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

Wakeskate Build & Review Pt.2

**This is the 2nd part of 'Frenique Customs' Wakeskate Build & Review.  A special thanks goes out to Matthew Richardson for taking the time to put together such an in-depth and helpful post.

I enjoyed the Canada Day weekened up at my cottage on Wenona Lake in Haliburton, Ontario.  With my new wakeskate board to try out, I made sure my Dad took me for my first ride with everyone up to watch this epic moment.  I did not get up my first time - the board slipped out from my feet.  Determined to suceed, I tried once more and I got up!!!! So much stoke was happenin at this moment.  I rode side to side, over the wake and I even tried to jump and spin!!! That did not work... yet, but I got back up and tried again.  

Knowing that I made my own wakeskate, and it actually worked was such an awesome feeling.  In the end, I learned a lot from the choices I made and now feel like the options are endless!

My 4 ply board was light, and unfortunately turned out to be a bit too thin.  I left it on my dock for the day, used it to jump into the water and tried to ride it again later.  It turned out that I cracked the bottom layer... It has not ruined the board, but I know now that 4 layers is too thin.  I want to try and rectify this problem by adding a layer of fiberglass cloth to the bottom.  I feel like it’s worth a try and with my experience working with fibreglass, I know I can add a ton of strength.  That being said, a 6 ply board is the next thing to do on my list of things to try, so maybe that one will hold up for a longer period of time.  

With all the extra time and decisions to make, patience and determination was key... and let me tell you, it was really worth it. Try it out youself and see what you can come up with!

Here is some pictures of me riding my first FRENIQUE “We’re Fresh and Unique” wakeskate.

You should make sure to check out, 'like' and read Frenique Customs' profile on Facebook. They have a great story and are building some awesome things like wooden ear plugs, Muskoka chairs, cabinetry, and of course - longboards.   

Here is a cool video from the 2012 Longboard4kids event on Matthew's new Youtube feed:

Brand New BIRCH Veneers Pt.1

Here at the RockitLabs HQ, we have been working to find the next great material for our board builders around the world. After carefully weighing the pros and cons of various different materials, we came to the conclusion that one in particular really stood out... the choice was clear.

The Roarockit Skateboard Company is now fully stocked, and proud to offer our brand new - 1/16” Solid Birch Veneers! This locally sourced wood is strong, flexible and looks amazing!

There are over 40 species of Birch trees grown around the world, many of which are exclusive to North America. Birch trees can thrive in many different climates, which helps make it ones of the world's most popular building materials. The grain on birch is generally very straight and contains numerous small pores. The fine, straight nature of the grain makes it easy to cut, sand and accepts stain very well. You can stain Birch to match many different wood types.

When it comes to the strength of Birch as a material, it is considered to be one of the hardest and most durable of the common wood varieties. Like Maple, Birch can grow in extremely cold weather conditions. These extended periods of coldness allow the tree to mature slowly which results in tighter growth rings and a stronger final product. However, Birch contains 'flexier' properties than its Maple counterpart – something that is integral to certain types of boards.

Flexibilty is a function of the elastic and compressive values of a given material, and there are natural variances found within the complex structure of fibres and cells, that make Birch a 'flexier' building material. While we have done quite a bit of research to understand the science behind this, we do not claim to be expert Biologists. We look at this from a riders/builders perspective, and we know how different types of boards should feel. That being said, we are quite thrilled with the results!

For the next couple weeks, we will be releasing our test results, testimonials and opinions from board builders regarding the new Birch material.  Make sure to check back for Parts 2 and 3 of Roarockit's Birch Report.

PART 2 HERE!!

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

Welcome to Rockit Talk

The Roarockit Skateboard Company is proud to present our new blog/community, known simply as... ROCKIT TALK!!

Rockit Talk is our way of highlighting the amazing projects and contributions, that come from our extended (and very talented) Roarockit family.  Everyday we are lucky enough to see work created by people using our Thin Air Press technology, and everyday we are amazed by what people have come up with.  These projects range from designing skateboards to building boats, and are only limited by the imagination of the builders themselves.

It is our goal to create a place to display these innovations, and make use of all forms of social media to help educate and exhibit our communities' progress.

We encourage everyone to submit photos, videos and any information that we can use to help bring exposure to your work.

Roarockit would like to thank you all for your support, and we continue to look forward to seeing what amazing creations you all come up with.