Bamboo Review

It has been a few weeks since first getting our shipment of 1/16” Bamboo veneers in at Roarockit. Not only have we been building boards with the new material, but the first orders have gone out and we have received some great feedback from other builders as well. In this edition of Rockit Talk, we wanted to share some of our experiences and feedback we have received about building boards with the Bamboo.

Let's get to it!

As we have mentioned before, the bamboo is somewhat fragile before it has been laminated into a deck. It is important to remember this when handling it, especially if you are using bamboo as a face (outside) layer. As you can see in the photo below, it can split along the preglued seams fairly easily; however, once glued it does not seem to affect the strength or look of the veneer.

If you are going to laminate a bamboo veneer as a face layer on the top or bottom, we have had good success with laying a strip of tape across the seams to help prevent any additional splitting while the board is being pressed.

We have pressed three unique decks with the bamboo stock, and all of them have come out great! It is very nice to work with and machines a lot better than we had anticipated. Each sheet comes pre-sanded and we found that it cuts very easily as well.  

Click on the photos below for futher information about these two bamboo builds on our Instructables page

Now, we would like to switch gears and show everyone what someone outside the shop has done with the Bamboo veneers. This build and review was posted by an incredible builder out of Florida called Jords Boards. In the post, not only does she document the amazing custom board that was pressed with the material, but she actually took a photo of the veneers fresh out of the box. This was one of the very first orders of the Bamboo veneer we shipped, and needless to say we were super stoked to see it arrive safely without damage! Extra big thanks to Jords Boards for that one :)

The quotes and photos below are from Jords Boards' post on Silverfish:

The bamboo splits really easily if you're not paying attention but is completely manageable overall. Roarockit speaks to this on the order page for the bamboo and I concur - if it splits, you can deal with it. Roarockit packs the veneer really really well, I had no splits from shipping, only handling after opening the package, and specifically, rolling glue onto it on a tarp that had a wrinkle in it. I rolled over the wrinkled part and *pop* - the veneer split from about 6 inches in to the end of the sheet. Definitely more sensitive than cross-grain veneer but once you get the hang of it it's not brain surgery.  

The bamboo is all face quality with a very clean, almost gloss, finish. I normally take 60 grit to my deck blanks after cutting them to clean up grain, burrs, glue mess, etc. and the bamboo as face to your decks just doesn't need it...220 is probably where you need to be otherwise a damp cloth with a mild detergent to clean up marks or greasy fingerprints is all you need before painting it or pre-sanding before clear coat.

I use a jigsaw to cut my blanks and I usually cut slightly wide of my mark and then orbit sand the excess. The bamboo cuts incredibly clean, and cleans up crisper than maple alone. Normally a jigsaw leaves that fuzz top and bottom, right? That stuff just zips right off leaving a knife's edge look without any real effort, it's pretty neat actually.

The Low-Fat Monkey (bamboo) next to the Mad Monkey Howler (maple)

We would like to thank Jords Boards for sharing her unique custom decks and taking the time to review the Bamboo material. It is always great to see people doing such creative work with our TAP bags and material! Make sure to give her a 'like' on facebook and check out her awesome build/riding videos on Youtube.

If you have any questions, comments or reviews of the new bamboo veneer, we would love to hear from you and see your boards! Feel free to email chris@roarockit.com 

Family Day Art Class

The Roarockit Skateboard Company will be offering a 'Family Day Skateboard Art Class' at our Professional Deck Making School in Toronto's Leaside neighbourhood. (880 Millwood Rd. Toronto, ON - M4G 1X1)

Anyone is welcome, but we encourage parents to come with their kids, and there will be no extra charge to work together on the same board!

Click on photo above for the Facebook event page

880 Millwood Rd. "The World's First Professional Deck Making School"

This 5 hour class will run on Monday, February 17^th from 10am-3pm, and will include an introduction to skateboard art, layout and design of your own custom artwork and a hands-on demonstration of how to make your own custom skateboard using Roarockit's Thin Air Press vacuum bag technology.

**We will take a break at noon and there will be water and snacks provided (bagels, veggie sticks, Timbits) throughout the day. Bring yourself a lunch if you would like more than just a snack at this time. 

At the end of the class, you will leave with your 100% handmade, Canadian maple skateboard with your own custom graphic! Students will bring their designs to life using an array of different mediums and styles; Including, watercolour paints, acrylic paints, Sharpie markers, stencil art, graphite transfer paper and more.   

Price: $145.00 + HST = $163.85 

Class Breakdown

10am-10:30am: Introduction to Skateboard Art

10:30am-12pm: Art Application

12pm-12:45pm: Snack/Lunch Break + Skateboard Building Demo

12:45-3pm: Art Application

This is a one-time event with limited space available.

Please contact chris@roarockit.com if you have any questions regarding the class. You can also call Roarockit @ 1-416-422-5487 or visit our flagship location at 131 Sunrise Ave. UNIT 4A - Toronto, ON - M4A 1B2 to check out what we do! We are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. 

2013 Year in Review

2013 was one heck of a year! After getting settled into our new warehouse facility in 2012, the team at Roarockit refocused their efforts onto some new and pretty exciting projects for the board building community. Here's a recap of what we were able to accomplish this past year...enjoy!

In the early months of 2013, we had two very special guests stay with us at Roarockit. Sarah Jackson and Nicolas Alix spent nearly two months in Toronto learning about the custom board building business and training to become our official European branch of Roarockit. By August, the two young entrepreneurs had officially launched Roarockit EU and have been supplying the UK/EU with high quality products and materials (including 1/16” Canadian Maple) ever since.

Visit Roarockit EU by clicking the photo above

One of the last things we did this year, was also one of our most exciting developments! Right before Christmas, we announced the launch of our 1/16” Bamboo veneer. This is a really big deal for us. Having focused for years on supplying the world with the infamous 1/16” Canadian Maple veneers (and proudly doing so), we decided that we wanted to expand our material choices for custom board builders... Bamboo was the logical next step! Now builders can mix and match Maple, Birch and Bamboo to find that perfect combination.

Click photo for more information about our Bamboo stock

Next we have everyone's favourite skateboard/street art/high school program, the Oasis Skateboard Factory (OSF). Now in their 5^th year of operation, the ever-expanding OSF program is starting to get some serious recognition for innovation in education! Working closely with the teachers and students of the program, we were able to collaborate on some amazing events this year.

OSF x Longboard Living Product Launch - click for more photos

Board N' School Skateboard Art Auction - click for more photos

Oasis Graduation at Roarockit - click for more photos

OSF x Anomaly - click for more photos

After launching the RockitRuler in 2012, we received a lot of great feedback and were able to make a small adjustment to help improve the versatility of the popular tool. By adding two new holes, we were able to give the builder the option to layout both their new school AND old school truck hole setups.

Some other great events we were apart of:

Hosted the 6th Annual Swap Meet - Click for more photos Had a great time at Maker Faire TO - click for more photos

Other notable developments for 2013:

• Creation of our Instructables online board building tutorials

• Relaunch of our DIY SK8 custom board building classes

• Rockit Talk being published to Concrete Wave (continuing in 2014)

• Growth of our social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram)

• Youtube channel broke the 1000 subscriber mark!   

We always look forward to seeing what people are doing with our Roarockit Technology, and encourage builders around the world to contact us with any questions they may have about our tools and materials. 2014 should be a great year, so stay tuned and keep producing those high quality handmade goods! Happy New Year from the Roarockit Family :)

Week Long Classes 2014

Roarockit offers full-week building programs, designed for you to build your own custom board with one of our experienced instructors! 

There will be 3 seperate sessions held in our Professional Deck Making School, located at 880 Millwood Road in Toronto, over the next year.  

The Session Dates:

July Summer Camp 1 - 2014

Monday July 7 to Friday July 11

9:30 am - 12:00 am (12.5 hours total)

July Summer Camp 2 - 2014
Monday July 28 to Friday August 1
9:30 am - 12:00 am (12.5 hours total)

August Summer Camp - 2014
Monday August 18 to Friday August 22
9:30 am - 12:00 am (12.5 hours total)

Choose to make a Lil' Rockit mini-cruiser, street deck skateboard, pintail longboard, top-mount speedboard, or a more advanced drop deck. With an experienced instructor to show you the steps and share all the builder’s tricks and tips, you will produce a seriously awesome board the very first time, and will be able to continue making boards with your new-found knowledge.

Using the best wood in the world for a skateboard (Canadian maple), you’ll learn how to laminate a 3 dimensional board in a Thin Air Press, finish it, design and apply your own graphics. Using Roarockit’s patented method, your quality board will be entirely hand-made, using the power of vacuum, no power tools required.

As there is drying time between many of the steps, skateboard building requires multiple sessions to complete the stages. Sessions are planned so that all the steps are completed by the end of the 5 day program, so attendance at all 5 days is required. Space is limited, so submit your application early to ensure your spot!

What’s included:

The materials and use of our tools to create a custom board. During the 5 sessions, you will prep sheets of Canadian maple, glue up and press them in a Thin Air Press, over a mold. You sand and finish the edges top and bottom, clear coat and apply your own graphics to finish up your board.

What’s not included:

Wheels and trucks, hardware or grip tape

 

Feel free to contact us for more information:

Phone 1-416-422-5487

Email - marcel@roarockit.com

BAMBOO

Since introducing our 1/16” Solid Birch veneers just over a year ago, builders have been having great success experimenting with different combinations of Birch and Maple layers. The ability to fine-tune the feel and ride of a board by using different materials in the decks construction, is something that board builders are always looking for.

That being said, Roarockit has been working to source another high quality material to offer along with our 1/16” Maple and Birch veneers. We are excited to announce, that we will now be offering a very special 1/16” Bamboo material.

So let's get to it!

Why Bamboo?

Bamboo is used in the construction of many different styles, shapes and sizes of board. It is often used for its flexible properties, but it also has a look to it that is very unique and can be used simply as a decorative face (exterior) sheet on a deck. Bamboo is regarded as a 'green' building material because it is one of the most versatile and fastest growing plants in the world.

 

Why our Bamboo?

We looked at a bunch of different options for the type of Bamboo we thought builders would enjoy working with most. With samples in hand, and feedback by some of our most trusted and experienced board builders, we were able to decide on a 1/16” non-carbonized, solid veneer product.

Most of the bamboo available from other sources is a plywood product (not unlike Baltic Birch) and even in the 1/16” thickness, is made up of multiple pre-glued layers that in our tests broke down after constant flexing. We wanted to find something that would be strong, easily bendable and adhere to most locally available, waterproof glues.

There was also the option of getting carbonized or non-carbonized (natural) bamboo. We chose to go with the natural bamboo for a variety of reasons, the most important being that it is a stronger, denser material. Carbonized bamboo products are used mainly for aesthetic reasons, and for board building we thought that strength of the material was more important.

Here's some great insight as to the pros and cons of carbonized vs natural bamboo from doityourself.com. The article's focus is on bamboo as a flooring product, but the same rules apply.

Bamboo Properties 

• Flexible
• Strong
• Stable (no warping)
• 1/16” thick (veneer, not plywood)
• Non-carbonized (lighter shade and stronger material) *carbon process softens material and is more expensive
• Works well with Titebond III adhesive and Epoxy
• Presses easily in the Thin Air Press Vacuum Bag

Material Dimensions 

• 10.5” x 46” x 1/16”

How to Purchase? 

We have tested multiple different ways of packaging and protecting the bamboo veneer for shipping. Due to the somewhat fragile nature of the product (it has a tendency to split along the lengthwise gluelines) we have found that it is best packaged in a minimum group of 10 sheets. We are also going to offer single sheets of bamboo, but it is only meant to be ordered along with other larger veneer packs so that we can bundle them all together in the same box to increase stiffness. 

Here are the three options we have prepared for ordering from our website:

10 Pack Bamboo20 Pack BambooSingle Sheet 

 Also, for a limited time we are going to offer a special Pro-Builder Kit that will include (4) FREE sheets of Bamboo along with the (18) sheets of Maple veneer in the bundle. The Pro-Builder Kit also comes with a 2" thick sheet of our high density foam, and a 20x70 TAP Kit for laminating your decks!

Click for ProBuilder Kit with FREE Bamboo!!

The team at Roarockit is very excited to see what builders are able to do with this new veneer layer option. We have been playing around with different combinations of Bamboo, Maple and Birch, and plan to post some of the boards and experiences in the near future :)