first off i just want to say i’m a total newb to shaping. in a month or so im going to begin my internship at southeast board company, where i can really get some hands on experience. i’ll be sanding boards and working with a CAD machine as well, but mainly working with other hand shapers. before i go, i have the opportunity to get my hands on some foam blanks and i have a choice. What’s the difference between VI foam, Safari foam, and Teccel foam? i believe they are all poly and just wanted to know which are good and easy to work with, and what would be a good choice for a beginner? i also have the choice of EPS foam but i hear it’s hard to work with and i don’t want to screw up my first creation. i have an EPS quad that i love, so im going to get my shaping skills up before i start with EPS. thanks for any info you can give.
eps tough to shape? i dunno maybe it is because i had only shaped 2 clark boards but i had a 2lb eps blank from segway and it was really easy to shape. Well the foam was but the blank was too big and the parabolic stringers got in the way on my 5’10. but if you get a center stringered blank then it would be so easy, I used all my PU tools too, except i stopped the sureform early because it really ripped the foam. I was making a 2 1/2 blank down to 1 3/4
You’ll be fine with EPS. It has the same density all the way through so you don’t have to worry about overshaping and leaving the soft foam on the deck of your board.