Wondering if anybody cares to fill me in on which PU foam manufacturer produces the best blank and why…or maybe this dead horse has been beaten too many times. I am a relatively new shaper and have tried a few manufacturers’ products…starting to think more about whether my end product can be improved just by choosing the best materials up front. Any thoughts?
US Foam…for pu
Marko…for eps
There’s a company somewhere here in Orange,Ca. that suppose to make a great blank.
Don’t know where or what it’s name off hand,but Bob=Robert Smith told me about this company some months ago.
Pro-box Larry are you out there ?
Bet he’d know.
Herb
Has Marko updated it’s catalogue to reflect the “actual” rocker of their 9’1"? It’s nothing like what they state. As for best foam manufacturer, it depends who you ask. Worst for me was Clark.
Thanks, Herb. Appreciate the response…any reason why US Foam and Marko? Have you tried other products? Any “alternative” materials (e.g., biofoam).
Thanks Deanbo. What is your feeling for the best manufacturer (obviously disliked Clark…does that mean you dislike US Foam?). Which do you hear people reacting to most favorably? Any dogs?
Never tried US Blanks for anything. I’ve only used Burfords and Bennetts otherwise and it’s been so long since I used Burfords I forgot what they are like. But I hear many good things about Burfords and Farrellys. I have heard Surfoam from France is supposed to be quite nice too. Ice 9 also sound as though they are up to some interesting stuff. Also if you are talking EPS then Core Fusion is the nicest I have tried but I don’t think they know anything about shaping plugs and I don’t believe they even offer a stringering service. Marko was nice as well but too expensive for me to keep using in this neck of the woods. Shame there aren’t more surfboard EPS manufacturers in Australasia.
I just got some US EPS… foam looks good…just like marko. But the glue-ups are pretty sloppy, which suprised me. You’d think a blank maker would have great glue-ups, and a foam maker wouldn’t, but it’s the opposite.
I’ve been using Burfords for a long time now and I think not much can be said against them except they don’t like planer blades. Once you use a barrel, it’s just consistently fine. Deanbo, i’m sad to say that french Surfoam doesn’t exist anymore. Patrice (“Roro”), like so many others, just couldn’t put up with eco-legislations and a weak dollar against a strong Euro. Too bad, as it was very convenient to have a french foam maker.
Just Foam Blanks are great. It is a uniform density foam and I just shaped a 9’8" out of it for a buddy of mine, glassed it with all 4oz (2 on the deck 1 on the bottom) and it is holding up great, no heel dents at all after 2 times out and he is tough on boards.
Matthew
Thanks, Glassman. Ever work with anything else?
For Poly I reccomend ICE 9 (Moses Foam), It is like a big ol’e sugar cube.I also use Blair Foam.
For EPS I reccomend US Blanks.
I hope this helps.
Thanks, WSSC…looks like everybody likes somebody different. Maybe this is just a personal preference? Maybe foam quality is inconsistent since Clark’s closure and nobody has a great product yet? Any thoughts? Anybody?
ice9 bantam weight is the strongest and most fun foam i’ve experienced.
i kill decks and the ice9 bantam has blown me away with it’s durability with a really light and lively glass job
jp
I only use burford. there service is wonderful . and the foam is good. other australian foam imho is not quite up to the same quality
I’ve worked with Clark, Excell, Bennett USA, US Blanks, and Just Foam. The board that I referred to I pulled out of the Just Foam 9’8" and is a shape that I’ve done quite a few of in the past, at first I was a little intimidated because the JF 9’8" is a really thick blank (4") and the finish thickness for the board I built was 2 7/8". I found the foam good to work with, didn’t want to shape too easily and really took the shape nicely, when shaping in the rails at the tail they held a really nice crisp edge. I took over an inch of foam off of the blank and the cell structure was just as good in the middle as it was at the surface, in order to get the thickness down and keep my bottom rocker I had to take a fair amount of foam off the deck, which coming from shaping Clark Foam is something I’ve always advoided but it went off without a hitch.
What really blows my mind though is how well the deck is holding up. The last board I did for somebody with a 4+4 oz deck did not hold up well at all and was very disappointing. My buddy that I built this one for really wanted this one in 4oz and I really had some apprehension about doing it that light because he is just nasty to surfboard decks but like I said the deck doesn’t have any heel dents in it after two sessions (4 hrs per session).
Matthew
Right on, Glassman. Thanks.