Foldable skateboard, BOA

Finally!!! I figured out a way to do what i have had in my head for some time now. Its not perfect, but it works and does the job that I want it to.

So, I have been wanting to make a skateboard that can fold up/break down and be stored in a backpack. I'm a college student and had the intention of being able to skate to class and then throw my skateboard in my backpack instead of having to carry it everywhere (turns out my farthest class was only a 5 min walk anyways but whatever). And its nice for just skating to get food somewhere or, my new intention, skating to work and then just throwing it in my backpack.

Step 1: Materials needed

For this instructable you will need to gather some materials. You will need:
-skateboard trucks, wheels, bearings
-an aluminum skateboard deck (got mine off ebay for about $40 shipped)
-2 BOA dials taken off some snowboard boots, wakeboard boots, ect. (sorry for the bad pictures of them, i've only tried it with the oval shaped BOA dials, but i'm pretty sure the circle ones will work too)
-some tools like a drill, saw that cuts through metal, gorilla glue type stuff, screws, skateboard hardware, BOA laces, metal rods about 1/4" thick

Comments

[DarcWolf]

Name of skateboard deck?? Lol awesome instructable though ( Foldable skateboards you can buy are kinda poop too :P )

[ZaneEricB]

First off....I dig this idea. Business suits, spreadsheets and oh...whats that...a skateboard! Ill just take a ride down to get some coffee.

Secondly.... I like the briefcase...no need for a custom case. Its liek business on the outside, party on the inside. "thats what she said"

How has it held up over the past few years?

[Chaunce Valentine]

If you use this mainly for cruising, why don't you get some larger urethane wheels for it?

[ckraske]

he probably didnt have the money after all the metal work my man

[iballpaul]

Stop saying stuff like "buy a bigger bag" and "get a mini" he put alot of effort into this and its a ingenious idea, big ups to him for making this :D

[benedict688]

no thanks, the reason people say that sh*t is because it is way more practical to buy a mini than to buy an aluminum deck and cut it up and add weight to it just to cut off a couple inches of length. Not to mention the case he used added width to it, hes prob carrying around just as much surface area if not more than leaving the skate alone to begin with. I have boa system on my snowboard boots too and they are horrible, would never trust them to hold my skateboard together. its basically a rube goldberg, if you want a more compact skate get one that is more compact, dont buy one that is bigger and try to figure out a complicated way of cutting and reattaching it together.

[pyoung4]

an idea on the lace your using. try parachord instead. you can get 350lb test and 500 lb test. it'll hold for sure. and it's cheap if you buy it on ebay.

[carpespasm]

I'd like to see someone figure out a way to do this so it hinges in the middle, the board isn't that much smaller for having the nose and tail cut off, but if you could keep in strong and come up with a locking mechanism that doesn't get in the way of board slides you'd be in business. nice use of the BOA locks too.

[aliex]

what would work even better would be boot buckles or a belts{like the ones u wear} under the board by the trucks on the left and right

[aliex]

if u want the broads nose and tail in place u should look at motor cross boots boot buckels u could put them under the broad on the left and right of each truck and im sure that u could find a pair of old boots some where for cheap and take the buckels off or u could be really ghetto and use belts let me how it works out if u every try it

[ihaveaweirdname]

or you could have buyed a sk8er back pack and strapped your skateboard on i think every skateshop has them.just a suggestion good instructable by the way!

[PyroTeen213]

i couldn't find and an aluminum skateboard deck that looked close to yours only longboards and a vintage banzaii aluminum skateboard

[fartnocker]

 can you still noseslide and tail slide without it folding up?
and does an aluminum board get any pop?

[clintford]

Interesting application for Boa. You may have issues with the lace breaking as they are not designed to exit the reel in that direction. Also, additional lace crossings would help take some load off the reel. That's an old reel, there are stronger ones than that now. cool stuff.

[michaelbain]

AWESOM!

[hobojangles]

Buy a bigger bag.

[senario 158]

i!i!i!i!i! awsome!

[alex_vanmeter]

flexdex.com that's where I bought mine. small and compact.

[alex_vanmeter]

here's a better idea.... buy a mini.

[sploge]

this is really cool

[IRONMAIDEN]

yea im with freewheeler how do u do tricks and stuff without it folding

[anarchist292]

Cool instructable, collapsable skateboard is pretty tight. But you could always just get a skate carry backpack lol

[capn]

Ive never seen an extruded aluminium skateboard before, neat instructable!

[DELETED_freewheeler]

(removed by author or community request)

[Mad Hatter]

You probably be able to get away with a couple before the joints broke.

[bubba77]

its prolly just for cruising, just like those fold up bikes aren't for bmx, ii dont know maybe it is strong enough

[GAMERkid88]

Would rebarb work for the metal rods

[Boyington]

You rock :-)

[power]

very neat work. i like it

[the_burrito_master]

I don't know that looks kinda rigged up and unsafe but good job i think it would work better with hinges it the middle that can lock in place p.s. where did you get the aluminum skate board

[bubba77]

i think that there is a brand called yokaher that makes aluminum skateboards and sell them on ebay. im not sure if yokaher is spelld right though.

[the_burrito_master]

O, do you know if they are good quality?

[bubba77]

i dont really know, all i know is that when you wear down the tail it gets wicked sharp and it gets too dangerous to use. imagine getting credit carded with that, ouch!

[the_burrito_master]

lol

[jerbearisapimp9]

it is a yoacher deck that i got off ebay. and yes, i can do some tricks with it like ollies and kickflips/heelflips. but its main focus is for just getting from a to b and crusing around

[jerbearisapimp9]

so i tested so more today, the board is fine with just riding around the street, doing kickflips and ollies, but it wasn't doing so well with 180's. The BOA reel went loose when i would land, and usually the front truck would fall off. i think its too much force to come down on like that when you are spinning and landing a 180. I'm still really happy with it, it will be great once i make a case for it to stick in my backpack.

[MisterSlippy]

It's an interesting instructable, sure, but I can't see the board standing up to anything but the most gentle of use. I'd love to hear how you get on with it in actual use, and how you may have overcome any difficulties you encounter in using it....?

[!Andrew_Modder!]

cool, but i dont sk8 :-|

[TheCheese9921]

This is amazing, you could sell these online for some nice dough

[jackrackam]

This is a great idea. I shall build one.