Biofoam Shaping Video of Tom Nielson

Great footage of a Biofoam blank being shaped by Tom Nielson! This quote from www.phoresia.org explains why the video was created. Phoresia.org is an organization to provide a consumer resource about environmentally and socially responsible surf related products and lifestyle choices."As part of the initial Biofoam project ideas we wanted to show some video footage of one of the blanks being shaped. Partly because it’s cool to see a shaper at work and partly because a visual of a Biofoam blank coming to life under a the planer of a skilled craftsman speaks volumes about the viability of the product."

Enjoy the video.

BioFoam Surfboard Blanks in our House!

In an attempt to carry the best range of surfboard blanks available we recently added HomeBlown's BioFoam to our line. Foam E-Z prides ourselves on having the best materials available for our customers, therefore BioFoam was a no brainer to fill our MDI void. These blanks are considered to be "green" by surfboard standards. Homeblown US manufactures the Biofoam blanks in which nearly 50% of the core ingredients are from agricultural products. Biofoam is produced by replacing the polyol component of the foam with materials converted from natural plant oils.

Shaping Tips
The Biofoam surfblanks are slightly harder to plane because of their cross-linked properties. Planer blades need to be sharp and/or you need to mow the blank a little slower than typical TDI foam. If the blank is cut on the computer there is no problem. The tight cell structure and properties of MDI allow it to machine very cleanly.

Finish shaping the Biofoam surfblank is very easy to finish with the normal the shaping process used. It may feel a little on the soft side when finished but let the blank sit overnight before glassing and it will harden up tons.

GLASSING TIPS
Glassing the Biofoam surfblank takes a little extra care. While Biofoam surf blanks make great surfboards, some issues have come up as to the way they take color, airbrush in particular. While color in the laminate works great, or of course, art on the hot coat, much airbrush color on the foam crystallizes. Clear boards or those done with resin tints have been working well. If using polyester resin squeegee on a cheater coat of resin to seal the blank before you laminate. Then proceed as normal. If epoxy is used, consider the airbrush notes above, then glass as normal.

* NOTE from Homeblown: Please realize that Biofoam surfblanks are a new product and although they have been tested and make beautiful functional surfboards, all variations of color layup and airbrush have not been tried yet. We have done opaques and tints and some airbrush that have all come out well but we simply have not hit all the color range.

Service for Travis Northey Saturday December 1st

Death is nothing at all... I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way you always used. Put no difference into your tone Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was Let it be spoken without effort, without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is absolutely unbroken continuity.... Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you for an interval, Somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well -Travis



The service for Travis is going to be held Saturday Dec. 1st at the Capo Beach Calvary Church, 25975 Domingo, Capistrano Beach 92624 from 2 – 4 PM. Everyone who can come should. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations to Teen Challenge, 418 S. Main St. Santa Ana, CA 92701 would be appreciated. Nancy and I plan on attending. Please join us. Travis was a good young man and one of the best nose riders you will ever see.

Mahalo:
The Real SurferBill


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San Onofre State Beach - Huell Howser

Huell spends some time at Trestles getting a run down of the history of the area, the geography of the San Mateo wetland, and more! He discusses the toll road issue and it's impact on watershed. It's good to have Huell on our side.

Epoxy 101 Shaping Video Clip

Enjoy this clip of the Epoxy Shaping 101 with Greg Loehr. It has great insight into shaping EPS foam. Greg goes through the process and shows all the tricks you need to work with the beaded foam. The actual DVD is 97 minutes in length which can be purchased at http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7_53 .

Epoxy 101 Glassing Video Clip

Enjoy this clip of the newest film by Carl Ackerman (maker of Shaping 101), Epoxy 101 Glassing. This has been the missing link in the "how to" videos for board building. The glassing is done by Epoxy guru Greg Loehr, inventor of Resin Research Epoxy Systems. In this video clip he glasses a fish with yellow resin color. The actual DVD is 120 minutes in length which can be purchased at http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7_53 .

FoamEZ at the Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo

Only a Shaper knows the feeling.

The FoamEZ.com booth at the 2007 Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo. Much more than a tool, the surfboard has become a philosophical icon, a sacred craft, a culturally pervasive symbol of freedom.

What the Blank??? 12'2"-B 10'9"-B

While traveling through ASR on Friday September 7th NeoN and I ran into a old time Foam E-Z customer. We found him working in the Dick Brewer Surfboards booth, if you look close you can see Dick in the background. This guy has been building Guns since the first day he came in our shop way back in 1996! He's been surfing big waves since he was kid in Huntington Beach but now resides in San Francisco and become a regular at Mavericks. He has spent extended periods on the North Shore of Hawaii and has done Tow-Ins at Jaws on Maui.

In his rant he is bascially talking about the old Clark Foam Blanks that don't exist anymore, the 10-9B and 12-2B. These were old Brewer plugs that he made for Grubby

EPOXY 101 GLASSING DVD with Greg Loehr is finally here!

Fall is here and so is the missing piece to the puzzel, the Epoxy 101 Glassing DVD. In this video, Epoxy expert Greg Loehr teaches how to laminate using Epoxy Resin and Hardener quickly and efficiently. Greg Loehr has been working with Epoxy surboards for years and is the developer of Resin Research Epoxy Systems. There are plenty of shaping video's out but up till now there hasn't been a video that shows the process and secrets that goes into glassing a board with epoxy resin.

FOAM E-Z Invades the 2007 Action Sports Retailer ASR Tradeshow

Here we are getting a demo from one of the new surfboard blank companies showing at the 2007 Action Sports Retailer ASR Tradeshow. This was not staged, it really happened!

Shape it,
Glass it,
Surf it...

DON'T SNAP IT!!

Foam EZ for all Your do it yourself surfboard shaping needs

Foam EZ for all Your do it yourself surfboard shaping needs!

FINGERPRINTS- Great video with Shaping, Surfing, and Music

This video is really well done. It has some awesome footage of Guy Okazaki (one of Foam E-Z's long time customers) shaping a polyurethane foam blank. Check out his website http://www.guyokazaki.com/ for more info about him. You'll also find some fun looking surf in Hawaii and quality music to cap it off.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Surfer's Journal Call To Arms

Call To Arms

This is our chance to hammer a silver spike into the heart of the 241 Toll Road extension: California Assembly Bill 1457 proposes to ban the building of roads through State Parks. If this bill passes, The Transportation Corridor authorities degradation of San Mateo campground (itself a mitigation for the San Onofre nuclear plant), San Mateo watershed, and the Trestles wave complex will be stopped. Under normal circumstances in the Sacramento dynamic, a bill of this nature would fail due to business-as-usual, political process that grinds on behind the scenes. Unless the unusual happens and the surfing community collectively rises up and mobilizes to pass this bill, it to will fail and likely Trestles along with it. As a member of our surfing community no matter what party you support or where you sit on or in the state of California (Or the nation) please work hard to support this bill the survival of Trestles (San Onofre and San Mateo) as we know it is at stake. Your break (or campsite) will be next. Contact your local state government representatives and request that they support assembly Bill 1457 banning new roads through state parks!-- S. P.

What happens to the backcountry, happens to the beach, contact your California State Representative to keep the link between trestles and the wilderness corridor of San Mateo Creek untrammeled...
.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE VARIOUS SURFBOARD TYPES

Here are great short descriptions and historys of the various styles of surfboards by Dave Parmenter:

LONGBOARDS: The garden-variety longboard shape is indisputably the most resilient design in surfing history. A lot of people forget that if the Polynesians hadn't finally migrated to an island with big enough trees to make their olo boards, we'd probably all still be riding prone on paipo boards. The ancient Hawaiian longboards literally created the sport we know today. The papa nui went on to bridge the ancient and modern eras, and is the only design archetype to have been built with every conceivable material, from koa to redwood to balsa, foam and even sponge. Today, the longboard is back in a big way and more versatile than ever. Often debunked for its "old guy" stigma or "unfair" paddling superiority, the longboard has endured for a millennia for the same reason we all surf - we love the "glide."

BIG-WAVE GUNS: The big-wave gun is the "warbird" of the surfboard design kingdom. Let the other boards strut down the catwalk with their garish frills and fashions -- the gun is as lethal and purely functional as the rhino-stoppers they're named for. The big-wave gun has changed the least over the years of any type of surfboard because the mission has never changed: build up a head of steam with three strokes, bust through the ledge, skitter down the face, reconnect and worry about the rest later. You really want to learn about surfboard design? Look at a gun. Its design components are the simplest and purest of any board because they're not made for Quasimodos, roundhouses or 540-to-out-of-its. They're shaped strictly for two things: paddle-power and survival.

SHORTBOARDS: We call them "shortboards," but today's state-of-the-art high-performance surfing isn't happening because the boards are "short." The ultra-radical surfing you see on shortboards is more due to an amazingly deft balancing of design features that seem contradictory. Curves and flats, torque and drag are all combined into the most complex, temperamental and volatile surfboard design ever built, then fused to the power plant of the power-hungry Thruster fin array - and heaven help you if you're a sloth-foot or over 30.

THE HYBRID: Since all forward motion in surfboard design stems from combining established ideas into new combinations, then technically the "hybrid" surfboard should be granted the status of being the most progressive surfboard type of them all. What?! You mean those bulbous, hideous "funboards" are more progressive than my Merrick, dude? Well, take a fresh peek into the "hybrid" skunkworks: these aren't yuppie-doofus eggs anymore. The hybrid design family is burgeoning into fresh new fields and is robbing the shortboard blind of its edges, flats and rockers. Now, they're faster, more forgiving and more versatile than anything the "hotties" are riding - why else would all the pros consider riding them in contests as "cheating"?

Now you know the background behind the board you're riding, even if you've built it or want to build it.

In upcoming posts we will be showing examples of each type of board with detailed descriptions and dimensions. Keep an eye out for this cool and informative content.

ANATOMY OF A SURFBOARD; IDEAS FOR BUILDING ALL TYPES OF SURFBOARDS

A Surfboard Anatomy by Dave Parmenter Flash Version This article is great for getting ideas on design for building your surfboard. It is the best document about surfboards you will find. Descriptive, non-commercial, and well seasoned with reflections of the surfboard's role in surfing history.

LAMINATING A SURFBOARD WITH POLYESTER RESIN!

Here is a short video showing the basic technique of laminating a polyurethane surfboard with polyester resin. You can get all the tools and supplies to glass your surfboard at www.foamez.com .

"SHAPED" A Shaping Documentary

Shaped
This documentary film pays tribute to the men and women of the surf world that were there in the 1960s, working in the trenches, creating and un-knowingly shaping the future of surfing as we know it today.This handful of influential innovators had no idea at the time how their work would change the lives of millions of people through their innovative thinking and commitment to their craft. Internationally known world class surfer Robert Weaver "Wingnut" will interview these men and women candidly at the beach, at work and in their homes. This film will also feature interviews with people whose lives have been touched and forever changed by the sport of surfing...

Summer is on the horizon!

Here's the latest update from Foam E-Z:

It took a long time but the position has been filled by Rob Triplett. We are stoked to have him onboard the Foam E-Z crew. He's a rookie so give him a break if he doesn't know everything but it's only a matter of time before he becomes an expert!

Marko Foam is picking up steam as more and more hand shapers are finding these molded blanks to be a breath of fresh air. The word on the Parabolics is still out as not enough people have made boards to get a true concensus. Shape one up and let us know what you think.

PU seems to be as strong as ever with US Blanks taking up where Clark left off. The foam is a little harder than it's predecessor's but just as easy to shape. Of course the stringers are just as straight and the rockers are equally accurate. The longboard plugs by Yater are loved by the classic board shaper and the mix of Timmy Patterson and Eric Arakawa's shorts and midrangers rounds out a stunning line.

If you haven't been in the shop lately we invite you to come on down and see the remodeled showroom. Everything is much easier to find and priced clearer to make your shopping experience that much more enjoyable.

Look forward to seeing you soon-

The Guys at Foam E-Z.

WE'RE HIRING!!!!

We are currently looking for an individual to fill a position at Foam E-Z! The job is very dynamic and requires an organized, efficient, self-motivated, and business minded individual. Tasks, which vary throughout the day, include shipping and receiving, inventory management, customer service both on the phone and in person, and a variety of other duties related to running a small business. The required skills include a customer service background, the ability to work closely in a small working environment, as well as a capacity to flex and task manage. Computer skills are a plus. This is a full time position. Hours include Monday thru Friday 10am-5:30pm and Saturday 11am-4pm. Please feel free to fill out the attached application and email it to support@foamez.com or you can fax it to 714-896-0001. If you have other pertinent documents or information please include them. The contact person for this position is Grant and he can be reached at 714-896-8233. The Guys at www.foamez.com
Employment%20Application.pdf

MARKO FOAM NOW IN STOCK!!!

We have added Marko Foam EPS blanks to our repertoire. They are a close tolerance molded EPS blank that looks alot like the old Clark Foam blanks but are made of EPS Foam. Since these blanks are molded and not cut with a hot wire off a billet they are much more user friendly for the hand shaper. Marko pressure molds their blanks to true 1.9 PCF (pounds per cubic foot) with no recycled material. STRETCH and LOST surfboards are the primary big board builders using Marko at this time. We stock the full line including Marko's Parabolic stringered blanks. Check out the site for more information including a full catalog.
Thanks for your continued support.
The Guys at http://www.foamez.com/.