Alright it’s time for my first proper build log(s). You may have seen me posting here and there, but I haven’t talked about my plans. Here is my massive build log about what I have been up to. I have divided the posts into more manageable chunks. In the second post I talk about the deck building process and how I got into esk8. Third post is for logs and other updates.
This build mostly an upgrade based on my first build. I re-used trucks, battery and motors.
I was also lucky enough to get on @moon 's list to be a tester for his beta helical AT gear drives. £260 - ALL TERRAIN MOON DRIVE
The Mountain Wolf - build log
Other changes from my first build:
I decided against using bindings, because I found out on longer rides I want to change my position. Also I think it looks cleaner and since I prefer slower cruising and carving I am better off without them. My bets are on glass frit this time.
Upgraded from Flipsky to Stormcore 60D and made a sleek carbon enclosure to keep everything protected.
New deck
This time I wanted to keep the natural bamboo look. I applied my experience from the first one and this deck turned out much better. I managed to build it in one weekend. More detailed info about the layup and molding process is in the second post. I didn’t took pictures while I made the second one. But basically it is an vacuum formed bamboo, glass fiber epoxy composite deck.
The bare bamboo looked a bit boring tho so I decided to let a friend of mine paint art on the deck. The design is a collaboration of my ideas and her epic artistic skills bringing them all together.
I covered the deck with clear fine frit. Unfortunately epoxy slightly changed and smeared the colours, but I still love how it came out. Forget the grip use Glass Frit
For this build I vacuum formed new lighter and slimmer carbon fiber enclosure. I sacrificed flexibility for slimness. I am quite sure the enclosure probably cracks at some point, but we will have to see…
I could have made it in segments to keep the flex, but then I also must have re made my battery pack. My pack is in 4 flexible segments, but there is virtually no gap between them.
So if it fails I will have to make a new enclosure and also rework my battery.
It was mostly made from UD carbon scraps that I had left over from one of my BSc projects. There is one twill layer in the middle and on top for looks.
It will be mounted using screws fastened by threaded inserts in the deck.
This is totally another story. This bike is my first time doing something with carbon fiber, but damn this frame turned out cool. The frame is build using the foam core method. This bike works and is rideable. Currently it is on display in my Uni.
I can talk about the bike more if requested…
If we get better and smaller BMS’s I want to make the battery swappable. I don’t want to make my build any heavier, but I would like to have longer range. I could then bring a second battery with me in my back pack.
Test new cool esk8 hardware
Jump on the FreeEsk8 ecosystem once it is ready for the prime time
If you have any questions or parts that are unclear, then ask and I will try to answer. Maybe I can dig up more pictures. I didn’t want to make this log any longer.
My current gear and build specs
My custom deck
2x Maytech 6374 170kv
Moon’s AT 5:1 helical gearboxes - third post for impressions
MBS trucks and wheels
Stormcore 60D - logs also in the third post
12s6p Sanyo 18650GA 3500mah (≈ 3200 usable) with DieBieMS BMS
VX2 remote - I quite like it
For charging I use a Meanwell 600w LED driver - It is CC CV adjustable and is good up to 13s. It tops up my pack under two hours
O’neal Backflip RL2 helmet - saved my life once (if anybody wants to know, ask! and I’ll talk about the story)
Some quite shitty skate pads, which I bought after the crash
I was so bored during the the corona quarantine I started writing bits of the build log for my first board. Looking back I should have done it while I built it last year…
Little bit about my background: Building stuff has been my passion as long as I can remember. I knew from the 1st grade I wanted to become an engineer. This year I graduated BSc “Production engineering and robotics” and I will be also pursuing MSc starting this autumn.
Skateboarding was not part of my childhood and I never saw it as a viable mode of transport. Untill few years ago I saw a Lacroix DSS60 video on YT and knew I had to have one! Then I saw the price… damn. As a uni student with a part time job is was waaay to much for me. But I wanted one so bad I figured I will build it my self. That was around April 2019 and the rest is history.
The first build
Making of the first deck
I started from the deck, because I could not comprehend why the Lacroix deck cost so much. I knew I had to make it from wood plies with the use of a mold. I made few calls to local plywood bending experts, who all basically told me to F off with qoutes over 5K € for a specialized bending molds.
So then I was like ight, I have to make that too.
Few hours later I had a 3D CAD model of my deck mold.
It was designed to be stacked from laser cut MDF sheets that are clamped together with threaded rods. Eazy and cheap
The deck was made from 0.6mm babmboo plies reinforced with 600g/m2 biaxial glass fiber. I don’t know the exact layer count because I made it in stages and tested the deck flex progressively with my body weight. It took about 2-3 weekends to get it right.
Here is a pic I managed to find from making of the “core”
Final layup was: B GF B GF “8mm core” GF B GF B
In total is was bout 12mm thick
And then I covered it with some kind of wood imitation.
Pic of the rough cut
I got hold of bunch of Sanyo 18650GA (3500 mAh) cells for super cheap. I made a 12s6p pack and used DieBieMS for balancing. As you can see that the deck is huge and has loads of room.
Like you can see from the pic I used a flipsky fsesc 6.6 plus
I think I was lucky, because it didn’t fail on me. It was quite solid, but it did over heat because of the enclosure. More on that in the next section.
Enclosure
The choice of enclosure was also interesting, I haven’t seen anybody do it like I did. I slapped a 3mm thick EPDM rubber sheet on the bottom with aluminum strips and wood screws to hold everything in place. I wraped the battery in EPDM foam and covered the battery and electronics with a 3mm thick plastic sheet (for slight impact / puncture protection)
It was very cheap and also total pain in the ass to remove, but it did work. I even rode it this winter and pulled a snowboard behind me, but I never rode in the rain.
Would I recommend that enclouse to anybody? Umm if you don’t have any other choice then sure, its cheap and it works, but its’t not waterproof. It looks quite clean imo tho.
Stunning build! Really like the wooden deck with the undertray enclosure, dont see that often. Makes for an elegant mountainboard looking forward to see the moon helical feedback
@whaddys Haha that was fast. I tought that this may come up.
Lets wait few weeks untill I have this build buttoned up and few miles on it.
I mean I could make few, but I won’t start mass producing them, as this is only a weekend hobby .
Right off the hop I can say: No art paintings , laser engraving might be possible tho. Carbon covering may also be option. Deck stiffness also could be changed.
Enclosures: tbd not sure if that carbon one will hold up atm lol
You mentioned cutting the mdf for the mold on a laser do you have a co2 laser? The mdf looks like 1/2” What is the wattage of your laser and what brand is it?
Even better, the raw blank decks are easy to make. I could also leave the sanding and shape cutting to you? Its not that hard, but relives me from fucking that part up
Great work all around dude. The carbon fiber looks really clean. I’ll be rocking the helical moon drive in a similar but different setup so it will be nice to have someone to compare them with.
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