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About Roarockit
Ted Hunter and his wife Norah Jackson were windsurfing on the beautiful island of Maui, when in July of 2001, Ted volunteered his time at the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center, a non-profit gathering place for artists.
Ted, a university professor and artist, was asked to teach a class of teens in the woodshop. As he had never taught such a young age group before, he had a challenge ahead of him — what to teach them? Norah suggested building a skateboard deck, as it involved the bending of wood, something Ted was well known for using in his sculptures. |
| Drawing on his ability to quickly and easily make prototypes, Ted created a one-sided mold and used vacuum to press the veneers into shape! The classes were successful and each of the 25 kids made their own professional quality, 3-dimensionally shaped skateboard deck using what ROAROCKIT has named, Thin Air Press (TAP) technology. |
Back in Canada, Ted and Norah spent the next year refining the process and created a kit to make the process and materials accessible to builders all over the world. In the fall of 2002, the ROAROCKIT Skateboard Company launched both a Street Deck and a pintail Long Board Kit, the originals in a now expanded group of kits. |
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Ted Hunter conceived a number of brilliantly innovative techniques – his use of foam as a one-sided mold is not only inexpensive to create, but works efficiently and effectively. His use of a manual vacuum pump to evacuate the air out of his well-designed vacuum bags had never been used before in the skateboard-making world. These innovative techniques have earned Ted two well-deserved patents!
The Thin Air Press technology is also useful for other wood bending projects such as drums, guitars, furniture, archery bows, wake skates etc. The non-powered press combined with non-toxic (water-based) glue means the kits can be used in many places that might otherwise be a safety issue.
ROAROCKIT supplies builders with 100% Canadian maple 1/16” veneer sheets, renowned as the best skateboard building wood in the world! It is documented to be 10% stronger than other maples available. |
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Schools all over the world use this system as part of their Mentorship programs, their After School programs, as an incentive, fundraiser or Credit Recovery program. It works especially well for the At-Risk youth group who need new and exciting projects to keep them engaged and in school to achieve their high school credits.
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| The ROAROCKIT TAP technology is easy to use and the possibilities are endless. Building custom skateboards using TAP works for prototyping, as an entrepreneurial venture, or for creating the boards you have always dreamed of! Our goal is to share this technology with everyone by making the materials and tutorials easily available. Please post your stories on the Ministry of Wood! |
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