greetings, I am trying to get some practice shaping and glassing so I can make a board or two for my son and his cousins. I really want to get some experience with a cheap homemade blank from Home Depot before I ruin a $70+ Clark blank. The foam at Home Depot is 1"x4’x8’, but it seems to be the same kind of foam as cheap coolers are made of. It doesn’t really seem like it would plane or sand too well- it looks like big chunks would tear out of it if I worked it with tools. Would this be the case, or has anyone else used it and had it turn out okay? Home Depot also offers a pink foam that is about 1 1/2" thick, but it feels kind of slick and flexible- otherwise it seems like it would shape better than the white foam. Any help would be great.
It won’t feel the same as Urethane, so I’m not sure it will help. Just grab a Clark and roll up your sleeves. Don’t use power tools and go slow, shaping (something functional) is not that hard… wait till you get to glassing [smile] wobbly rails, assymetry, discoloration where you filled a mistake with spakle… no big deal. It may not be professional, but it’ll ride. Just remember to go thick instead of thin, you can always remove more, but replacing something that was removed can be tough…
It won’t feel the same as Urethane, so I’m not sure it will help. Just grab a Clark and roll up your sleeves. Don’t use power tools and go slow, shaping (something functional) is not that hard… wait till you get to glassing [smile] wobbly rails, assymetry, discoloration where you filled a mistake with spakle… no big deal. It may not be professional, but it’ll ride. Just remember to go thick instead of thin, you can always remove more, but replacing something that was removed can be tough…
The local Clark Foam supplier might have a few damaged blanks they would sell cheap for practice. Anthony http://www.viser.net/~anthwind/
The local Clark Foam supplier might have a few damaged blanks they would sell cheap for practice. Anthony http://www.viser.net/~anthwind/
Thanks for the input. I am trying to avoid the $70 blank for a few attempts though. If I can make two or three boards with the $10 foam then I will definitely go out and get the Clark foam for a quality 9’6" or something. It is really the glassing that I am thinking will give me the most trouble. I have done a lot of research on the shaping, and I will be taking my time and doing it by hand as much as possible. The glassing seems like it can screw things up real quickly though, and I want to be able to scratch it and start over without shelling out another $70. $10 of Home Depot foam will get me about 2 7’ blanks.
Thanks for the input. I am trying to avoid the $70 blank for a few attempts though. If I can make two or three boards with the $10 foam then I will definitely go out and get the Clark foam for a quality 9’6" or something. It is really the glassing that I am thinking will give me the most trouble. I have done a lot of research on the shaping, and I will be taking my time and doing it by hand as much as possible. The glassing seems like it can screw things up real quickly though, and I want to be able to scratch it and start over without shelling out another $70. $10 of Home Depot foam will get me about 2 7’ blanks.
The pink foam is a bit different from the white. There has been a bunch of discussion here about different foams. Try searching the archives. I’ve used the pink extruded stuff recently. Glued 2 pieces together with the front and back propped up to form some rocker. It worked, it’s not as easy to shape as a clark blank, and you must move more slowly as this foam tears easier. But it can work. The other main problem with this foam is that after glassing in has more of a tendency to delaminate than others. I’ve been told, it’s not a production-worthy foam, but for the odd board here & there, it can work. If you use any of the polystyrene insulation foams for a blank you’ll need to use epoxy to laminate, or coat the foam with a few layers of paint before glassing with poly resin. Poly resin directly on the foam, will melt it. go ahead and have fun… it’ll make a clark blank look like a bit of heaven. Eric J
The pink foam is a bit different from the white. There has been a bunch of discussion here about different foams. Try searching the archives. I’ve used the pink extruded stuff recently. Glued 2 pieces together with the front and back propped up to form some rocker. It worked, it’s not as easy to shape as a clark blank, and you must move more slowly as this foam tears easier. But it can work. The other main problem with this foam is that after glassing in has more of a tendency to delaminate than others. I’ve been told, it’s not a production-worthy foam, but for the odd board here & there, it can work. If you use any of the polystyrene insulation foams for a blank you’ll need to use epoxy to laminate, or coat the foam with a few layers of paint before glassing with poly resin. Poly resin directly on the foam, will melt it. go ahead and have fun… it’ll make a clark blank look like a bit of heaven. Eric J
I just made myself a pink foam blank, but haven’t shaped it yet. I made myself a template of the thickness profile that I wanted, traced it out on the flat blank (it fit on the blank 7 times) and cut them out. Then I turned them on the side and glued them together (well I actually had javier glue them, but it’s the thought that counts…) so now it’s like a nicely foiled blank with 6 glue lines going down the length of the board. The piece of foam I had was about 3" thick, so with 7 slices, the board came out 21" wide. I think it’ll be a piece of cake to shape. 
I just made myself a pink foam blank, but haven’t shaped it yet. I made myself a template of the thickness profile that I wanted, traced it out on the flat blank (it fit on the blank 7 times) and cut them out. Then I turned them on the side and glued them together (well I actually had javier glue them, but it’s the thought that counts…) so now it’s like a nicely foiled blank with 6 glue lines going down the length of the board. The piece of foam I had was about 3" thick, so with 7 slices, the board came out 21" wide. I think it’ll be a piece of cake to shape.
Eric- I did some searching first, but I keep getting the last 100 posts or so, whether they relate to foam or Home Depot or not. I’m going to play around with it some more. Thanks for the tip, and thanks for the info about the pink foam. I will def. be coating it with some latex before I glass. Any trouble shaping with a hand plane or sandpaper? That foam seems pretty fragile, and the white foam seems to have such big bubbles that I think I will be gouging it pretty good if I use the planer on it. Yeah, I can’t wait for the Clark blank after dealing with this stuff, but at least I will have my glassing down before I get the nice foam. Thanks
Eric- I did some searching first, but I keep getting the last 100 posts or so, whether they relate to foam or Home Depot or not. I’m going to play around with it some more. Thanks for the tip, and thanks for the info about the pink foam. I will def. be coating it with some latex before I glass. Any trouble shaping with a hand plane or sandpaper? That foam seems pretty fragile, and the white foam seems to have such big bubbles that I think I will be gouging it pretty good if I use the planer on it. Yeah, I can’t wait for the Clark blank after dealing with this stuff, but at least I will have my glassing down before I get the nice foam. Thanks
Eric- Just found some of your posts on the pink foam- thanks for the tip, it looks like a lot of great info. Thanks to all for the input.
Eric- Just found some of your posts on the pink foam- thanks for the tip, it looks like a lot of great info. Thanks to all for the input.
I’ve wondered why guys haven’t tried that. I think it was Gary Linden(?) who had an ad showing how he (along with his dad in the photo) used a table saw to slice leftover ribs from cutout blanks and sandwiched them together exactly as you describe. The ad also showed a finished board with contrasting glue lines.
I’ve wondered why guys haven’t tried that. I think it was Gary Linden(?) who had an ad showing how he (along with his dad in the photo) used a table saw to slice leftover ribs from cutout blanks and sandwiched them together exactly as you describe. The ad also showed a finished board with contrasting glue lines.
Before Gary even had the slightest thought about his recyclers, I’d been using the center cuts for t-bands, rails replaced by balsa to make boards for myself. One was in 1969-70, semi-gun that I rode in Santa Barbara that winter.
Before Gary even had the slightest thought about his recyclers, I’d been using the center cuts for t-bands, rails replaced by balsa to make boards for myself. One was in 1969-70, semi-gun that I rode in Santa Barbara that winter.
I use the EPS foam(white foam). I have two boards sitting in my basement waiting for some glass. I’ve shaped them with a regular planer, not much problems with it. No chunk blowouts, no tears. Maybe I just work slow, I don’t know. You might need to spackle a board shaped from EPS though. The foam consistency varies and you might find spots where there are some small holes. The spackling is not a big deal, just use a rubber squeegee, sand and your ready to glass. The finnish of the blank may not be as nice as with a polyurethane blank, but not a big deal for a personal board. You can always do some resin artwork. You will need epoxy to glass it though. regards, Håvard