HOWTO use skateboards as ceiling-fan blades

Converting three skateboard planks to act as the blades on an electric ceiling fan is surprisingly straightforward, as Notcot's NOTlabs demonstrates: "staring at the ugly, boring ceiling fan that hung above us led to the idea of of skateboards as fan blades! And sure enough a few days later, skateboards and a nice simple ceiling fan was acquired to test with!"

NOTlabs: The Skateboard Fan- 07.05.12 (via Neatorama)

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http://plagmada.org Tim H

I wonder how the heavier skateboard affects the spin up time of the fan. And if it’s safe to have something that heavy replace the blades.
eee

Might be nice as a static work of art. But once it is turned on, nnless he actually balanced them properly… it would be a great way to burn out the moter and send the fan “blades” flying into someone’s head.
- bcsizemo
  
  Most ceiling fans aren’t going to burn out even if the motor stalled, they just aren’t built that way. If anything you’d end up with a much slower spin speed and thus less air, but as long as they have attached the boards/blades well I don’t see any reason they’d come off. Those brackets they are using look to be fairly heavy duty, plus they are bolted on compared to a lot of the quick lock designs of most fan blades.
  - bumblebeeeeeee
    
    hope they are bolts not screws.
    - http://profiles.google.com/greeneggsandsamuel Sam Archer
      
      They’re bolts.
      - bcsizemo
        
        Yup, not enough caffeine for me today…
        (Fixed my original post to bolts.)
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        Are they self-sealing?
      - http://twitter.com/nagmay Gabriel Nagmay
        
        Antinous – Self-sealing stem bolts are only required on the reverse-ratcheting versions of this ceiling fan design
dw

I can’t help but think of new fathers that think this might be a good idea after they give up skateboarding, then proceed to play airplane with their newborns… wee wee whap! that’s going to hurt
timquinn

SO worried! Relax everyone, BoingBoing pretests all ideas before releasing them on the clueless public. Nevertheless, please sign the release available at the front desk before reading any further. It is just something our insurance requires . . . .
http://www.kmoser.com kmoser

Wait, a fan blade is ugly and boring but a plain skateboard base isn’t? Except for the upturned edges they look practically the same. They should have left the trucks and wheels attached.
LinkMan

They’re going to be much less efficient at moving air than a properly shaped fan blade.

Looks kind of cool, but I sure wouldn’t want it in my home.
- Wordguy
  
  My ceiling fan blades are flat paddles attached to angled brackets, so the skate decks should work OK.
  - LinkMan
    
    Many fans have flat blades, but you can get the same airflow with less wattage if the blades have the right “twist” to them.
- http://plagmada.org Tim H
  
  Wait a minute, they’re less efficient at moving air yet they’re still kind of cool? Pick one or the other.
Chentzilla

How’s that one less ugly?
bo1n6bo1n6

Perfectly good boards going to waste… That fan motor can’t be too happy… Side note, My friend burned down his house recently… cause of fire: fan…
http://plagmada.org Tim H

I didn’t notice that he was using brand new skateboard decks for the blades. That’s wasteful. I’d plugged this into the old-skateboard nostalgia thing I see so much of.
timquinn

Yeah, because ceiling fans are known for their high levels of engineering sophistication.

You guys need to take step back and think about where your conversations inevitably lead. It is kind of frightening, the consistency. I mean.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  If you skip the residential ones and buy commercial, the level of engineering sophistication rises sharply while the price, funnily enough, often stays the same or drops.