EPS or Expanded Polystyrene is associated with Epoxy surfboards. There are 2 types of EPS blanks being used today. EPS that is extruded (XPS) and tends to look more like Polyurethane foam and the Bead foam which is more commonly called styrofoam.  Even though most people call it styrofoam it is actually a trade name used by Dow Chemical for their EPS foam. Most epoxy surfboards being made today use the EPS bead foam so that is what we will focus on.  The EPS beads are put into a mold and using pressure, steam and a blowing agent the beads are fused together to take on the shape of the mold. Most of the foam is made into large blocks and then are cut using a hot wire into either smaller blocks or what ever shape the customer may desire. The smaller block can then be cut into the shape of a blank using rocker templates and a hot wire.

After the blank has been cut it can be cut lengthwise to insert the stringer or stringer combination of your choice. This is more work for the shaper but the benefits are all the rocker templates are your own and you can design and adjust the blank to your liking. It is a great tool for any shaper as the product is completely your own , not a reshape of whoever shaped the plug in other foam blanks. By doing it this way, the blank is very true [Read more...]