Foamer questions

[bob Petritsch]

Finally got the nerve to go to Tractor Supply and ask for foam. They have foam blocks between the trailers when they are delivered. I heard you can ask for the foam blocks which are 12X 12X19. I asked about the foam and was told sure, take what you want, they are out by the dumpster.
There must have been over 50 blocks of foam just waiting for someone to come along. I was able to fit 8 in the back of the Subaru.

I was thinking I would cut them in half to get two 6 inch high by 19 inch long blocks out of each. Sounds like a huge scoter. I was thinking I would add a half inch board to the bottom to add some weight and make adding the keel easier. I intend to nestle coat them with titebond II and wood sawdust.
Questions are, what is the best glue to connect wood to styrofoam. Will the titebond work on styrofoam.
Most of the tutorials I see on the web are using polystyrene foam.
I have been posting lately re sleds and foamers. I leave for our trailer in Pa in June and don't get back until the teal season is open. I have to get everything finished before I leave. Again, thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Brandon Yuchasz]

Bob.
I am not a fan of Gorilla glue for decoys. BUT if I was gluing foam to wood bottom boards I would use it. Worked well in the past for me.

 

[Andrew Holley]

I have a ton of foamers, most made out of the same blocks of sytrofoam, only I get my from Northern Supply.
I personally haven't had much luck with gluing a board to the bottom, both titebond and gorilla have broken free after a year or so. I blame the movement of the wood.
My heads are made of wood (usually hollowed out to a degree for weight issues) and I run a long deck screw (6 to 8 inches) up through the keel into the head with construction adhesive holding the keel on, in addition to the screw. My keels lately have been made out of trex decking, I love the stuff, got enough weight to make the decoy self righting and sands well.
One other thing, I haven't been happy with the sawdust coatings. My decoys are stored in barrels and I have had too much rubbing. The coat and paint are coming off. I much prefer mastic and burlap, little more messy but just as fast.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Bob~

I have used epoxy with good success - at least on dock foam and insulation board. However, I think 1/4-inch AC plywood would be sufficient.

HINT: Glue the board (cut to shape) on BEFORE you cut out the foam - because the bottom board will slip and slide a bit until is sets up. If using epoxy, you can hold it in place with a gallon can of paint 'til it cures. Then saw the body out.

If you find you need more weight, you could pour lead into the keels OR go without keels and make a screw-in ballast weight (see Oldsquaw below).

More important - as Andrew said - better to go with burlap + tile mastic on the soft styrofoam. I coated my Oldsquaw foamers with epoxy + sawdust but the skin breaks through because the foam is not dense enough. I have not gunned the Black and Mallard in this tutorial but I fear they would suffer the same weakness:

https://stevenjaysanford.com/foamer-decoy-tutorial-a-black-and-a-mallard/


Here is the ballast weight. I flatten the sides of the head of a deck screw then dip it into the molten lead in a cast iron muffin tin. When I screw the weight on, I set it in caulk or construction adhesive.

The heads are wood and fastened with a stainless screw eye from Bob's Decoy Rigs in Indiana.

Hope this helps!

SJS

 

[Jon Yenulonis]

There certainly are a lot of opinions out there regarding your question, and I am sure, none of them are wrong. Only what works for the poster for whatever reason whether availability, past experience, recommendation of others, etc.
.
I am a fan of a heavier piece of wood for the bottoms, mainly to balance out the blocks in a chop. Plain ole foam is too lite for my taste. Standard 1 by pine has been good to me. Then I have always liked a keel with a little lead.


I too have been a fan of Gorilla Glue, but I burlap my blocks. The Gorilla glue seems to penetrate the foam and provide a really strong bond. BUT I also know epoxy will work just fine. I have posted several times about using two part commercial epoxy normally used for setting anchor bolts in concrete for metal buildings. In my work, I have a rather large supply at my disposal though, so for me, the price is right.


Good luck!


Jon

 

[Brandon Yuchasz]

Thats a good point. I burlaped mine as well.

 

[Carl]

I use mastic for glue. Strong stuff.
I have not used bottom boards on mine. The ones I burlapped ride fine but this last Dzn I just coated them with two coats of mastic. I will see how my new ones ride this winter.
Nice thing about foam is all you need is hand tools, coping saw, rasps and sand paper to carve it. I can carve out a block in about 10 minutes.
Have fun with it. Carving free stuff is less stressful, if it doesn't work out you just carve another.

 

[Dave Speer]

On my EPS foam blocks like yours I just left off a bottom board... the bottom is no more fragile than the top. For a keel to both self right and hold the line tie, I would inlet some trex decking about 1" into the bottom with gorilla glue. Zero failures. I did also try just gluing trex to the bottom instead of inletting, those fail.

 

[Carl]

I use mastic and two deck screws on my keels. No failures yet.