# Emperor Guillotine's Custom Longboard/Skateboard Projects



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 28, 2014)

At the beginning of my spring 2014 semester at the university, I (like many others) realized that I was going to need an efficient means of transportation to get around campus. Fitting a bicycle in/on my tiny car that I've worked hard to restore was out of the question. Plus, even though there are hundreds upon hundreds of bicycles on campus, the risk of theft is always present. This led me to decide to get a longboard since it would be easy to maintain, easy to carry around (meaning I could bring it anywhere such as in a classroom), fun to modify, and I live in a beach town filled with college kids, so longboarding is kind of a popular form of recreation and sport around here. With all this in mind and my decision made, I snagged a super beat-to-hell longboard from an old friend and from there...my hobby began!

I originally began by refinishing the beaten old board that my friend gave me as my first project using some tips that I learned from watching YouTube videos. I also began heavily researching into the designs of longboards, aerodynamic properties, different types of hardware, and how to setup a board. From there, I learned the same about skateboards. And the desire to build my own custom board to my specs (from scratch) naturally followed. 

I have received nothing but positive support from friends and some fellow forum members on here, which really has flattered me considering that this is just a mere hobby that I took up fairly recently. My friends all come to me for advice on setups or hardware (wheels, trucks, bearings, etc.) Some have even suggested that I go into a "business" of sorts and advertise myself for doing modifications to boards or even offering the service of building custom boards for paying clients.

I would like to use this thread to share some of my past projects, as well as some future projects that I will be working on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's start with my first project: the "Yakuza" board (as I named it after the refinishing process was complete).

Sector 9
40" pintail
Stock
















Nose is cracked with delamination occurring as a result of the crack.





Razor-tail is present along with a really big chip that goes underneath the griptape.





The hardware (wheels, trucks, etc.) is all very crappy quality (thanks to Sector 9) and shows extreme amounts of wear.





Griptape is jagged, peeling, and has some holes and tears. Needs new griptape.





The residual damage from the nose crack is a bit more apparent here leading down to the base of the truck. Also, there is a bit of "wheel bite" caused by the wheel on the right here.





The tail is about burnt-out from scratches and scuffs.





Griptape removed.





Completely sanded down the deck (top and bottom).










Glued and sealed the nose crack.





All taped up and ready to be painted. (Top)





All taped up and ready to be painted. (Bottom)





After about an hour of painting layer after layer for the base color...





Hanging up to dry.





Dish soap applied!










After another hour of painting layer after layer of the top coat...










Well...paint design on the board didn't turn out right. Time to sand it down and start all over again. F--K! (Today has clearly been a bad day.)





Sanded down again. Back to the beginning, here we go.





Ladies and gentlemen, we are now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

The board has now been repainted for the second time and is drying.





Alright! The paint design with the dish soap turned out sweet! Time to add some splattering details by hand.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 28, 2014)

Late night splatter session!















More paint today? Yes, please!





Hardware includes:
- 5.0 standard trucks (I'm going to loosen them a bit and remove the cupped washer underneath the bottom bushing allowing it to flex as much as possible. This, combined with the risers facing opposite directions, will offer pinpoint-precision carving.)
- ABEC-7 bearings
- 1/4" wedge riser pads (might add on an extra 1/8" riser pad under each)





Clear-coated (multiple times over two days)

























Gripped





All set up with the hardware!




















Finished like glass...










The stuff on the griptape is just leftover sludge or "slurry" from wet-sanding multiple times after I already gripped the board. (It can be washed and scraped off.)















Tail repaired. No more razor-tail.










Nose repaired. No more cracked nose or delamination.


----------



## asher (Jul 28, 2014)

I don't do anything skating related but that's fvcking rad.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 28, 2014)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the "Yakuza" board! Finally finished!













































"Blood. War. Forever."




















First day of breaking it in! - Decided to take some more pictures since the weather is now better and more sunny for natural lighting.






























For those who are curious, here is a picture to show my setup.

I like my trucks moderately loose (not too loose, not too tight. Just midway.) 

The bottom bushing (boardside) has had the stock cup washer removed and is running NO washer at all. (Not recommended in all cases.) This allows the bearing to fully flex and squish, which makes turning a lot more "sloppy" and feel more loose, which is amazing for carving. 

The top bushing (roadside) has had the stock cup washer flipped upside-down to emulate a flat washer (since I don't have any flat washers in this size laying around). A flat washer still retains control of the bushing and keeps it from getting eaten up, but it is not as tight and restrictive as a cup washer. (Cup washers like these are great only if you plan on riding your board in a straight line in my opinion due to how much they restrict the bushing from flexing.)






Tail repair is holding up. (Any of my luthier friends like that slight flame?)





Nose repair is holding up.


----------



## Daf57 (Jul 28, 2014)

Very cool project!! Well done!


----------



## neurosis (Jul 28, 2014)

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!! 

I told you man, you have this thing down. And I completely agree with your friends. If you have time try to see where this leads you. 

Before the clear coat I see you added the Japanese Lettering. Did you use a template? Or a decal? 

Overall cool board. It looks amazing. I don´t know if I can be proud of a stranger... but you´re getting me pretty damn close... hahahah.



Keep em coming.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 28, 2014)

neurosis said:


> Did you use a template? Or a decal?


Decal.


----------



## Overtone (Jul 29, 2014)

Nice!

Why are you so bad at cutting grip tape when you are so good at everything else?


----------



## Overtone (Jul 29, 2014)

Is that top left screw on the front truck just not able to be flush? I am guessing you tried already... Shame since it looks like a little gap between the riser and the board in the last pic


----------



## vilk (Jul 29, 2014)

blood war forever?

edit: oh haha I see you wrote it in the post


----------



## Alex Kenivel (Jul 29, 2014)

Glad for this thread. 

May I suggest a gun-shaped deck? 

I know it sounds crazy but I've seen some crazy crazy pressure flip tricks done on an L board.. 

But that's probably just a waste to some folk.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 29, 2014)

Overtone said:


> Nice!
> 
> Why are you so bad at cutting grip tape when you are so good at everything else?


This was my first time cutting grip tape when I first started. And I actually knicked the board with the razor blade a bit, which is what I was obviously trying NOT to do. I'm a lot better at it now and got it smoother on the next board.



Overtone said:


> Is that top left screw on the front truck just not able to be flush? I am guessing you tried already... Shame since it looks like a little gap between the riser and the board in the last pic


There was a little gap in the first few pictures because I wasn't sure if the paint/clear had fully cured or not and I didn't want to tighten it down. I have since tightened it down obviously since I ride it almost every day.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 29, 2014)

The second board I began working on simultaneously while building the "Yakuza" board. 

I went to see Lacuna Coil here in my hometown back in February 2014 when they kicked off the 2014 "Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock Tour" with Sick Puppies, Eyes Set to Kill, and Cilver. I got to finally meet some of the members after the show and chatted late into the night with Andrea Ferro (Andi - vox) and Marco Coti Zelati (Maki - bass) who were incredibly nice guys and interesting to talk with. Being that Lacuna Coil has been one of my favorite bands and top influences since I was a kid, coupled with the fact that Andi and Maki used to skate before the band was formed and took off, I decided to make my next longboard project a tribute to Lacuna Coil. 

Deck was cut from a pre-made template. 
39.75" double-drop
(I actually had a picture on my phone of the deck while it was in the press after we had glued the layers together in the local shop that I had cut it. However, the picture was really blurry and I had gotten glue on my phone at that point. -.-)





A little extra sanding and sculpting on the concave and curves of the drops made them a bit more pronounced. The custom deck was then dipped in an opaque black factory paint which dried rather unevenly and crappy.




















Hardware includes:
- Inverted/reverse kingpin trucks
- ABEC-7 bearings
- 70mm wheels





First round of painting. Before.

























First round of painting. After.





Hmmm...what on earth is going on now?





Bottom of the deck, almost done!





The current projects.  (Third one is in the box.)










After 2 hours of cutting and sanding the edges.





Do you see it yet?...





Whoops, messed up and had to sand this section down.





Repainted.





After some more painting.
(What could I be up to?...)










Maybe a little more sanding?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 29, 2014)

Wet-sanded to perfection! So glassy!





Finishing touches? 










After a few hours on Photoshop, I've got a cheat sheet!





Wet-sanded.





Gripped.





Setup with hardware.





Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the completed Lacuna Coil custom longboard!







































































Please excuse the pollen that is speckling the board. (Stupid spring weather...stupid pollen...stupid allergies.)


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 29, 2014)

I shared the photo album documenting the creation of this board with Cristina Scabbia and Andi on 4/1/14 in honor of the release of Lacuna Coil's new album _Broken Crown Halo_ (which came out on 4/1/14).





Cristina then shared a picture of the board on her Facebook, where it amassed over 3,000 "likes" in about 2 and a half to 3 days.)

Right now, I can't ride this board. It's too clean and polished. It literally has sat covered up under my bed in my room since I finished it. Although, I must say that I do have plans to one day present it to the members of Lacuna Coil the next time they come through my area on tour.


----------



## asher (Jul 29, 2014)

Dude, nice!


----------



## Overtone (Jul 29, 2014)

That's amazing! Really nice work. Never seen a tape cutout like that and the white really pops! I'm coming after you if you try to do a board slide.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 29, 2014)

Overtone said:


> That's amazing! Really nice work. Never seen a tape cutout like that and the white really pops! I'm coming after you if you try to do a board slide.


Thanks, man! 

I was going to do more with the griptape, but it is so tricky because you have to scribble/draw the design backwards on the back where the paper is. And also I couldn't really think of anything else to do with the griptape.  I did actually want to do a thorny vine though (like the vine inlays on an Ibanez Vai) in the griptape, but that would be WAY too intricate for my meager skills right now.

Also, I don't think I could ever ride this board. It's just wall-art now.


----------



## soliloquy (Jul 29, 2014)

i dont know much about boards, but this thread is keeping me entertained. good job!


----------



## Alex Kenivel (Jul 29, 2014)

Most def leveled up on grip tape skeelz there


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 30, 2014)

Alex Kenivel said:


> Most def leveled up on grip tape skeelz there


Haha! Most definitely! An Exact-O knife is way easier to use then a razor-blade between your fingers.


----------



## asher (Jul 30, 2014)

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Haha! Most definitely! An Exact-O knife is way easier to use then a razor-blade between your fingers.


----------



## Don Vito (Jul 30, 2014)

I'm interested in these things, but I'm afraid of being made fun of by other skaters 

I live in Alabama, and longboards are sort of an old man's past time.


----------



## Overtone (Jul 30, 2014)

I used to have a trick for the tape back when I skated but I forget what. I know it involves smoothing down the edges with the shaft of a screwdriver. Then I seem to be able to remember ripping it all off in one go. Anybody know what I'm talking about?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Jul 30, 2014)

Overtone said:


> I used to have a trick for the tape back when I skated but I forget what. I know it involves smoothing down the edges with the shaft of a screwdriver. Then I seem to be able to remember ripping it all off in one go. Anybody know what I'm talking about?


Yeah. When gripping with a fresh sheet, use a screwdriver or hex-shaped screwdriver and rub along the edges. It essentially "outlines" the board. Then you can use it to smooth down the edges. (You can also use a scrap of griptape to smooth down the edges, which is what I do.)


----------



## Overtone (Jul 31, 2014)

Nice! I have this vague memory of sometimes being able to rip instead of cut after grinding down the edges enough. I definitely remember using scrap for the finishing touch like you said.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 4, 2014)

I need to get some new pics up...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 10, 2014)

Alright guys, this next project is going to be my first "in-progress build" here for Sevenstring.org. So you all will be able to actively keep up with the build throughout the process as I make progress on it. (Just like one of the custom guitar builds in the "Luthiery" threads section on here.) 

I have had this sitting around my place since May. I have been meaning to get started on this longboard at some point this summer, but I just haven't felt inspired to do anything with it. I don't even know what I want to do as far as a design for this board.

All I can tell you is that this is a very special project to me. This is a unique, over-sized, one-of-a-kind longboard that I am going to be building. Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated!

IN THE MEANTIME, GIVE ME IDEAS FOR WHAT I SHOULD DO WITH THIS THING!

55"
Custom directional shape/profile






This is a cut right off the CNC machine based on the template. This is going to take awhile to build since I'm starting from the very first step. Lots of sanding to do!

Using wood filler to repair some chips and cracks from the CNC.





Sanded down the wood filler that was used to repair all the chips in the deck.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 14, 2014)

^ I really need to get some ideas about what the f--k to do with this thing.


----------



## Solodini (Aug 15, 2014)

Back to the Future hoverboard or something more sci-fi.


----------



## TheStig1214 (Aug 15, 2014)

I agree with Solodini. Something futuristic looking because it's a bit of a strange shape. I'd personally perfer something simple like a full chrome/mirror underside.

Another idea is because it's so narrow I picture a decal of a skeleton that looks like it's crammed in a shallow/narrow grave. With a Creature Skateboards sort of vibe. Or a mummy in a sarcophagus.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Aug 15, 2014)

Hoverboard


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 15, 2014)

TheStig1214 said:


> Another idea is because it's so narrow I picture a decal of a skeleton that looks like it's crammed in a shallow/narrow grave. With a Creature Skateboards sort of vibe. Or a mummy in a sarcophagus.


I'm actually REALLY down with the mummy in a sarcophagus idea! o.o 



Solodini said:


> Back to the Future hoverboard or something more sci-fi.


...or this idea. 

They make boards out of aluminum actually. (Google up: "aluminum longboards".) Some of those companies are sick. I'd like to actually make a lightweight aluminum and carbon-fiber board with composite wheels. Total new-age and futuristic. I just have no idea how to work with the stuff.

Maybe a straight mirror/chrome top and bottom? I could cut shapes out of the wood for a more weird design. If I could even carve like a H.R. Giger Alien spine or Alien tail into the board........OMG THAT WOULD BE EXCELLENT!


----------



## TheStig1214 (Aug 15, 2014)

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I'm actually REALLY down with the mummy in a sarcophagus idea! o.o
> 
> ...or this idea.
> 
> ...



Lol all of this is too good. Whatever you do it will come out sick. 

Makes me wanna get a longboard. Too bad GAS is kicking in again and I have no money.


----------



## neurosis (Aug 18, 2014)

Emperor Guillotine said:


> I'm actually REALLY down with the mummy in a sarcophagus idea! o.o
> 
> ...or this idea.
> 
> ...



I am going to do the monkey dance here and say: Do a mirror finish but decal an outlines only drawing of the mummy onto it. That would be badass. For the scifi theme it would be cool if you made the board glow all around or something. LEDs maybe?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 18, 2014)

neurosis said:


> I am going to do the monkey dance here and say: Do a mirror finish but decal an outlines only drawing of the mummy onto it. That would be badass. For the scifi theme it would be cool if you made the board glow all around or something. LEDs maybe?


That actually sounds pretty sweet despite its weirdness. Some Iron Maiden shit or something.  

As for LEDs, I have no idea where they would go, and I have no idea how to install them. So I'd need a pro to do something like that for me.


----------



## MFB (Aug 19, 2014)

Damn dude, I've never been a skater - too fat for gravity and physics - but I've always appreciated the art side of the boards and these are kick-ass for art.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 25, 2014)

I'm about to start on refinishing a new board in the next few days. This one is going to be a special project. Stay tuned.


----------



## neurosis (Aug 29, 2014)

Emperor Guillotine said:


> That actually sounds pretty sweet despite its weirdness. Some Iron Maiden shit or something.
> 
> As for LEDs, I have no idea where they would go, and I have no idea how to install them. So I'd need a pro to do something like that for me.



Oh! You would not need anybody to do it really. LEDs are easy and you can wire them yourself with some resistors to a battery or get readymade LED strings.

Choosing The Resistor To Use With LEDs

What I was thinking is you could inlay them into the board or if you get the strips find a way to do a led-binding type of thing. 

https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=LED&b=1

Just in case you want to investigate a little.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 30, 2014)

Starting on the new board project tomorrow.


----------



## Hollowway (Aug 30, 2014)

These are really cool!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 30, 2014)

Ok, so the new project has begun.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

To give you all a little insight on the story behind this project:
About 2-3 months ago, one of my best friends, Zack, (who goes to many shows/concerts with me) moved back here to our city in NC after going clear across the country to California to pursue his desire to become a more skilled tattoo artist. In short, he couldn't keep up with some of the other professional artists out there (who are just insanely talented) and he ended up moving back.

On June 17, 2014, my friend was riding as a passenger with a buddy and they ended up in a bad car accident due to the negligence of the driver who was supposedly texting while driving. They veered off the road, over-corrected, flipped a few times, and smashed into a guard rail. My friend who was sitting in the passenger seat reached over at some point and saved the life of his buddy in the driver's seat.....but at a cost. His right arm was severed off at some point during the accident.

After that, no one is sure of what happened, but 9-1-1 was dialed at some point and police and an ambulance arrived at the scene to find that the driver (whose fault this was, and whose life had been saved by my friend Zack) had fled the scene and left Zack for dead. - He eventually was found and is facing quite a few charges now.

Since he lost his right arm, my friend has had to give up his career dreams of being a tattoo artist and he has had to move on to something else. A few weeks ago, another one of my friends helped arrange a benefit show that is going to take place here in town a few weeks from now. My friend Zack, in the meantime, has scrounged up a few local wanna-be kids/musicians and formed his own band called: From Lions to Lambs. (I've advised them to change the name though since it's very bland and there are numerous other bands with EXTREMELY SIMILAR names.) 

Needless to say, this custom skateboard deck is going to be a gift for me to surprise him with at the benefit show.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Onward to the pictures of my progress thus far on the "From Lions to Lambs" deck!

Mongoose
31"
Stock


























Griptape came off in literally 30 seconds and had minimal adhesive on it and left literally no residue. Not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing.





Completely sanded down the deck. (Top)










Completely sanded down the deck. (Bottom)





The difference in the wood's coloration here makes me question its quality...





Used a razorblade to carefully apply some wood filler into some small chips and nicks on the edges of the deck that weren't very noticeable, but I fear they would risk ruining the future paint job.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 30, 2014)

A few close-up pics of some of the areas on the edges that I had to insert some wood filler in with a razorblade. (Shows how minute my work is and how much I pay attention to detail.)















All taped up and ready to be painted. (Top)





All taped up and ready to be painted. (Bottom)





Base color down. Lots of layers. Time to dry.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Aug 31, 2014)

Back at it today. Getting into the harder stuff.

First design pattern masked off.















Second color: applied and dried!




















Second design masked off.















Third color down! Metallic/chrome awesomeness!





Some "accidental" (or "intentional" ) texturing occurred. Notice the different between the smooth (taped off) and textured parts.





Close-up of the texturing effect.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 15, 2014)

Hey everyone! I'm back!

I finished the skateboard deck in my absence. So I'll just go ahead and post all the pictures in order to catch you guys up so you can see the rest of the process with painting this board.

Removed all the tape and unmasked the design for the deck.










Close-up.





I was actually just messing around and set up my camera while I was removing the tape over the design. So here's a little video!


Taped off again to paint the trim for the next part of the design.










Another few layers of paint applied.















If only I could show you how SHINY this paint is...















Clear coat on top has been applied, dried, and wet-sanded.
I did not anticipate that the clear coat would dull the shiny metallic sheen of the paint underneath. (This really bummed me out. Of course, it also was my first time using that kind of paint.)





Wet-sanded to a smooth, glassy gloss over the top as well as the edges/trim.





More painting.





Even more painting.





Deck design done. Clear coat comes next.
I tried to create a graffiti styled "overspray" effect with the white area outlining the letters; however, the "overspray" didn't turn out too consistent as you can tell along the bottom of the letters.





Excellent griptape.










This is about an hour of geometry. Lots of drawing lines and measuring and erasing. Everything is made up of lines with each intersection creating a point for the lettering to help keep my measurements even.





Outlined in pen.















Griptape applied!










Smooth cuts around the edges.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 15, 2014)

Still kind of pissed that the paint "overspray" effect didn't turn out too consistent... 
















Wet-sanded to a smooth (and highly reflective) water-like appearance.





Finished!


















































Last night was the benefit show that some of us put together to raise some money for my very good friend Zack. The lineup featured a ton of local hardcore bands from here in NC, as well as our good friends in their pop-punk band from VA. (When I say "hardcore", I mean the stereotypical douchebag, egotistical, XXX kind of hardcore. That's just the scene around here. But all the acts that we booked for the show aren't like that. Each act was hand-picked by my buddy who handles booking and they were all very kind, gracious guys who just like to have fun and play music. None of the ego-drama bullshit.) The show went very well, despite the crummy venue and a few "technical difficulties". A lot of people came out to show their love and support for Zack through this tough time. When Zack's new band From Lions to Lambs came on, needless to say that everyone was paying attention. Shame that they only formed a few weeks ago and only had two songs to perform. In essence, they are a melodic hardcore band with one of the two guitars playing clean ambient melodies the whole time. (Adds a nice amount of texture and contrast to the stereotypical "chug-chug" hardcore kiddie riffs.) I was pleasantly surprised, especially considering they just got together a few weeks ago and are kids just messing around.

I presented the deck to Zack at the show, and he was stoked to receive it. I told him it was extremely flawed (which it is), but he could care less. I guess a little symbol of friendship such as this really can go a long way? I can't wait to go over to his place and see it hanging as a nice little piece of personal wall art!

Anyway, that's enough of the story behind this project. Sorry to bore any of you guys. This project was just a little something that was "spur of the moment" and was very special to me. 

Overall, the board is extremely flawed as far as the paint goes, and I'm rather disappointed in myself because I know that I'm capable of better. But I was on a time-crunch and I'm still relatively new at this. 

Moving on to my next board project.


----------



## Fiction (Sep 15, 2014)

Interesting stuff man, did you make that 3rd board yourself? I havent been skating much lately, I tend to skate to parties/clubs and dump them, get really ....ed up leave them, go to retrieve them in the morning and they're gone. I've lost a few good Rayne Boards, an Original Deck & a Valve board like that, and just some shitty trick decks as well. I suck at trick decking, but I use to go bombing hills all the time, a few friends and I would go out skating at like 2-3am, no cars on the busy hills. Incredible feeling, I've always thought about making a board, but just never bothered, because they're already fairly cheap anyways. But modding is something I've done to quite a few decks.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 16, 2014)

Fiction said:


> Interesting stuff man, did you make that 3rd board yourself?


The really long one? Yeah man, that was all me.
I haven't touched that deck since like May just because I'm not sure what I want to do with it as far as design and paint and such. It's one of a kind (well, until I make another) and I just want to give it the "perfect" design, ya know?


----------



## TheStig1214 (Sep 16, 2014)

I was wondering what the final design would be on the taped up one. Looks brilliant. I almost hope no one rides it ever.

Also, your friend Zack is a true hero and gentleman. F*ck the guy who left him like that.


----------



## Alex Kenivel (Sep 16, 2014)

That Zack board is sick


----------



## Neilzord (Sep 16, 2014)

Another Idea for the longboard....... Kind of inspired by the Zack board........ 

EVH Pattern! That is all, with EVH Black griptape lines on the top (Obviously version of the design with more Black involved... )


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 16, 2014)

TheStig1214 said:


> I was wondering what the final design would be on the taped up one. Looks brilliant. I almost hope no one rides it ever.
> 
> Also, your friend Zack is a true hero and gentleman. F*ck the guy who left him like that.



Thanks a ton, man! I'll pass the complement on to my dude too. The board is strictly wall art, so don't worry, it won't get setup and ridden anywhere.

(My perfectionism is irking me over the flaws in the paint design though...)



Neilzord said:


> Another Idea for the longboard....... Kind of inspired by the Zack board........
> 
> EVH Pattern! That is all, with EVH Black griptape lines on the top (Obviously version of the design with more Black involved... )


That would be easy to do! Haha! Anyone want a Van Halen (EVH) board? Red, white, and black?


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 16, 2014)

Alright everyone, so since you all didn't get to view updates from the last project as it was "in-progress", I've decided to start a new project just for you all here at SS.org!

This board was given to me for free by an old friend. My plans are to make it a tribute to one of my favorite bands, an underground Japanese metal band called: MergingMoon.

For those who've never heard of this band, allow me to link you to Anthony Bourdain's latest show _Parts Unknown_ on CNN. In Season 2 of this show, Anthony took a trip to Tokyo and ended up doing an interview with this band.....thus giving them a break (of sorts) and introducing them to those of us here in the rest of the world! (Majority of the fans that this band has amassed is probably because of that interview for the CNN show. I mean, they are THAT underground.)

Episode recap:
Anthony Bourdain

Interview with the band:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Birdhouse
30"
Stock










Bottom of the board is scraped up pretty bad from heavy usage. The cheap graphic is also peeled off as a result.





Wood rot is also apparent.





Both ends of the board have evident razor-tail and are burnt-out to almost nothing (being too thin).





Completely stripped and sanded down the top and bottom of the deck. All wood rot removed. Then applied wood filler all over the board to help fill in some slight cracks in the wood grain as well as to help reconstruct and reshape the ends of the board.


----------



## Solodini (Sep 17, 2014)

Neilzord said:


> Another Idea for the longboard....... Kind of inspired by the Zack board........
> 
> EVH Pattern! That is all, with EVH Black griptape lines on the top (Obviously version of the design with more Black involved... )


 
I was thinking negative space EVH like the Wolfgang body that Pondman has.


----------



## Daeniel (Sep 17, 2014)

Your story just made my day.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian (Sep 17, 2014)

These are pretty sick!


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 17, 2014)

Solodini said:


> I was thinking negative space EVH like the Wolfgang body that Pondman has.


That sounds interesting. I'm going to need pics.



Daeniel said:


> Your story just made my day.


In a good way or a bad way?... 0.o


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 17, 2014)

Sanded the entire deck back down to make it smooth. Stopped at 120 grit. (Top)










Sanded the entire deck back down to make it smooth. Stopped at 120 grit. (Bottom)
Also reshaped the ends of the board.










I have a thing for looking at wood grain. This almost resembles spalted maple.





Perhaps some of my fellow woodworkers and guitar builders/luthiers would appreciate the layering here? This would look good for the trim if left natural (no paint) with some gloss to make it pop.


----------



## Solodini (Sep 18, 2014)

Emperor Guillotine said:


> That sounds interesting. I'm going to need pics.
> 
> In a good way or a bad way?... 0.o


 http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/luthiery-modifications-customizations/275608-oots-mon.html


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 18, 2014)

The board is all ready to paint. But I don't have all the supplies that I need. So the next few days are going to be quiet from me.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Sep 24, 2014)

The weather here just suddenly went from super hot summer weather to cold, rainy late fall weather. So it looks like I'll be delayed from working outside for a few more days...


----------



## Emperor Guillotine (Oct 26, 2014)

Hey everyone! I know I've been quiet the past month, but I'll be getting back to work on the current builds soon!

Also, you guys can now find me on Facebook! Go over and give the new page a "like"!
Universal Momentum - Facebook


----------

