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Step 2Choosing your wood
Now you are going to need to find some wood to make into a longboard!
First off I would like to say that I have only used baltic birch, but it has worked well for me and so I have stuck with it. You can always try using different types of woods. Some are stronger than others and this can work to your advantage.
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Where do i buy wood from?
Good question.
Hopefully near where you live there is a local wood store. If you are unsure look online to find if there is one near you.
If you do not have a wood store in your town, then you can always look online. This is a bit more time consuming and expensive, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Finally, your probably saying "cant i just go to HomeDepot or Lowes and get wood from there?".........you can, but be vary cautious as the wood at HomeDepot and Lowes is plywood, which means it has filler in the middle of the wood instead of wood. (confusing right) This means it is not as strong and breaks very easily. I strongly recommend staying away from HomeDepot and Lowes, go to an actual wood store instead.
What types of wood are good to use?
Here are the two most popular woods that people use:
Maple - Stronger more cleaner look, more expensive, good for stiff downhill boards
Baltic Birch - Weaker less clean look, less expensive, better for flexy carving and crusing boards (what i use) also good for downhill boards
What thickness should i get?
Ideally you want your board to be about a 1/2inch thick or less. But it all depends on what kind of board you are making. If you want a downhill board then you will probably want it to be stiffer, requiring more sheets than a carving or cruising board.
There are two different types of thicknesses that are most often used:
1/4th inch thick - if you are making a board using this thickness, use two sheets, this makes for a flexier board that is a bit weaker than the 1/8th inch thick.
1/8th inch thick - if you are making a board using this thickness, use four sheets, this makes for a stronger board that can still be flexy, but more solid than the 1/4th inch thick.
Cutting the wood:
So at my local store the baltic birch usually comes in a 5x5 sheet for about $30. This is about average for most wood stores. (I think) You should cut the sheet into foot wide sections, and a little longer than you want your board to be. So for example, if i wanted to make a board that was 42 inches long. I would cut a one foot by 46 inch section (leaving 2 inches of room on each side). Always remember to cut with the grain instead of against, this strengthens your board ALOT.
First off I would like to say that I have only used baltic birch, but it has worked well for me and so I have stuck with it. You can always try using different types of woods. Some are stronger than others and this can work to your advantage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where do i buy wood from?
Good question.
Hopefully near where you live there is a local wood store. If you are unsure look online to find if there is one near you.
If you do not have a wood store in your town, then you can always look online. This is a bit more time consuming and expensive, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Finally, your probably saying "cant i just go to HomeDepot or Lowes and get wood from there?".........you can, but be vary cautious as the wood at HomeDepot and Lowes is plywood, which means it has filler in the middle of the wood instead of wood. (confusing right) This means it is not as strong and breaks very easily. I strongly recommend staying away from HomeDepot and Lowes, go to an actual wood store instead.
What types of wood are good to use?
Here are the two most popular woods that people use:
Maple - Stronger more cleaner look, more expensive, good for stiff downhill boards
Baltic Birch - Weaker less clean look, less expensive, better for flexy carving and crusing boards (what i use) also good for downhill boards
What thickness should i get?
Ideally you want your board to be about a 1/2inch thick or less. But it all depends on what kind of board you are making. If you want a downhill board then you will probably want it to be stiffer, requiring more sheets than a carving or cruising board.
There are two different types of thicknesses that are most often used:
1/4th inch thick - if you are making a board using this thickness, use two sheets, this makes for a flexier board that is a bit weaker than the 1/8th inch thick.
1/8th inch thick - if you are making a board using this thickness, use four sheets, this makes for a stronger board that can still be flexy, but more solid than the 1/4th inch thick.
Cutting the wood:
So at my local store the baltic birch usually comes in a 5x5 sheet for about $30. This is about average for most wood stores. (I think) You should cut the sheet into foot wide sections, and a little longer than you want your board to be. So for example, if i wanted to make a board that was 42 inches long. I would cut a one foot by 46 inch section (leaving 2 inches of room on each side). Always remember to cut with the grain instead of against, this strengthens your board ALOT.
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Where about are you from? If your in the UK most timber companies sell birch plywood at various thickness.
im 90 pounds and i can easily bottom out a board with 4 layers of wood and 2 fibreglass
also
more fibreglass will give the board a livelier flex
for the best flex use over 8 layers of fibreglass with epoxy resin instead of polyester resin
ps dont buy automotive fibreglass
or
Rockler.com
so in other words plywood is layered to make the deck.
you could do it with 1/32 veneers but you would need a vacumn bag to get even enough pressure