When I started building boards in 1968 blanks were always a problem so I used anything I could get my hands on and learned how to use epoxy resin. 45 years later with internet , credit cards and better shipping things are better, but there is still the cost for shipping and I think blank prices are too high and I don't like to be limited to stringer and rocker stock sizes. Somebody on this forum once stated that eps blanks could be molded. O.K., I'll bite, HOW? Also i know a little bit about blowing eps, and I also know that there are finer bead sizes available, but nobody talks about. Will anyone spill the beans? I'm not looking to go into production, just make boards for myself to my own peculiar specs. If you read a lot of the posts here making you own blank discussion revolves around PU blanks. I'm talking about EPS. Thanks
US Blanks and Marko both sell high quality molded EPS blanks. Just as many rocker options as PU.
At $50.00 its just not worth all the trouble.
Barry Snyder
I am going to answer my own question. After I did some more research I would suggest those of you intrerested in DIY EPS moulding can get your answer from researching duck decoy making on the internet. It can be done, but I think one can do better by simply getting foam slabs from an eps manufacturer and hotwiring them and gluing up with stringer.
You did answer your own ??? Molded EPS isn’t worth the headache when you can buy quality stringered EPS foam blanks from US Blanks, WNC and Marko. Marko does a molded EPS blank. US Blanks used to. Don’t know if they still do or not. You can also by 2 lb. foam by the block and hotwire it. Use ply or PVC for stringer material.
I think you should make the machined aluminum mold with 40,000 steam vents, gotta be lot cheaper than the high price of blanks
What is wrong with the hot wire?
If you don’t like to be limited to a certain amount of templates, a mould will never be interesting.
I don’t understand why you want to mould EPS yourself.
There are only few discussions about DIY EPS blanks because it is very straight forward to hot-wire cut your own EPS blank.
PU is different, because you can’t cut it with a hot wire.
Can’t see why somebody wouldn’t hotwire EPS either.
You could cut PU with a hotwire. But burning/melting foam is very toxic and the foam density isn’t uniform.
I love how one of these threads pops up like once a week or so, and basically the answer is always the same. We should make a sticky thread called “Making your own backyard blanks is only possible if you live at NASA”
Inevitably someone always mentions the fact that Clark Foam used concrete plugs that were basically the equivalent of military blast doors, and they would STILL blow the hinges off them occasionally.
With EPS - I feel a better question would be how to recycle the raw beads into a new blank. I feel there has to be some way you can grind up packing EPS or styrafoam into its individual beads, and re-bond it together either with heat or some kind of adhesive. This seems more backyard-friendly as it takes expansion out of the equation, but unfortunately the few companies who do it claim the process as proprietary, so short of getting a masters degree in chemestry and industrial manufacturing it’s gonna be tough to figure out
"With EPS - I feel a better question would be how to recycle the raw beads into a new blank. I feel there has to be some way you can grind up packing EPS or styrafoam into its individual beads, and re-bond it together either with heat or some kind of adhesive. This seems more backyard-friendly as it takes expansion out of the equation, but unfortunately the few companies who do it claim the process as proprietary, so short of getting a masters degree in chemestry and industrial manufacturing it's gonna be tough to figure out"
http://www.markofoamblanks.com/foam/e-foam/
Another one of those "Why try to do it yourself when it's already being done by professionals" questions.
Let me preface this by giving my background: For 13 years I ran the Foam Fabricators, Inc. plant in California. We produced a lot more foam than Marko who was one of our competitors at the time(they were a family business and didn't have the kind of capital reserves we had but still made a good product as they still do today). I was part of the development team to produce foam for Apple Computers and helped design the Foam Fab plant that was built in Modesto.
Recycling eps into a molded product is really simple. All you do is grind it up, and mix it with fresh bead to go into your molded product. Most manufacturers do this already. Some customers don't like the look of the shrunked re-grind and don't want it in their custom stuff.
All you need to mold eps is a $250,000 machine, steam boiler, 100hp air compressor, 100psi water pumps, a $50,000 pre-expander, storage bags and for surfboards, at least one $30 - 70,000 two part mold which is custom made. Simple really, just need lots of $$$$. We would get about one surfer a year coming in the plant wanting us to mold surfboard blanks for him. Once they found out the cost of the mold, they were gone.
Marko has done a great thing for surfers and their molded blanks are really high quality. As shapers, we need to appreciate what goes into our materials and be willing to pay for quality.
Just my 2c....