What’s your most/least favorite blank(s) and why? Companies,composition.prices…spill it guys…
FAV… Walker. Quality and consistancy.
I prefer Dead Trees…
I’ve used Rhyno Foam, and liked it. Also used Home Grown Foam for EPS good also. I haven’t found a place in FL with the Walker Foam and I don’t want to pay for the shipping when I got good foam here, but I’d like to try it.
Rock on Paul!
I’m jealous.
Let’s see some more milling pictures.
I still have a goodly collection of Clarks and eps…but it would take no time to clear them out…just fishing…I’ve always like walker/South Shore foams Bill…shapes real easy and clean.
Hey Bill,
By-the-way,
I saw Mark B. get a killer backside barrel on your board last week…made the locazls take notice,and put them in there collective places…pissed a few off and sent them to the beach as well.
I’ll throw out a good word for Segway Composites AKA American Blanks. He’s in our area too.
Acefoam.com, in san antonio, texas.
I just picked up a “blank” from them, it was $76.
Measurements- 22x24x96"
With my hotwire bow and some rocker templates, I’ll probably get 6-8 boards out of it.
Can’t beat the price, that’s for sure.
Herb,
I put off responding earlier, having only shaped one Safari blank but…
Just cut into my second and it’s WORSE than the first. Set the rocker on the bottom and it looks like it took both barrels of a 20 guage at close range…more bubbles than a Lawrence Welk New Years Eve Special…get the picture…
I hesitate to bad mouth anyone trying to help our fringe group but, shaping this board is getting depressing and I have to say that the blank is absolute crap…it wouldn’t qualify as a Clark “second”.
Truing the deck up and there’s more fu#king bubbles…
Me thinks Grubby spoiled me…I miss Clark Foam…plus, I paid 40%+ more without a choice of rocker or stringer.
Pete
I just shaped my first Rhyno blank and it was sweet. Nice foam, no bubbles, sanded nicely - no complaints.
I have to say I love the Surfblanks that come out of Australia, this is Midget Farrelly’s foam, which has been around for something like 35 years. It is amazingly hard for its weight.
I just did a 6’ 9" that had a 6 + 4 oz deck and gave it to a heavy-footed surfer to ride and there no dents on it. If this had been a Clark blank there would have been some serious dents in the deck.
The foam is a little harder to shape by some peoples estimation but I have found it shaves about 45 minutes out of my shaping time because it is so constistent. I also seem to spend a lot less time getting all of the twist out of them.
Oh! and did I already say this they are very light considering how strong they are. I’m glad I bought a pile of them as they are great! Even the lightest foam [=Blue] is lighter than a Clark ultralight but twice as hard, it is actually really hard to push your finger into it!
The other thing I love about them is that they all have T-band [plywood] stringers.
Very nice!
-Robin
I’ve used ‘Just Foam’ and Walker since Clark is gone (have one left). Just Foam… yicky, so far anyway, had some hollowed, yellow, uncured glue streaks and for such close tolerance I had to use it or loose it… so big yellow, uncured glue streak on rail… I’ll try again in a couple years. Walker… no complaints whatsoever. I actually like the foam much better then clark, much. The granularity is, well, hard to explain but it just feels better and is much more workable. Oh and it’s a consistent blank throughout . .none of that ‘gosh, can’t take too much off the deck, have to readjust the bottom’ which really makes visualising the blank result and requirements to get there a heck of a lot easier. I’ve seen the tecells but haven’t tried yet… I plan too.
In short, walker is pretty nice foam and a pretty good selection of molds, at least for me.
good luck,
randy
Quote:
I’ve used ‘Just Foam’ and Walker since Clark is gone (have one left). Just Foam… yicky, so far anyway, had some hollowed, yellow, uncured glue streaks and for such close tolerance I had to use it or loose it… so big yellow, uncured glue streak on rail… good luck,
randy
I’ve shaped four “Just Foam” blanks that I got right before June. None of the problems you mentioned. How long ago did you get yours?
Favorite hands down SurfBlanks Australia Get it from Matt Ambrose in Pacifica!! Fast friendly and fair priced. Oh yeah makes Blinding white boards…
EXCELL. As my 5 year old son said Dad “this is stuff is justTERRRRIIIIBBBOOOOWWWLLL…”
I got mine late spring, around May. They were the 6’5" blanks. They’re ok and I would def. get them again… but not if I had a choice I guess. I would def. try them again if feedback like yours is seen more frequently.
\r
Thaks guys for your rather honest answers…from So. Az.,…Herb
Don’t laugh - Some observations from a hobbyist as green as they come. I did my first this past June and one a month since (THREE shortboards!! lol). First 2 were Clarks, the most recent I finished a couple days ago is a Bennett-
‘Ultralight’, close tolerance 6’2" cost $54 locally.
Overall, I had no major problems, very happy with the price, performance. Very similar to the 2 Clarks I did.
A few things i noticed-
Lots of excess whitish/yellow stringer glue, not a big deal but the smell was really potent when taking it down. In some spots the glue ‘stains’ near the stringer didn’t disappear until about 1/2" down from the deck. The majority of the dust seemed ‘grainier’ - it would stay nearby, good for cleanup but my sanding block would start to float pretty quick. There was a thin outer skin, but after that it had a consistent feel going into it. Planed easy, & this one I cut the outline with a skilsaw worked well for a nice 90* cut. A few small airholes poked their way out but very small
Nice looking board, Bud–wish my #3 looked that clean!
Sounds like everyone’s had good experiences with Walker, so I may have gotten a bad batch (ordered just after Clark closure), but I’ve had some problems with mine–rockers varying between blanks (same blank), lots of bubbles, and one even had mold paper (I think???) sealed into the blank that never shaped out. I do like the granularity, though, and the even density is a big plus. I have faith their quality will be more thoroughly controlled in the near future, but I’m gonna wait a while before I order more Walkers.
Shaped a bunch of 2.5 lb Powerlite EPS blanks, which were killer. Wish I could afford the shipping from Texas…
Picked up a Burford the other day, and it looks real nice–crisp white foam, good rocker. Can’t wait to start carving!
i’m using rhyno foam which is bennett with a different name…
from what i’m told, rhyno is a lil bit floaty-er than clark and from personal experience is really nice to shape…
started pumping out our shapes this year and i am diggin the rhyno foam
was goign to try shaping EPS using home grown foam but i heard that they closed down…
so i guess no EPS for me
oh well, rhyno works just fine 