Foamsmithing Resources

Making Weapons and Shields

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Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:11 pm

Yeah, so with the recent things that have been on the board about wal-mart taking the beloved blue foam off the market, I figure it's high time to start a sticky here that will allow people to get foam from other places.
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Weapons building supply sites

http://www.bestdagstuff.com/main.sc (Sells fully built weapons and supplies to make your own, just starting out, not very informative about what they use)
http://www.edhellen.com/ (sells fully built weapons and supplies to make your own)
FOAM

Available from the internet
http://www.foamforyou.com/
www.foamorder.com
http://www.sailrite.com/Foam-Closed-Cel ... l-1-2-x-56 <Link for "marine" foam

Stores you can walk into
(and what states they are in)


GLUE/ADHESIVE



TAPE


CORES

Fiberglass
http://www.bohnfiberglass.com/ Walk in only, no information other than location up on website. Fiberglass cores in KY
http://www.mgs4u.com/fiberglass-tube-rod.htm Location, GA, but no known storefront looks like an 8' minimum order
http://www.structuralfiberglass.com/frpss.htm 20' minimum order large variation in round fiberglass poles
http://www.glasforms.com/products/pultr ... #Round_Rod Large selection of shape and size, cannot find min order size.


"Bandshop poles"
http://www.wwbw.com/StylePlus-Black-Fib ... 9103.music Flag poles (large and stiff, great for polearms available in 5-8 ft lengths)

Kitespar
http://kitebuilder.com Kitesbar (hollow tubes made of Fiberglass or graphite tubes) .505 cores only (.505 refers to it's size in inches)

Storefronts:
http://www.farmandfleet.com/ 11/16th's and 3/8th's solid fiberglass cores
under common sense fence. (also can be found in IL if any more states have these let me know.)

http://www.tractorsupply.com/ (looks like a farm and fleet type place, not sure exactly where things are) Stores in many many states, use their store locator to find out more.

http://www.kencove.com/fence/Fiberglass ... roduct.php Differing size solid fiberglass cores.
Be careful, some of these look like they have holes drilled in them and such to accommodate fencing purposes, read carefully and order wisely.

Post in this thread with additional places to get foam/tape/cores/glue for building weapons from and I'll post it here, if you have something to say about the site or business you can post this and if i feel it is going to help people I'll put it up here as well. If you have information about the strengths and weaknesses of said foam/glue/tape/core please also post it and we will get a wonderful resource here. (feel free to link to past threads, preferably with a summary of said thread).
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Cib » Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:23 am

Ok, so, I know this is a stupid question... but what kind of foam do I want from http://www.foamforyou.com/ ? I assume I want the stuff in the Closed Cell section, and then POLYETHYLENE, and since they don't have 3/8" do I want 1/4"? And what Density? 2.3?
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Dabbanoth » Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:37 am

Bass Pro Shop sells a good 3/8" foam that i know is in Indiana and Illinois for sure.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Black Cat » Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:06 pm

Cib wrote:Ok, so, I know this is a stupid question... but what kind of foam do I want from http://www.foamforyou.com/ ? I assume I want the stuff in the Closed Cell section, and then POLYETHYLENE, and since they don't have 3/8" do I want 1/4"? And what Density? 2.3?


Blue foam (the Wal-Mart stuff) is 7/16, not 3/8, so I'd guess that you would need to go with 1/2-inch. I don't see why 1/4-inch wouldn't work, but the amount of layers you would have to DAP together to make a single sword would be a serious pain in the butt, especially if you try to make a red weapon. I wouldn't go thicker than 1/2" though, because then the foam will be too stiff to wrap the final layer. (or the blade layers if you wrap all of them)

As for what density of polyethylene you would need, I have no idea. I'd like to know that myself.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:48 pm

Also coming up in a bit;
where we get cores from (online and offline),
what kinds of glue to use for different purposes and where to get said glue,
what kinds of tape to use for differing purposes, what not to use for specific purposes, and where to get it.

Yes i know this is going to become a big list etc, but I figure it will help newer people get a grip on how/what we make without having to go there and show them (yes this would be preferable, but I don't have that much time or money to go to random places in the country).
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Derian » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:00 pm

I snagged some kitespar just last week from http://kitebuilder.com. It was shipped & arrived very quickly.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:10 pm

As many of us that are experienced with foamsmithing know there are many types of kitespar, what kind did you get, and if you don't mind what other types that are decent for building weapons can you get from that site?
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Derian » Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:29 pm

Multiple types of kitespar? I've never heard of anything other than epoxy glass spar/hollow fiberglass tubes.

http://www.kitebuilder.com/catalog/inde ... 60bd892020

Edit: Unless, that is, you're referring to the graphite variants. Around here kitespar refers to hollow fiberglass. Graphite is just graphite, although it does get used in kite making. Here's a link to all the various spars on kitebuilder and a short description of each:

http://www.kitebuilder.com/frame.htm
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Big King Jimmy » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:18 am

He also might be reffering to 602 or 505
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Derian » Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:42 am

Oh, could be.

Kitebuilder unfortunately only stocks .505.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:30 pm

Lol jimmy hit it on the head, i'll edit the first post to reflect it.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Quickie » Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:04 pm

farm and fleet carry both 11/16 in. fiberglass fence post at 6 ft. lengths, and 3/8 in. fence post at 4 ft. lengths. both full both round.

http://www.farmandfleet.com/
under common sense fence.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Sat Oct 18, 2008 12:32 am

I recently ordered one 6' and two 5' bandshoppe poles from Woodwind Brasswind. While I got the two 5' poles very quickly, there was some delay in them shipping the 6' pole. Lo and behold, about two weeks later, here it is.

Along with four other 6' poles that I was not charged for. Shipping was also free, since my initial order was over the amount that they had specified at the time. 8)

Highly recommend.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:45 am

You have a link?
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:53 am

I actually found them through Belegarth's wiki.
http://www.wwbw.com/StylePlus-Black-Fib ... 9103.music

I don't know if they do the free shipping for orders over $X anymore, though, and I'm sure that the extra four poles they sent me were probably an accident. Either way, the prices seemed fair to me. Now if I can just decide on where to get my foam. I haven't built a weapon in ages.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Sat Oct 18, 2008 10:41 pm

It's ok, thank you for the link, it's been updated now.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Arrakis » Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:33 pm

I'm going to be ordering fiberglass flagpoles from here soon.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Poo » Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:08 am

Sivis wrote:I actually found them through Belegarth's wiki.
http://www.wwbw.com/StylePlus-Black-Fib ... 9103.music

I don't know if they do the free shipping for orders over $X anymore, though, and I'm sure that the extra four poles they sent me were probably an accident. Either way, the prices seemed fair to me. Now if I can just decide on where to get my foam. I haven't built a weapon in ages.


Yes they still do free shipping over $99. I found a line graph once that showed WWBW as the cheapest for band poles.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:33 am

Actually, the offer I got was free shipping for orders over something like $30. I think it may have been a limited time deal. Essentially, I ended up with seven poles for the price of three, with no shipping charges.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Poo » Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:38 am

Yeah, they did free shipping for orders over $30 for some holiday a bit back, but i'm almost positive its over $99 now. Still a good deal, you only have to order 8 to make it over that amount. Pool in with some friends and save a lot of monies.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:31 am

Eh, I don't need that many. xD

EDIT: Nevermind about the foam. I just got my shipment, and it's not blue foam at all. It's actually some light green stuff that's too frail to be used for the bulk of the weapon. Perhaps I'll find some other use for it.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Shyftir » Wed Oct 22, 2008 12:15 am

If sending away for band-pole is a bit outside your budget and you are looking for a good core for a 5 ft. or so weapon. You can look for fiberglass handled rakes at any hardware store/wal-mart. While they are rarely more than 5 ft. long, all you have to do is saw off the metal rake head and you have something similar to band-pole except lighter and not quite as indestructible.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:26 am

The Walmart I work in is selling the blue camp foam again. I just bought five rolls.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Peregrine » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:07 am

Sivis wrote:The Walmart I work in is selling the blue camp foam again. I just bought five rolls.

they never stopped by us.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:07 pm

Oh, I'd gotten the impression that all of them had stopped.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orkin » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:42 pm

Both of these guys are in my neighborhood:

http://houseoffoam.net/
http://www.tapplastics.com/

TAP has rods and bars in various plastics. Even carbon fiber.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Kaimelar Morikayun » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:21 pm

im trying to find more out about the fiberglass/kitespar/ w/e =P to help my searching for it. Im guessing the .505 is 1/2" and somewhat similar to the edhellen cores? Either way, what is the .505 best for? I mean, swords <36" or? Sorry just trying to get an idea. Most every core ive used that wasnt pvc has been aquired over the years. =P We used the 3/8" electric fence posts from Tractor Supply but anything over 30ish tends to hella-flex (even if a couple of a friends who were 38inches still passed at Rag every day no question...) Going to try TSC to see if they have anything closer to 1/2". Thanks in advance.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Derian » Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:44 pm

.505" is indeed just over half an inch. I'm not quite sure on the max for this length, but I have an overall 41" sword made out of .505 and it's not even close to flex. I would think, depending on weight, it should be alright for most blue weapons.

If you swing really hard, you might consider just going with the .602 kitespar as it's significantly stronger.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Solusar » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:09 pm

Can I get some links and more specific info for marine foam and any other high end open cell foams for stabbing? A link is good, but the stuff I should order is great.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Black Cat » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:33 pm

Solusar wrote:Can I get some links and more specific info for marine foam and any other high end open cell foams for stabbing? A link is good, but the stuff I should order is great.


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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Tordek » Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:53 pm

Black Cat wrote:
Solusar wrote:Can I get some links and more specific info for marine foam and any other high end open cell foams for stabbing? A link is good, but the stuff I should order is great.


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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Davit » Tue Feb 03, 2009 4:24 pm

Soon as someone posts it sure. The marine foam I get is from pool floats that I got extremely lucky with and bought for 20 bucks. Go go sales, but I can never find it online.

P.S. Going to be deleting older posts to clear up length, but please keep posting so I can grab some more links to help people.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Moginheden » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:01 pm

I've recently been going to Memory Express and picking up free foam. I'm sure other computer stores would hand it out too if you ask at the parts desk, (they normally throw it out.)

The problem is you're not getting a specific product. In open cell foam there seems to be at least 3 densities of gray foam, (2 of which are too soft to use even for stabbing tips, the 3rd works I find), and I've also picked up white foam, (about the same as the best of the gray foam) and light blue foam, (very high density haven't tried it yet but should be great for stabbing tips.)

Also they have given me some plasticy foam, (in white and pink, different densities/thicknesses) that MIGHT work for blade layers... I haven't tried it yet and it's not quite as dense as the camp pad, (and it is stiffer.)

Beggars can't be choosers and it is free but it would be nice if we got some feedback on what types of computer foam work and what don't.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Kasada » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:42 pm

I found my fiberglass rods at D&B Supply (I'm in the NW), at 1.69 for 3/8, 2.79 for 1/2 and 5.99 for 11/16, but the 11/16 was drilled - Doesn't flex too much for my friend's greatsword though, we just made sure the blade was aligned with the holes rather than the flat. They also have amazing rope and good leather gloves.

I've found that a layer of yoga mat foam at the end of the blade (outside of the blue foam) works alright for a blue stabby, and two layers will almost definitely pass (for blue). Should be cheaper than a lot of marine foams... just buy one used from somebody who took a yoga class and isn't interested anymore. I got one mat free, and another for $9.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Thomas MacFinn » Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:00 am

http://www.bohnfiberglass.com/
Round stock fiberglass in multiple thicknesses if you are willing to buy 20' lengths. They did cut it down for me to fit it in my car.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Solusar » Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:29 pm

I just got this in today:[url] http://www.sailrite.com/Foam-Closed-Cel ... l-1-2-x-56
[/url]
I'll let you guys know how it works out after some testing and use.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby hursegurl » Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:14 pm

Walmart just changed the type of blue foam. Still legal
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Isk » Mon May 18, 2009 12:43 am

We should add http://www.bestdagstuff.com
He is just getting the show rolling, but I got some stuff from him already and the service was great from someone who knows what we need and what we intend to use it for. I think he will have a full line of foam and cores available soon. I just got square cores, tape and arrow foam.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Orazio Valori » Tue May 19, 2009 2:14 am

Square fiberglass, **** yeah. I don't suppose he'll ever sell 3/4" ones as well? I hear they're good for short reds.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Isk » Tue May 19, 2009 9:31 am

Ask him. He was quick to respond and really helpful.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Arrakis » Wed May 20, 2009 10:04 pm

Solvaris wrote:Square fiberglass, **** yeah. I don't suppose he'll ever sell 3/4" ones as well? I hear they're good for short reds.


1/2" square fiber is good for short reds. I've got a 52" on the stuff that flexes like 5-10 degrees.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Zebulon » Thu May 28, 2009 8:34 am

Blain's Farm & Fleet carry 3/8" 4' and 11/16" 6' solid FG rods. I don't believe they have any shipping, stores are located in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Coriant » Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 am

So I had an idea for a new core type, it's a plastic that is used as a replacement for metals where weight is a concern, airplanes or gearing etc. It is supposed to be very strong and lightwieght and this site:

http://www.interstateplastics.com/detail.aspx?ID=Delrin-RN03

has it for about $0.50 a foot in rods, but they have a small order fee for anything under $50.00. Since I don't want to spend fifty bucks on an experimental core, I was wondering if anyone has tried either Acetal copolymer or acetal polymer cores, also known as delrin or polyacetal.
If so, how good is it and what diameter do you prefer?
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Big King Jimmy » Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:36 am

Coriant wrote:So I had an idea for a new core type, it's a plastic that is used as a replacement for metals where weight is a concern, airplanes or gearing etc. It is supposed to be very strong and lightwieght and this site:

http://www.interstateplastics.com/detail.aspx?ID=Delrin-RN03

has it for about $0.50 a foot in rods, but they have a small order fee for anything under $50.00. Since I don't want to spend fifty bucks on an experimental core, I was wondering if anyone has tried either Acetal copolymer or acetal polymer cores, also known as delrin or polyacetal.
If so, how good is it and what diameter do you prefer?


ARRAKIS! There's numbers and stuff! You could probably take a look at that and let us know if this stuff is like money and sex combined for cores.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Solusar » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:06 am

Arrakis wrote:
Solvaris wrote:Square fiberglass, **** yeah. I don't suppose he'll ever sell 3/4" ones as well? I hear they're good for short reds.


1/2" square fiber is good for short reds. I've got a 52" on the stuff that flexes like 5-10 degrees.


Same for 3/8"? I'm getting four 8' 3/8x3/8 cores and I want to make one a ~50" red, good or bad idea?
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Poo » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:22 am

Solusar wrote:
Arrakis wrote:
Solvaris wrote:Square fiberglass, **** yeah. I don't suppose he'll ever sell 3/4" ones as well? I hear they're good for short reds.


1/2" square fiber is good for short reds. I've got a 52" on the stuff that flexes like 5-10 degrees.


Same for 3/8"? I'm getting four 8' 3/8x3/8 cores and I want to make one a ~50" red, good or bad idea?


bad. 3/8 out flexes at like 34 inches at the most. 1/2" square for min reds.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Isk » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:57 am

1/2" or 5/8" round can work well for min reds. Square is better. I have heard some people say you can double-core the 3/8" for a min red, but have no personal experience with it.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Solusar » Tue Jun 02, 2009 12:19 pm

Cool, I'll have just lots of blues. Nothing wrong with that.
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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Arrakis » Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:49 pm

Yeah, Sol, what they said, almost. I've built non-failing 38s out of 3/8 square, but I like 'em shorter than that.

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Re: Foamsmithing Resources

Postby Chicken » Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:28 am

This may be a bit apples and oranges since McMaster doesn't specify their testing methodology, nor do I know if their fiberglass rods are magically stronger than normal, but comparing those delrin stats to McMasters for a 3/8" 5' solid round fiberglass rod it doesn't look good.

Specifically:
Code: Select all
                     Fiberglass      Delrin
Tensile Strength   30k psi (or 7k)   10k psi
Impact Strength   25'#/" (or 4'#/")   1.5 '#/"
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