The add on craigslist said They are made from a latex-based, “ECO” foam. The guy said he got them in Portland Oregon from a warehouse that was closing and actually had the machine to form the foam.I’ve posted some pics
if anyone can give me info.Can I use PU resin? Can anyone shed some light for me? I have 4 blanks .One 8’5" gun and 3 9’4".
Faria, an MDI made in Nevada.
Care to elaborate Mr. G RAT.
"ECO" foam.
What happened? Why did the company fold? Who were their customers? Who was shaping that foam.
As a skilled back yard hack I'm more than happy to hone my skils on junk foam...but I know the risks....
...and last weekend one of my "TimberFlex" boards with an awesome shape and wood skin delamed after ONE hour in direct sunlight....and it was vented..........can you take the risk ???? I am not happy with the delam but thank God it was not for a customer......It was low grade foam...I thought the vent...........yeah.......low grade...yeah.......low grade.........
oh the vent...maybe I installed the vent wrong....ok maybe....but , no.....low grade foam.
Stingray
I picked some of these up too.
I found what I believe to be their old web site online http://archives.logicsix.com/echo/index.php.
This forum thread states that PU should be fine http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/echotech-mdi-blank-poly-resin-ok, I haven’t done one yet but planning on something in the next month or so.
I saw those blanks on craigslist too. Did you get a good deal on them? Stoked for you dude!
Thanks Nathan from Ventura. I’ll let you know how mine go too.
What’s up stuckinoregon.Yes, I got a really good deal.I did’t really need 3 longboard blanks but they should be fun to shape. If anyone wants to trade for a shortboard blank
I’d be happy to oblige.
Stingray…Why would you consider eco ,“or echotech” blanks as junk foam? I haven’t heard any delam stories on these blanks. Not a lot of input on them ,but from what I have heard it’s a great product. Sounds like the company just had some bad luck. Sorry about your timberflex troubles. It would be nice to have foam blanks that weren’t toxic.
I think you will find the blanks with the following traits and helpful hints from resinhead:
1) go slow with the planer or you will tear huge unfixable chunks
2) Make sure you use a colored lam, or they will turn the color they are now....shit brown
3) you will find quite a few pukas in the nose. MDI is a hard foam to inject into the mold properly...That's what killed a lot of "these" companys
4) be prepared for some shrinkage....and not the kind from cold water. i.e., stack of nickels.
5) The blank is inherently heavy, glass it light weight.
I think the Name Echo is the sound of it hitting the bottom of the Grand Canyon from it's horrible business plan.
have fun with them, but don't expect much after.
wow ......that stuff is like dracula........it will never die..........
Thank guys. We'll see how they go?
I heard the investors lost millions....That's some real green....even Walker Foam threw in the towel......Why do the unshaped blanks look like 30 year old beaters?
...buyer beware....
I'm a glasser not a shaper. I bought a handfull of LOW GRADE foam blanks to hone my shaping skills.....well worth the money for practice but not stuff for the showroom......
Stingray.......
...and...I work in the chemical industry.....ECO could mean lots of things...most chemical compounds I work with are so nasty the real word is about 20 letters long....so we use funny Acronyms....I bet ECO has nothing to do with saving the earth..........
Q; are ecotech's abit heavy on there own?
A; no, not really.
they're like the old roger's foam.
they suck down resin like an elefant drinks water.
i pre-lam the blank before glassing.
this reduces/eliminates the overall weight, shrinking and delam issue.
Q; do et's yellow fast?
A; yes!
so,color it.
airbrush,foamy,heavy tinting(better known as opague),will fix that problem.
you want a white board..........tape the stringer off and color it white.
for me personally,i've had no problems with the blank.
but,two of the 15 or so i have built ,have snapped in half,,,,,,,,,not by me,,,,,,,,,but by other riders.
i concider the echo's a reject blank w/ potential.
i have(left over) a few blanks in a gun template............i don't think i would trust them for big wave surfing.
however,the few i have ridden worked well,and had excellent float per foam ratio.
herb
Hey Herb - I agree. This one was really heavy / tough until I got through the skin into the heart of the blank. I mean, it was tough like alligator skin to get through! Once I did, it was not especially heavy or dense.
It did do some weird things, mainly, expand in the heat and the nose kinda "blew up". I fixed it, without at the time knowing what happened, and re-glassed the nose. Afterwards, when I left the board in a hot car, it did "puff" a bit (now there is a low spot all along the stringer), but I've been told a vent will prevent further problems.
I've still got three more of these, guess I'll plan on venting the others when I get around to making a board with them.
