Hand Layup VS. a MOld.......?

Making these skimboards takes hours and sometimes days.  If anyone has worked with fiberglass or made a surfboard then you know how labor intensive the process can be.  Don't get me wrong, the process of finishing a board is very rewarding and the skills learned making each board is priceless.

With all that said I am contemplating a mold for my skimboards.  A lot of the major brands already use molds for their boars - Slop and Pop........ Super quick and easy.  The upfront cost for this process is a little higher.  The cost of the mold, the extra tools needed for the molding process, the cost for another mold when your ruin the first one.  I just dono....

A couple of props to my suppliers - Fiberglass Supply, Tap Plastics and Fiberglass Hawaii.

Watch for the new molded boards to Pop on the scene within the next year.  I will keep you posted on my trials.

thanks for reading.

m

Email, Email, Email Red Five

Again we change.  Until  I change Web Servers I am directing all email to

REDD55IVE@YAHOO.COM

I will be up and running soon with the new server.  The web page is still operational but the service sucks!!, They have not responded to my tech emails and their live Chat is down.  I would discourage anyone from using Adaptive.net - They Friken Su___! Ok, enough of that.

Stickers, STICKERS, Stickers - Remember, send your address, po box or whatever and I will send you out some FREE STICKERS. Free is always good in todays economy.

T-shirts - T-shirts, T-shirts, - Only $15.00 dollars for the Redfive Logo T-Shirt.  Red on a White T.  Send $15 bucks to my paypal  - @ Quidate@sbcglobal.net and I will ship out a T right away.  I have XL, Med and Small.

ok for now.....

m

TWO BOARDS

2010 - I only have one of these boards left.  The Dia De Los Muertos board  was sold at auction. Hope they're having fun on it.

m

mavericks onshore flood

No words are needed, this was just CRAZY!

Mavericks Surfing Live

This is it. The premiere Nor Cal Surfing event of the year. Big Jumbotrons my be nice at PacBell and Streaming Live on Facebook, but nothing beats being there in person and just experiencing the surf. Got there at 7:30 in the Am this morning. Even with that we still had to walk at least 20min to the point. I chose, this year, to climb the mountain and not venture out onto the rocks at the Point below. And this was a good choice. There was not a good scene today on the beach. The waves came crashing in and took out the BandStand, a couple of shade tents and some people out into the water. It was pretty friken crazy. It looked super dangerous down there. Sure Hope no one got hurt.

The waves were HUGE, and the surfers took advantage. We had a great spot up on the hill with a direct line of site to the waves. I shot some video on my Flip and some Video on my Iphone so I could not zoom in very much, but you can totally see that the waves were slammin today. There was just a huge crowd, like a million people. Maybe not a Million but it was packed.

We got there early, caught some waves, got some food, picked up some merchandise, watched the Jumbotron and headed home, all before 11:00 am Today.

If you missed it, then maybe next year.............

m

Email is down on Website.

Sorry to all, but the Red5ive email is down. I am going to change providers this week. If you click on the email link on the Webpage it will direct you to Quidate@sbcglobal.net. Please send all emails here to Quidate@sbcglobal.net. The Red5ive email will be up shortly.

Thanks and write in. Let me know what you think about the Website, the blog, the boards or just about anything that is on your mind.

I printed a batch of new Red 5 Logo Shirts in XL, Med, and Small. I will post pics shortly.

see ya....

Make it Shine!! Skimboard Gloss Coat

This is it. Yous goto have skills.... I have many stories of boards going bad, fiberglass delaminating and bubbling up 4" above the board, extreme fish-eyes that look like crators, but this is it. I solved most of my issues but I still like drink till I black out....JK. Issues with the board making process and fiberglass, resin and all that stuff. Next we sand and polish then RIDE.....

SEE YA..

Skimboard Fiberglass Step #4 Glassing

Getting some good respoonse on the latest of the series, but I am still not done with the board. I am still editing the footage but the next steps to go live are the Resin Floodcoating and the finishing steps. The new resin has some new UV protection so it appears a little blue but all for the good. The UV protection will stop the board from getting yellow in the sun, Nice!! When all is said and done I will take this board out to the Beach in El Granada, right down the street from the Mavericks in HMB and try it out.

This is someting that i have not even touched on in this blog.....skimboard Wax. And yes of course, we make that too. Already have the molds in place to pour a couple of sticks whenever I need it. Lately i have been mixing it up with color an anything else I can drop in while the wax is still curing. The wax is so termed Atomic PUdding. Just don't drink it.

We had the crab feed last weekend and some lucky soul picked up one of my boards. They didn't get the board I was working on, as expected, but they got another from my collection. Along with the board they bought a stick of wax, a T-Shirt and a Red 5 Trucker Hat. I screened it with a new screen that I have not shown on the blog just yet. It's like my new line for 2010 is out and I just haven't had time to put it out there.

The apparel section on the web page is surely lacking, sorry about that. I will have images up soon and a way to purchase. Cold hard cash and paypal are alwyas the perfered methods.

Ok for now...........

Skimboard Fiberglass Step #4 Glassing

Step #4 Glassing the board. This is the fun part. Will write more later, it's late. Enjoy......

Skimboard ART - Screenprinting the Logos

Here we are at Step Numero 3! These printed logos will appear on the bottom of the board which i will place under 2 layers of 6oz glass and Resin Research Epoxy resin. You might even see this next step come out as early as tonight. I have a tight deadline with this board and no time to waste. In this video I used my Sears Vac to create the vaccum for my vaccum table. Even though you see me tape the rice paper down on all sides I stll need the vaccum to keep the rice paper from sticking to the screen. This also allows the proper off-contact so the screen will pop off. I use large sheets of rice paper. Rice paper works because it completely dissapears when saturated with resin. This allows the logo to show through with no apparent backing. The ink is a water based ink. Water based ink is needed on styrene boards so the ink will no eat away at the board. Even though the ink is dry when I apply the logos water based ink is better for the enviro. What you didn't see in the video is the times I pulled a bad screen and had to throw them out. Next comes the glass...Look out!!

seeya....

Skimboard Art

The next step is the art. And like Jackson Pollock it got a little crazy. Some of the paint is bleeding through the board but this just adds another dimension to the look of it. The bottom of the board will be a mirage of Red 5 logos and other signature items. At this point the blank is still a little wobbly but the board will strengthen with the application of the glass and resin. What is the next step........? The next step doesn't involve the board at all. I will have to silkscreen the logos and any other signature items I want to appear on the board. For this I will need some ink, some rice paper and a lot of time. Watch for this in the next step

see ya.....


Check out and learn about Pollock (click on the link below)

Jackson Pollock

Shaping a New Board

I found my next project?

I found my next project.  See the table on the left.  This is exactly what I need when I am glassing a board.  I have been spending hours draping plastic wrap all around my shop floor only to have some run out through the seams and permanently bond it self to the floor.  I spend my next weekend with a grinder, a hammer and chisel removing the hardened resin from the floor.  This is the aftermath that I don't like about making my boards, but that has all been solved by this handy contraption you see here. I know it doesn't look like much to your but when I found this on the Web that light bulb burst over my head.  Then of course came the "Why didn't I think of that".  Regardless, I will have to start on this right away.  My shop isn't that big so I will have to modify and come up with my own version like something with a hinge in the middle so I can fold for storage. No more grinding the floor!!!!  Now it's off to Urban Ore in Berkeley for some used lumber and casters from the hundreds they have sitting around. If you would like to help build it feel free to stop by.......

Let's Skate

Christmas has past. My oldest son got a skateboard for Christmas, his own. I state "His own" because I have approximately 18 boards hanging up on the wall and another 2 or 3 boards rolling around somewhere in the house. You can never have to many skateboards. I collect boards and try to purchase at least 2-3 every year when they come my way. I started skating back in the 70's and still might have some of my original boards I had as a kid. Of the boards I have collected over the years here are some of my most notable boards:

Steve Caballero Powell Peralta Board from Steve's own collection - Board only - never mounted.
G&S Stacie Peralta Warp Tail - Tracker Trucks- 90a Rat-bones
G&S Neil Blender - Circa late 80's - Tracker Trucks - Sims OJ II Street
G&S Fiberflex - Original release
Logan Earth Ski - Bob Biniak Model - Board and Grip Tape - Never mounted with trucks
Sims Hardcore
Banana Board - By Street Racer
4 Makaha Boards, 2 Plastic and 2 older wood plank boards with clay wheels
Roller Derby #10 Skateboard with Steel Wheels

My oldest is 11 years old which seems like a good time to start his career in skateboarding - You just never know what path a skatboard will take you. He has balance and likes to skate but just does not get out enough to really learn how to manipulate the board. Last September he was fitted with a new skate helmet by Mike McGill at his shop in Encinitas, So Cal. My camera was not working so I am totally bummed that I didn't get this shot. This could be our New Years Res. to try new things like skateboarding and to have my kids get on a skimboard this summer. Here are some of the ages at which some Pros have started skating:

Christian Hosoi - 5 years old
Tony Hawk - 9 years old
Steve Caballero - 12 years old
Steve Alba - 11 years old

My other two kids got scooters for Christmas. This is a great way to start to learn balance and your own ability to accelerate your body, so we will see how it goes trying to get time in for all of their new toys and to skate.

Have not started the new skimboard yet but I should start shaping today.

m

I have free time

I have some free time or should I say much needed vatation time. I will not go back to my day job until next year. This is where you CHEER!!! I need to have a board done in a little over a month. This is completely possible but my ADD kicks in and I start making short videos, web pages for my 10 other product lines or, just start watcing movie marathons, last night it was the Matrix.

What do I need for a Board?

1 - 50" Styrene Blank
A gallon Set of Resin Research and Hardner
Lots of Sand Paper
A trip to Tap Plastics for all the consumables - Plastic resin buckets, stirring sticks, Gloves, Tyvex Suit ( So HOT), and Rolls of plastic.
Polishing Compound
High end Car Polish for the final Coat

I won't get into the entire list as i already have taken my kids college fund to pay for all of the other items needed like a gas mask, files, tape, Airbrush, Ink, more tape, bristle brushes, foam brushes, more tape - the blue stuff and more sandpaper.

I should really start to shape the board this week. I have the blanks come to me about 90% shapped by one of my suppliers. The front and back rocker ( Rocker is the term for the curvature of the board from nose to tail, looking at the board’s edge. There are three primary areas of rocker: nose, middle and tail. ) are already hot wired in based on my original design. I complete the final rail and tail shaping by hand with sandpaper, and sanding blocks. Aside from the artwork stage this is one of the funnest parts of making the board. This is where you can really see your board take shape.

My boards are epoxy resin boards which are very Earth friendly and emit low, if not any at all, VOCs. I will keep you updated as I start the board this week and will post pics as I progress with this board. Stay tuned....

Thanks for reading.

Martin