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Or, a list of places to find boffer making materials- and what can be found there - that will allow for safe boffer construction*

*safe = subjective, based on game rules.

Many people found the materials to make their first boffer at Home Depot, in the early days of 3/8ths wall thickness pipe foam + 3/4" PVC pipe, but one who travels there today knows how difficult it is to find the right materials to make a boffer that will pass the increasingly detailed safety checks. This is why I am creating this general list of sites / stores and the materials they offer.

This list is always a WIP.

MERCHANT WARES: (http://www.merchantswares.com)

BOFFER CORES:

65" long, 3/4" diameter graphite rods: $15.00
27" long, 12mm diameter carbon fiber tubing: $7.00
40 - 42" long, 12mm diameter carbon-fiber tube: $8.00
Aluminum core, 67" long and approximately 7/8" in diameter: $13.00

BOFFER PADDING / FOAM:

Pipe Foam: $7.00

Twelve feet of pipe foam in four 3' long segments. 5/8ths Wall Thickness in either 3/4" or 1/2" inner diameter, custom wall thickness size can be specified.

THRUSTING/STABBING TIPS:

$1.25 each

Ten 2" tips - $11
Ten 3" tips - $13

TAPE:

Kite Tape: 24' rolls, 2" wide, Silver / Black / White / Medium Blue / Dark Red / Dark Green / Dark Blue / Purple colors

POOL CENTER/ (www.poolcenter.com)

BOFFER PADDING / FOAM:

The Original Wacky Pool Noodle: 1/2" Hole in center, round, 2.5" wide, 60" long: $2.99 / Noodle

HOME DEPOT: (http://www.homedepot.com)

BOFFER CORES:

1/4" PVC PIPE:
1/2" PVC PIPE: $1.03 / 10 Feet
3/4" PVC PIPE: $1.27 / 10 Feet
1" PVC PIPE: $2.17 / 10 Feet

THRUSTING / STABBING TIPS:

Qep brand Grouting / Cleanup Sponges: $2 ea. Makes 6 tips per sponge.

TAPE:

Duct tape - Nashua brand - Silver, Black, and White colors: 2" wide - 60 Yards Long. $7.76 - $8.00 / roll

Electrical Tape: Scotch Super 88: red, yellow, blue, green, white, brown, black, orange: $2.49 - $3.57 per roll depending on size.

LOWES (http://www.lowes.com)

BOFFER CORES:

1/4" PVC PIPE:
1/2" PVC PIPE: $1.03 / 10 Feet
3/4" PVC PIPE: $1.27 / 10 Feet
1" PVC PIPE: $2.17 / 10 Feet

THRUSTING / STABBING TIPS:

Tile Solutions
Extra Large Scrubbing Sponge, 7-1/2 x 5-1/4 x 2", One side Grouting and One Scrubbing, 1 Pack Bag: $3.28

TAPE:

3m, Gorilla, Shurtape brands:

2" x 60 Yd, red, white, blue, black, silver colors: 6.30 - $10 / Roll

TAPE BROTHERS/ (www.tapebrothers.com)

TAPE:

Tape colors not listed, FAR TOO MANY to list here.

Nashua 2" x 60 yard (11 mil) Multi Purpose Duct Tape: $4.99 / Roll
Tape Brothers Shorty Duct Tape Rolls: 2" x 10 Yards: $2.35 / Roll
Special duct tapes (checkered, camo, clear, striped, etc): $3.30 - $18.31 / Roll
Hockey Tape: $2.42 - $5.12 / Roll

65" long, 3/4" diameter rods: $15.00

HOLY CRAP where are you paying that much for boffer cores? I buy CPVC in ten foot lengths for a fifth of that price!

DoomRater wrote:

65" long, 3/4" diameter rods: $15.00

HOLY CRAP where are you paying that much for boffer cores? I buy CPVC in ten foot lengths for a fifth of that price!

Yes, the site (merchantwares) isn't the best for cheap core (that was graphite I listed, edited my post to reflect that), the shipping sucks too, especially considering I live within a half hour from the vendor.

Yesh, helps to know that was graphite. Now it makes more sense.

Still, is there a preference between groups on PVC and CPVC? All I know is CPVC tends to be way more expensive.

I think...cpvc comes in sizes roughly half that of pvc....3/4cpvc is just a smidgen larger than 1/2pvc...I could be horribly wrong

I can't add to this list now, got a bat mitzvah to go to, but after a wee bit of looking, googling etc, I've found a number of places with pipe foam 5/8ths wall thickness and thicker. I originally tried to add them here last week, but the computer I was using crapped out on me, so expect that update to this list to come soon.

Home Depot has another decent tip material. It's a sort of foam used to stuff gaps around air conditioning units. It usually comes in 2.5" X 2.5" X 36" lengths, but I've also seen narrower stuff. I just buy one of those for about three dollars and clip off three-inch chunks to make boffer tips. One length goes a long way, twelve to fourteen tips I suppose. Can't remember what it's officially called, but it's a dark gray open-cell material almost perfectly suited for boffer tips both in dimensions and consistency. Wrapping some once around the core also makes a great mace head. I've been able to find these strips at every hardware store I've ever been to.
Home Depot also sells one or two sorts of fiberglass rod that I've heard some people say make great cores for flatblades. Their driveway reflectors come on 4' rods ($2 each, recommended to use two per boffer) and there may be some larger ones for electric fences too. I have a few of the reflector rods in my basement waiting to be bofferized. I'll report on their utility as cores when I make them.
EDIT: they work well with blue foam. A bit floppy side-to-side, but very light.