POLYURETHANE FOAM - Definition and History

POLYURETHANE FOAM

“PU” foam, as it’s known, has been the predominant material used in surfboard construction for more than half a century.  The goal of this article is to share the history and lineage of our product and aid in the understanding of the material that is at the core of our surfing experience.

KEY TERMS:

Polyurethane: Polyurethane is a plastic, which in the case of surfboard construction is used as a foam.  Polyurethane foam is the most common type of surfboard core.  It is usually wrapped with fiberglass soaked in polyester resin to finish the board’s construction.

Polystyrene: Polystyrene is a plastic, which in the case of surfboard construction is often intended to reference Expanded Polystyrene, also known as EPS.  Expanded Polystyrene is a type of foam, commonly known as Styrofoam (although Styrofoam is a brand name owned by the Dow Chemical Company).  US Blanks uses EPS foam to produce surfboard blanks as an alternative option to polyurethane foam.

Mold: In regards to surfboard blank construction, “mold” is defined similarly to other plastics industries.  It is a hollow cavity in which polyurethane is poured.  The polyurethane foam expands to fill the capacity of the cavity and hardens.  The polyurethane foam is removed from the mold and the resulting form is a surfboard blank.

Blank: “Blank” refers to the foam structure from which one shapes a surfboard.  Surfboard blanks are made in a variety of shapes and sizes intended to closely meet the shapers requirements of a desired surfboard, thereby not wasting an excess amount of foam.  The blank roughly resembles the contours and shape of the finished board.

HISTORY

Polyurethane was first used in 1937 by Otto Bayer in Germany and quickly found applications during World War II where it was used in aircraft construction (coating and insulation).

Prior to commercial polyurethane surfboard production and working out of his garage in Pasadena, California, seminal surfboard designer Bob Simmons (who introduced fundamental design elements of nose-lift, foil, and sculpted rails) first began experimenting with polystyrene foam as a surfboard construction material in 1947.  He made “sandwich” boards constructed of a polystyrene core sandwiched between two planks of balsa plywood with hand-shaped balsa rails enclosing the design.  Simmons learned that polyester resin dissolves polystyrene on contact so the plywood kept the volatile components from meeting.  He then sealed the design with fiberglass.  During the summer of ’49 Simmons partnered with local Malibu surfers Joe Quigg and Matt Kivlin to sell more than 100 “sandwich” constructed surfboards.  This construction method outlined the building blocks for modern PU surfboard construction.

During the early 50’s polyurethane was being a used in common household items, like insulation in refrigerators.  Dana Point surfer and board builder Whitey Harrison successfully cooked a polyurethane blank in his barn in 1955, but never attempted larger production.  In 1956, brothers Dave and Roger Sweet found success selling polyurethane blanks in Los Angeles, but lacked the precise designs that would aid shapers in fully embracing the new material.

Hobie Alter

Meanwhile, reliable balsa wood supply was dwindling, which prompted shaper Hobie Alter and his glasser, an engineer named Gordon “Grubby” Clark, to switch their entire supply of surfboard material from balsa to foam.  The pair invested in a secluded factory in Laguna Canyon, where they designed a mold that would create a blank in two halves, divided lengthwise.  The halves were glued together with a wooden stringer.  The design was finished with fiberglass and coated with resin.  By the summer of 1958 the foam and fiberglass construction had secured its place as the premier performance surfboard in California.

The new technology was widely embraced by surfers, but the popularity of the movie Gidget in 1959 greatly increased America’s fondness for beach lifestyle.  Alter and Clark were perfectly positioned to accommodate the new demand and they quickly established Hobie Surfboards as one of the leading names in surfing.  In 1961 Clark bought Alter’s share of the foam production business.  The split was amicably, and Gordon Clark officially established Clark Foam.  The business moved to Laguna Niguel in 1964, and by the end of the decade Clark had the lion’s share of the world surfboard blank market.  With his engineering background and a keen business sense, Clark made endless improvements to his production line and portfolio of blank offerings.  He accommodated the ’60s surfing boom and held a steady grasp of his paramount position as the world’s lead supplier of surfboard blanks for the next 41 years.

Gordon Clark

After the closure of Clark Foam in late 2005 two former key Clark employees partnered with two industry veterans to form and launch US Blanks in early 2006.  US Blanks redesigned many popular blanks sizes and used their sizable team of highly experienced, former Clark employees to produce consistently high-quality polyurethane blanks on a large scale.  US Blanks additionally offers EPS foam and, over the following 7 years, has secured their position as the world’s leading supplier of surfboard blanks.  As of 2013, polyurethane foam is still the most widely used core for surfboard production.  US Blanks manufactures a water-blown, Isocyanate based Polyurethane foam.

US BLANKS PU FOAM

US Blanks manufactures a water-blown, Isocyanate based Polyurethane foam.  Polyurethane surfboard blanks can be glassed with either polyester or epoxy resin, making it versatile in terms of giving riders more options.  Polyurethane foam is regarded as easier to shape than other types of foam.  It is also slightly less expensive than Expanded Polystyrene.  US Blanks offers PU blanks in 6 varying densities, 9 foam color options, and over 50 different blank sizes and dimensions.  Each blank is cut and glued to order, to the client’s specific rocker and stringer requests.  Thousands of rocker adjustments are available to choose from or custom adjustments can be accommodated.  US Blanks’ in-house mill allows for almost any conceivable stringer configuration to be incorporated into any surfboard blank.  The result is a completely customizable surfboard blank that Foam E-Z can get for the customer in one week!.  US Blanks is also the only polyurethane surfboard blank company manufactured entirely in the USA, from their facility in Southern California.

NEW SUP Board Building Kits!!!

For those of you that want to build your own SUP we have created complete board building kits. There are three sizes available in two different models, Surf and Flat Water. The Surf Series come in 9’, 9’6”, 10’ and the Flat Water Series comes in 10’, 10’6”, 11’. These sizes and shapes cover the range for most people and conditions.


The SUP Surf Series blanks are professionally computer designed and cut on a CNC machine out of White Hot EPS Foam. These SUP Surf blanks/boards are progressive and made to surf on, therefore they won't paddle as well as the Flat Water SUP's. All designs are proprietary Foam E-Z designs with the help of established shapers to make sure these "cut blanks" are truly original and legitimate. The blank is cut close to the finished product thus your shaping process has been simplified to blending the nose/ tail, sanding the blank smooth, and a few minor details. The blanks are designed so the customer can adjust the tail shape and certain dimensions if necessary.
SUP Board Building Kits come with all the highest quality materials/supplies to build your very own SUP. Includes: Professionally computer cut EPS blank, Resin Research CE Epoxy 3 gal Kit, 6ozx38" Fiberglass Cloth, Future EA Vector II or FCS M-5 Sidebite Production Set , 10.5" White Fin Box, 8.5" Future SUP Surf Fin, White Leash Cup, Vent Plug, Logo Paper, SUP Leash, and SUP Deck Traction. TOOLS OR INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED!



The SUP Flat Water Series blanks are professionally computer designed and cut on a CNC machine out of White Hot EPS Foam. These SUP Flat Water blanks/boards are thicker and wider making them float and paddle better than the Surf Series Sup's. All designs are proprietary Foam E-Z designs with the help of established shapers to make sure these "cut blanks" are truly original and legitimate. The blank is cut close to the finished product thus your shaping process has been simplified to blending the nose/ tail, sanding the blank smooth, and a few minor details. The blanks are designed so the customer can adjust the tail shape and certain dimensions if necessary.
SUP Board Building Kits come with all the highest quality materials/supplies to build your very own SUP. Includes: Professionally computer cut EPS blank, Resin Research CE Epoxy 3 gal Kit, 6ozx38" Fiberglass Cloth, 10.5" White Fin Box, 10" Future SUP Flat Water Single Fin, White Leash Cup, Vent Plug, Logo Paper, and SUP Deck Traction. TOOLS OR INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED!

Prices for complete kits range from $855 to $875. Each kit has a lead time of two weeks. Upgrade Kit with a C-4 One Piece Fiberglass Paddle 8.5" Blade for additional $217.00! To place an order or for any other questions please email Sales@FoamEZ.com or call the shop at 714.896.8233.

NEW EZ CALIPER FOR 2009!!!!

We just received our order of the updated version of the EZ Caliper. It has been updated and improved for 2009! It is direct reading, resulting in one handed operation affording the shaper the opportunity to get a measurement instantly. Measure 0 to 7", the scales are computer generated to insure accuracy.

The EZ Caliper 09 is manufactured of high quality Baltic Birch plywood for lightweight, stability, and durability. The great thing is the new calipers didn't go up in price as a matter a fact they're 10% off while supplies last ($74.95).

Come by and check them out or call us with any questions.

Publish Post

Look forward to seeing you soon.

SHAPING BOX RENTAL PRICES

Here's the rates for renting "The BOX":

$30.00/board up to 3 hours *
$6.00 each additional 30 minutes *
$55.00 for entire day 11am-5pm (6 hours) *

*Starter Tool Kit included (David Top Plane, Spokeshave, 10.5" Surform, 5.5" Surform, Fred Tool, Hand Saw, HD Foam Shaping Block, C-Caliper, Tape Measure, Goggles)

Bring Your Own Tools or rent our Tool Kits! Rent the tools before you buy!

Available hours: Monday thru Friday 11am-5pm


Buy or Bring:
Dust Mask
Sand Screen
Sand Paper



Call 714.896.8233 or email Support@FoamEZ.com for for additional information or details.

Look forward to seeing you soon!

THE E-Z SHAPING BOX “Shape in the Box to think out of the box!”

We’re happy to announce that Foam E-Z is now offering a shaping facility to rent.

About two months ago, we purchased a 20ft high cube container with a shaping bay built inside of it. We completely refurbished the shape room with new electrical, paint, and added a Clark Foam Vacuum System that sits outside the bay. The room is equipped with 8ft fluorescent lights, shelves, vacuum system, fan ventilation, and professional style E-Z Shaping Racks (fixed to the floor). The room dimensions are 15'-5" long x 7’ wide x 8’ high. The Foam E-Z Shaping Box is a fully functional and professional shaping bay located directly behind Foam E-Z. It is completely insulated and ventilated helping it remain comfortable during your shaping experience.

We wanted to give the E-Z Shaping Box a good once over, so we invited Tim Stamps of www.SurfboardsbyStamps.com to give it a test drive. His goal was to hand shape RadRob, Foam E-Z star employee, a new 5-8 Quantum Quad Fish. “It’s the classic Twin Keel revved up a bit. I added more nose rocker, pulled the nose in, thinned out the rails, and of course added a Quad fin set up. Slight concave through the center with subtle double concaves running through the fins. This all adds up to a super fast, very positive board.”

Tim brought a few of his “special” tools and used some of ours in his attempt to make the room feel like home. He plugged his Skil 100 into our vacuum system and started mowing into a 6-2A US Blank (new red foam). After 2 hours of shaping and a 20 minute pizza break (thanks to Kiri at Perry’s Pizza) RadRob’s board was finished. Check out the video for the full experience.

Stamps says: “It was the next best thing to home! I give it a 5 out of 5 shakas.”

The shaping box is now available for anyone to rent. So if you’re sick of shaping in your garage, using your trash cans as racks, or if you’ve wanted to start shaping but don’t have a place to do it, we now have the answer for you. The “Box” is for rent by the board or by the day (Monday thru Friday 11-5pm) and comes complete with all the tools necessary to Shape Your Own Board (S.Y.O.B.). ***Additional tools available for rent. This is your chance to test out the tools before you buy them. Call 714.896.8233 or email Support@FoamEZ.com for more information. “Shape in the Box to think out of the box!”

Here's the rates for renting "The BOX":

$30.00/board up to 3 hours *

$6.00 each additional 30 minutes *

$55.00 for entire day 11am-5pm (6 hours) *

*Starter Tool Kit included (David Top Plane, Spokeshave, 10.5" Surform, 5.5" Surform, Fred Tool, Hand Saw, HD Foam Shaping Block, C-Caliper, Tape Measure, Goggles)

Bring Your Own Tools or rent our Tool Kits! Rent the tools before you buy!

Available hours: Monday thru Friday 11am-5pm

Buy or Bring:
Dust Mask
Sand Screen
Sand Paper

Cool Surfboard Shaping Video with Tim Stamps

Tim Stamps grew up in Seal Beach and learned his skills under the legendary Rich Harbour of Harbour Surfboards. Tim worked almost every job at Harbour until he finally became Rich's right hand man. After years of shaping at Harbour, Stamps moved on to work on his own label. Designing and customizing is Tim's specialty, shaping all types of surfboards is his niche. Since he is a one man operation, working out of Westminster (down the street from Foam E-Z), Tim is able to have the utmost of quality control. Tim has shaped boards for some of the best surfers in the world. Check out his website for more information www.surfboardsbystamps.com

Seal Beach Surfing Championships 09

The 2009 Seal Beach Surfing Championships was held this past weekend. The two day affair was hosted by the Seal Beach Lifeguards, and headline sponsored by Katin Surf Shop and Vintage Cotton. The contest brought together surfers from all walks of life; Seal Beach locals, to contest pro's, and groms surfing in there first contest. There were plenty of cool booths to check out as well. Harbour Surfboards was there showing off their FIFTY Year Anniversary Surfboard, Matt Bettis (Bettis surfboards) and Aloha Glassing had a large selection of boards to check out. Jeremy Labreau, who got started at Foam E-Z a few years ago, also had a variety of boards on display and he surfed in the men's open longboard and open shortboard competition. Of course we (Foam E-Z) were there with a booth filled with blanks and products for people to peruse. Some lucky people also won stuff from our free raffle. It was a great time filled with cool people and great surfing!

Guy Okazaki is at it again!

Guy Okazaki always seems to find himsself on the silver screen or at least You Tubes version. This is a groovy little video with some shaping footage by a true Venice legend. Guy has a been a great customer at Foam E-Z for over ten years. Spending time between Californina and Hawaii for many decades has contributed to Guys evolution of shaping from the beginning of the shortboard era in the late 60's. Check out his website
http://www.guyokazaki.com/ for more info.

Dingy Thingy - Fixing Your Stick the Right Way!

Dingy Thingy – Fixing Your Stick the right way
by Adam Wright www.socalsurf.com

If you are like me then you probably have at least attempted to repair your board at some point during your surfing lifetime. It seems so easy...just mix a little of this, a little of that, a little sanding and viola you are ready to get back in the water. Riiiiiight, things are never that easy...I don't know about you but when I was first starting to fix dings I would generally turn my board into a total cluster-f*@k of a sticky, itchy mess that has very little to do with being watertight and is more about making your board more ugly than it was before, as well as ruining your clothes at the same time.

I am not sure where the breakdown usually occurs in the process...maybe it is the sudden time crunch you feel when you drop the catalyst into the resin and everything starts to heat up...maybe it is just the fact that none of the materials seem to work well together until they bond up in the final product...maybe it is just the pure stickiness of the resin that seems to get on everything. All I know is that if there is a way for something to go wrong it probably will.


magic potion

Anyway enough about my incompetency (actually I am not too bad at ding-repairs now that I have been doing them for 15 or so years)...I figured that there a lot of you out there interested
trying it for yourself or at least learning what is the proper way to make a repair. I probably could have walked you through some sort of retarded fix myself but I figured that it we should probably talk to an expert who has done this for a living. So I went to Brad Nadell over at Foamez.com to see if he could help walk us through a ding-repair.

There are a lot of different places you can accidentally munch your board, some of which are pretty difficult to fix...so in the interest of everyone's sanity (and our outer layer of skin that we can potentially lose) we thought it would be best if we start with a relatively simple repair.

So here is the scenario...you have been out surfing at Lowers, ripping (like you usually do), and after a long session you head to the beach to hang out with your hot swimsuit model girlfriend (or boyfriend...if you swing that way). As you belly across the inside cobbles at low tide you feel that gut-wrenching crunch as your board bottoms out on a particularly sharp rock. After doing the ankle-snap dance to the beach you see a nice big hole in your bottom deck. You being the handi-capable person that you are decide to fix the board yourself.

I actually let Brad smack a hole in the bottom deck of my board so that we could walk through the repair...though I think he got a bit of evil satisfaction taking the hammer to my thruster.


Hmm...that rock was surprisingly shaped like a hammer.


So here are the steps...they break down into three stages that sound easier than they actually are: Prep, Glassing, and Sanding

Stage 1 - Prep

1. Set up your workplace - Having a large enough area to work is important since you may need to walk around the board to get at it from different angles. Ideally your workspace will have some shade and will be well ventilated. Also remember that the resin can make a horrible mess so make sure you are either doing the repair over some sort of floor covering or an area that you don’t mind trashing. (like next to your beat up Camaro that you have on blocks in the dead grass of your front yard).

2. Plan out the repair in your head - It is good to have a battle plan thought out before you actually put the tools on the board or activate the resin. Think about the steps you need for the repair...will you need to fill the hole with q-cell? Will you need to have a couple of sheets of glass?
What sort of finish do you want the board to have when you are done? Do you need pigment for the resin? These are the sorts of questions that you need to address before starting.

3. Lay out your tools and materials - Get out everything that you will need for your repair. Make sure you have enough.

For this repair we actually were doing the repair in a glassing/painting/shaping bay at Tim Stamps factory. Below is a list of the materials that we used...(if you click the links you can actually order these products from the Foamez.com online store...see isn't that handy!)...actually I hope this doesn’t come off like an advertorial, Brad and the gang were super cool to donate their time, expertise, and materials for this story…and since I am a big fan of supporting surfer-labor I thought that linking up their products would be a nice way to thank them. Show 'em some love if you need a board fixed.

a. Q-Cell (hollow microspheres, you mix it with the resin to create filler)
b. Squeegee
c.Laminating Resin
d. Surfacing Agent (turns lam-resin into sanding resin)
e. UV Activated Catalyst
f. Mixing Buckets
h. Tacky Glue (for sticking sanding pads on the sander)
i. Resin Brushes
j. White Pigment
k. Sandpaper (80-100 grit for prep/repair...then 220-300+ for the final sanding)
l. Mixing Sticks
m. Rubber Gloves (please turn your head and cough)
n. Fiberglass cloth (not pictured)
o. Mask/Respirator (not pictured)

p. FlexPad sanding pad (not pictured)

4. Prepping the Ding - Once you have your workstation, tools and materials in place you can finally get to work. First thing is that you want to get the ding in shape so that the repair materials will bond properly with your board. You start by sanding the area with 80-100 grit paper. You need to be a little gentle in this process so you don't end up sanding away healthy parts of your board. Ideally you are going to want to sand a slightly concave bowl around the ding...so the ding is the deepest section of the bowl and it gets progressively more level to the deck of the board as you move further away from the ding. (This will let us layer in fiberglass for the repair...so the patch will hold and we can get the bottom deck to be flush when we are done sanding.) It is best to take this part slowly...you can make the mistake of sanding too much...or not sanding enough...both can be problematic.

Once the sanding is done you pull out any broken fiberglass so that you can get the filler to actually touch the foam core.



5. Cutting Fiberglass Cloth - Next you want to measure out some fiberglass so that you can properly cover the hole and the slight depression that you just sanded into the board. 4oz cloth is usually enough for a repair...particularly if you are going to be layering extra-cloth to create the patch.



We actually used three circles...each one bigger than the next...to create the patch that we would be glassing over the filled hole.





Stage 2 - Glassing (AKA sticking to things)

A few notes on this stage of the ding-repair

For this repair we used a cool product that Brad had brought along...I don't know the specific name... but basically it is a UV activated catalyst...sort of like what you would see in other solar-ding-repair kits but you can drop this catalyst into standard laminating resin and as long as you stay out of the sunlight it won't trigger the chemical reaction that causes resin to set. This is particularly sweet because it gives you time to work with the resin...getting the ding or glass job properly set before setting off the catalyst. Naturally this might not be the best set up if you don't have a shady place to fix your board...if that is the case you will want to stick with the standard resin/catalyst that activates shortly after the two chemicals are mixed.
*** There are a few catches with the UV Catalyst; when using it with Q-Cell filler, pigmented resin, or under lams you must add a bit of regular MEKP Catalyst since the UV rays cannot adequately reach the resin to activate it entirely.

Also...Brad pointed out that you want to know the difference between Laminating Resin and
Sanding Resin. So here is a quick little definition of the two resin types.

Laminating Resin - Lam resin is the "pure" stuff you want to use when you are trying to get the resin to stick to either the surfboard foam core, ding-filler, or to other patches of rough sanded, already set, fiberglass. This stuff will eventually dry out and harden but it doesn't really lose the tacky, slightly rubbery feel. It also doesn't sand very well...you will always see the "cross hatching" of the fiberglass cloth as you rough-sand it.

Sanding Resin - Sanding Resin is actually almost like the Lam Resin but it has a few other chemicals, including paraffin wax & Styrene Monomer, that hardens into a smoother and
more ridged surface that is much more suited to the fine sanding that you need to do in order to do the final smooth-out of the ding-repair.

Ok with that out of the way...on to the repair.

1. Filling the hole - A big deep gouge, like the one that we put in my board, required us to use a little filler to create a plug that will stick to the foam of the surfboard and at the same time provide a stable sticky platform for the fiberglass cloth that we will use to patch the hole later.

You might be able to get away with just dribbling laminate resin in a smaller ding or crack but when the ding is big enough that the patching glass can bend or dip it is a good idea to paste in some filler before starting the glass work.

To fill this ding we used Q-cell which you mix into the laminating resin.



2. Mixing the Q-Cell - Creating the resin/q-cell mix is sort of an art...there is no hard and fast mixing ratio. You start by mixing the resin and catalyst together and then adding q-cell until it gets to the thickness/tackiness that you need for it to stay in the ding (similar thickness to preschool paste). You may also want to add some pigment so that the filler plug doesn't look bright green/see-through. We added a touch of white to this repair.




The filler should be malleable enough to spread around but it shouldn't drip a ton. For a ding like the one in the flat part of the bottom deck the filler can be a little thin...but a repair on the rail or
the nose you might need the filler to be almost like super soft play-dough. Or that gummy bear that has been in my pocket all afternoon and it nice and squishy.

3. Filling the hole (didn't I have a section titled that already?)

This part is pretty easy. Take filler. Fill hole.



Smooth filler to the top of the foam.



4. Placing the Patch

Ok now that you have the filler in place you take the lovely fiberglass circles that we cut out earlier and place them on top of the filler...ideally before the filler has set.



Start with the smallest circle of cloth (the size of the hole)...then follow with the next biggest size until all of them are placed.



5. Apply the Lam Resin (without the q-cell filler)

Now you apply the lam resin...we already had ours mixed with the UV filler...but if you are working without the UV component you will mix a separate cup of Lam Resin and drop in the catalyst to set it off.

Once mixed pour a fairly liberal amount onto the cloth patches.



And then take your squeegee and smooth the resin over the cloth...making sure that it saturates all of the cloth, and that you smooth out any air bubbles that might have formed.



6. Let the resin set (drink a beer, take a nap, or something)

For our repair we actually took the board out into the sun and let the UV light set off the catalyst. This UV technique actually really sped up the hardening process and the board was ready to be rough sanded in just a few minutes.



The hardened laminating resin will look something like this.




Stage 3 - Sanding (and some more glassing, then more sanding...damn are we done yet?)

1. Sanding the Lam Resin - Ok we are in the home stretch now. We start the sanding process by rough sanding the laminate resin and our patch.



Ideally you should use something like 100-150 grit paper to do this part. Don't get trigger happy though...just sand enough to take some of the rough parts off the lam resin. If you sand too much you might end up having to do some another patch job (I am speaking from my own
dumb-ass experience here).

2. Applying Sanding Resin - once you have the lam resin sanded then you mix up a batch of sanding resin to paint on over the repair. For our repair we used the same laminating resin that we had been using (the stuff with UV catalyst). We added a touch more catalyst and some surfacing agent which is basically the chemical cocktail that is mixed into Lam Resin to turn
it into Sanding Resin.



Using a brush, put on a thin coat that covers all of the repair area and laminating resin. Then let it harden (or in our case take it back out into the sun to cure).

3. Final Sanding - Once the sanding resin has set...bust out the sander again but this time use
increasing finer grit until you achieve the smoothness that your board originally had.



You should probably move up into the 220-320 grit paper fairly fast...andif you are looking for a super smooth finish...try and hit up some wet-sanding paper (generally above 800-grit) and hand sand it for the final polish.


Final Stage - Go Surf

Once the board is sanded, and water-tight, it is ready...though it is always good to give the patch a couple of extra days out of the water so that it can cure properly. Have fun shredding on your newly healed stick.
Adam Wright http://www.socalsurf.com/

The 5-10RP Fish Blank by US Blanks

We've been waiting for this one since Clark Foam went out of business in December 2005! The 5'10"RP by US Blanks just arrived in our shop and we're stoked to have it. This polyurethane fish plug was shaped by San Diego legend Rich Pavel. He is one of the experts and innovators in the revolution of the Fish board. Rich has been deeply involved in the "Fish Fry" events around the world which are his inspiration for this blank. The blank is versatile enough to be able to shape short high performance fish as well as traditional fish boards up to 5'10". This blank is thick enough to yield 2-3/4" if you're trying to recreate an old school design.

Come in the shop and check them out.

See you soon-

Brad

FCS FUSION PLUGS!

We just got the Fusion Plugs in and they seem to be a nice alternative to the usual FCS Plugs. The Fusion Install Kit makes it extra easy to install teh plugs the correct way. Here is a link to the FCS Fusion Install Manual http://www.foamez.com/pdfs/Fusion_Manual_Final_Rev3.pdf

FCS created the Fusion because of a need for a high quality, easy to install system, that can be installed under the fiberglass (as preferred by boards using new technologies such as EPS). This also provides the consumer a higher performing fin system that fits the worlds largest range of premium fins.

The insert provides a base of high density foam. This helps disperse any forces on the plug. It provides a solid base so the plug does not rotate or sink into the foam. This is especially evident in EPS blanks of low densities.

The slots in the Fusion plugs are slightly elongated which allows slight fore and aft movement of the fins, this is great for fine tuning the performance of the board.

The FCS Fusion offers 3 different cant angles (0º, 5º, 9º): This makes the system easy to install and minimizes the chance of error in fin angles.

We appreciate any feedback you can give us on new products.

Seal Beach and Long Beach Surfing Pioneers

What an awesome night in the history of Seal beach! Thursday September 25th at 7:30pm some of Seal Beach and Long Beach's earliest surf pioneers got together for a Q & A session. Some of the panel members included Harold Walker, Bob "Ole" Olson, Harry Schurch.

Harold Walker of Walker Foam was one of the pioneers in making polyurethane foam cores back in the early sixties. He competed with Clark Foam for forty plus years until finally going out of business in 2007. He is now working with Ice Nine to try to perfect their foam formulas.


Ole is famous as an early master craftsman of surfboards in the beginning foam era. He still makes surfboards in Maui under the Ole name. Ole flew out to Seal Beach to join his old buddies to talk about Seal Beach surfing days.

Another of the legendary crew is Harry Schurch. He was involved in that first attempt at surfing Waimea Nov of 1957 with Greg Noll, Micky Munoz, and Mike Stange. They all paddled out in 15 to 18 foot Waimea Bay on 40 pound planks in an attempt to survive the massive drop.

Shaping and Seal beach legend Rich Harbour attended the discussion that included many hilarious stories from the boys. Of course everyone had something to say about the notorious and ever present Sphinx. It stood on top of Blackie Augusts (Robert Augusts' Dad) house for some forty plus years. They told about how they would show up at the beach to go surfing and there wouldn't be anyone else in the water so they would have to wait until a buddy arrived to adventure out. There were endless classic stories from this eventful Seal Beach night. Unfortunately two guys from the main crew ,Jack Haley Sr. and Lloyd Murray, were not present (having passed away in recent years) but they were memorialized in the many stories.

RIP Midget

Surfer/Shaper Midget Smith lost his battle with cancer yesterday. The San Clemente local passed away at his home surrounded by his family and close friends. Smith was first diagnosed with the deadly disease over 20 years ago and beat it. His cancer then came back in the last year and he had been fighting it ever since. Midget Smith also was the head judge for the ASP North America and played a major role in the San Clemente progressive surfing movement back in the 1970’s and 80’s. RIP Midget Smith.

The ultimate shaping block is here!

Just in, FlexPad has made the E-Z Shaping Block exclusively for us. This Shaping Block is a multi functional shaping tool. Use the balsa side with 40grit sandpaper for hard sanding, use the Soft Yellow Pad side with sandpaper or screen for smoothing out bumps, or change out to the Blue Softie Pad with screen for finish sanding. The block is made of balsa wood and comes stock with a Velcro Soft Yellow Replaceable Foam Pad. Stop by and check one out.

ProBox is in full force here at Foam E-Z!

If you're looking for ProBox fins, boxes, install kits etc... we now have it all in stock and can be found on our website under Fins & Fin Systems. If you can't find the fins you're looking for call or email us and we can have them here for you usually within two days.

ProBox addresses many of the shortcomings of existing systems in the surfboard marketplace. Adjustments can be made to the fin position forward and backward and the cant [fin angle]. These adjustments allow the performance of a surfboard to be tuned to the conditions, type of surfboard or rider. The fin cant is adjusted through a revolutionary patented insert mechanism that provides controlled angles, initially 4 different inserts are provided 0°, 4°, 6°, and 8°.

This fin system is very easy to install with a minimum of tooling. A single reusable jig is used to handle the alignment, routing, and anchoring of the box during the installation process. No fin is required to install the box as the jig correctly locates the box on the board while suspending it over the routed hole. These jigs are extremely inexpensive and reusable!

UV Polyester Resin Laminating Demo at Foam E-Z

Check out some footage of Dave from Revchem glassing this polyurethane surfboard blank. The board was glassed with UV cure polyester resin. It went from a shaped blank to ready for sanding in one hour. Thanks to Dave and the sun for the awesome demo!

Stay posted for more video and pics from the event.

Foam E-Z 15 Years of Shaping it, Glassing it, and Surfing it!

The party/event was one for the ages. Here's a short slide show put together by one of our friends. Enjoy and there will be more to come. It was great to see everyone who was there although it was so busy we might not have got a chance to meet everyone in person. Thanks to everyone who was involved.
Brad

"What a Great Celebration!" Terry Price (Cerritos College)

Here's a letter we received from one of the vendors at the show. Look for more pics, videos, and a complete run down of day coming soon.

"Congratulations to you and your team for a very successful 15th anniversary celebration.

We were very pleased with your invitation to help you celebrate with your customers. Your program was one for the books, demo’s, entertainment, food and all the vendors who support your efforts. Wow, what a great forum for everyone getting answers to any kind of question possible.

We had so many individuals come by our display and thanked us for being there to help them understand that if 13-year-old middle school girls (Surfer Diva’s) could make a surfboard, that they certainly could take a stab at it. We were also happy to help provide guidance and understanding as well as support in taking the mystery out of surfboard making.

We had a huge success with our drawing for a “Free” class in Surfboard Construction in our upcoming Fall Semester; I think it will catch on.

We hope our relationship will continue to grow and prosper for many years to come.

Again, thanks to you and your team for a great day. You promised what you delivered, good networking."

Terry L. Price
Chairman
Composites Training Center (CTC)
Cerritos College
11110 Alondra Blvd.
Norwalk, CA 90650
(562) 860-2451 ext. 2927
tprice@cerritos.edu
www.mfgskills.com

It's Party Time!!!

Just a reminder that our Party/Event is tomorrow Saturday May 31st. It's gonna be a doozy! So many giveaways it's hard to mention them all. Let's just say there will be at least five (5) complete board kits that include PU foam (US Blanks) with UV Resin and Hexel cloth (Composite Resources), EPS Parabolics (US Blanks and Marko) with Resin Research Epoxy and BGF Cloth (Graphite Master/Greg Loehr) and more. Of course there will be plenty of free food and refreshments. Make the drive it will be worth your while.

For all the info about the event check out previous blogs below.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Brad

All Graphics Supplies 15% off!!!

This week, from Sunday May 26th thru Saturday May 31st, the sale category is GRAPHIC SUPPLIES. Customers save 15% and can either come into the shop to make the purchase or can purchase online with the redemption code 15YRGRAPH4. Stay tuned, it's gonna be a great month!

Don't forget our 15 Year Anniversary Party Event THIS SATURDAY (May 31st) from 11-3pm. It will take place behind our shop and will include: Giveaways, Raffles, Food/Drinks, Board Building Demos, Live Music, and a Storewide 15% off Sale.



The Guys at www.FoamEZ.com