Shaping Walker Foam review

General Discussion
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First, I’ve never posted here at Swaylocks… been following the forum the past month since the Clark thing. So hello all.

Second, background… I was a back yard builder and repair guy while in high school. I graduated in 1966 and the year after got my start as a production shaper for the Morey-Pope Company in Ventura Ca. Currently I mainly shape for Walden Surfboards in Ventura where I do about 1000 shapes a year. Almost all are tankers.

Third, qaulifier… Though I have shaped very few Walker blanks since the sixties and only one of the Walden models has used Walker exclusively, I would prefer to shape Walker foam than Clark any day of the week. For a number of reasons I’ve always preferred it.

So today of the 2 hand shapes I did one was a Clark 8’9 for a 8’8 and the other was a Walker 9’4 for a 9’0 So… FWIW and those interested here is a review of how Walker foam shapes and what the blank was like from my perspective. Your mileage may vary.

The Walker Blank had a 1/4" spruce ( I think ) stringer that had no defects and consistent grain direction. However there were some minor voids along the glue line mainly on the deck. The foam was very consistent with no density variation. No snail trails or porosity variation, no buckshot, no sponge. 3 small voids did surface on the bottom each were smaller than a thumb tack head.

Outlining showed that one side of the blank was about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch wider. Though after outlining the thickness measurements remained the same from one side to the other. Surface of deck looked even nose to tail and side to side. Though the nose stringer glue up was stepped a little. Bottom surface looked a little uneven but shaped out without any extra work.

While planing the foam tore a little more than a Clark but not as deep. This blank didn’t have our rocker so I had to graduate a one inch cut into the tail for rocker. The foam retained density there. If I cut that much foam off a Clark blank I would have easily put finger dents in that area handling the blank during the remaining shaping process because of density variation.

Surform and sanding is where the difference really shows with Walker. It’s a breeze to finish. The foam seems dryer and doesn’t hold as much static so the foam dust doesn’t stick on the blank like Clarks. It doesn’t show scratches like Clark so you can finish with a coarse grit sand paper or screen and the blank will look clean. However, Harold Walker told me why the blanks don’t take to painting as easily as Clarks is because they needed to be fine sanded good same as the Clarks. Even though the Walker looks great finished with a coarse grit screen. The Blank will get paint in a day or two. I’ve asked our air brusher to let me know how it goes.

Over all the Walker didn’t take any longer to shape. Finished out really clean. Stringer was nice. The foam finished good and hard and holds a very sharp edge. Clark blanks feel and look sort of like a white cotton T-Shirt. The feel of Walker is more like pumice and when finished the look is like a sugar cube. And yes, if you run your hand over it fast the friction will give you rug burn. I didn’t have a scale to compare finished shaped weight but the Walker seemed a bit heavier.

Aloha,

Dennis Ryder

D.R. Shapes

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Dennis,

Thanks for the review. Guess a lot of us may be shaping Walkers in the future if things go as some people say. It must have been quite an experience shaping for MP when you did. I was a mere grem when my dad would take me to Surfline Hawaii and I’d marvel at the Blue Machines and Penetrators with their turned down noses. Looks like you’d pearl dive a lot. Little did I know how advanced those boards were. Did you shape any of those models? I might have heard your name pop up a few years ago when my friend was getting boards from Hawaiian Blades out of Kauai. Anyway, good to see your post, I hope you’ll chime in often.

Aloha,

FD

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Correct me if I’m wrong but I think I’ve seen some DR Blue Machines and Penetrators down there at Ventura SS.

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Welcome abord Dennis. Thanks for the review – it was alot of fun to read.

Swaylock

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hi Dennis , welcome to sways !

that was VERY interesting … I don’t think I’ve read a review like that before .

We mainly get Burford blanks here in West Australia …have you ever shaped any of then , Dennis ? [If so , it would be interesting to hear a comparison of them , too ]

cheers !

ben chipper

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I just painted one yestrday. It’s been about five years since the last time I sprayed a Walker. The foam has definitely improved since then. My impression is: 1. Tape (3m 233) sticks actually better then on a Clark blank. 2. Edge quailty of the pinlines and panels are pretty much equal to what you get on a Clark. 3. Paint (Novacolor) went on the same as on a Clark(One coat shot through an automotive spraygun). Nothing really different than on a Clark. Im stoked. I wasnt slowed down any on this. No fuzzy edges. No need for multiple coats. Its all good as I can see. I can paint this stuff. Five year ago the foam really sucked for painting.

154×700 46.6 KB

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Wow, this is an active forum. Thanks for the welcome.

Atomized, I’m glad you had little trouble painting the Walker. I know they take color laminations nicely. I’ll find out soon how our guy does with the paint deal.

Chipfish, If I remember right about 15 years ago I shaped an Australia blank. One of the shops I shaped for at the time had got a few. Don’t remember much about it. Though I’m told we may be getting some soon, don’t know which label. I’ll try post the out come.

Howzit Foamdust! Yeah, I shaped the very Blue Machines and Penetrators you saw in your younger days. Tell me I’m an old fart… There are surfboards in museums with my initials on them. As well, I worked for Max at Hawaiian Blades while living on Kauai. Hope your friend liked his boards.

Yes surfore, you’ve seen the D.R. label classics at VSS.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Good Night,

Dennis Ryder

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Don’t let anybody fool you guys with their stories about Penetratoors and Blue Machines. Other people have taken credit for shaping all those beautiful “Snubs”. But Dennis Ryder IS the guy. Maybe he didn’t come up with the design but he sure the hell shaped the bulk of them. I saw one in VSS a few years back. A Retro Penetrator. Man was it beautiful. I just looked at one somebody did a copy of yesterday in a used board rack here on Maui. Not as nice as Dennis’s. Pecks’s don’t look as good as DR’s either. McDing

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Welcome Dennis,

The reason I’ve always preferred Walker to Clark, was that the deeper you cut into the walker the harder the foam got. The deeper you cut into a Clark, the softer the foam became. This was before the wide selection of close tolerance blanks that became available in later years. It was necessary to do considerably more shaping of the blank, than is done today. I’m delighted that the Walker product is still available.

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Howzit Mr. Ryder

first off… a warm aloha to you.

Your right about the activity of the forum. It’s certainly exploded in the last year or two. Before it mught take a day or two to get a a response. Now it seems lik eits about 20 minutes.

Defintiyl appreciated your take on Walker shaping. I’ve a scant percentage of the number of boards shaped than you, but of the ones I’ve done about half have been Walker foam.

One thing I like about Walker is the amount of shaping that you need to do. Prior to Black Monday they had ony a few plug so you really had to work hard to get the shape that you wanted. People think it takes longer to shape a Walker and the’re right, but it['s not because of the foam, it’s vecause you actually have to “shape” it cause there’s more foam to remove. I like the purity of that aspect.

I’ve also noticed that you can finish with a coarser grit, even for color lams. Which I might add when done ona Walker seem to have moe of a glow, or pearlescent quality to them as opposed to Clark which look a little flatter and more lik ea pint job than a tint.

Wieght does seem to be a tad heavier. Never really did anything to prove that, but jsut a feeling. but a few ounces here or there arent hurting anything. Actually i like the added weight.

From what I’ve ben told by Joe and Old man Walker himself is that you can shape equally off both sides of the blank without worrying about foam density/strength issues. The integrity of the blanks strenght does seem to carry through to both top and bottom. I;ve had a few where i got some soft spots, but nothing lik e a Clark blank. this i feel is a big strongpoint because it allows for a much greater diversity of shaping options.

One question to you:

Was the Walker blank you shaped new or was it prior to black monday. I as because I might ponder the effect of ramping up production numbers as high as they can get might have an affect on the quality of the finished product. I am certainly not questioning the integrity of Walker at all, just merley wondering with increased productivity will we have to deal with increased diversity of quality? I hope not. I think that Walker has a pretty solid handle on things but you never know.

Thanks and welcome

Drew

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Thanks for the review!

My only thought is…how consistant are the walker blanks going to be once their overseas blanks start coming through? Will those blanks be near the level clark was it? I am not even talking about the close tolerance cause that doesn’t matter much if the density is all the same, it’ll just add to shaping time and show who truly has skills.

goodstuff!

DK

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the quality has been looking better with the ramped up productions. the molds stay hot and in turn help with a better cure of the foam. they have also employed a few of the x-clark workers for glue ups , pouring, milling, etc. all the word from the guys(PROFESSIONAL) in ventura is wow this stuff is nice. shapes very fast and very consistant. why was i not using these blanks before.

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cool

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Quote:

One question to you:

Was the Walker blank you shaped new or was it prior to black monday. I as because I might ponder the effect of ramping up production numbers as high as they can get might have an affect on the quality of the finished product. I am certainly not questioning the integrity of Walker at all, just merley wondering with increased productivity will we have to deal with increased diversity of quality? I hope not. I think that Walker has a pretty solid handle on things but you never know.

I shaped a very fresh Walker 9’8" on Saturday and it finished out as nice as any Walker blank I shaped last year or in previous years for that matter.

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wow…

Max shutting down because of blank monday would be sad.

He’s sure given alot of aloha to the sport/business and taken care of alot of the kaui groms who are now big time highly paid pros…

I remember him well from his Ewa Beach/White Plains days

Always positive always a smile full of aloha…Very classy guy uncle Max.

Best of luck to all those struggling.

Waiting for your container ship to come in over the horizon with your saving grace will be a pipedream for many of the small guys though…Guys like Max and Hawaiian Blades etc.

But like CMP told me last week, seems like they all are standing on the beach looking for the container ship to come in versus trying to find a way to move on to the new stuff they aren’t especially familiar with like Dennis just did.

I give those glassing guys in Makaha JTroy talked about credit for trying to move on and find a way to survive without getting stuck in the same old same old…

I also heard from the grapevine that the two factories (normally enemies) are having to co-locate because of the cost of real estate.

If it ain’t the blank shortage it’ll be the impact of the high cost of floor space that’ll kill things around here. Pretty soon space will be way to valuable to waste on anything except condos, town houses and homes or strip malls…

Like Paul Brewbaker said in todays’ paper, Hawaii will run out of liveable land long before California runs out of retiring baby boomers… With the average cost of a home to remain over $750,000 for the foreseeable future how’s the small guys gonna pay their property taxes with no blanks to make income from.

Hopefully Walker and the rest can fill the gaps soon. The longer people sit around waiting the harder the decisions will be… I’ve heard of many more like Max contemplating the is it worth it anymore decision…

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McDing, Thanks for your kind words. I believe the Penetrator is the brain child of John Peck and Morey. The Blue Machine is Bob Coopers baby. I’ve always stayed with the original design ideas of those boards. They have a distinct foil integrated into the rocker and outline that is really unlike any other design. I’ve been fortunate to have been part of that history and enjoy making them very much. Hopefully my hands have gotten better over the years at making them.

Howzit Kokua, I started working for Max in '97 the year he returned to Kauai and opened his shop. I worked there 'til some time 2000?? I suffered from a compressed nerve in my right arm that put me out of commission for several months. I returned to my place here in Ventura in May 02.

I’ve wondered about how Max would fair with the Clark thing. Wouldn’t be surprised that Rex wouldn’t ration any blanks for him. Poor Jim. He is such a nice guy. I can only imagine what he’s going through if he’s not getting any work.

Aloha,

Dennis

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pretty cool to see you posting here dennis! folks, when it comes to penetrators and .b machines dennis is THE man…nobody tunes 'em in like he does-really works of art…

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Was down Ventura way a couple of weeks ago and saw the Penetrators for myself. I think the Blue Machines were out of stock. I really liked the Penetrator shapes - complete with dual stringers and “Slip Check” pattern. Prices weren’t too bad either!