Last year I received 3 EPS blanks. 2 with parabolic rails an one regular. My friends want me to get away from using PU/Polyester due to health concerns...and they hate the smell entering their apartment.
Since money is running low, I figure I mine as well give it a shot and dust off the blanks and start shaping them.
I've shaped 11 PU boards so far. Is there anything really different as far as planing and sanding?
I've been reading about using barrel planer blades (the kind with spikes). Can I use my regular planer blades? The cost seems to high for just a small hobby.
The chalk line was what we always depended on for center line referencing back in the 80’s. The option was to have the blank split and put a colored glue line in it for easy referencing that wouldn’t keep getting ‘erased’ while working on the boards and finally marking the fin setups.
EPS has come soooo far since those days. The foam then commonly would have the beads tear out easily, particularly with the coarse sandpaper. Water poured into the dinged boards, and the consistency wasn’t as good as today.
The EDRO/IDRO development improved EPS considerably. Superfusing of EPS has made the intrusion of water less of a concern than ever before. The material is lightweight and handles compression well.
I have the foam that I got from Surfding…which is virgin 2 lb. EPS and it shapes very well. I handshape using a Clark Hitachi planer and assorted sanding blocks of varying grits of sandpaper. The foam sands fine for me even with 50 grit.
I also am using White Hot’s newest EPS in 1.5 & 2 lb. and I am experimenting with some 2.5 lb. from them. This foam has a special secondary curing that yields a crisp bead that is very firm for shaping. I shape it as described above and power sand with a super soft pad using a variable speed cheapie polisher all the way up to 220 grit. This foam doesn’t require sealing with anything unless you want to do so for color design purposes or to airbrush pinlines on. There are a number of good quality EPS suppliers.
The only thing about epoxy that I am extremely careful about is not geting near acetone or denatured alcohol to clean any epoxy that gets on my skin. Using solvents is a sure fired way to get the epoxy into your bloodstream. I use GoJO and with some epoxies vinegar can be used. I also have an excellent barrier cream I apply everyday before I start any glassing whether it is epoxy or polyester: I apply this religiously and also use gloves. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
The strength to weight ratio attained with a good EPS and epoxy is unreal. The finished boards take compression well and do not delaminate (if done right). They float better and work extremely well for designs were paddling ease and not bogging down in sluggish surf is a concern.
I mistakenly put this response under Surfding’s moniker…and he knows this stuff, but suffice to say that EPS has its advantages just as PU does…both are great for different reasons.
i shaped about the same amount of boards before i started with eps. ive done 4 eps boards and will not go back to PU . the first board was tricky but gesso and spackle do wonders. and epoxy is great to work with if your glassing at home.
Your regular planer will be fine, just keep slow and steady till you get the feel for it.
Just keep moving and don’t run off the ends.
Give yourself a little extra room withyour shape. What I mean is…if your shape is meant to be 19" wide for example…make it 19 1/8" to allow for rough sanding(60-80grit) then fine sanding(120grit). You can get it nice and smooth if you are carefull.
One big suggestion is…stay away from those parabolics! At least for a while. Not having that center stringer can really throw you off.
Spackle is your best friend. DAP is really good, but any lightweight spackle will work.
And lastly…read tons of Swaylocks posts for any questions!
When you start getting close, go to finer grit abrasives, and… GO SLOW. By this I mean more passes with finer grit. If you get it right, you can actually polish the foam out super smooth and have almost no bead divits, and need very little spackle.
I do a little planing, as I’m not that skilled w/it, and lots of SurForming, screening, and sanding pads - those sweet 3M ones that last a long long time - you just shake the dust out, and keep going…
I’m just not that worried about the fine finish on the blank… Some spackle in the right places, and laminate…
Personally, if I were to be concerned with a perfect finish, then I’d have much more to worry about sanding, and finish sanding, esp on the deck…
Unles you’re doing some detailed art, the idea behind polishng out the foam has more to do with not needing to spackle/seal than aesthetics. I know I’m gonna hear it for this one, but if you use high quality EPS, and you don’t have bead tear-outs all over the place, there’s really no need to seal.
I actually enjoy the spackling process. It’s the only part of surfboard building you get instant gratifiaction from because it’s a quick move to the next step. Slap it on, go to fridge and grab a beer (or beverage of your chioce), come back and light sand, start glassing…
I’m really stoked this thread happened; I was searching archives and not finding much, then this one popped up. I was about to start one just like it myself. Thanks for the saving me the trouble Dent, and thanks to all who offered their advice!