Chugach Optional - Bamboo Long Board
This was a quick one day project, my partner, Alexa, and I collaborated on for our roommate Alex's birthday (Yes, I live with an Alexa and an Alex). Alex is from Anchorage Alaska which is surrounded by the Chugach Mountain Range, hence the laser etched artwork on the bottom of the board (courtesy of Alexa). I laser cut a generic mountain range in some grip tape to give the board a little bit of flair when looking from above. The board is cut in an arrow head shape out of 1/2" bamboo ply, a very strong, yet flexible board material.
Required Resources: 5 hours, $20 (Deck only)
Size: 10" x 32" x 0.5"
Materials: Bamboo Ply (1/2")
Finish: 3 Coats Oil Based Semi-Gloss Polyurethane Aerosol
Grip: Jessup Skateboard Grip Tape
Tools: Laser Cutter
New Techniques:
Laser Cutter: One Stop Board Making Shop
The goal on this board was to design it in CAD, throw the board material into the laser cutter and call it good. For the most part we were able to make good on this dream. We not only laser etched the design on to the bottom of the board we also laser cut clear through the ply leaving the complete shape of the board and mounting holes after the last pass from the laser. True, we did use a mounted wood router with a round over bit to fillet the edges, but for the most part, the laser handled the bulk of the work. A similar story with the custom grip tape; designed in CAD, cut paths set with settings from a previous job and pressed go. This was an efficient way to make a custom long board. The artwork took 4 hours to finish, but the actual fabrication of the board was completed in under an hour.
Lessons Learned:
This whole build was pretty stress free, and part of this was because I was working with my partner, Alexa, to get it done. Most projects I take on are solo endeavors; all decisions are mine to make and I often get frustrated when things don't go quite to plan. Working with a friend/ partner was a welcome and calming change of pace. It was fun to bounce ideas off each other and rewarding to settle on a design the made use of both of our skill sets. If things start going sideways, there's another person to troubleshoot with you or diffuse the situation with a joke and some perspective. Working with a partner is also a great way to learn skills from another person that you might not have. I've learned the basics of Adobe Illustrator from Alexa from this project and other collaborations. Partner projects are great!
