Chris Magoon
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Bending the rules of wood lamination

Fall 2013
I wanted to figure out how to make a fully "cereal bowl" concave deck using a vacuum press, and build a topmount deck that was ergonomic, rugged, and looked great. 
Without a massive hydraulic press, making wood laminates bend in two directions is challenging if not impossible. In a vacuum press, where pressure is limited, it can only be done very subtly. Rocker/concave boards take two mild bends in perpendicular directions, but nothing as aggressive as I needed to get a bowl concave with a micro-dropped platform.

I started by folding paper to figure out how to make the bends I needed, then moved to sheet metal, and finally a Google Sketchup model. The plan was to create small relief cuts at the edges of the standing platform to allow the wood to curve inwards, forming the bowl concave I was after. To keep the cut joint strong, I staggered the cuts so they essentially wove together in a finger joint. 
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Sheet metal model
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Sketchup model with a grid to show the folds
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Top view of a relief cut
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Edge view showing staggered cuts
In addition to joining the relief cuts, I added a layer of carbon fiber to the base of the board and 2 layers of fiberglass to the top. This sandwich made the deck rock solid, with excellent torsional rigidity for freeride and downhill. I also added nylon guards to the nose and tail of the board to keep the deck from getting smashed up. 
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Wet layup of carbon fiber on the bottom of the deck
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Nylon nose guard
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Out for some early season freeride on the finished deck
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  • Home
    • Engineering >
      • Fikst Product Development
      • Solar Ballast Mount
      • The TibFinder
      • Bridge Testing Jig
      • Diwheel
      • Drawing Machine
      • Camera Jibs
      • Adjustable Longboard Trucks
      • The HillBreaker
      • Nordic Skis
      • The Trike
      • Trash Shed
      • Machine Design
      • Transportation Puzzle
      • Lewin House
    • Longboards >
      • Lemon Shark
      • Prophecy
      • Harbinger
      • Longboard Basics
    • Art >
      • Installation
      • Ceramic
      • Sculpture
      • Drawing
      • Intaglio
    • Videography
  • Resume
  • About
  • Contact