It's taken a little while to post this up, but here is how to make your own deck grip.
This first image shows the EVA sheet with the deck grip template clamped in place and the eva cut out with a sharp stanley blade. New blades work best, they really slice thru the eva.
This next image is the kicker which is glued to the top of the back piece of eva
This shows the 3 pieces of eva cut for my deck grip
This shows the start of masking out the board in preparation for spraying with thinned contact cement
The board is ready for spraying and shows the spray gun and a can of the contact that I use
The eva is assembled and ready for spraying with contact cement
The boards deck masked out and sprayed with contact
The eva sprayed with contact cement and has extra sprayed on the edges
The boards deck is ready for the sprayed eva, the masking paper has been removed
The first piece of eva is in place on the boards deck the other piece is showing glue side up
All the deck grip is in place and ready for machining/sanding/grooving
Not a good image but I'm trying to show the thinned edges of the eva
This the tool I use for sanding and thicknessing the eva on the boards deck. The EVA must be sanded to remove the slick moulding surface, if you don't do this the surface is slippery even after grooving.
This shows the start of cutting out the handle hole and shows the sanded surface of the eva, the sanding was done with the planer
Start a small hole for cutting out the handle, this positions the blade better
The handle neatly cut out
I have nearly finished trimming out the handle hole, this is beveling the eva edges, note the blades angle. Notice this is done after sanding and thicknessing with the planer
This is my current grooving tool, I do this manually. I have a router set up for eva grooving but it is for kite board pads and these are done off the board.
Marking out the grooves with a whiteout pen
A closeup of the nonslip grooves
This is a better image of the grooves showing the tapered edges
The finished 8'6" board deck grip in place
Regards Rod
Wow - you really are self sufficient for all your SUP equipment, aren't you?
Where do you get those big sheets of EVA from?
Thanks for yet another detailed, easy to follow, lesson.
Thanks for the pictures Rod.. Great job.
How does that EVA stand up to UV and sunlight..does it go hard or shrink?
It also seems a bit thick for my liking..Can you get it any thinner?
DJ
great stuff Rod really appreciate youre tuttorials,i often wonder though if hand holes would be better placed off centre so you can carry the board right up near youre armpit.
I'm right with you Brooko, the hand hold is just beside the stringer, the wood actually forms one side of the hole and because it is not too far off centre you never step on it. It is also great for feet positioning around centre of balance and the grooves act as markers as well. When you have worked out the best position to stand at you make the groove wider and deeper under your big toe so you can position by feel.
On the sub 9'0 boards 10mm forward or back really affects your wave catching and balance. The eva is available from clarke rubber and comes in various thickness. They stock only 2nd quality foam which means that there are a few holes and bubbles in it.
I usually get 7mm foam but in this case they only had 9mm. I thinned it out as I always do with the planer. The foam I get is a medium density not soft as this affords no grip and tears easily and I find that the hard stuff hurts my feet. The EVA is exactly the same as the commercial pads available. The grooving on retail pads is just done by a CNC machine table in Asia.
Heat might be a problem, but it has't yet. I have a board that has grip on it for 18 months with no problems.
You just have to be careful that you actually buy EVA and not PE-EVA which has no memory and compresses and is slippery no matter what you do. I actually had to wax one of my pads 
when I accidently bought PEEVA. The test is to squeeze the foam between your fingers, if it springs back right away, it is EVA.
Rod
Good point Brooko..
I think Rod's boards at this size will be pretty light anyway The handle is good to lift off the ground to roof of car etc, but IMO they sit ok up on your shoulder for any distance.
Ithink from now on Brooko i ought to PM you with my comments before making an ass of myself
Ithink from now on Brooko i ought to PM you with my comments before making an ass of myself
The same way as in the post if you do not have a router to set up. With a router you really have to have a vacuum cleaner attached to draw off the dust. I just used a tin can for the attachment point on the router and taped it into place, works a treat.
Rod
