{"id":3078,"date":"2011-08-01T00:04:20","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T06:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregsowell.com\/?p=3078"},"modified":"2011-08-01T00:04:20","modified_gmt":"2011-08-01T06:04:20","slug":"redneck-ripstick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregsowell.com\/?p=3078","title":{"rendered":"Redneck Ripstick"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve had a looooong week. I felt like screaming, then moving to the beach. Instead, I decided to build something…which is something I haven’t done in ages. While walking around harbor freight my nephew and I picked up a swivel wheel. Daniel says “Why don’t we build a ripstick”.<\/p>\n

A Ripstick<\/a> is basically a skateboard that only has two swivel wheels and it twists in the middle. Sounds simple enough, right? hehehe.
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So, to build ours, I decided to build it redneck style. This means we don’t make plans, we don’t measure and we certainly don’t make it pretty.<\/p>\n

Our material list is:<\/p>\n

  • Two swivel wheels from harbor freight – $4 each<\/li>\n
  • One piece of 1 and a quarter inch EMT – $1<\/li>\n
  • A handfull of machine screws – $2<\/li>\n
  • I didn’t have any washers so I used loose change – about $.50<\/li>\n
  • Two Ubolts – $3<\/li>\n
  • Some 3\/8ths all thread – about $.20<\/li>\n
  • Some scrap wood – about $.50<\/li>\n
  • Two 30 inch bungie cords – about $.50<\/li>\n

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    \nBehold the masterpiece! <\/p>\n

    As you can see it is about as ugly as they come…hehehe. <\/p>\n

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    \nThis is the top of the front. You will notice my homemade washers…err…government minted washers. It is actually cheaper to use money for washers than to buy actual washers. You will be amazed how much in life can be actually made out of money…for less. Make magazine often explores this idea.<\/p>\n

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    \nHere’s the bottom of the front. You will notice that the front has the conduit bolted straight on. The swiveling happens on the back. The conduit has a notch cut out that allows the wheel to swing freely.<\/p>\n

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    \nSide view of the front.<\/p>\n

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    \nThis would be the back. Another few penny washers and the tops of the Ubolts. <\/p>\n

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    \nHere’s the bottom of the back. You’ll see that I put a piece of all thread through the pipe. This serves two purposes: it limits the amount of twist in the board and it also keeps the pipe from slipping out.<\/p>\n

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    \nHere’s a closer shot of the wheel mounted. You will see that we mounted it on a slight incline. This adds stability to the swivel…which is the same way the ripstick guys do \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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    \nNow you will notice that I have counter wound bungie cords. This forces the RR to center itself.<\/p>\n

    Enough with the pictures, time for the video. Here’s me testing the board:
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