Every foam failure is a decision. These are the decisions.
Most failed builds fail before the first cut — wrong foam, wrong thickness, wrong surface. This is the reference that makes those decisions for you, built to live at your bench.
Years ago I built a sword, followed every step, and couldn’t look at the thing when I finished it. The seam ran up the blade like a scar and the whole thing flexed like a pool noodle. I decided I wasn’t good at this, and I quit for a long time.
I wasn’t bad at it. I’d bought the wrong foam. Nobody had told me there was a right one.
This guide is the thing I needed then. It’s free because this hobby’s problem isn’t talent — it’s bad information, and I’m not going to charge anyone to fix a problem the market created.
“You did the steps. The steps were fine.
Nobody taught you the decisions.”