Board Building in the Classroom

A big part of Roarockit's business is working closely with schools, after-school programs and non-profit organizations. There are many great programs/organizations around the world who have integrated board building using Roarockit Technologies into their students curriculum. It is such an amazing thing to see a full classroom of kids, walking away with a high quality, handmade board of their very own... not to mention some of the coolest graphic and design jobs we've seen in the skateboard industry!

While it is not a 'traditional' method of teaching by any means, instructors who have used the program have reported many benefits in their classrooms, including; 

• increase in attendance levels

• students are focused, attentive and apply themselves to complete their decks

• can work as an incentive for both 'under' and 'over-achieving' students

• teamwork and mentoring scenarios occur naturally during the build process

• students gain experience working with their hands

• the program can be applied to a wide range of subjects including Art & Design, Mathematics, Construction Technology, Business and Entrepreneurship, Physical and Environmental Sciences, and more

• students relate well to skateboards and its counter-culture aspects

• great opportunity to involve their community through fundraisers, art galleries, open-houses, etc.

Another great part about the Roarockit skateboard deck builds is that they do not require the use of power tools and can be done in any classroom, or even outdoors...we've even had classrooms set up on picnic benches in a park! There are also no harmful glues, paints or coatings required, and the Thin Air Press is considered to be the 'greenest' method of pressing skateboards in the world (it's all hand powered!).

As part of our push to see more and more schools/programs building boards with their kids, we work diligently to help build a scenario that matches your particular teaching needs in regards to time constraints, class size and budget.

Here are a few links that include more information about course curriculum, funding options, examples of successful programs that use our kits, tutorials and more!   

Curriculum and Lessons - http://www.roarockit.com/curriculums.php

Funding - http://www.roarockit.com/how_to.php

Downloadable Order/Estimate Form - http://www.roarockit.com/materials_resources.php

Tutorials - http://ministryofwood.com/764-2/

Oasis Skateboard Factory - A Toronto District School Board reengagement program that helps students earn high school credits by running a skate/longboard design business.

Stoked Mentoring - Stoked is an action sports, youth development agency based in New York and Los Angeles

Feel free to give us a call or email if you would like to get more information about how to integrate board building into your own programs.  

You can call us Toll Free at - 1-888-857-7790

or email - norah@roarockit.com

AM Wood Skateboard Company

One of our favourite, and most advanced builders is Alistair McCall – Owner/Operator of the AM Wood Skateboard Company.

Alistair started building boards out of his garage in Grey County, Ontario as a fun and profitable woodworking hobby. His first boards were all custom built for friends and local riders, which gave him an opportunity to work with a variety of materials and board styles. This experience led him to eventually launch the AM Wood Skateboard Company in early 2011.

AM Wood's has since become one of the most prolific and recognized independent builders in North America, selling their boards to riders in over 10 countries (and counting). They have also helped build their name by being a part of some great events including the Toronto Board Meeting and the 2012 Stylus Awards.

They are also proud supporters of the Thin Air Press vacuum bag, and use them for all of their composite work and one-off custom boards. In his own words;

“It is 100% the best way to laminate composites. I have laminated in my big press before with mixed results. The best part about the tap is you can control the resin content through the use of peel plys, perforated films and pressure control. There is a reason all “real” composite parts are done with bags, aerospace, f1, boats etc…I also use the vac bags for all my custom shapes. Foam is a lot easier to work with than wood.”

The AM Wood Skateboard Company is expanding and moving its production facility later this year.  We look forward to seeing what the future of AM Wood's looks like, and will have a follow up post when they get set up... to be continued :)

You can keep up to date with AM Wood by checking them out at the links below.

AM Wood - Official Homepage

Facebook

Twitter

Hana Builds! in Maui

Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike

They work, they learn… to build stuff. Like their own skateboard park.

And their own skateboards!

Students doing the cement work at the park and in their shop building lots of boards

On the island of Maui, the local park in the remote town of Hana was really only used as a late-­night hang-­out. But since the skate park was completed, it is filled daily with skaters, many riding their own handmade Roarockit boards! Families and friends are spread out on the grass, picnicking and enjoying the scene.

Under the leadership of founders Rick Rutiz and his wife Kirsten, high school and graduate students do hands-­on building projects as part of the Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike Building Program. They’ve done many ambitious builds such as a shelter for their school buses, a thrift shop for the Home Dialysis group, cottages for their local kapuna (elders), a solar‐powered home for a family who’s house burned down and have even outfitted their work truck with solar panels to provide power for on-­the-­job energy.

The Roarockit truck parked by the student-built bamboo framed wood storage and office building

Ted enjoying the community built skatepark in Hana

When the skate park was nearly completed, Rick contacted us at Roarockit to bring in our technology to his classes. He wanted the boards they built to be of the best quality to match the level of skating now possible at the park. He offered a summer program to the local school and the response was overwhelming! In this very small community, over 100 students signed up literally overnight, to build boards! 

Ted and I went on location to visit the build sessions and to meet Rick and especially his 3 graduate students who lead the skateboard build sessions. Russell, James and Lyman are skaters themselves and are the shop foremen in the workshop and on the jobsites. In a few short weeks these friendly, smart, inventive and very cool dudes had figured out how to use the Roarockit Thin Air Press technology, taught more than 80 young builders in class then taken it further by modifying and creating new molds for their own custom designed boards. Awesome!

Ted with Russell, James and Lyman, discussing advanced Roarockit build techniques

The kids with their custom built and painted Street Decks!

The town of Hana is a community that helps each other in true Hawaiian spirit. We were awed and amazed by the experience of being there. The scenery is breathtaking and the community is supportive of each other, what a wonderful place and a great way to live!

Aloha,

Norah

To see other projects built by these Ma Ka Hana Ka 'Ike students, visit hanabuild.org

Brand New BIRCH Veneers Pt.3

Conclusion

From a board builder and riders perspective, we are quite pleased with the results of the 1/16” Solid Birch veneers. We found them very easy to work with, and the results were a nice contrast to our standard Maple veneers. Both are very strong/durable, and access to both now allows builders to further customize their rides. There is also the possibility of combining both materials on the same board to help create a unique weight and flex. The fact that Roarockit offers both at the same price allows builders to mix and match material with ease (contact us directly to order your own customized mix of veneers) .

Compared to other common board building materials on the market, our Birch veneers compare nicely to the popular bamboo/foam core alternatives. Especially for 'dancers' and boards meant to have a substantial amount of flex.

The durable, flexible and lightweight properties of the Birch are what lead us to making the Bamboo comparison in particular. It is also worth noting - for our North American builders who import bamboo from overseas, the fact that we have found a local source for our Birch veneers, helps reduce our carbon footprint and keeps cost down for everyone.

Through our research and testing, we concluded that the 1/16” Solid Birch was the most dynamic new material that wasn't readily available to board builders. It is no secret that the Birch Plywood found in most local lumber and hardware stores is not an ideal building material for skateboards. However, we chose to test this material because it is often used by beginners due to it's widespread availability.

Roarockit welcomes anyone who has tried our new Solid Birch veneers to send us their feedback and experiences working with the material. Also, if anyone feels like further breaking down the science behind some of our findings, any and all data or suggestions would be greatly appreciated... We may look great in our lab coats – but in reality, are much better skaters/woodworkers than we are scientists!

We would like to thank you all for your continued support of the Roarockit Skateboard Company. It brings us great joy when we see our hard work and dedication to classrooms/independent builders, pay off with positive comments and success stories from around the world.

Happy building!

Swap Meet SPECIALS!

The Roarockit Skateboard Company is again hosting this years Annual Swap Meet. Not only does the Swap Meet mark the unofficial launch of the new skate season, but it also the time when local board builders start planning for the Summer ahead.  We will be offering some great deals for this special day, and as always FREE BBQ!! 

The theme of this years special is "Become a Pro Builder Today!"

What we are offering is a chance to walk away with EVERYthing you need to start building your own custom skate/longboard decks, including a few brand new products we are very proud of - such as our brand new High Density Foam and the innovative Rockit Ruler!

You can get great deals on almost all of our every day products, including Titebond III glue, 1/16" maple veneers and 20"x70" TAP bags - but most exciting is the fact that you can walk away with ALL of these products for the low package price of $225!! That's over $40 in savings.

The total package includes:

1-   20"x70" TAP Kit (our most popular vacuum bag)

18- Sheets of 12"x48" maple veneer (enough for two, 9 layer decks)

1-   2" Slab of High Density Foam (used to make your own custom mold)

1-   Gallon bottle of Titebond III glue (best glue for building boards)

1- Rockit Ruler (used for marking centerline and aligning truck holes)

Items will also be available individually, but this is a ONE DAY ONLY promotion.

We look forward to seeing everyone out again this year, and hopefully a few new faces as well!

The Swap Meet will be located at Roarockit's Teaching Facility located at 880 Millwood Rd. Toronto ON M4G 1X1 on Sunday March 25th from 12pm-4pm