Build Your Own Fingerboard Skatepark

© Dog 'n' Bone Books 2014

build YOUR OWN

FINGERBOARD SKATE PARK BOREDOM BUS TING DESIGNS FOR 15 DESKTOP R AMPS AND RA ILS

MARTY ALLEN

H FINGERBOARD IT W E T E L P M O C COMES AMPS AND CARD FOR R

FOR OTTO VON GOOSEMAN. YOU DESERVE A BOOK, I MISS YOU MY LANKY LITTLE FRIEND, YOU’D BE AWESOME AT SKATEBOARDING.

Published in 2014 by Dog ’n’ Bone Books An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd 20–21 Jockey’s Fields London WC1R 4BW

519 Broadway, 5th Floor New York, NY 10012

www.rylandpeters.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Text © Marty Allen 2014 Design and photography © Dog ’n’ Bone Books 2014 The author’s moral rights have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library.

ISBN: 978 1 909313 24 8 Printed in China

Clare Sayer Paul Tilby PHOTOGRAPHER: Bryan Close ILLUSTRATION: Marty Allen EDITOR:

DESIGNER:

For digital editions, visit www.cicobooks.com/apps.php

Š Dog 'n' Bone Books 2014 Contents 6 Introduction

THE RAMPS 12 How to build a very simple quarter pipe 14 How to build a very simple half pipe 16 Super-easy matchbox straight rail 18 Simple mini-launcher 22 Small simple popsicle stick rail 26 Two simple stairs 28 Fancy cardboard quarter pipe 32 Fancy cardboard half pipe 34 Fancy vert wall 38 Simple pyramid 40 Rolly ramp 44 Funbox with rail 48 Angular funbox 50 Mega launcher 52 Ultra mega super ramp 56 Tips on fun ramp decorations 58 Basic trick techniques 62 Putting it all together 64 Afterword

small simple

POPSICLE STICK RAIL WITH OVERLY COMPLICATED STAIRS

THESE STAIRS ARE ACTUALLY MORE COMPLICATED THAN MOST OTHER OBSTACLES IN THE BOOK, ESPECIALLY AS THEY ARE LARGELY DECORATIVE. THAT SAID, THEY CAN BE FUN TO JUST RIDE DOWN, PARTICULARLY IF YOU BUILD A REALLY HUGE SET. BUT THE REAL POINT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POPSICLE STICKS AS A SOLID ALTERNATIVE TO OTHER RAISED RAILS. IT WOULD BE JUST AS EASY TO GLUE THEM TO THE SIDE OF A QUARTER PIPE OR ANYTHING ELSE, AND THEY ARE A COOL AND EASY SOLUTION FOR GAPS. PLUS, YOU GET TO EAT THE POPSICLES FIRST.

© Dog 'n' Bone Books 2014 You will need

Before You Start

Popsicle sticks (or craft sticks)

If you don’t want to design your own steps, use templates on die-cut sheets 1 and 3 to create the following pieces:

Scissors Hot glue Thick cardboard Utility knife Square

2 stair sides

1 back wall

7 stair slats

1 top

1 base

We’ll start by describing the more functional (and less difficult) feature, the popsicle stick rail.

1

Grab three popsicle sticks. Trim one down to 31⁄2in. (9cm), the next to 21⁄2in. (6cm), and leave the third at full length (41⁄2in./12cm).

Most popsicle sticks are easy to trim just with a pair of scissors. Measure and then cut on through.

2

Glue the full-length popsicle stick to the two staggered sticks at an angle: the full-length stick will become your “rail,” the two staggered sticks your “posts.” Using hot glue, glue the posts to the outside of the rail, so that your trucks aren’t bumping into those little nubs. Angle the rail at a 45-degree downward slope to match the slope of the stairway.

Now the little stairway!

4

3

Draw your little stairway on a piece of thick cardboard.It can be any size and shape you’d like, but in this example it is 11⁄2in.

(4cm) tall and 3in. (8cm) wide. Each little slat step is 1⁄2in. (1cm) tall.

The flat at the top is 11⁄2in. (4cm). Cut it out of the cardboard using a utility knife. Trace the stairway onto another piece of thick cardboard, and trim out its match. Put them back to back to check that they are accurately matched, shaving any excess off as needed.

For the base, using your square as a guide, cut a rectangular flat of thick cardboard 3x2in. (8x5cm). Now we’ll cut out all the little pieces that we’ll eventually assemble. If you’ve created different sizes and shapes, just make adjustments where appropriate. The back wall is a rectangle, 11⁄2in. (4cm) tall and 2in. (5cm) wide.

The top flat is the same size and shape. Each flat for the stairway is a small rectangle. For these stairs, you will make seven rectangles that are 2in. (5cm) wide and 1⁄2in. (1cm) tall.

SMALL SIMPLE POPSICLE STICK RAIL

23

28

FANCY CARDBOARD QUARTER PIPE

© Dog 'n' Bone Books 2014

fancy cardboard

QUARTER PIPE

OK, IT’S TIME TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE SERIOUS WITH OUR RAMP BUILDING. THIS TECHNIQUE EXPANDS ON THAT OF THE MINI-LAUNCHER (SEE PAGE 18) TO GET US INTO THE REALM OF SOME REALLY COOL QUARTER AND HALF PIPES. IT TAKES A LITTLE MORE TIME AND PRECISION BUT IS STILL QUITE MANAGEABLE. THE BASIS OF THESE RAMPS IS CONSTRUCTING STRUTS THAT SUPPORT THE RAMP. THIS IS THE TECHNIQUE I SUGGEST FOR ALL OTHER MAJOR RAMPS. You will need Thick cardboard Thin cardboard Scissors or utility knife Hot glue Popsicle stick (optional) Before You Start The templates on die-cut sheets 2 and 4 are good to use as a guide for your first quarter pipe.

You’ll need the following: 3 struts/side pieces 1 ramp surface 1 deck

1

First decide on the shape of your quarter pipe.

We’ve provided a few templates as ideas, but we encourage experimentation in terms of height, width, and slope. For the purposes of this project, we’ll demonstrate with a mini quarter pipe that has a 31⁄2in.

(9cm) base, a 3in. (8cm) rise, a 1in. (2.5cm) deck, and an overall width of 31⁄2in. (9cm).

You will need Thin cardboard 1 cardboard paper-towel tube or 2 toilet-paper tubes Scissors or utility knife Hot glue Tape (packing tape or duct tape is best) Thin cardstock (card) paper

THE ROLLY RAMP IS A BIT OF EXPERIMENTAL FUN, BASED ON SOME REAL-LIFE RAMPS I’VE SEEN AND MY DESIRE TO USE PAPER-TOWEL TUBES IN THE INTEREST OF AWESOME OBSTACLES. IT’S MOSTLY JUST ANOTHER FUN SURFACE TO SKATE, RATHER THAN ONE TO DO TOO MUCH TRICKING OFF. UNLESS YOU’RE AWESOME AT TRICKING!

ROLLY RAMP 1

Let’s start with a base. For a ramp with three “rollies,” we’ll need a thin cardboard base of 15x51⁄2in. (38x14cm). You may need to tweak the width of the base a bit depending on the length of your tubes, so give them a measure before you start cutting.

2

If you’re using a paper-towel tube, draw a line down the middle and cut it in half.

Skip this step if you’re working with a toilet-paper tube, they are small enough already.

© Dog 'n' Bone Books 2014

ROLLY RAMP

41

Are you sat at your desk, bored out of your m ind? kit cool this get Well and create your own

FINGERBOARD SKATEPARK

using just a few bits of card, some tape, and a dab of glue.

GIFT/CRAFT

ÂŁ12.99 US $19.95 Priced higher in Canada www.rylandpeters.com