Bronkema Surfboards

1. Your Name: Andrew Bronkema

2. Your Brand name: Bronkema Surfboards

3. How did you hear about us? on Surfline a very long time ago

4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? GREAT!!

5. Why did you want to build your own board? I get a good, fun feeling out of making boards and knowing I'm riding something I made.

6. Shape of finished board? Round tail shortboard

7. Size of finished board: 6'6" x 19" x 2 3/8"

8. What blank did you use? 6'6" ice 9 blank

9. How was your board building experience? Best board I shaped to date. Although my other boards came out pretty good as well.

10. Did you use videos, books, web, other? Swaylocks once

11. What videos, books, web, other did you use? I have the JC glassing 101 DVD

12. Do you recommend these resources? Definitely.

13. What do you wish you knew going into this project? Well, I felt I pretty much knew what I was doing.

14. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Watch the DVD's, and try to soak up every last bit of information that any source gives you, and don't be afraid to ask for help!

15. What tools did you find most useful? I used to hate the planer just because I used to be scared I would take too much off or I would take too little off and spend a long time using either the surform or sanding block to get it to shape. But my last couple boards I felt really comfortable with it. The calipers I got from Foam E-Z helped a lot too.

16. Where did you run into trouble? The artwork I did on the bottom was a pain, since it was like my second time ever drawing wings. The first time was the sketch.

17. What kind of fin system did you use? FCS thruster.

18. Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yup the experience was awesome. I feel like I'm getting a lot better every board I make!

RadRob's Short Board

1. Your Name: RadRob

2. Your Brand name: RadRob's radical surf creations

3. How did you hear about us? I work here (Foam E-Z)

4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? Absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!

5. Why did you want to build your own board? It's a cool experience to ride something you built.

6. Shape of finished board? Short board

7. Size of finished board: 5'-10" x 19 ¼" x 2 ¼"

8. What blank did you use? I had to use the (US Blanks) 6-3 EA to get the width I wanted.

9. How was your board building experience? This is my best one so far.

10. Did you use videos, books, web, other? I got some advice from Stamps (www.stampssurfboards.com)

11. What videos, books, web, other did you use? I have watched the JC videos as well as the Master series.

12. Do you recommend these resources? For sure.

13. What do you wish you knew going into this project? I feel like I was pretty prepared for this one.

14. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Get as much information as possible before you start.

15. What tools did you find most useful? I had to use a sanding block a lot since the new red foam has a tendency to tear.

16. Where did you run into trouble? I got into a little bit of trouble on the rails, but was able to fix it.

17. What kind of fin system did you use? Glass-On thruster fins.

18. Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Of course, the UV resin is awesome.

Miles Jackson Surfboards

1. Your Name: Miles Jackson

2. Your Brand name: Miles Jackson Surfboards

3. How did you hear about us? Online search

4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? Great service.

5. Why did you want to build your own board? For the love. Grassroots surfing at its finest.

6. Shape of finished board? Shortboard

7. Size of finished board: Length 6’3” Width 19” Thickness 2 3/8”

8. What blank did you use? My last Clark Foam.

9. How was your board building experience? Choice. Everything worked out this time. Got the gel times perfect. Cut lap was a dream. Just a great experience

10. Did you use videos, books, web, other? Started on John Carper’s. Love the Donald Duck impersonations.

11. What videos, books, web, other did you use? Swaylocks a little.

12. Do you recommend these resources? Swaylocks has a lot of info, but it’s not all great, but most is. I guess that’s the cost of an open forum. JC’s DVDs are great though.

13. What do you wish you knew going into this project? Which side of the logo paper to print on. One side printed crisp and the other side printed kinda blurred. I forget which one was best.

14. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? The first board may not be the greatest but you can still surf it. Shape more and more and pretty soon you’ll pump out some great ones.

15. What tools did you find most useful? Planer for skinning the blank. Doing by hand takes forever and you risk gouging the foam when you get frustrated.

16. Where did you run into trouble? I don’t have calipers. Need calipers, it’s a pain to measure the thickness without calipers. The framing square is just too tedious and time consuming.

17. What kind of fin system did you use? FCS thruster setup

18. Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yup, I always glass my own boards. Its kinda wimpy to shape and not glass it don’t you think?

Exotic Designs Surfboards - 10ft longboard

Your Name: Ken Moore

Your Brand name: Exotic Designs Surfboards

How did you hear about us? HDX surfboards, Brenden Bergner, Swaylocks.com

How was your initial experience at the shop? Well, I come here for most all my supplies. Close to home and handy.

Why did you want to build your own board? I’ve been doing my boards now for about 2 years, in my garage, shaping, glassing, resin color. I want to get to the “Master” level.
HaHa! Maybe someday.

Shape of finished board? This board is an 10’ longboard With red, black and white stripes and a red tint flood

Size of finished board: 10’ x 18"n x 23"w @6"AOC x 14"t x 3 3/8" thick

What blank did you use? EPS 10-1Y standard rocker

Why did you decide to build your own board? This is for a surfing buddy!

How was this board building experience? I spent some extra time on this to vacuum bag the veneer deck.

Did you use videos, books, web, other? Nah! I just went for it!

What videos, books, web, other did you use? Just accumulated knowledge, verbal info from the Foam E-Z guys, Grant, Rob and Brad. Brendan from HDX and swaylocks.com
The usual suspects! LOL!


Do you recommend these resources? Yes, definitely.

What do you wish you knew going into this project? That this color scheme would take a lot of epoxy. 1.5 gal to do the whole board. Most went in the color lam work.

What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Start with a simple shape and clear glass job. Don’t be afraid and prepare before executing. You may even want to watch someone first.

What tools did you find most useful? Power planer, surform, sanding block, power sander, and my hand’s, eye’s and brain (what’s left of it,,)

Where did you run into trouble? Lamming all those stripes, The epoxy started to kick on me. Lapped the rails just in time. Minor damage control.

Glass on or box fins? What kind? Probox side bites 10.5 center box with GT 2+1 Manta fins…..Sweeeet!

Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yes I did. 5th color job.
Getting better! 10 feet is lots to sand!

What supplies were purchased from Foam E-Z? Epoxy, blank, fiberglass, tints and pigments, Hardener, leash plug, polish, blank, usual stuff!

RadRob’s Displacement Hull

1. Your Name: RadRob

2. Your Brand name: none

3. How did you hear about us? I work at Foam E-Z.

4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? GREAT!!!

5. Why did you want to build your own board? It's Fun!!!!!!

6. Shape of finished board? Displacement Hull; Inspired by Greg Liddle

7. Size of finished board: Length 6'-4” Nose 18" Width 22.5" Tail 16" Thickness 3"

8. What blank did you use? US Blanks 6-10A Polyurethane Foam

9. How was your board building experience? AWESOME!

10. Did you use videos, books, web, other? I was lucky enough to get help from Matt Bettis (Bettis Surfboards), and Tim Stamps (Stamps Surfboards).

11. What videos, books, web, other did you use? I have watched all the videos we sell here at Foam E-Z.

12. Do you recommend these resources? I always recommend a book, or video to anyone who is starting out making there own boards.

13. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Definitely get as much information as you can before starting

Brad Prouty's First Board a Biscuit/Nugget!

Your Name: Brad Prouty

Your Brand name: None (My first board)

How did you hear about us?
Online through google

How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z?
Very Easy, One Stop shopping that went very smoothly.

Why did you want to build your own board?
After surfing shop boards for 3-4 years, I thought it would be cool to ride a board that was built to my specifications and built by myself. Also, I thought it would be a great experience.

Shape of finished board?
Biscuit/Nugget

Size of finished board:
Length 5'6" Nose 16" Width 21" Tail 16.5" Thickness 2.75"

What blank did you use?
US Blanks 6'2"A

How was your board building experience?
My experience was great. It took a decent amount of time but I believe there is nothing better than riding a board that you built yourself.

Did you use videos, books, web, other?
Yes

What videos, books, web, other did you use?
Swaylocks.com, the people on there are so helpful.

Do you recommend these resources?
ABSOLUTELY. It's the best source on the web without a doubt.

What do you wish you knew going into this project?
I wish I knew it would take as long as it did.

What would you recommend to someone else for their first time?
Take your time, ask questions, and just go for it.

What tools did you find most useful?
All I used to build my board was sandpaper, a Surform, and a hand plane.

Where did you run into trouble?
I ran into trouble skinning the deck of the board, the mini hand plane seemed to tear the foam but after a long time sanding I finally got it done.

What kind of fin system did you use?
ProBox Quad with standard production set quads.

Did you glass the board and what was that experience like?
Yes, I glassed the board myself. I had a friend come over and help me glass the bottom and I glassed the deck myself. My biggest tip would be to use UV resin because after you are done you can just stick the board in the sun and wait for it to cure, you don't have to rush with it. Also, many people out there say to glass clear on your first board but using pigment did not add any trouble for me when I glassed the board so do what you want in regards to color.

Exotic Designs Surfboards - 11’ Retro Gentleman’s Gun

Your Name: Ken Moore

Your Brand name: Exotic Designs Surfboards

How did you hear about us? HDX surfboards, Brenden Burgner, Swaylocks.com

How was your initial experience at the shop? Well I come here for most all my supplies. Close to home and handy.

What supplies were purchased from foam easy? Resin, blank, fiberglass, tints and pigments, UV catalyst, MEKP catalyst, leash plug, polish, squeegee, sanding pad.

Why did you want to build your own board? I’ve been doing my boards now for about 2 years, in my garage, shaping, glassing, resin color. I want to get to the “Master” level. HaHa! Maybe someday.

Shape of finished board? This board is an 11’ retro gentleman’s gun. With Black and blue stripes and a blue tint flood

Size of finished board 11’ x 14"n x 24"w @7"AOC x 13"t x 4" thick

What blank did you use? US Blanks 11.3D with custom gun rocker

Why did you decide to build your own board? Cause I’m nuts

How was this board building experience? This one was a lot of work, 10 hours shaping the blank. I swear I was mind melting with it.

Did you use videos, books, web, other? Yes got some gun dimensions from the Kauai and California North Shore guys and did some adjusting to get the shape. Still learning the resin color do’s and dont's . But I got glassing down pretty good now.

What videos, books, web, other did you use? Just accumulated knowledge, verbal info from the Foam E-Z guys, Grant, Rob and Brad. Brenden from HDX and swaylocks.com

Do you recommend these resources? Yes definitely

What do you wish you knew going into this project? Resin color control

What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Start with a simple shape and clear glass job. Don’t be afraid and do all preparation before executing.

What tools did you find most useful? Power planer, Surform, sand block, power sander, and my hand’s, eye’s and brain (what’s left of it!!).

Where did you run into trouble? Resin coloring. I wanted crisper more pointy stripes. But the customer loved it the way it came out.

Glass on or box fins? What kind? Big custom glass on. Fin shape from Robin Mair of Kauai, foiled by Larry Alison of Fibre Glass Fin Co.

Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yes I did. On this board It was my fourth resin color job. I thought I was sure what to do to achieve the effect that I was going for, but the stripes bled on me and didn’t come out pointy like I wanted.

Roots Surfboards by Brandon Davis

Customer Name: Brandon Davis

Brand name: Roots

How did you hear about us? Surfin the net for supplies

How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? Smooth ordering on-line, was able to adjust my order when I needed to add some things last minute.

Why did you want to build your own board? Wanted a quad fish with a retro vibe and just couldn’t swing the money for what I wanted. Also I’ve always been a DIY kinda guy and thought that it would deepen my connection with surfing in the grand scheme of things

Shape of finished board: Retro Skinny Fish

Size of finished board: Length 5’11” Nose 17.5” Width 21” Tail 16.5” Thickness 2 7/8”

What blank did you use? 61HTM Bennett Foam blank.

How was your board building experience? Intense it was a lot like sculpture design or pottery where it’s a multistep process that takes shape and becomes your vision as you go.

Did you use videos, books, web, other? DVD’s; You Tube; Local Shop; Foam E-Z

What videos, books, web, other did you use? Shaping 101, Futures Install DVD, art of Design book.

Do you recommend these resources? Absolutely, the more info and ideas/viewpoints you can get the better.

What do you wish you knew going into this project? More trick tips on cleaner lap lines, resin tinting, fabric inlay, methods for perfecting concave design.

What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? DON’T RUSH!

What tools did you find most useful? Microblades replacement blades saved time on the blank and finish sanding, good sharp trim plane, power sander, Futures Install Jig/Kit.

Where did you run into trouble? Cutting in my concave for evenness was a battle. I finally got it but there’s gotta be a methodical approach rather than “eyeing it”.

What kind of fin system did you use? FUTURES, the install kit I got from Foam E-Z was badass!!! Simplified things immensely and was easy to use right outta the box.

Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yes I did glass the board it was my second board I’ve ever done and it was better than the first. For your first I was told to not mess with resin tints and pigments which was great advice because it allowed me to focus more on laps and clean lines. For this board I jumped up to the plate and did a Paisley fabric inlay on the deck and green resin tint to put some pop in the overall look. I tried to lay the tint uneven to give the appearance of water color paintings- came out awesome still need to work on perfecting concaves and lap lines. The biggest thing I can say to first time shaper/glasser is; TAKE YOUR TIME AND IT WILL SHINE THRU IN THE END!!!!!

Exotic Designs by Ken Moore

Customer Name: Ken Moore

Brand name: Exotic Designs Surfboards

How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? It was good, low keyed and friendly.

Why did you want to build your own board? I used to have HDX (cutting service) to do my boards for me, and I would always help at different stages and learn. As HDX grew and I learned more, I decided to tackle the craft on my own.

Shape of finished board? The one I’m showing is a swallow tail fish. My 4^th board, start to finish.

Size of finished board: 6 Foot; 14”Nose; 20.5”Wide;16.25” Tail; 2.5”Thick

What blank did you use? Just Foam 6-9

How was your board building experience? Enlightening.

Did you use videos, books, web, other? Yes.

What videos, books, web, other did you use? Just accumulated knowledge, verbal info from the Foam E-Z guys, Grant, Rob and Brad. Brendon from HDX and swaylocks.com

Do you recommend these resources? Yes definitely.

What do you wish you knew going into this project? How to make resin color swirls; when you squeegee it the colors blend into mud color (not good). You have to pour the entire surface before pulling off the excess resin. When masking a cut-lap on foam to press the tape down with a plastic card (colored cut-lap bled a little). What’s the best polishing technique.

What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Prepare before executing.

What tools did you find most useful? Power planer, Surform, sand block, power sander.

Where did you run into trouble? Sanding the hot coat, sanded through in a few spots, but I fixed them.

What kind of fin system? Probox Fin Systems - quad fin box set up, twin keel fins installed.

Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yes I did. It was my first resin color job. I wasn’t sure what to do to achieve the effect that I was going for, but I got the bottom close and the deck mudded on me a little. All in all it came out good. The pin lines pulled it all together. The first guy who saw it, bought it!!!

What supplies were purchased from Foam E-Z? Resin, fiberglass, tints and pigments, UV catalyst, regular catalyst, leash plug, polish, blank, squeegee, sanding pad.