A skateboard is known as a small piece of wood shaped in the form of surfboard having four wheels attached to the board. Only a single person rides this board controlling the movement with both feet. Some people use a skateboard as a means of transportation through short distance while some just use it to pull stunts. No matter what you want to use your skateboard for, they all have everything in common.
Skateboards comprise of three sections: the deck (the real board), the truck (a part typically made of metal, which links the wheels to the deck), and the skateboard wheels. A typical skateboard deck has a length of 81.3 cm, a width of 20.3 cm and is somewhat less than 1.3 cm thick. The deck has a characterized tail and nose with a curved center.
Skateboards are made of 6-9 layers of pressed plywood
To withstand damage and stress, skateboards aren’t made of only one piece of wood. Rather, various thin layers of veneer and plywood are layered, glued together and then pressed for a few hours to build one deck. The standard board uses seven pieces of plywood, although some boards may use up to nine.
- Changing the number of pieces in the skateboard or the thickness of the sheets will affect its flexibility, weight, and skating properties.
- Most skateboard decks end up with a thickness of around 10mm.
Design
Skateboard decks, skateboard trucks, and skateboard wheels are designed differently depending on how you are going to be using your skateboard. Decks vary in their concavity angle and the shape of the tail and nose.
Using veneers
How about we begin with veneer? Skateboard veneers are broken down into three classifications of plywood. Face plywood, sanded or un-sanded center plywood and cross-band plywood which usually are un-sanded. The way by which you arrange these diverse layers determines the skateboard’s weight, strength, and feel. A typical style of organizing the plywood or layers should be:
- Face
- Center layer
- Cross-band
- Center layer
- Cross-band
- Center layer
- Face
The veneer’s thickness also varies. Most times, 0.058/1.47mm for the core layers and the faces and the cross-bands are naturally thinner at 0.050/1.27mm.
Skateboard deck glue
After placing the veneers in the appropriate place, the next thing is to glue. If you make use of some other sort of glue apart from tie bond, you are screwed because no glue can hold skateboard as strong as tie bond. Tie bond glue is specifically made for this kind of work. However, for the gluing process, place the sanded part of the face on the concrete, and the un-sanded side should be facing up. Apply glue on the un-sanded side then take a center layer and place it on the face. Repeat the process for the cross-bond seven times.
Leave the board to press for up to 8 hours before removing it
After gluing all the veneers together, it is now time for pressing. To start pressing, pick two pieces of cardboard that are around 3 inches longer and wider and then the unshaped board. At that point, place the frame on its side and then put the veneers in between the cardboard and the frame, then take 20” to 16” nuts with bolts, washers, and 2” to 4” channel irons.
The next thing is to put the channels irons in the middle of the frame so that it could be pressed nicely. When this is done, allow the skateboard deck to mold for the remainder of the day. You have to check it every 2 hours to ensure the bag is still tight, and you may have to suction more air out of the bag once in a while.
Uncut
Remove the uncut deck from the mold once it has cured. Remove the cardboard also. When you complete that, then you can make your own skateboard designs. Some people use a design card program because it makes the design more exact for the tail and nose, you can draw out your design on a graph paper. When you have drawn out your design, place it on top of the uncut but do not tape it yet, because you should determine how long you want the tail and nose of the skateboard to be. When you have everything exactly where you like it, then mark the point where the skateboard trucks would be. Now you can start tapping and drawing after which you will cut the design.
Cutting
After getting the design ready, then it is time to cut out the deck to be shaped. When doing this, it’s best to use a band saw, because it is more exact of a cut, however in the event that you do not have one, you can just utilize the helpful dandy small jigsaw. After you complete cutting it out, use a rasp or a router to curve the edges of the board.
Doing this will ensure that you do not get slivers. After doing that, sand the whole deck with steel wool or sandpaper (around 150 to 220 coarseness) till the board becomes super smooth. Also, do not forget to drill out the truck holes before sanding.
Learning how to make your own skateboard with RogerSkateboards.com is quite easier than you would think. Building the deck or the wooden board only needs a basic knowledge of carpentry, a skateboard mold, a vacuum press, and a jigsaw, and skateboard can even be made at your home exercising little patience. When you lay your hands on this process, you would realize how easy it is to make a skateboard deck.
You’ve got the chance to design your skateboard however you want it, and what more could be better than this. Skateboard building is fun. Although professional looking skateboards are nearly impossible without using professional equipment, anybody can make a skateboard and get done with it within 1-2 days. If you are thinking of making one before, now is the right time for you to start!