Thanks to SIGN-FOAM and Joe Scienski, many of us will have an opportunity to try try this reformulated HDU. (Thanks again Joe!)
Last night I gave some thought on what I should do to do a side by side test......old vs new SIGN-FOAM. I also would like to include in my test some of the other brands. In the past, I glued together narrow strips of the different brands and carved and finished my "sample" as a whole. This proved to be quite informative.
What would be some of the things you would test for to compare the different samples (and how would you do the test)?
Just a thought.....................
Joe,
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
Posted by William DeBekker (Member # 3848) on :
Ability to hold detail.
Density. Not all 15 pounds are the same.
How Porous..(Large cells or small cells effects how detail we can get)
On Hand Carving and you know way more then me but how much resistance.. Too soft too hard (Falls under density)
MY 2 CENTS
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
How about cutting some lengths (say 8 inches) of different brands, at a specified width, and putting them in a vice, 1 at a time, letting 6 inches stick out above the vice jaws. Don't clamp down on it, but just tight enough to hold it in place.
Maybe take a fish scale and tie a wire around the top of the piece of HDU and the hook on the scale, and gradually pull on it until the foam snaps...record how many pounds of pull it took to break. I know, it's kinda primitive; but it should give a decent comparison over the various brands, at least in regard to their physical strength.
I'd venture to guess that a more dense material would also be a stronger material....no?
[ July 31, 2010, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: Dale Feicke ]
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Like Bill, I'm looking at the difference in density between these products. Some doards will carry lots of detail and won't crush very easily. The manufacturers formula's are vastly different. In our shop at this time I have the following:
It's important to compare the same densities. For fine detail work Duna's 18lb is as good as most 30lb materials and much cheaper. We also favor Sign-Foam but it's more grainy. But is doesn't have the gritty dust so familiar with Precision Board. Jasper oooches out Precision board by a hair. In my tests Duna is far and away my favorite.
