Simple Shoe + Hat Rack, Made From Old Skateboards.

For this (my first) entry i am going to give you a step by step instructable of how to make a shoe rack from old skateboards only using a saw and a soft hammer (no nails or glue needed).

After being a skateboarder for about 11 years i have build up quite a stack of old skateboards (of wich some are broken some are still in one part). It got me thinking what else could i do with these old skateboards?
It then came to me, because of skateboarding i also have several pairs of shoes and quite some hats, so i decided to make a simple rack wich i could use to store my shoes and hats using 6 whole and one (2 pieces) broken skateboard.

I do not have all steps photographed because i did this five years ago in a couple of minutes in impulse. :P

Parts list:

A pen or marker
Ruler
Saw
Soft hammer
2 or more long screws or thin metal rods (to keep the skateboards alligned when making the cuts).

Step 1: Alligning the Boards

The easiest way to get things to fit is cutting 3 boards at the same time, when doing this you can allign the boards by putting a long screw or metal rod through one (or two)  of the four holes on each side of the skateboard, do this on both sides. This way the skateboards will stay together when making the cuts.

Do this with the 6 whole skateboards in 2 stacks of 3 boards per stack.

Step 2: Marking the Cuts.

Now you have alligned the skateboards in a stacks of three boards, we can go ahead and make the measurements for each of the three cuts. You will have to make six main cuts. In both of the stacks of three skateboards you have to make three cuts per stack for this puzzle like system to fit together. As you can see on the picture.

I went by sight and took about the same length from the centre outwards, the best way i think is to first measure the centre point of the stack of boards in length. Then from that point you can maesure side to side and draw the centre line on the short side of the stack.
From that centre line you can take your ruler and mark the other two lines going outward the same length from the centre line.

If you have marked all three lines where you want to make the board fit together when assembling the shoe rack, you than have to measure the thickness of a skateboard (most boards have 7 ply's of wood and are of the same thickness). You have to mark the thickness of the skateboard before cutting, i think everybody can figure out how to mark this on the lines you already have marked on the boards so the boards can be shoved/hammered slightly to fit together.

Step 3: Making the Cuts.

We are now going to cut out the marked areas on the stacks of skateboards so that in the end all 6 pieces can be shoved or slightly hammered together.
As can be seen on the picture i have made the cuts in a way that when i put it all together the horizontal boards all face upwards and the vertical boards all face the same side (it depends on the angle of watching, but my vertical boards face the boards up side right way).

Be carefull when making the cuts, it is very important to only cut the stack to the centre (halfway) line on the board for them to propperly fit. If you cut to far or not far enough the boards will not fit correct and the rack will look odd/off. But if you like that then its your own choice, i went for the more centered view.

The cuts can now be determined and be cut out.

Step 4: Cutting the Legs.

For me having this large amount of skateboards it was easier to take two broken pieces of a skateboard to make the legs. For this i have like in Step 2, placed both pieces on eachother and alligned them with 2 long screws.

After alligning for the legs to work you have to make one end of the leg straight for it to stand on the floor, i did this on the centre parts of the board so i could fit the legs on the rack using the tail and nose parts (the front and back end of a skateboard). Then you have to decide on where to place the legs, i picked the outside of the vertical boards because it looked better that way.

Now we can mark and make the final cuts needed for this rack. As you could see on the picture.

Step 5: Assembling.

After finalising all the cuts (you can test fit the pieces and file out some more if needed), then its time to get it all together.

I first decided which pieces should go where in step 4 and can now begin to put them together from the bottom on up, i picked the bottom and one of the 2 sides to go first and from there i took the top part and other side to make it square. After making a square it really does not matter much wich one of the 2 main cross pieces you fit next as long as you have made the cuts the right way it can go either way.

Now that the six main (whole) pieces are fit together its smart to use a soft hammer and tap the pieces softly so they fit tight.

Were almost done now, only the legs are left for assembling and after this you have yourself one nicely made custom Skateboard shoe rack.

Step 6: Some Words After.

I really enjoyed making this little instructable and am considering making a few more in the future, i hope everything is clear enough so others can enjoy this simple little custom piece of storage.