DIY Skateboard Setup.

My friend David just bought a brand new complete skate setup online for about $60 and some change. After he received it in the mail he brought it by to show me. I thought it would be fun to put together a short tutorial for the blog on how to put it all together and he agreed. Granted we are not professionals, this tutorial is a true testament to how easy it really is for almost anybody to do this for themselves. So if you've ever wondered how to put your own custom skateboard together follow along with this instructional tutorial. For all of those visual learners out there we've provided a video so please enjoy! Here's what you'll need.

You can buy a setup online or at your local skate shop that includes these items. 1 set of trucks, 1 pair of spacers (shock plates), 1 set of barrings, and the hardware(nuts, bold, washers). For the detailing on the board you'll need grip tape any stickers you want to add. You will also need these tools; a screw driver, a wrench and an exacto knife. And of course how could I forget the most important part of all the board!

Old school natural pool deck 10" x 33"

STEP 1. WHEELS AND BARRINGS. 
We start by putting the barrings in the wheels. Each wheel has two barrings one on both sides.  Take one of the barrings and push it firmly into the backside of the wheel. Then flip the wheel over and place one of the small plastic spacers from your hardware kit into the hole. Next, place the second barring in the wheel over the spacer. Repeat this step for all four wheels.

 

STEP 2. TRUCKS.
Take one end of a truck and place in series a washer, a wheel, another washer and tighten them all down with a nut. So this for all four wheel axis.

 

STEP 3. MOUNTING THE TRUCKS.

It is very important that you place each truck in the proper direction. Notice the direction of the bolts in the picture below.

 Next we will want to mount the shock plate(or spacer) and the trucks. The quickest method I found to do this is to hold the board upright while placing the bolts. Holding the bolts in place with one hand, mount the shock plate and the trucks. Use the wrench and screwdriver to tighten the trucks to the board.

STEP 4. GRIP TAPE W/DETAIL STICKER.

Roll your grip tape out face down. Align the stick and place it upside down on the grip tape. Now, either trace the sticker on the grip tape or tape it down and use an exacto blade cut around the shape. You'll end up going over it several times with the blade no how sharp your blade is so take your time. We decided to leave some space between the sticker's shape and the grip tape. Next, punch out the shape, flip the grip over and lay it on top of the board. For this next step be very careful to not ***K it up. Slowly peel the grip apart from its backing. Fold the backing underneath the grip and carefully start laying the grip over your board. Work your way down the board smoothing out any trapped air bubbles. Continue pulling the backing out from underneath the grip as you go. Use a screwdriver to crease the edges by running it along the outside of the board. Cut the excess flashing off with your exacto and walla! All that's left is to place the sticker and your all done.

35mm Lens adapter Version 3.0!

Here is the final 35mm lens adapter. After hour of searching the web for an encasing  I found this 5.9"x5.9"x2.25" plastic box. The box is slightly larger than what I had in mind but it was the best I could find for under $10. As soon as I recieved the box I began working. First I drilled the holes for the lens mount, second for the motor plate inside the box and last a small hole in the back for the battery cable. Next I attached the adapter parts to the front and back plates.

After all of the hardware was assembled and tested it was time to paint it black. I took everything apart, used masking tape to cover anything I didn't want painted, laid the front and back plates out and use a matte spray paint to cover the box.

This is by far the best adapter box I've yet to build. As soon as I find the right parts I plan on adding a remote controlled focus puller as an addition to the box. But that's for another time and another blog.

DIY Life Drawing Bench!

Our Monday/Thursday life drawing group has been in serious need of drawing benches for a few months now. The one main reason that has been holding us back for getting the seats is our lack of space. Since we don't have the space to store the chairs I decided to build special collapsible benches that could fold up flat and be stored under our couch. For this job I knew I would need the very best help I could get so I called my dad. We got together and started thinking about the design. Actually due to our genetic impulsivity we started building right away without a clear idea in mind and ended up failing quite miserably. Nevertheless this did not discourage us from trying again. After all this was the first time either of us had built a functional chair before. There was much to consider in designing the benches and the fact that I wanted them collapsible proved to be an even greater challenge. After our first design had failed my dad came up with an ingenious plan. His design uses the weight of the person sitting down to keep the unfolded legs locked into place. His design seemed like the best option so we quickly moved forward. We cut the legs at 18" base on a stool we found in the garage. The bench itself is 42" long/12" wide and the back board another 18". The legs fold out and are held in place by two 12" long 4x4's cut at a 15 degree angle. For the rest of the wood we used half inch sheets of plywood. We also screwed two small pieces of scrap wood to the bench that hold the drawing board in place. The entire thing was put together with wood screws and hinges. After the whole thing was put together I sanded it down so that when you sit on it you're safe from splinters. Aside from the time it took build, the bench cost around $30-$35 in materials. Later I found this standard drawing bench online for $150 and another for around $80 somewhere else. If you're a starving artist in need of an affordable drawing bench and you have the tools and the time, this is for sure the way to go. Below you can see the prototype that we built and how easily it folds up.

It took two weekends for us to finally build one chair. But now that we know how to put one together the next bench shouldn't take nearly as long. For now we're only building three benches but if more people come to the Monday/Thursday night meet we will definetly be making more. In the future I might even add an upholstered cushion to the seat but for now I'm just excited to try it out!

35mm Lens adapter Version 2.0!

This is my second attempt at making a 35mm lens adapter box. This time I used beaver board to build the case. I ask one of the guys at my local hardware store to pre-cut the pieces for me. I used three 5''x 5'' pieces and four 5''x 3''. First I clamped the three 5''x5'' plates together and drilled my holes. Four holes for the main bolts and one large hole for the lens. Next I attached the motor and lens attachments. This is the motor I used for the spinning ground glass. I gutted a CD player and mounted the motor to the beaver board.

This is the CD I used for the ground glass.

These are the front and back plates. The front plate(right) has a Nikon lens mount ring attached and the back plate(left) has an extension tube.

Here's a video I shot to test out different lenses with the adapter. Unfortunately, when I took it out in the sun light for the first time there were a lot of light leaks. My next step will be to seal the box and paint it black.

35mm Lens adapter!

After having a conversation with a friend about planning weekend shoots and filming short stories I came up with an idea. I wanted to start using the things I build to make a series of short "MAKER" videos. Most of what will be used in the making of the videos will be hand made. Which brings me to the latest tutorial on how to build a 35mm lens adapter for your digital camera. Here's a short list of things you'll most likely need if you are to attempt this yourself.

SQUARE BOX 5''X5''X4''
35mm BACK LENS CAP / 35mm SLR CAMERA
35mm CAMERA LENS
CD PLAYER / DC MOTOR
BATTERY & SWITCH

In short, the adapter works similarly to a pin hole camera. Light comes in through the 35mm lens and is projected insides the box onto the GG(Ground Glass). Your digital camera is place in back and is focused on the GG. This is what the projected image looks like. Notice how the image is upside down on the GG.


For the GG(Ground Glass) I used a clear CD and sand it to give it a diffuse surface. In order to get a clean image without scratches I mount the GG to a spinning motor. You can use a DC motor if you like but I found this to be much to loud. Instead, I highly recommend salvaging the motor from an old CD player. For the outside case I used a tin box that came with my old wallet. Luckily I didn't throw that away!


Now to get the 35mm lenses to fit the box. I took the front end off of an old Pentax camera and attached it to the top of the box like so.


Next, I drilled a matching hole on the other side of the box and put the whole thing together. You need to measure the distance from the lens to the GG in order for the light to focus correctly. I was able to eyeball it by moving the GG around until I got a focused projection. Then I used plastic spacers to place the GG at the correct distance. I hooked up all of the electronics, mounted the on/off switch to the side of the box and locked everything else down. For the last step I used the cans from all of the diet coke I drank while building the adapter to seal the box.




Although I haven't found the right camera setup for the "MAKER" video series this would give me a good push into the general direction. Here's some footage from my first test.

I'm currently working on adding a remote focus pull. Here you can see the front of the box with the servo inserted next to the lens. I need a set of gears to make it work but that'll have to wait until next time.


Sources:
www.mediachance.com/