hushed up about. Is there anywhere good to read about this stuff? I have a BS in chem so I’m looking for something a bit more in depth than just differentiating between MDI and TDI. I never got to take polymer chem in college because it was a 3 hour class and it overlapped with other stuff I needed, but for obvious reasons the chemisty of EPS and PU blanks is interesting to me. Gotta see if my local library has some sort of polymer chem textbook, or if my organic text has a section related to this stuff.
I can’t even think of what to ask that doesn’t go into trade secret territory. If I goggle images TDI or MDI poly, or EPS, is that close to what surf blanks are? Or has somebody decided that if they slightly modify it, then it’s better, and therefore also now a secret? Is it more about chain length and branching (or lack thereof) than tacking on a different atom every so often and modifying it that way?
Also, have you ever looked into depolymerizing eps to reuse it? Obviously it’s not all that easy, but it’d be cool. I read a paper about somebody doing something with tire rubber and a 6kW microwave or something like that. They got it back to styrene monomer with “not terrible” yields. Also read a few about alternate ways to make EPS that aren’t as energy intensive. It’d be nice to take a bunch of polystrene waste and turn it into a blank using processes like that. I can’t imagine it’s commercially viable yet, but hopefully in the future it will be.
None of the foams that I mentioned previously are known to be softer in the middle. One manufacturer of Poly is known to be softer than the others overall. But densities are consistent throughout.
Read up on rigid polyurethane foams to get an idea on how surfboard foams are formulated. We use a higher isocyanate index than flexible PU foams(memory foam matresses) and semi-ridgid PU foams (80s sneaker soles). We also use polyols with higher functionalities which results in more “banching,” or higher cross link density. You’ll then want to read up on hard segment and soft segments. Where the secret lies in PU surfboard foam is the structure and refinement of the polyols and prepolymers to yield a white foam.
To my knowlege most recycling methods do not attempt “depolymerize,” styrene based plastics back to their monomers. The energy demand for such a process would result in a net increase in carbon footprint for the total lifecycle of that material. Instead they try to chop them up enough to be able to use them as filler (just like cabosil in resin) in a thermoset process or essentially remelt them into a new widget in a thermoplastic process. Steam molding of EPS is for all intents and purposes a thermoplastic process. No full depolymerization, just refusing of the beads.
We have the capability to produce several densities, but we are just manufacturing standard, light and heavy right now to keep it simple.
All PU based foams are going to be somewhat less dense, more anisotropic, and as result softer towards the center. Some manufacturers are better than others at achieving a consitent density.
We produce a TDI based polyurethane foam.
I’ve been working on this process for close to 5 years. We’ve blown over a thousand blanks to get it right. From our efforts of continuous improvement we believe we currently produce a PU product that is superior in terms of performance and quality than what is currently available on the market. Having said that, I cant make any promises on timeline right now for our up-coming re-launch. I’m just a chemist so I’ve recently (about month ago) partnered up to tackle business development, sales, marketing, website etc. I’ve learned that to a majority of customers on-time order fufillment and logistics is ultimately more important than product performance. We’re currently in the process of moving into a bigger facility and building out new molds and equipment over the next few months. Its a marathon, not a sprint for us. Too many failed ventures in this space because they didnt pace themselves. Trying to not make the same mistakes as our predecessors.
I dont have a problem sharing the names of the shapers with whom we discuss plug design, but most of them might so I’ll refrain from full disclosure. The two names I’ll throw out there that I have discussed plug design with are Frierson and Barnes our local legends.
If theres a dream blank design any of you have PM me. There are certain design limitations when it comes to rockers and deck crowns so that you dont mold and glue up twizzlers, but all input is welcomed and usually helpful.
I have heard the “superior” comments before. Let’s see ; Ecotech, Just Foam, and a few others as far back as 2007. 1000 blanks is a drop in the bucket. I would guess that the #'s put out by US Blanks, Millennium and Arctic over the same period would far exceed that.