It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on this blog, mainly since I’ve set up another separate blog just about skateboarding on the openSource(skateboards); website – www.opensourceboards.com/blog.
I’m trying to write more frequently there, but also more briefly.
Thoughts and feedback are always welcome and appreciated!
(And, the totally random photo is just a cool shot from Tecolote Canyon in San Diego.)
How would skateboarding get me into college?
I asked myself that question back in 2007, when I was applying to colleges. How could I turn this thing I loved so much, invested so much time in, into something marketable to the admissions departments reading my application? It was the first time I took a close look at how exactly skateboarding impacted my life – and what I found became my college admissions essay.
I am bringing this up now because I recently learned that the tech industry has started turning to skateboarding for ideas and to learn about how skaters think, as covered in a recent WIRED article – which focused on some of the same points I attempted to make in my essay seven years ago. While there is some outside light being shown on skating, I think it would be cool to add to the discussion on why skating is important – from the perspective of a skater who has recognized its importance for almost a decade.
First things first – what qualifies me to write about this? “Who is this guy?” you might be wondering, legitimately. I’m not a professional skateboarder, and probably* never will be. Okay… so, I started skating when I was around 10 years old – the first time I stepped on a board I was hooked. I was not a natural athlete at all – I bailed my first day on a board going down a steep driveway hill, and got a scab that I couldn’t have been more proud of. Anyways, that day led to me asking for my first skateboard, which led to a 15 year obsession with it. And I still prioritize time for it even though it doesn’t support me financially. Actually, I even left a secure full-time engineering job to start a skateboard brand this past summer, with part of the reason being the hope that it will enable me to get more time for skating. So, in a nutshell, that’s where I’m coming from.
*Never stop dreaming 🙂
Now, how is skateboarding relevant to you? Have you ever thought that you weren’t creative? Or maybe you think you’re not good at science or math or logic. My guess is that you don’t know many people that are both very creative and logical, and we often treat them as either or: you’re a thinker or feeler; your work is either an art or a science. We can be both creative and logical, though – and skateboarding can help us be both.
Skateboarding is a constant personal experiment. The best skaters are extremely creative and extremely effective problem solvers – they dream up such unique, innovative tricks, and then, are able to figure out how to make them happen in real life. Check out Rodney Mullen and Kilian Martin on YouTube – you’re bound to see something you didn’t expect could be done with a skateboard, and be amazed at both:
Skateboarding is a constant experiment because, as a skater, you’re constantly looking at how you can utilize your resources to create something new – from, “what are all the possibilities for skating this ledge? Like, what if I did a 50-50 grind then popped up to rail half way through to primo slide the rest of the way?” to “how can I redirect my body to make the board do exactly what I want it to do? How should I position my front foot to get the proper flip? What if I pointed my shoulders a little more to the left before I popped up?” If you don’t skate, this may sound confusing, but the gist is
Every time you skate, you’re practicing resourceful creative problem solving – and the more you practice, the better you get.
For most people, skateboarding takes A LOT of practice. We fail a lot – if we weren’t okay with the idea of failure, and the physical toll that failure may in turn take on our bodies, we wouldn’t skate. Failure is part of the learning experience, and skaters know this. Stress from school and work seems to be all around us right now – there’s an incredible amount of pressure we put on each other to be right and not fail. Our focus shifts from “what can we learn?” to “what can we not fail at?” – shifting our path from a potentially more adventurous and ground-breaking one to a path of low risk and predictability. If we can become more comfortable with failure, we can open doors of opportunity to incredible things – that idea you have that seems really far-fetched and unrealistic… what if you just tried? What if you went in embracing the fact that you will fail, and that the only way it can work would be after an unknown series of failed attempts?
Many of us are also uncomfortable with the idea of standing out and being different. Being ridiculed, or made fun of, when we just want to live our lives as we wish, even though we’re not hurting anyone. Popular media doesn’t always help us get over this. But skating in public can – you’re going to fail, you’re going to be seen, people will probably say things – but it doesn’t matter. You’re busy trying to better yourself. You’re doing something with your life – more importantly, you’re doing something you want to be doing with your life. Let’s get comfortable failing in public – skateboarding can help us with that comfort; it can help us be more comfortable with ourselves.
Life’s not easy for a lot of us. It seems like everyone is doing something or another that they think will make them fit in or look better. We’re surrounded by images of perfection more than ever now, as media penetrates almost every aspect of our lives. It seems like a common comfort zone has been developed in our culture, invisibly entangled with self-doubt. If sustainable widespread peace and happiness is what we ultimately want, there’s no denying society will need to make some changes – many of which will require us leaving our comfort zones. Skating enables us to practice leaving our comfort zone – whether it’s pushing our social or physical comfort limits. It also requires self-confidence – when you drop in on a quarter pipe for the first time, you’ve got to commit, because if you don’t, you will fall. Then, when you take that risk, when you fall and get back up – often over and over, again – and you finally land that trick you set out for, you experience this incredible state of being – a state of total bliss; where everything you put on the line was worth it; the spiritual payout. It’s hard to describe – if you skate, you know what I’m talking about. And it doesn’t need to be with risky tricks – any trick that’s new to you. Although, the more you push yourself, the greater the reward.
The spiritual aspect of skating is key to why so many of us do skate. Maybe “spiritual” isn’t the best term, but what I mean is the deeper, “feel” of skating. Skating is an escape. It’s taking time for ourselves. Feeding our spirit. If we want to get anything done and accomplish anything, our best bet at succeeding will be keeping our spirit well-fed by taking time to do what we want to do for ourselves. This can be tough for some people, but I hope you try. Part of not taking time for ourselves is woven into our comfort-zone culture, making us feel like we always need to be working (and uncomfortable with the idea of working any less). Like a 40+ hour week is what we need to work, with work quantity directly proportional to wealth, when, in reality, it’s not (and if you’re not familiar with this concept, do yourself a favor and check out Tim Ferriss’ The Four-Hour Workweek). Developing our spiritual wealth is important, and I’ve found skateboarding to be a great way of acquiring it.
In college, I worked hard. But I had one mental “rule” I tried to live by – if a friend ever asked me to go skate, I needed to “drop everything and skate.” Skating is critical for me – I need to find ways to do it and make time for it. If I can’t, I need to reexamine my life and may need to make some major changes.
Do you have anything you feel like you need in life? How much time per week do you dedicate to it? What have you learned from doing it?
Do you – and try to answer this honestly – do you wander far from your comfort zone? Are you okay with failure?
Do you think we need creative, effective solutions to problems we face today?
Skateboarding can help, and that’s why it matters.
🙂
Back in July I posted about my 3D printer project, and now, after working on it on and off, it is technically “printing”, but still needs some hardware and software refinements to start producing more accurate objects – the idea is to keep making the printer more accurate and precise by making its own parts needed to do so. Since the project is now almost complete (although, being an engineer, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say it’s 100% complete), here’s a photographic summary of what I used and how I built it.
The X-Y translator consists of two rods salvaged off an old lawn mower, two old skateboard wheels with bearings, an aluminum plate, a hose clamp, some scrap steel, and a fancy E3D all-metal hotend. The design was inspired by the SLS Wax Printer on the RepRap website. The two rods are held down with a loop of fishing line (from a spool of fishing line found on a beach), and the rods are currently coupled to the motors via tape, zip ties, and some plastic notebook cover material.
I am having some issues with the couplings (who would have thought?), so I have some other quick-fix ideas to try out.
The X and Y motors rest and slide on PVC (scrap from a previous project).
Two nuts held down with tape work as the endstops for the X and Y axes – when the metal rod rolls into them, the circuit is completed, letting the program know the axis is home.
The Z-axis is an inkjet printer slide salvaged off a printer that was going to be thrown out. It’s stabilized with wood shims, fishing line, and turnbuckles. All wood (shims and structural) was salvaged scrap wood.
A 3D-printed Bowden extruder purchased off eBay is used as the filament extruder.
I tried to design the electronics as much from scratch as possible to get a better understanding of everything and get better at soldering.
Here’s the wiring diagram: WiringRev1
The Repetier firmware and software are used for programming and control.
Overall, this has been a fun and educational project that’s challenged my abilities to make use of what I have. All the parts, including shipping, filament, and parts that I bought and then didn’t use cost about $430 (this also excludes parts that I already had or had salvaged). I’ll try to post more updates as I work to get the print quality improved.
When I set out to start building skateboards, I really underestimated how fun it would be. I’ve been posting a lot of my updates via Instagram (btrif0), and then to Facebook, so this blog has not been getting much of my attention. So, I’d like to recap everything from the past month in a quick post here.
After failing to make a good wood mold by hand, I decided to invest in a vacuum bag skateboard press from Roarockit Skateboard Company. They’ve got tons of great resources and how-to videos, and my first board definitely came out better than I anticipated. I have since made two more boards with different molds, as I’m still trying to get the building process down (you need to have the right amount of glue and need to be very quick). I plan on starting to sell them as soon as I consistently build a quality deck. The other cool thing about this – I am trying to hone in on a board that’s perfect more my skating style (mostly freestyle/flatland skateboarding), and learning a lot about how I respond to different shapes.
After testing out a couple of boards with different shapes, I designed a few shapes that I’ll be looking to take to a manufacturer for the openSource(skateboards); product line I’m working on – you can check out the prototype website at www.opensourceboards.com – there, you will hopefully get a pretty good idea of what I’m trying to do (if not, please let me know, because that means the site isn’t doing it’s job!)
Here are the decks I’ve made so far:
The square-ended deck has since been converted to a semi-circular ended deck like the others because I wasn’t a big fan of it (it made certain freestyle tricks much more difficult).
Please post your comments and/or questions. And, if you’d like any tips for board building based on what I’ve learned so far, shoot me an email and I can try to help you out!
When I thought of the name “π skateboards”, I was pretty stoked, since it seemed to tie in so nicely with the brand and seemed really unique. I didn’t even think to check to see if the name already existed. I started brainstorming some potential graphics for the boards, trying to be clever with the name, and came up with a few ideas. Then, I finally did have the thought to check for the name – a quick Google search instantly brought me to a website for another “Pi Skateboards” that already exists.
Moral of the story – always check for a name to make sure it’s not already taken. I’m thankful I found out now rather than later, before I formalized a brand name. As for a new name, I’m working on it.
Since I felt pretty proud of my graphics and didn’t want to let them just go to waste, here they are, for your enjoyment :).
On second thought, maybe it’s better that these never ended up on a skateboard.
For my second skateboard attempt, I made some changes based on the issues with the first attempt:
Also, I only used 5 sheets of veneer this time (not the standard 7, which is what I used for my first attempt) because I ran out of glue – I wasn’t very concerned, though, since 5 would still be a good indication of the effectiveness of the changes, would probably be at least ride-able (just not very durable), and would help minimize wood lost if the board failed.
The result:
I did a couple of ollies and kickflips and the board cracked in less than 10 minutes. I also noticed a very “soft” feel – like there wasn’t enough rigidity. Granted, the board was thinner than it should’ve been, but some additional research unveiled an issue with my mold I didn’t notice:
I did not “offset” the top mold and bottom mold to account for the thickness of the skateboard. I discovered this in some reading on the silverfish longboarding forums, and, to be honest, was confused by the concept at first, but it makes total sense. I designed the molds by basically making puzzle pieces of the contours, which makes them fit together perfectly when they are directly in contact. For example, let’s look at the detail of a 30° kicktail (the part of the board that angles up):
Let’s call the slanted sections (the kicktail) of the mold section “A” and the flat sections section “B”, as I did in the above diagram. Now, I looked at this and thought it looked like a pretty good fit, so the veneers will be nice and snug for an even force distribution from the press…
However! When you stick something between them, as I do with the skateboard veneers, you get a problem… Let’s say I put 7 veneers in between the molds – 7 veneers at 1/16” thick each results in a skateboard thickness of 7/16”.
Do you see the problem here? I didn’t at first. Here’s a hint – what’s the gap between the “A” mold sections? Vertically the gap is 7/16”, but the veneers are now slanted 30°, so we need to look at the gap with that in mind. Using a little basic trigonometry, and if we say that the gap is “x”, we find out:
cosine(30°) = (x) / (7/16)
x = 0.379 (rounded)
7/16 = 0.4375
So, 0.379 < 0.4375. This means that there’s less room in the “A” sections than in the “B” sections for the veneers. For demonstration purposes*, let’s assume that the veneers don’t compress at all when under pressure, so that they can never be less than 7/16” thick (*in reality, the veneers do compress a bit). Using the same diagram above, we can substitute 7/16 for x, and solve for the vertical distance (labeled as 7/16 in that diagram):
cosine(30°) = (7/16) / (vertical distance)
vertical distance = 0.505 (rounded)
This means that the smallest gap I can have is 0.505”, due to the slant of the “A” sections. Thus, the “B” sections would not be compressing the board at all since 0.505 > 0.4375.
In other words, by separating the molds to make the board fit between “A” sections, I’ve now created a larger gap between my “B” sections, meaning no pressure is applied there!
Now, my next step is going to be redesigning and rebuilding either the top half or bottom half of the mold to account for the offset, or investing in and testing boards made in a vacuum press. Vacuum presses compress veneers by sealing the veneers in a bag with half of a mold, then removing all the air inside so that atmospheric pressure (~15 psi) compresses the board. Right now, with a 5 ton (10,000 lb) press and a mold surface area roughly 306 square inches, I can compress the board up to ~32 psi. So I’ll be doing some cost/benefit analysis to figure out which way I want to go right now. Some other potential additions will be to place thin sheets of cork between the top and bottom molds to eliminate small irregularities on the mold surfaces and adding a second 5 ton bottle jack to help spread out the force. Also, I need to finish my 3D printer (which I’ve placed on hold while setting up the skateboard equipment, supplies, and plans), because I have some cool ideas involving 3D printing that may help…
Unless Design is in the process of developing a sustainable skateboard deck product line with an innovative design and distribution strategy – “π skateboards “. I’ve been a skateboarder for almost 15 years – it’s been a huge part of my life, and still is – but I’m totally new to making skateboard decks. So, why am I spending time and money right now trying to build my own skateboards rather than sourcing a manufacturer? Building boards myself is about education and branding. I wanted to share what I’ve learned so far from this venture, give you an opportunity to share your questions and comments, and give you an idea of where π skateboards is headed.
My educational and professional background is in mechanical engineering and product development – how could I not attempt to make my own skateboards? But seriously, I really believe the best way to learn something is to learn by doing. The standard for “street” style skateboards is 7 sheets of maple veneer glued together. Sure, there are other guys incorporating bamboo and composites, but most of the skateboards I’ve ridden (and I have ridden many) have been all maple. I have lots of experience regarding what to look for in replicating a high-quality maple skateboard, so this is where I wanted to start.
Through research on skateboard manufacturing, I found that most skateboards are made by the following process (and I excluded many details here to keep this brief):
Sounds simple enough, right?
The key is getting everything just right – from starting with the best possible trees to using the best glues with the right amount of pressure, to having the finesse (or elegant equipment) to create a precise board. When you really start to understand all the variables by working with them yourself, you learn how something seemingly simple is actually complex. Thankfully, there are some very nice people out there that have shared what they’ve learned in making skateboards, which include http://www.diyskate.com/ and http://www.roarockit.com/. If you have any interest in making skateboards, I strongly recommend checking out these sites.
I’m trying to understand this process and learn what goes into making a high-quality skateboard for when π skateboards scales up. But also, this learning process is tied into branding as well. This is part of the story.
π skateboards. This is the name, the brand, the image. It’s more than just a skateboard – it represents something. It fills a void in the skateboarding world. Skaters are independents and artists. We take risks and we learn to commit. We aren’t afraid of failure. Our mentality gives us a different perspective. We are a community that not only supports, but places an emphasis on, the individual. π skateboards represents the same perspectives of skaters.
The name π skateboards comes from my background in science and math. π represents the beauty of nature and its patterns, showing us that things aren’t always as random as they seem. This all relates to the brand:
This is the vision – the “right side of the equation” for all you engineers. Now I’m working on the left side. I know some of the variables. I know some of the operators. And I know the general order of operation. Now it’s time to use research and testing to figure out the equation.
Please post any questions or comments you may have!
Unless Design’s first internally-generated product is currently in the development pipeline, and saying that it’s going to be pretty cool might be an understatement. A brand-new concept for skateboard manufacturing is being developed that could have a revolutionary impact on the sport and culture of skateboarding. Without giving too much away, I’ll say that it’s going to open up opportunities to improve skateboarders’ skills, spark more organized innovation in the art and science of board building, and, of course, be as environmentally and socially responsible as possible.
Right now we’re hard at work trying to source suppliers, doing our own R&D, and learning to ensure we deliver a top-quality result. We’re super excited about this idea and the positive impact it can have, so be sure to stay tuned for more updates!
Another chunk of time, gone. I felt like I wasn’t productive at all, just floundering around in Google’s sea of information, but getting nowhere. After hopping back and forth between options a few times, I reluctantly entered my credit card information, as if I was admitting defeat. You see, I just purchased an electric stepper motor for my project for $20. You probably think I’m paranoid. You’re right. But let me explain why.
I am obsessed with trying to be a responsible consumer – don’t get me wrong, I’m quite far from perfect. But I try to buy local, support vendors and manufacturers doing the right thing, and don’t mind paying a little more for that.
Now, one thing I learned from this printer project – it’s hard to find information on electronic component manufacturers. The vendors I’ve dealt with so far have been great – Adafruit, MakerFarm, Home Depot, etc. But man, trying to learn about the products themselves and how they’re made is tough. The electronic components industry, I’ve learned, seems to use a lot of cool, yet sketchy, materials and chemicals in the manufacturing process. Thankfully we’ve got things like RoHS certification and California Proposition 65 to help support responsible suppliers (these things basically let us know how safe materials are) – but the trick is to find those suppliers at the general consumer level!
All that time I spent searching, I was looking for manufacturer information – I wanted to verify that at least the manufacturer tried to show they cared about social and environmental responsibility, and also that there were no toxic chemicals like lead in the motor. (If you think that’s ridiculous – I just purchased polyethylene tube that had a “lead-free” claim on it. Am I missing something here? Is there leaded polyethylene somewhere out there? I was confused.) I ended up just finding two motors that really qualified for what I needed in terms of size, voltage, and current, and, despite the lack of information and other options, chose the more “local” supplier (who is in Colorado, rather than the other in New York).
What do you think – is there a market and opportunity for responsibly-sourced and environmentally-friendly electrical components like the market for organic and non-GMO foods? Is this already being done somewhere? (If so, please let me know!)
Think about lawns for a minute. By lawn, I mean the dictionary.com meaning of the word, that is, “a stretch of open, grass-covered land, especially one closely mowed, as near a house, on an estate, or in a park”. Are lawns really an efficient use of land? Aren’t they just perceived assets that add minimal, if any, real value?
Lawns seem to be wasteful consumers of resources and energy. For example:
In brief, I basically see a lawn as an inefficient land expense. I want to see more land turned into assets that generate real value, not perceived value.
Land has a huge potential. It is space. In the U.S., it is space that you can get creative with if you’re able to afford your own land. You could grow food, generate power, collect and treat water, etc. Think about it:
These are just a couple of suggestions and ideas. How will you get creative with your lawn? Post your responses and ideas in the comments for this post.
Here’s my response, at the apartment I’m currently living in:
Planting some vegetables:
First iteration of thermal-mass condensation irrigation system prototype:
Conceptually, this is a system that extracts water from the air by using coldness to condense that water. This was inspired by Edward Linacre’s Airdrop Irrigation System, which won the 2011 James Dyson Award.
This prototype was NOT designed for efficiency – there is hardly any surface area and I’m unsure of PVC’s effectiveness in collecting condensation. I’d like to try a copper coil next (a coil will provide more surface area and better heat transfer than the PVC – in other words, the air will have more opportunity to condense by being in the pipe longer (a coiled piece is longer than a straight piece) and may condense better if the coldness is transmitted to it better via copper.
This first iteration produced an encouraging 1.75 tsp of water over the course of 4 hours while the humidity was around 50-60%. We’ll see how that improves!
Questions and suggestions are always welcome.
Note that this post is not just about lawns. Think about the concepts raised here and where else they apply.
Continue the discussion in the comments, below!
If ___________, then venture. 