Author Topic: Does anyone else just zone out... (Read 2079 times)

grimcity · « **on:** September 01, 2007, 09:23:09 AM »

I'm not talking about being stoked on a new board or parts... I mean, does anyone else just enjoy the simple act of putting a board together? I imagine it might be kind of different for those of you that work in shops... but just a second ago I was putting a mostly-new complete together for myself and realized that it's probably the most "zen" like thing I do. It's always been that way for me... just one of the many things I enjoy about skating.

clarkie · « **Reply #1 on:** September 01, 2007, 09:25:33 AM »

...and the name of your next book will be "Zen and the Art of Skateboard Assembly."

Zurg · « **Reply #2 on:** September 01, 2007, 09:27:24 AM »

Yeah i usuaully find it enjoyable unless im trying to smash some stripped nuts on my truck axle or something similar. gripping them is probably my favourite part

grimcity · « **Reply #3 on:** September 01, 2007, 09:39:56 AM »

Quote from: clarkie on September 01, 2007, 09:25:33 AM

...and the name of your next book will be "Zen and the Art of Skateboard Assembly."

hahaha

mikefork · « **Reply #4 on:** September 01, 2007, 09:47:34 AM »

i love setting up new boards. after a week of skating a board it gets all soggy and flexy(unless i skate indoor parks/ramps, then my boards last forever) and i have to rough it out for another week or two until i can set up a new board and by then i am completely psyched again. today i am heading to the shop to set up some new trucks that i bought a few weeks ago and i have spent the past half hour boiling and microwaving the bushings so i can have loose trucks and that was even fun

gub · « **Reply #5 on:** September 01, 2007, 09:54:00 AM »

setting up new boards is super fun, i know what grimcity is saying. i put on a rick howard deck yesterday, which is like the first girl board i've bought in three or four years, the sole reason i bought it besides the shape/size being right etc is that the graphic is an old blockhead graphic (the skunk) and it doesn't cover the entire board, most of it is this beautiful blue-dyed woodgrain... you never see that on boards anymore really

Mullet Man · « **Reply #6 on:** September 01, 2007, 09:57:37 AM »

I really really hate setting up a new board. It's a chore to me that should be fun, but it's not. Like, I hate changing guitar strings too. Gripping it is the worst for me.

mr wilson · « **Reply #7 on:** September 01, 2007, 10:12:59 AM »

The effects of "Grip Tape Thumb" from a newly set up deck really sucks.

H8R · « **Reply #8 on:** September 01, 2007, 10:49:20 AM »

i love setting up new decks....as long as its my deck.
i'll usually zone out when i'm working on some ill griptape design.

coreyquinn · « **Reply #9 on:** September 01, 2007, 12:38:54 PM »

i usually drink a beer or two when i set up new boards, kind of like a little personal tradition

bothersome · « **Reply #10 on:** September 01, 2007, 01:22:15 PM »

i grip boards mindlessly all day at work but when it comes to my own it's a totally different experience.
digging through the sticker box for the right combo. sanding the edges, digging through paint pens and finding something worth writing.
I don't see how kids can just let some dude manhandle there best friend for the next few days/weeks/months.
I can count the number of times someone has gripped my board on one hand in 20+ years of skating.

H8R · « **Reply #11 on:** September 01, 2007, 01:33:07 PM »

Quote from: bothersome on September 01, 2007, 01:22:15 PM

i grip boards mindlessly all day at work but when it comes to my own it's a totally different experience.
digging through the sticker box for the right combo. sanding the edges, digging through paint pens and finding something worth writing.
I don't see how kids can just let some dude manhandle there best friend for the next few days/weeks/months.
I can count the number of times someone has gripped my board on one hand in 20+ years of skating.

so true. the only board that someone else gripped for me was the very first pro model i got when i was wee lad.
besides hacked up grip jobs is a pet peeve of mine so i'd rather do it myself.

bothersome · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2007, 01:35:38 PM »

Yeah the few times ive been on the road and broken a board and went to a shop to grab one i tried to do my own and they wouldnt let me.
so now i always have a backup.

k-nutz · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2007, 01:54:28 PM »

one time i was setting up a board and i put both trucks on backwards. dont quite know how that happened.

SOFT 7 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2007, 02:18:04 PM »

putting together a fresh setup is almost ceremonial to me.

Mike Fork - the boiling trick is a myth.

H8R · « **Reply #15 on:** September 01, 2007, 02:19:51 PM »

Quote from: k-nutz on September 01, 2007, 01:54:28 PM

one time i was setting up a board and i put both trucks on backwards. dont quite know how that happened.

issac?

DIGDUG!!!! · « **Reply #16 on:** September 01, 2007, 02:28:17 PM »

after i assemble a new set up i just stare at it and imagine all the possiblities it has, and then reality sets in and i realize im probably going to just end up doing the same tricks i was doing with my last set up.

Anton · « **Reply #17 on:** September 01, 2007, 02:31:19 PM »

i like to put on the grip for some reason

MFS · « **Reply #18 on:** September 01, 2007, 02:51:38 PM »

even when i set up a board for a customer i get in the zone. its all got to be perfect. i think skate nerds in general just zen out when setting up a board

HenryChinaski · « **Reply #19 on:** September 01, 2007, 02:53:31 PM »

You are right, after you have been setting boards up for years and have it down to a science it does become a very Zen activity.
After you do have it down it is kind of satisfying to pass tip and tricks about setting up a board to younger skaters. For instance, last week I gave this 18 year old dude that lives in my building a deck, some wheels, and hardware that were in better shape then what he was riding.
While attempting to get the bearings out of his old wheels with a phillips head screw driver the kid ended up putting the screw driver right through his hand, in the palm, and out the back.
So, I showed him how to get the bearings in and out using the axles of his trucks. Then he was complaining that his bearings were all messed up and rolled slow, so I demonstrated how to clean them.

donnie_murdo · « **Reply #20 on:** September 01, 2007, 03:20:45 PM »

what the best ritual you'll get in skateboarding, just everything "new", with a good sticker job and the only thing in your head is the snap of the first ollie and how grippy your new griptape to shoe ratios going to be - ahh kickflip or kickgrip - followed by the best happy feeling you can get without drugs ha amazing

what the · « **Reply #21 on:** September 01, 2007, 05:00:17 PM »

i dont mind anymore ,but i use 4 bolts so it is easier,i hate it sometimes though,your filming and you need it set up quick cause your brain is in the trick mode ,if you get what im saying...but it's ok,i do love new grip and some vulcs.......happy place

natenola · « **Reply #22 on:** September 01, 2007, 05:49:16 PM »

Quote from: grimcity on September 01, 2007, 09:23:09 AM

I'm not talking about being stoked on a new board or parts... I mean, does anyone else just enjoy the simple act of putting a board together? I imagine it might be kind of different for those of you that work in shops... but just a second ago I was putting a mostly-new complete together for myself and realized that it's probably the most "zen" like thing I do. It's always been that way for me... just one of the many things I enjoy about skating.

dude i fuckin hate putting boards together, i will ride some busted shit just so i don't have to put a new board together.
A long time ago when i was in ATL i heard a story about Andy Howell having all these issues with setting up boards, he just couldn't handle it and it would take him an hour or so. He would always roll in with product and try to pay some on off to hook his shit up, i was pretty stoked on that one.

bothersome · « **Reply #23 on:** September 01, 2007, 06:11:41 PM »

using a skate tool is a pain in the ass?

k-nutz · « **Reply #24 on:** September 01, 2007, 06:30:06 PM »

Quote from: bothersome on September 01, 2007, 06:11:41 PM

using a skate tool is a pain in the ass?

you aren't supposed to stick the tool up your butt though.

bothersome · « **Reply #25 on:** September 01, 2007, 06:47:47 PM »

o tru tru

neko · « **Reply #26 on:** September 02, 2007, 01:39:33 AM »

i worked in shops for years and still enjoyed every single board i gripped. it's one of the few things i miss about working in a shop.

isaac · « **Reply #27 on:** September 02, 2007, 01:46:42 AM »

i get "zenned out" and cut up my gip and do some crap to it. i enjoy it. i guess it's the closest thing to waxing a board we have.

bjsk87 · « **Reply #28 on:** September 02, 2007, 04:05:57 AM »

i love doing minor changes or putting some new product in the place of some old broken stuff.
def. a good feeling.

Hastings · « **Reply #29 on:** September 02, 2007, 05:58:49 AM »

It takes me a least an hour just to work out how I want to grip it, even if it's the most simple design. I could just grip in 60 seconds but the process would feel souless

I think I've only had a completely new set up twice in my life.

Author Topic: Does anyone else just zone out... (Read 2079 times)

mikefork

H8R

coreyquinn

bothersome

H8R

bothersome

H8R

DIGDUG!!!!

what the

bothersome

bothersome

isaac