Curious about this one. Some people have mentioned gluing layers of EPS foam together then bending rocker into it with weights. Others have described taking a block of foam then cutting the basic shape out of that. My question is what are the benefits/cons of either method? Just thinking tonight. Damon
Hey Really it’s a matter of what type of styro is availible in your area. A big block costs plenty to ship to you. Home Depot and other supply stores sell the sheet stuff, all different lengths and width, and thickness, of course. Use what you can get your mitts on. I’ve even made some boards with 6 layer EPS glued together with Elmers, then glassed without stringers. Seemed fine.
This type of foam … how do you shape it ? does’nt it “flake” a lot being the large beaded type. I would like to try some of this material but am not clear on the shaping part of it . Do you use the same tools … planer . surform , etc, Thanks , Aloha Don…
yep all the same tools .its actually so easy to shape ,that its harder to get a good result ,but after a while you nail it …the beads dont pull out like you think they will ,basically pull down the last 3 mm with paper…or gause regards BERT
Also… some of what is sold at the home centers is not the beaded foam but the open cell (extruded/XPS) foam. I made a board from the pink Owens/Corning stuff and it worked well. I glued sheets together bent to help form a rocker. note - I glued the sheets with the nose and tail propped up a bit and lots of weight distributed over the sheets. Regular elmers glue. I expected the sheets to spring back some towards straight. This did not happen. Cutting a block of foam seems the more usual method and with a hot wire cutter and rocker templates (Search archives for more info on set-up) you can get a more exact rocker by cutting than by bending. Build it. Eric J
Damon, Where are you located? There are numerous places to get EPS in blocks. Blocks are prefered. The blanks are more accurate and easier to make. And lighter. There are also numerous companies now making blanks. I am compiling a list right now. Anyone who would like to be on the list, please e-mail me at with address and contact info.