Skateboard Manufacturing: An Insider's View

[francosep30]

What glue do u use wood glue?

[Pannemat]

Too bad your veneers are dead,dude.

[MrMaxbella]

high production bullshit. nice craftsmanship pal. Did your employees skate over the border?

[fgordon2012]

This one is a high-quality video. On instantskate,com there are often awesome videos.

[ESSUTRMAV]

Why was that guy standing in front of a super expensive car with big wheels?

[eskimotim123]

the dude sounds like an asshole

[freetoskateboard]

You must be that shop that just lost the Churchill account a few minutes ago. Yeah, it must suck not being able to sell Churchill decks out of your shop anymore, especially knowing they were your best seller and that your sales increased once you brought them in... I'd call him an asshole too, but your comment is like your rubber checks-- bounces back to you PAL! :))

[TheEnergyLine]

@freetoskateboard dude ur web i cant enter

[toynazi]

glad to see them doing in the us. instead of overseas. companies like almost,blind,enjoi are just a few that go the cheap route. SUPPORT US MADE DECKS.

[Re4obsesser]

lol how much are those sexy boards

[ukrides]

is it true if you stack the decks in the presser with out a mold on before each deck wont the concave of the deck be slightly diffrent from the top deck 1 to 5 like this

1

2

3

4

5

[Dublinsk8r]

ye, i think so, daewon parks his car over a deck overnight, to make sure that the concave is perfect...

[freetoskateboard]

Not with these decks. The precision is what allows for the decks to not only be stacked in the manner which you see, but each deck is EXACTLY the same.

[freetoskateboard]

Churchill MFG only stacks 3 decks at a time

[ReachForTheSky1021]

@ukrides

yes it is true.

it is kinda like the same way as a road.

you have the outer turn and the inner turn.

[MrOffshore]

This is a comical blog...interesting video for sure. My problem with the skateboard industry is that most the decks out there look the same. They've looked the same for years now. Decks in the late 70's early 80's had style, not just in their graphics, but in their shape, style and design. This Troy Chuchill guy seems to know his stuff...why is everybody else so up in his shit? I think there's some serious jealousy issues here, maybe it all stems from the Benz in the video?? Move on people.

[cptcliffhanger]

Troy Churchill is a friend of mine, and I can tell you he is no genius.

I invented the CNC machine and taught Troy to use it in my fathers basement late one night when we were six years old and his Mom let him spend the night. We snuck into the basement after my parents went to sleep to plan how we were going to sneak into Penny Benjamins second story window. She was the eight-year old girl next door that had started to develop boobs.

[cptcliffhanger]

Our master plan was never to be, we got distracted when Troy pointed to a blue tarp that was covering my invention in my fathers basement and uttered the two words that would forever change the skateboarding industry. Whats that??

[cptcliffhanger]

Years later, Penny was searching for approval from her Father after her mother died and he turned to whisky. She started spending much of her spare time with me in my fathers basement. We spent hours making videos on my Dads beta camera. Ill never forget Penny Benjamin. Her influence on youtube will never be forgotten! I wrote the editing software that was used to create the videos you see here, when I needed to convert the Beta tapes I had shot with Penny to VHS..

[mapletreemfg]

uuuh o-k... well that explains everything?

[mapletreemfg]

Thats what I was told so it must be true... isnt that how this whole thing started?

[freetoskateboard]

I've been having so much fun with this Youtube video I made ... this video was made FIVE years ago. I just called Troy, told him to check it out, he's laughing, and he has told be to post on here: THIS VIDEO IS A LIE AND HE ACTUALLY KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT SKATEBOARDS AND WANTS CREDIT FOR NOTHING. To prove it, you can ask any of the Plan B team, and they too will agree that he knows NOTHING about skateboards. P.S. Troy wanted to say hello to all his old friends chiming in.

[freetoskateboard]

Grant, your an idiot! I was in Troy's shop when he was building presses and dying takes for you, and he let you use part of his warehouse to dye your veneers and he made Active boards before he hired you to make them. And if I recall correctly, didn't you go with Troy to the Wood Working conventions to look at a CNC machine? And not not that this matters, but did you know about automatic shapers before you knew Troy?

[grankula73]

Gavin,

Troy had Dave weld some presses for us. That was 3 years after we learned how to press decks. The presses weren't even Troy's design. The frame was Greg Firth's who also built proskate's gang drill. I do recall going to a woodworking show with Troy in which Mike at California woodworking introduced me to a copy shaper. I don't understand how that means Troy built our factory.

[freetoskateboard]

Final comment: you haven't indicated where "we" took credit for your factory? Your projecting your frustrations onto my video Grant. Nothing about you here!!!

[grankula73]

I remenber when we made Active decks with Troy as the middle man. I knew that he told Active that they were made in his factory but really didn't care. The brands that we make decks for all claim to make their own product.

I remember bullshitting with Troy about all his Snowboard Manufacturing that he was involved with. I couldn't get over all the different places he worked. Seemed to never stay anywhere for more than a few months. Maybe because he was giving false info like he is to you.

[grankula73]

I think the only thing he can make claim to is moving Pro Skate to Mexico. It is definetely something to be proud of but to lay claim to BBS or Mastercore is absurd. As far as influence in Skateboard manufacturing. I definetely have something to say about that. I know Paul Schmidt would too. As well as anybody that has more than a year in a skate factory. I think that's about the time Troy has actually spent in a factory. Last I heard he was messing around with Control Airplanes.

[freetoskateboard]

Lastly, don't you remember Evan Villareal? He was a good friend of mine. He was pressing skateboards before any of you guys and he use to work for Troy? Didn't Evan turn you, Grant, onto Troy to learn how to press decks? Why are you guys hating on Troy and my video so much?!

[grankula73]

Sure I remember Evan. If I remember correctly Troy wanted to use Evan to produce Active decks but Evan couldn't get his act together so he went to us to produce them. We are not hating on the video. We actually started to do our own after seeing how cool Rodney's is. I know Troy and he is a cool guy but his ego is off the charts. You have to understand, you and Troy have made claims that you created what we created, when we have all been knee deep in saw dust for 15 years.

[freetoskateboard]

Well, I guess I need to make a part two. I had made a video based on Churchill Mfg. making quality decks. Why that offends so many other manufacturers I can understand! I don't see anywhere in here Grant that has anything to do with taking credit for anything you've created! As far as ego goes, I've been there working with Troy for the last 15 years watching him work with you and others. It sounds to me like the real ego is maybe coming from you!

[freetoskateboard]

Funny: you can't give credit to Troy, one of your mfg. consulting resources who actually appears in his video in his own factory, yet, you can give credit to "Rodney", one of your competitors who does not appear in his video and who is taking credit for someone else's factory. The hypocrisy, lack of savvy, and out right childish comments on your part is amazing to say the least. Can you even skate? At least Troy can still pressure flip!

[grankula73]

Gavin,

This is Grant from BBS. I can't even think of what Troy might have told you that he helped out with. Our first press that we built was originally an air bag press. I got the air bag from some dude that worked with snowboards, don't remember his name but it wasn't Troy. This guy from orange county that made wooden sun glasses cut out our first mold. From there Patric cut out our molds and then Thane. Like I said I wouldn't even know what Troy would have laid claim to.

[Notwillywonka]

What's the real issue here everybody ?? We can sit at our desks and attach each other all day.......

[grbassist]

Trial and error as well influence fom many, including Grant and Rupe's hydraulics (to replace Troy's original hydraulics) is how Mastercore learned to produce quality decks.

Your wierd.

[grbassist]

This is Greg as mentioned above.

First I'd like to say that I like Troy. He was brought in to advise Mastercore about skate manufacturing and build some presses. He gave me a few decks to copy and talked about concaves and mold offsets for pressing 4 up. I valued his input, but as for teacinng me, I had been designing and programming snowboard cores for years.

Mastercore's factory was built long before I met Troy.

[grbassist]

We already had 2 CNC machins in place for years and I programmed them to now cut skate decks instead of snowboard cores. There was a learning curve to go through as far as pressing, and he did help with some of that. I now work for Bareback and and as far as I know the same is true here. He "helped" with some presses and some advice. As for building factories, being responsible for, or teaching everything to Mastercore and Bareback, that's just plain not true. I know nothing about Pro-skate

[freetoskateboard]

Again, what is your point? You have said nothing that counters any of the information on this page or within the video, Oh! Other than that spelling error Captain Patterson found. Here is my question to all of you at MasterCore: Could you be where you are today without Troy help(honestly), and can you name another single person who has influence MsterCore, BareBack, ProSkate, and China more than Troy Churchill? Didn't think so.

[grbassist]

I' m mainly defending the factories I've worked for. You did say I didn't know how to program a deck before Troy. Not true. The description of this video claims resposibility for Zero decks. Not true. Now YOU are giving him credit for building factories. Not true.

I don't like that.

I'm no "hater", but my point is valid.

[freetoskateboard]

Defending the factories from what? Troy getting credit for his part in the business? History lesson: ProSkate's Mexico factory, one of the factories built by Troy, was named after him: "Churchill Mfg." It was the motivation for making the promo video. I don't think ProSkate needs your defense.

[grbassist]

So if a client gives me a product to copy or gives me dimensions, He taught me how to program and produce it?

I clearly spelled out wht I'm defending.

Seriously, you should stop.

[freetoskateboard]

I think the real problem here Greg is that the side of this industry, that has used and relied on Troy Churchill for years, most of whom he got into this industry so that he could have reliable sources of product and services, are resentful to see Troy being successful on his own, in direct competition with YOU GUYS!

[mapletreemfg]

No, Troy had some good input a long time ago on quantities on the floor for a quick turn. You must know Dolph, Greg and Russ, funny they don't remember him setting up the factory and I saw Greg and Russ today at work. Greg is the one that showed me this, sorry cant speak for Grant i will say that Grant has helped me out quite a bit over the years.

[mapletreemfg]

No mask, my name is scott patterson i have a factory, I know Troy hes a good guy but probably taking a little to much credit. Master Core was set up as a snowboard core factory that supplied cores for the thermal factory AKA RideTroy did not set that factory up. Ride sold to K2 and moved to China, Master Core began manufacturing decks with a lot of help from Grant owner of BBS, I do have my facts straight. Troy is not the Guru to skateboard manufacturing. Why do you have such a hard on for him??

[mapletreemfg]

NO!! Troy did not build the Master Core factory, they did ask him to build them a couple of presses thats all he did, Troy dosent own a factory.

[skategnarr1995]

no wonder actives are so good they are better than baker i think

[tidymanUK]

no offense but if churchill doesn't want other brands to know how to make their boards why are u showin this to us on youtube

[cokawoka13]

Hey do you know any other skateboard brands churchill makes?