One of our favourite, and most advanced builders is Alistair McCall – Owner/Operator of the AM Wood Skateboard Company.
Alistair started building boards out of his garage in Grey County, Ontario as a fun and profitable woodworking hobby. His first boards were all custom built for friends and local riders, which gave him an opportunity to work with a variety of materials and board styles. This experience led him to eventually launch the AM Wood Skateboard Company in early 2011.
AM Wood's has since become one of the most prolific and recognized independent builders in North America, selling their boards to riders in over 10 countries (and counting). They have also helped build their name by being a part of some great events including the Toronto Board Meeting and the 2012 Stylus Awards.
They are also proud supporters of the Thin Air Press vacuum bag, and use them for all of their composite work and one-off custom boards. In his own words;
“It is 100% the best way to laminate composites. I have laminated in my big press before with mixed results. The best part about the tap is you can control the resin content through the use of peel plys, perforated films and pressure control. There is a reason all “real” composite parts are done with bags, aerospace, f1, boats etc…I also use the vac bags for all my custom shapes. Foam is a lot easier to work with than wood.”
The AM Wood Skateboard Company is expanding and moving its production facility later this year. We look forward to seeing what the future of AM Wood's looks like, and will have a follow up post when they get set up... to be continued :)
You can keep up to date with AM Wood by checking them out at the links below.
AM Wood - Official Homepage