Clark Foam has Quit Business

W.G. Facenda · Post by **W.G. Facenda** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:56 pm

No, I would say it's a little easier to compete with much stronger competitor.......if their hands and legs are tied. Let them have their 15 mins.Walker say's they will be up to 1000 Blanks a day in 2 months.

kneecaps · Post by **kneecaps** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:16 pm

Why is it more difficult to make foam blanks that can be customized (Clarks Custom Foam Blanks), as opposed to making generic non-custom blanks ready for glassing?
It seems making big foam blanks that can be customized by shapers (like Clarks) would be easier...

Beeline2.0 · Post by **Beeline2.0** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:57 pm

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:08 pm

A SF Bay Area guy who build's hand-made wood surfboards.

http://www.blakestah.com/surf/hess.html

Jon Manss · Post by **Jon Manss** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 7:58 pm

Seen his work in action at the Lane one day. He really rides and makes a fine board.

surfhorn · Post by **surfhorn** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:27 am

Just planted a few more redwoods at my house. Should be ready in 40-45 years.

doc · Post by **doc** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 2:34 am

kneecaps wrote:Why is it more difficult to make foam blanks that can be customized (Clarks Custom Foam Blanks), as opposed to making generic non-custom blanks ready for glassing?
It seems making big foam blanks that can be customized by shapers (like Clarks) would be easier...

As ( for the moment) Sways is kinda clogged and in some ways experiencing a meltdown- a summary, the basics of which is shamelessly swiped from news:alt.surfing. yeah, I'm lazy whenever possible. Think of all that keyboard wear and tear avoided...

The real advantage of the Clark molded polyurethane foam blank was that the cross-sectional density varied, lightest towards the middle and denser at the outside by the surface of the mold, such that it'd bond better and be less likely to delam. This is achieved by making lots and lots of molds for lots and lots of different blank shapes - though as Bud and others have noted, none particularly suited for kneeboards.

An advantage that is gone if said blank was overshaped or simply the wrong blank for the shape ( again, no blanks made for kneeboards so we don't need to care) ; the guy with the planer cut right through the denser outer foam and into the marsmallow fluff further in.

Which is the same problem you'd have going from large chunks of any foam. They are homogeneous throughout. And the 'blank' you whittle out of it will be equally homogeneous.

Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing - far from it. Lots of options,
including incorporating different foams, say a light foam core and a denser foam skin of specified thickness, to which you'd laminate glass and a compatible resin. Or using inlays of denser foam in stressed areas like the deck, to make delams less likely. Or lots of other good things, making better boards from both performance and durability standpoints.

There are so many foams available, polyurethane molded blanks were just one option that wasn't especially tailored to kneeboards. Many are compatible with polyester resins containing styrenes ( though polystyrene foam isn't among them ) like PVC foams, polyisocyanurate foams and the like. In addition, surfboard-optomised epoxies like the Resin Research have come out lately which are getting rave reviews, making a stronger, better board.

Polyurethane foam surfboards will always be around in limited numbers, as balsa boards are now, or those square-railed plywood jobbies whose design came from the 30s and 40s. But the technology has moved on, in this case with a bang rather than a whimper. It's gonna be an interesting time.

And, as ever, us non-pedestrians are out in the forefront of it, 'cos our stuff was never mainstream anyways. The standups could be lazy with their 'close tolerance', skin-it-and-glass-it blanks, we never could. Enjoy it.

doc...

kneecaps · Post by **kneecaps** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:01 am

That answers it, Doc... thanks for the insight!

Lot more to it than it seems.
I thought his blanks were just one consistent piece of large foam, ready for shaping!

doc · Post by **doc** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:54 am

De nada - Clark pretty much owned the market 'cos he was first or close to it with a molded blank and 'cos he ( it seems) was very willing to make a new mold for a new shape-family. Except us, that is.

There were lots of rockers available with each blank, but that was so easy it's silly: rip the blank right down the middle with a saw, glue it to a centerline piece and curve it while you're doing that. Again, set up sp your typical shaper had very little to do to crank out his standard shape.

Now, on the subject of wood boards.....

Didja know that balsa is a 'junk tree' that reaches its full height in a very short time? On the orer of 8-10 years. Clear an area, plant balsa and get out of its way. http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/TechSheets/Ch ... html...and it grows in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Un-fortunately, all I have here for junk trees are cottonwoods and black locusts.... but I got lots and lots of those....

http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/powerloss13.htm

http://www.nausetshellfish.com/oddbins/dwind/thumb.html

http://www.nausetshellfish.com/oddbins/ ... thumb.html

and on that note, I am gonna get some sleep......

http://www.mwscomp.com/sounds/mp3/lumberjk.mp3

doc....,

fooj · Post by **fooj** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:19 am

Anybody heard of a Hau wood surfboard? Couldn't find anything from a google. Stuff grows all over around here. It has curving limbs, for a naturally grown rocker.

http://www.canoeplants.com/hau.html

kneecaps · Post by **kneecaps** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:30 am

Are these wood boards heavier than foam?
Seems balsa wood might be just as light.

doc · Post by **doc** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 11:25 am

kneecaps wrote:Are these wood boards heavier than foam?
Seems balsa wood might be just as light.

Damn, was about to take a nap, and of course somebody hits the damn doorbell. Oh well, I'm up now.....

Clark foam was typically 2-3.5 lbs/cu ft overall, balsa runs around 8 and up. Chambered balsa or some of the more interesting hollow wood boards ( veneer skins, laminated wood framing inside) can approach the weight of foam, and in some cases equal it, as the structure is in the skin and requires/can use lighter glassing- note that I say 'can' and not 'should'.

Balsa, however, is interesting stuff. The wood in the green, straight-out-of-the-tree state contains about six parts water to one part wood. It floats, barely - see Heyerdahl, Kon Tiki.... and it is carefully dried to get to the state you can use. If you ding balsa and don't get out of the water Right That Minute, it tends to go back to the natural state rapidly, sucking up water like a bricked camel. And then it discolors and delams wonderfully.

Getting the water out....well, I dunno that anybody ever really managed to do that, ya know? You still sometimes see old thunder-boards, those 9'+ items with the wide balsa stringers that somebody dinged, and the stringer is black, rotton and kinda not there.

Now, I'm a boat carpenter by trade; I'd love to whack one together if I thought it was a good use of materials and time, but ...lets just say I haven't and won't.

hope that's of use

doc...

surfhorn · Post by **surfhorn** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Surfers used to salvage balsa from old Navy liferafts and glue the pieces together to form a blank.

quadfin · Post by **quadfin** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:57 pm

Many boat manufacturers moved out of California years ago because of liability issues. I can't believe Clark hung in there for as long as he did.

Mexico ain't that easy anymore either and you will find that most Maquilladoras are operated by major corporations. Some of those corporations have moved on to easier pastures as well. Don't see Clark moving to Mex.

But if people are offering 30 million (even Australian!) for Aussie foam factories, I have one for sale in Belize with all environmental permits in place for somewhat less. Bring your own molds and cash please.

Beeline2.0 · Post by **Beeline2.0** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:09 pm