kraffft work

**kraffft** · 10-01-2009 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by scratch

Amazing... thank you for making my request come to life....

May I please make a guest appearance in one of your videos?

Always psyched to hear peoples ideas.. it makes for a really sweet internet conversation seeing material results from the exchange.

For sure on the guest appearance.. folks are always welcome to visit my shop.. and will most likely end up on video. But aside from and beyond that I'll cook up a couple ideas for you Rus.

Originally Posted by speshlspeclsteak

you should sponsor him rus

Not interested in getting sponsored.. I'm a company remember!? I gotta start thinking about sponsoring peops.. This is an example of the level of creativity (though not necessarily skill) I'm looking for in my team riders.. and you gotta live near Providence:

YouTube - almir jusovic ................

Originally Posted by dozer jr

what were the green wheels??? they slid forever

They're on the list of past projects to document.. As of earlier today I'm fully set up to produce wheels out of any material that can be cut with wood/metal cutters. The green ones were UHMW.

Originally Posted by Chief Red Beef

Ok, I'll say it.
While I applaud your ingenuity and the fact that you are recycling s**t, and obviously having fun and not hurting anyone, and being creative etc., etc., etc.
I don't see how you are not completely wasting you f**king time.
Thank you. That is all.

Appreciate the criticism.. let's hear more.. This one doesn't have much substance to it.. I assume you mean that I should be trying to make money or do something that has a more substantial benefit to society instead? I'll get around to writing some tedious manifestos that address this at some point but one short answers is:

-(as botofsup mentioned above, skateboard/iPod examples) You never know what you're going to come up with when trying to invent things. It could be plenty profitable or useful in ways that have nothing to do with the intended purpose. Experimenting with wheels, for example, has potential ramifications for all other wheeled devices. Those soda bottle wheels could be useful in refugee camps for general transport.. or mountain boarders might like those barbell slide gloves.. or might see them and be inspired to make a UHMW ball that fits over their fist..

Originally Posted by botofusup

You should patent some of this stuff before you get ripped off.

This is another manifesto waiting to happen, but for now see item two in the first post in this thread..

**afi1014** · 10-02-2009 05:22 AM

Originally Posted by kraffft

They're on the list of past projects to document.. As of earlier today I'm fully set up to produce wheels out of any material that can be cut with wood/metal cutters. The green ones were UHMW.

that wheels are made from UHMW...hmm isnt that the same stuff cutting board made out of

**zimmer266** · 10-02-2009 06:48 AM

Sweet thread.

Wheels from slide puck material ftw. I like the harvest and recycle ethic, and the creativity.

Nice youtube from Almir. Some wild one-footed stuff thrown into the mix.

**Brain Smoothie** · 10-02-2009 07:18 AM

those uhmw wheels were so rad

**speshlspeclsteak** · 10-02-2009 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Brain Smoothie

those uhmw wheels were so rad

yea. that was the first time ive ever slid a wheel thats faster than my pucks

**scratch** · 10-02-2009 10:06 AM

Mr Kraft = American Original

**Wolfin** · 10-02-2009 01:42 PM

You sir, are getting subscribed to.

I love innovation. And when it's fun, oh man, it's even better.

**botofusup** · 10-02-2009 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by scratch

Mr Kraft = American Original

Kraffftastic,
Kraffftrageous,
Kraffftalicious,
Kraffftocity,
Kraffftarundo,
Kraffftomatic,
Kraffftology!

**spoctopus** · 10-02-2009 02:22 PM

can i buy some of those uhmw wheels? i know you said you were not selling up but those are raaaad haha

**livehard365** · 10-02-2009 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by botofusup

Kraffftastic,
Kraffftrageous,
Kraffftalicious,
Kraffftocity,
Kraffftarundo,
Kraffftomatic,
Kraffftology!

I have subscribed to the Church of Kraffftology!
this thread really gets my mind out of the box!

**kraffft** · 10-02-2009 08:57 PM

Board repair:

Assembly came out dead on, glass is a little sloppy. Looking forward to riding it again.. Gonna give it a couple days to cure though.

Retrofit Kick:

This quick idea came out of that board repair job. Taking an extra kicktail and mounting on a deck that could use one. Bolting through the bolt holes of both decks. No other fasteners or glue.

This has the nice side effect of acting like a toe cutout.. a nice place to get a foothold for standers and toesdie carves (See Clutch Toecutter etc.)

YouTube - Simple retrofit kicktail makes for fun...

Busy weekend but probably Monday I'll do a real write-up on the slide wheels. They're going to be for sale.. local pickup only for now. Tips on how to make em will also be up, for you or your hired builder of choice.

**spoctopus** · 10-02-2009 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by kraffft

Board repair:

Busy weekend but probably Monday I'll do a real write-up on the slide wheels. They're going to be for sale.. local pickup only for now. Tips on how to make em will also be up, for you or your hired builder of choice.

no pleeeeaaassseee dont have it only for local sale Mr.mad genius/ scientist

**FL_RIDER_93** · 10-02-2009 09:42 PM

subscribed

**Stoopidsquig** · 10-03-2009 11:04 AM

Awesome. I cannot wait to see what's next.

**kraffft** · 10-03-2009 08:48 PM

I really have trouble sitting still in classrooms.. and I have even more trouble with the "upscale academic community" (as one of the panel speakers put it). But there's tons of amazing people and ideas out there.. So gotta get out of the house now and then.

There's this student run conference in Providence this weekend at RISD and Brown. A Better World by Design.

Checked out a few things:

Appropriate Technology Panel Discussion
The Appropriate Technology panel aims to explore the role of simple, relatively low-tech solutions to problems facing the global poor. As our world becomes increasingly globalized, steep grades of inequality between and within nations are exposed and call to attention the gap in the standards of life between rich and poor. The concept of appropriate technology is to provide culturally relevant goods to poor nations to fill the needs of those who lack access to more expensive, westernized, or high tech products and materials. The discussion may also center around who deems what goods are “appropriate” to a certain cultures, how appropriate technology may promote more substandard care to the poor, and how such solutions can best serve the poor in a manner that decreases rather than further entrenches, inequality.

This is a classic example of an appropriate tech project, Turning plentiful plastic drums into efficient water transporters:

The panel looked kinda like this:

One guy, Sloan Kulper, working mainly in the Himalayas, helped develop a $12 solar cooker and home heater that can be made from local materials, saves lots of work gathering fuel, and improves indoor air quality.
One Earth Designs | Community Inspired Innovations

Another, Scott Shall, is doing a lot of similar projects, but has a unique way of displaying them. They have gallery openings, but instead of showing finished produts, they just supply manuals and materials, and visitors make their own versions and come up with improvements and new ideas.
IDC | See. Think. Make. Do.

Maker Meet Up
Presented by Maker Faire RI
Are you a maker, hacker, or DIY designer? Come chat with the organizers of Maker Faires in Rhode Island, San Francisco, and Ghana, as well as representatives from the Providence Fab Lab at AS220! In the first time such a group has been formally assembled, we’ll be openly discussing the future of Maker Faires, hacker spaces, and DIY culture.
makezine.com: MAKE: technology on your time

This was a pretty informal stand around and chat type thing:

Emeka Okafor, an organizer from the Ghana Maker Faire had some interesting insights.. One was that it's a lot harder to be an eccentric inventor type in developing countries. In Western Europe and the U.S. you are at least tolerated and have enclaves of supportive peers. But places like China and India are extremely conformist, making it very hard for inventors and for new inventions to catch on.

Open Source Creativity Panel Discussion
The panel on Open Source Communities will focus on the use of new, decentralized technology to connect designers. Many technologies have embraced the culture of open source, allowing people to directly share their ideas and innovation across boundaries. Information and communications technology have become widespread and commonplace. Open Source Communities will explore how maker and open source cultures have made the development of technology more accessible to everyday people, and how such connectivity can empower populations. A discussion on the ways in which easy access to new ideas have inspired new collaboration and better design (for products, buildings, programs—anything and everything) is also welcomed.

Didn't expect much out of this one.. but I'm all about free flow of ideas, so had to check it out.

For me the most relevant speaker was Scott Belsky from Behance.
He had an over the top power point thing of all different slick design work.. and is primarily trying to use the internet to directly connect good designers with clients, bypassing agents and creating meritocracy.. The open source aspect being that you're showing your design work to everyone, risking theft of ideas, but using it to build your rep.

These are all concepts that have been jumbling around in my head a lot recently.. thinking about different approaches to take with this thread/project/business/life..

I'm excited to see this whole internet/maker/technology thing continue to mature and excited to be a part of it..

It's hard to talk about in a way that isn't pointless and pretentious, but there are definitely very large fundamental changes happening, worth trying to understand and make the most of.

Something concrete that I've been thinking about.. I'll mail you some slide wheel prototypes in exchange for ___? Coming up with lists of ideas? Mining and organizing info on this site? Spreading particular ideas around the internet? Something like that could be interesting...

**Wolfin** · 10-03-2009 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by kraffft

I really have trouble sitting still in classrooms.. and I have even more trouble with the "upscale academic community" (as one of the panel speakers put it). But there's tons of amazing people and ideas out there.. So gotta get out of the house now and then.

I'm like you man, I must have ADHD or something because I can only focus and sit still when I'm being taught things that:
A) I don't know already
B) Interest me

And in University I think this is starting to take its toll D:

I'm also really interested in invention and improvement, and if I had the space I bet I would collect stuff like you do, but for now I'm mostly limited to electronics and computer parts :P

Also, I'm sure you get out of the house lots!

Something concrete that I've been thinking about.. I'll mail you some slide wheel prototypes in exchange for ___? Coming up with lists of ideas? Mining and organizing info on this site? Spreading particular ideas around the internet? Something like that could be interesting...

I'm interested in this, definitely. Moar info please!

**Pleinair** · 10-03-2009 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Wolfin

I'm like you man, I must have ADHD or something because I can only focus and sit still when I'm being taught things that:
A) I don't know already
B) Interest me

Don't worry man, I'm pretty sure that's everyone

**1993surfer** · 10-04-2009 12:23 PM

subscribed

**SeanML** · 10-04-2009 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by kraffft

This is brilliant... whenever I'm riding a board with a kick, I'm always worried I'm accidentally stepping behind the trucks and that I'll manual if I lean back at all. Not to mention that locked-in effect... what about a sort of toe-stop in the front, made the same way... piece of deck on top of the deck. Wouldn't need to be kicked, but a little overhang on the front would be nice... you'd have a board that's great for standups and freeriding, but trick-capable too.

See, your innovation comes from a complete disregard for what "looks cool"... like this idea of a retrofit kicktail has come to me a few times, but I threw it out all the time because I thought it would just look ridiculous. You did it anyway, and discovered some new functionality in the process.

in a nutshell... subscribed.