Make Your Own Longboard (deck) in So and So Many Steps

Hello and welcome to my tutorial on how to build your own longboard deck. Expect from this tutorial, that I will show you how to create your own longboard deck. I will also make some extra steps to show you how to make a whole and complete longboard, but the steps to take for making a complete longboard are easy after you have made your own and personalized longboard deck.

The price of your longboard deck will vary, depending on what kind of quality wood you will want to use but you can make it as cheap as 25 dollars.

Step 1:

Materials:

-Wood -Any wood of your choosing should suffice. I used two (2) ½ inch pieces, best would be to use four (4) ¼ inch. -Recommended wood choices would be birch -Glue -Any wood glue should be able to hold your wood sheets together -Cardboard piece as big as your deck

Optional Materials (if wanting to create whole board): -Trucks (2) -Wheels (4) -Bearings (8) -Grip tape -Spray paint -Paper

Tools: -Band saw -Sanding machine -any kind of marker -Pencil -Ruler -Chairs or other two objects to use for suspension platforms -Heavy objects to bend the wood -Clamps (a lot) -Knife

Step 2: STEP 1 : GLUING

In this first step I will show you how to apply glue to the wood, so that the two pieces are holding tightly and will not fall apart. For this first step you will need glue, an old paint brush, and your wood. This step is need so that you can have a multiple layer deck. This is better than having one whole solid piece since the wood as a better bend like this, which makes it more interesting and more controllable to ride.

Applying wood is relativly simple.
At first you will need to put on your glue. Just pore it on one side of the wood. Tip, try to pore it on evenly already. The next step will be to take an old brush, so that you can distribute your glue evenly throughout the whole wood piece. Tip, put a little more glue on the outsides of your deck so that this is the strongest part later on. After you did this take the other piece of wood and slightly press it on the other, with glue on it, piece of wood. Adjust the pieces so that they are directly on top of each other.

Step 3: Applying Pressure (1)

After you did this you will need around 10 - 15 clams that you will distribute around the sides of the wood, so that they can press the wood together. After you have done this put the big piece of wood on to two (2) chairs.

Tip: If you want your deck to have a concave you will need to either lift some parts of the deck or let other parts fall through. I decided to have my longboard have a radial concave. Which means that towards the middle of the deck I will have a light curve. In order to make this I let the middle of my deck fall through and put some extra weights in the middle, so that it bends through. When the glue then dries it will hold together the concave.

Step 4: Applying Pressure (2)

So that you will also apply pressure in the middle of your deck you must place one large and heavy object or multiple small objects on the board (smaller objects tend to work better since you can distribute the weight more evenly). This can be seen in the picture above.

If you want to create your deck with more than two (2) layers use the same steps but also add glue to the other sheets you will want to glue together.

Step 5: Designing

So that you can make a design and then bring it on your wood, so that you can cut it out, I first made myself a stencil. This step is not mandatory but I would suggest it to everybody who is unsure about the shape of the object.

At first I used existing models to get an idea of what shape my board should have. I decided to have a symmetric board with wheel cut outs and I also wanted to define the foot parts.

Than I started to first draw my board free hand on the cardboard using a pencil and a ruler. For making the nose and the tail of your board it is good to use a round object so that the look symmetric. After I had that done I drew over the pencil lines with a marker, so that i can see the lines easier.

Please note, that you can make what ever shape pleases you, the shape I made just came to my mind and I thought that it would be pretty cool to make. If you make our own shape please think about the width in the middle of the deck, if it is not wide enough it might snap. I would not take out more than ⅓ of your starting width. But you are also allowed to take my shape. After you drew your deck shape onto the cardboard, you will need to cut out that shape. For this I used a knife, since the cardboard was too thick to cut it with the scissors.

Next you will use the stencil to draw the outline on to your deck. Just put your stencil on the board and trace it.

Step 6: Cutting

Since you have your shape already on the wood, just cut it out. I used a normal band saw, which worked good.

After you cut out the shape you want your deck to have sand the sides so that they are smoother. If you have any edges in your cutting line just sand them away. Also make the top and bottom edges smooth since they will therefore not break as easy and they will feel a lot better.

After that take your grip tape and put it on. First place your deck on the grip tape and draw the outline of it , then cut it out. The rest is very simple you only need to tear of the paper on the back and then glue it on.

Extra for making the whole board:
If you have your trucks already, Draw the shape of them on your deck and cut these out, also drill the holes necessary for the type of trucks you have. When having the trucks amke circles there where you need the holes to be and then drill them.

Tip: Drill from the top where you have already put your grip tape on, that way the grip tape will not rip.