Just started getting a lot of demand for these boards, and have been experimenting with different material constructions, all from reused foam.
6’2 Cisco Kid PU Rail EPS Core
PU Glue Up - Recongize the rail scraps?? Leftover PU Foam from a previous cutout! Custom hotwired stringerless EPS Center. This board was glassed with epoxy resin 2 layers of 6oz Warp Aerialite on the bottom with an extra 6oz rail wrap from 12" from the nose to 12" from the tail and a double 6oz deck. Boards final weight is 5.4 lbs. Rails are super strong and give the board torsional flex, similar to the “Firewire” technology. Also as a side note you can repair dings on the rails with regular resin rather than epoxy. Shape is a 6’2 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/8 Squash with a single concave.
EPS Glue Up, scrap foam off of the sides of previous EPS Cutouts. This board is made of 10 scraps from the sides of 5 blanks.
Below is an image of the blank after it was glued up and below that is an image after it was shaped.
This block of foam was recovered from a construction site by a buddy of mine who is a project manager in Temecula, CA. They were done using the foam at the site and it winds up the foam is 2lb EPS Foam, perfect for making boards This block should produce 10-14 boards!
So thats it guys, just wanted to get some feedback on these boards, I’m setup in San Diego, CA now as the in-house shaper at FCS (Surf Hardware Int’l) and am also producing my label, Solid, out of their warehouse. Thanks for checking it out!
Gotta say that chunk of foam looks like a big scoop of ice cream. Thanks for at least doing something recycle-able. Boards look good from here. Im bent on wood and gone with the grain but good luck.
I managed to pick up a big lump of this construction eps last year from a site near me (about half the size of that mother) so far I’ve hot-wired four blanks out of it and shaped one, have to say it shapes nicely. Unfortunately I had to dump half the foam as I’d got nowhere to store it. I’ve yet to get around to glassing as it’s so cold over here at present, besides I’ve been working on a wood board project.
I’m inspired to create a couple of different ways to utilize some scrap that I have access to.
I have a few construction sites near where I live.
Anybody know when is the optimum time to see if they have EPS scrap laying around? I mean, at what point during construction do they bring that stuff in, and when do they toss it?
i work in construction. and ive never seen chunks of foam that size. dont know what they use that for. ive only seen lots of small chunks maybe 2’x2’. alwys wanted to glue them up for blanks. but how was it shaping through the glued sections? i know it can be a pain
I have made a few recycled-junk boards but yours look flawless. I use Sumo PU glue instead of GG.It dries faster and is softer and whiter. Some times I add some pigment to the glue for flavor.
I got some 4x8x2" XPS sheets from the local scrap yard for $5 a sheet
The big EPS is used for concrete pours like freeways and large buildings.[img_assist|nid=1030196|title=compmaterial|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=491]
Right now I’m using a 1/4 in thick marine grade ply as my stringers as well as the 6oz warp glass, even so the boards are still slightly more flexy than a standard pu. I just grabbed 2 boards similar in outline one eps and one pu and my eps with a thicker stringer vs. my pu with a 3/16in stringer, the eps has more flex, which i prefer, fits in the pocket better, more lively, snappier, etc… As far as the discus goes and multiple glue ups, the discus has such a wide nose and more material in the nose and is such a “discy” (is that a word) board that its not looking to have that much flex, just low rocker and rounded outline for speed in a sloping wave and turn on a rounder rail to turn off of. As far as the PU rail glue up, the board is going to have a torsional flex pattern, and if you had the option, structurally (using bracing construction), wouldn’t you rather have 4-6 extra oz. of weight in the rails than in a wood stringer? As far as shaping the gorilla glue not really a problem at all except for in the rails a little bit, but nothing unmanageable. Also, somewhat commonly known, you can glass a PU board with epoxy resin and it will be STRONG but is also on the expensive side of surfboard construction, my pu/eps concept gives you the benefit of strength in the rails and the lightness of eps overall. So… im stoked!
This block should produce 10-14 boards!