THIS…
Apologies for not reading before commenting.
Shapers up here in the NW have been adding a deck layer of 4 or 6 oz S Cloth. I have been hearing that quite a lot up here . These are shapers that use US Blanks. I just don’t think it is necessary with an Arctic or Millennium. Both Arctic and Millennium are based on Aussie formulas so I expect both to be harder. I have been told that these foams were altered a bit to accommodate US hand Shapers. That was the big gripe about Aussie foams like Surfblanks and Bennet; too hard. Terry Martin provided the plugs for the Bennet Factory in Ensenada, but he shrieked about the hardness of the finished blank. When Bennet folded and Millennium got into it they already had the knowledge to come up with an improved Polyurethane. If you research Millennium you’ll understand what I mean. They truly are “Chemists”.
Thanks Lowell- I took my remaining orange blank back to the shop I bought it from & he’s going to try & sell it for me on consignment. I heard back from US Blanks & they wouldn’t exchange it (understandable after this time period since I originally bought it). My local shop has a few millenium blanks, but they are already spoken for. He said he can get them for me but it might take a few weeks. Thats what 'll probably do on my next board (a winter build).
never had a shrinking prob with, “US BLANKS”…Did with, “JUSTFOAM” and the tech jobs from Nev…
I prefer the blue US BLANKS over the red…the classic wt. for guns and logs are the Best.
seems fishy to me. (ha)
all the best
I think there is some misconception going on in this thread. Your issue with foam seems to me to be from picking the wrong density of foam, not the manufacturer. I have never had an issue with US, Artic, or Milenium in normal surfboard manufacturing. I pick what I think is the correct density for the application. This is what I think happened with your kite board. I have shaped a few for the Seal Beach crew and always used the heavy density from whomever. Kite boards are thin anyway so the foam needs to come off the bottom, always! EPS is a totally different structure and material and so it has different compression properties. I have had problems with Clark & Bennett back in the day with collapse but that was due to a bad mix/pour from the factory, not the color (density) of the foam. A boards structural strength comes for the stringer and glass wrapped around the rails. Deck strength comes from the glass and the resistance of the foam to compression & rebound. There is such a thing as too light a kite board/surfboard with current materials. Don’t want to sound preachy, just my 2c…
I agree with you & guess that I didn’t explain clearly what the problem was. From this thread & the conversations I’ve had with my supplier & local shapers, the problem was the density. When I designed & built this board, I thought I could overcome the density with a heavy laminating schedule. Hey - I’m an amateur with probably only a dozen boards or so under my belt so I consider it a learning lesson. Next board will either be a heavier density blank or I’ll go back to compsands with eps/divinicell etc…
I appreciate all the input from everyone on this thread.