Less Than Jake headlines Spring Jam at Seabreeze Amphitheater

When I was wee lad growing up in the late 90s, the coolest band this side of the Mississip was Gainesville’s own Less Than Jake (LTJ). The upbeat ska band came out with two-minute song after two-minute song, burning my Discman to the ground. I probably saw this damn band 15 times; luckily West Palm and Ft. Lauderdale sit conveniently along the I-95/Fla Turnpike corridor; shit, they kick-started my love affair with PEZ Candy. Sixteen years later (for me; LTJ is celebrating their 20th birthday this year), LTJ is still scratching those same static ska chords and blowing them horns—wonder how the old dude, Howie J. Reynolds, is doing?


They may be a bit wider, a tad slower, and relying on some ‘classics’ but LTJ is back in SoFlo headlining Spring Jam, put on by Music Jam Productions, over at the coolest damn concert venue in this whole damn town, the Seabreeze Amphitheater at Carlin Park. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Seabreeze is celebrating the, ahem, warmer months with 12 hours of tunes, eats, booze and, err, art. Plenty of local acts are getting in on the good times, including perhaps the freshest local band The Kinected; surf bums William Kimball and Hit Show; PBC reggae mainstays The Resolvers—boo-yah-ka-sha; the rocksteady/reggae fellas from PSL, RustiCo Drop; and a slew of others (South Side Dub, Honey Henny Lime, Spred the Dub, Bryan Matthew and the L.O.C., Crazy Fingers, We Kill Giants, All The Pretty Cars, Saltwater Grass and Scalawag).


Tix for this 12-hour music fest cost $20 before March 1 at Music Jam Productions website—hit this link—and a bevy of brick and mortars (below). Tickets are $30 a pop come March 1 and at the gate. Get the tix early folks; though the venue is outdoors, there is a capacity.

(Tickets available at the following: Jupiter: Corners Ocean Bar & Grill, Blueline Stand Up Paddle Surf, Local Surf Shop, Wolfe Guitars, Jupiter Music; Wylder’s in Tequesta; Florida Paddleboards in Juno Beach; Maraist Law Firm in North Palm Beach; Stuart: Morning Glory Café, Surf Central, Surf Ratz, Earthtones; Ohana Surf on Hutchinson Island; and Nomad Surf Shop in Boynton Beach)

Courtesy of Music Jam Productions

Seabreeze Amphitheater
750 S. A1A
Jupiter, FL  33477

Custom Handmade Skateboards, Part 3

Oak Short Board Skateboard

The skateboards I started as a weekend project last week are finally complete and if you ask me, look pretty rad. For paint jobs I went pretty simple. Once I sanded the boards down to 220, I went pretty minimalist on the oak, while I wanted to accentuate the shark on the poplar board. So though they are similar in size, they could not be more different in appearance.

On the red oak short board I wanted to let the natural wood shine, so made two simple green lines with watered down acrylic paint, no wider then the countersunk holes for the thru-bolts, and wrapped them around both top and bottom of the deck. I sanded the stripes down for a more distressed look, keeping with the 1970s vintage theme. 

Solid oak custom handmade skateboard.

I thought the grain of the wood was too pretty to cover with paint, decals or grip-tape, so I varnished the wood to let the grain and natural hue shine through. I was pretty liberal with the varnish, seeing that these are skateboards and, by design, take a beating. I used Varathane semi-gloss floor finish to protect the wood from scratches and wear because once it hardens, it is like steel. Wear a respirator when using this product, it contains heavy metals and is toxic.

Oak is really dense with heavy grain, and with the amount of shaping I did to give the nose and tail its shape, the grain really raised up when varnished, even though it was sanded down. So after two coats of varnish I busted out some 400 grit sandpaper and brought down the varnish nearly to the wood. Then I applied another two coats. Once those dried thoroughly, I took out some steel wool (4000 grit) to bring out a nice smooth texture. I applied another two coats of varnish, just for good measure, before adding some silica sand for grip on the top of the deck.

For this, I got some fine silica sand and put it in a salt shaker. I then put on a generous coat of Varathane and lightly sprinkled the sand onto the deck. This captured a fair amount of sand. Once dry, I added another three coats to ensure the sand was fully captured. This gives for a nice grip that allows the natural wood of the board come through versus covering the board in tape.

For hardware, I decided the Randal RII 180 were just a wee bit big, so I swapped them out and started working on a 40-inch pintail to fit the trucks (more on that to come!).

40-inch pintail in the works!

I picked up some 8-inch trucks (5 ¼ inch hangar) to bring the hardware down to size. I also picked up another soy product wheel—Sector 9 Soy-Based Biothanes, 65mm 78A—these so I can get a decent sampling of how Soy wheels stack up against the Sector 9 9 Balls on the Land Shark twin fin. I'll keep you posted on which works better, but from the few rides around the block I have gone on, they seem to ride pretty evenly, though the soy wheels feel a little softer.

I affixed the trucks on ¼ inch risers. When paired with the narrowed design of the board at the tail and nose, there was no need for wheel-wells.

The board rides smoothly and cuts sharp. It is a little heavier then the poplar board, but it hasn't offered any problems to me while cruising. Actually it seems to handle the uneven sidewalks a little better then the lighter boards I have ridden in the past.

Land Shark Swallowtail Poplar Skateboard

I really dig the little twin fin Land Shark I put together. The poplar has some great variation to the grain, ranging from blond to green to a deep purple, so I had to let that shine through on top and let the shark rein supreme down below.

To bring out the design, I used some stain (Bear semi-transparent Weatherproof Wood Stain in Gettysburg) to add some color to the body, and carry a 1-inch stripe along the top of the deck. So once the deck was completely shaped and sanded down to 220, fixed up any last needed repairs with the chisels on the shark design, I stained the board. I taped off a stripe that went the length of the top, and then taped off right at the shadow of the rail so the stain would not flare up to the top of the board. I started staining on the bottom first, then the top along the taped off line. The blue came out darker then I wanted on the bottom, so I sanded it down for a more aged patina, letting the grain peak through at spots. I left the strip up top bold and untouched. 

Poplar Land Shark Twin Fin Skateboard.

I then took some acrylic white paint and painted the teeth and the eye of the shark, two coats. Then dotted the eye with some black, and emboldened the teeth with some black lines, and a simple red line as a border. Once this was done, it was time to varnish.

After the first two coats, the poplar did not raise nearly as bad as the oak, so I sanded down with the steel wool. After that it was smooth sailing with the varnish, just as I did on the other board.

The end result is a pretty quick board with a lighthearted design that will mirror the twin fin surfboard I am shaping now.

Check back soon on updates on the wheel wear and if the soy product is really worth the buck, and on the progress on the pintail, it is going to be sick. And as always, enjoy the Shore Life!

Custom Handmade Skateboard, Part 2

Mapping deck shape and truck location.

I wound up making two skateboards, one out of a solid piece of poplar, with a design resembling a twin-fin surfboard, and the other out of a solid piece of red oak, a short board replica. After mapping out the deck and the truck location, I cut the deck out of the solid wood with a saw.

To drill the holes for the trucks, it is imperative to get a straight hole, so a drill press is key. Luckily we had a drill press and did not kill ourselves messing with it.

The only way to get the proper shape was to bust out the block plane to shape the rails, nose, tail and overall dynamics of the board, then sand the crap out of it until it is smooth, even and symmetrical. It takes quite a bit of time and an eye for it (as well as a couple other people's eyes to tell you when it looks like crap).

The shaping and sanding is time consuming, and could probably be done quicker with a palm router, but using a plane and sander gives it little extra character. Once shaped and sanded, the decks look mean and quick—straight up Dogtown and Z-Boys throwbacks, wooden hand-shaped bullets.

For the twin-fin, I got some inexpensive gear to test the board out. Using some Cargo 129mm trucks with Sector 9 'Nine Ball' 61mm/78A wheels and some Bones Reds bearings, I raised them up a 1/4” so the wheels would not rub the rails and I would not have to carve out wheel wells. The board is fast and maneuvers like a gem. Even though it is pint-sized, just under 30” long, the board can fly down the road and turns quite quickly.

Red oak shortboard up top, poplar twin-fin with the blue wheels.

I was a little worried that the poplar, a much lighter wood then oak would be a little weak and bend under the pressure of my 175lb frame, but it holds up perfectly. Word of advice, use soft risers versus hard. Since these decks are solid wood they do not flex like ply, so the squishy risers give just a little, keeping the ride smooth. I was afraid the board would ride like an old Jeep Wrangler with a suspension as stiff as a tractor, but these things are as sweet and soft as a marshmallow.

For the solid oak bullet, I went a little oversized for the gear, more for a fashion statement and an added bit of maneuverability. Slapping some Randal RII 180mm/50-degrees on a 1/2” riser, with some 70mm wheels and Sector 9 Platinum Abec 9 bearings (smooth sailing for $30, like the $100 Bones Swiss Ceramic bearings but a third of the cost), this board straight up flies. It looks like a surfboard monster truck, and as unstable as all hell, but don't judge a book by its cover. Once your on this thing and cruising, its all gravy; turns like a dream and rolls on for miles.

Jorge's board in the forefront.

My Colombian brotha Jorge over at RainySun Design came by this past weekend for a little woodshop class and made a fat popsicle of a board. Longer then the little minis, Jorge's board is also made out of solid red oat and sits around three-feet long. We slapped slightly larger Cargo trucks (149mm) with 1/2” risers on the deck to make up for the size difference. And with the Mother always on our minds here at Shore Life and Rainy Sun, Jorge went for the Dregs eco-savvy wheels, the Luv Yo Mutha 71mm made out of soy, eschewing the oil-based polyurethane wheels of old. (We'll keep you posted on how these bad boys hold up. This is a relatively new technology to skating, so the verdict is yet to be rendered, but if they burn out or hold up, we'll let you know.)

With the slightly larger deck and bigger set of hardware, the 'Bro-Sicle' handles much more like a traditional longboard skateboard without the major flex the ply-made boards usually undergo. This board is perfect for cruising A1A at Carlin Park.

Both the poplar twin-fin and oak shortboard, handmade skateboards.

These boards are unique, so if you are not wanting attention on a busy sidewalk or street, skate fast, because people will try to stop you to look at the goods. The next step is design. Still working with some different paints and varnishes, so we'll have to catch you later when the project is complete and have a full report.

Cheers and enjoy the Shore Life! 

*Photos by Rainy Sun Design

Handmade Skateboards, Part 1

Though the South Florida surf season is at it peak, the surf in 2012 has been iffy at best. So to ride out the lulls while keeping the ride perpetual, cruising along the beach road on a skateboard is a great way to keep the heart going, soak up a little Vitamin D and keep the seaward motion moving. But the boards found at the surf shops just don't suit my tastes; I don't want some super longboard or some street board, but a nice cruiser that's easy to maneuver and a little different from the standard stuff on the market. So the latest project at Shore Life is to make a handmade skateboard.

   The design of the board is relatively simple. I do not have access to a steaming setup, so I cannot bend wood, so it is time to get old school. These aren't those old crate scooters of old, but a page straight out of the 1970s when the Z-Boys were kicking it in Dogtown, and the decks were flat and fly. Using a solid block of wood, preferably oak, I hand cut the deck, modeling the shape after a twin-fin fish surfboard I am currently making (it is the surfboards little land brotha, and a future article), complete with a swallow tail and rounded nose. 

   

Truck location

   The dimensions are a closely guarded secret of the Shore Life brethren, but before cutting the deck shape I mapped out the position of the trucks. Being handmade, the shape will not be perfectly symmetrical, which adds to the character but doesn't make mapping out the position of the trucks post-cut easy, so placing the trucks while the board is still square was must.

   Once I cut the deck, I busted out the old block plane and Stanley Surform hand plane to cleanup the shape and get it looking like a deck.

  

   For a deck design I carved out a shark on the bottom using some super sharpened chisels and a Swiss-made wood-carving knife (don't try this at home folks, you'll cut your fingertips off or stick a chisel in your thigh).

   The rest of the setup must be done at the shop where the drill press is located, and since the weather calls for crap this weekend, check in this Sunday for the final product, a lineup of the hardware used and a review on whether the board is a boom or bust.

Cheers, and enjoy the Shore Life!