Introduction: Custom Long Board

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About: I'm a graffiti artist actually I'm studying an engineering in innovation and design, I´ll try to share you up my designs and other stuff

In this project I spent about 40$ without the trucks, bearings, (just the board)
It´s an easy project if you know the basics of wood working and how to use fiber glass, even if you don´t know how to use them its no that difficult.

I'll try to explain each step by step, unfortunately I couldn't take some pics when i was working with the fiber and the resin 'cause I had my hands full of fibers, anyways...

Step 1: Materials and Equipment

I used pine and mahogany veneer because they where the cheapest I could found, but you can use what ever you want:

  • 2 sheets of mahogany triplay (I used 40cm x 110 cm x 2.7mm)
  • 1 sheet of pine veneer ( I used 40 cm x 220 x 1 mm)
  • 1 kg of glass fiber (aprox)
  • 750 gr of polyester resin

  • Adhesive grip (30cm x 160 cm)


  • 1 brush (any size, to apply the resin)
  • 1 dremel or moto tool
  • Masking tape, or duct tape
  • Scale
  • Plastic recipients
  • Latex gloves
  • Security glasses
  • Overall or lab coat
  • Saw band
  • Drill

  • Polishing hand machine

  • Wide belt sanding machine

Step 2: Design, Veneer

First of all the design I made it in Rhinoceros a cad program and printed them to make an stencil, you can do the same or trace it by hand

  1. In the mahogany triplay trace the silhouette of the skate
  2. Cut it in the band saw a few millimeters offset
  3. With the band sand it
  4. Copy the first form in the other triplay
  5. Attach them and cut them with the saw band
  6. Sand them

Step 3: Glass Fiber, Resin and Veneer

CAUTION, glass fiber really irritates skin, eyes, nostrils and the whole body, I recommend you to use an overall or lab coat, latex gloves, and safety glasses every time. (I used two latex gloves for each hand, because they always break)

  1. Cut the fiber a few inches longer and wider than the board
  2. Try to separate the fiber making at least 2 sheets from each one

RESIN

  1. Put some resin in your bowl about 300gr will be ok
  2. Mix it with the catalyzer (mine used 2%-3%)
  3. Stir for 30 seconds or until they mix together
  4. Apply a thin coat of resin over the triplay with the brush, then a sheet of fiber, then resin, then veneer like this:


    TRIPLAY |RESIN |FIBER |RESIN |VENEER |RESIN |FIBER |RESIN |TRIPLAY

  5. Then apply some weight over the sandwich you made ( I used some wood and 3 buckets )
  6. Let it cure

Step 4: Cutting

It will take about 2 -3 hours to cure, but I let it cure for the night instead just to be sure...

  1. Cut the surplus of the fiber and veneer with the band saw
  2. Sand it
  3. Dremel the surplus
  4. Sand it with the hand polisher

Step 5: Cover

  1. With masking tape make a fence around the deck
  2. Apply some wood sealer
  3. Apply 150 gr of resin (I used the same of the fiber, but I think that a crystal resin will make it better)
  4. Wait to cure
  5. Apply the design, I made some sticker Hawaiian flowers ( you can use serigraphy, vinyl stickers, or anything you want)
  6. Apply another coat of resin 50 gr will be ok
  7. Let it cure

Step 6: Grip and Trucks

Grip

Unfortunately the wider grip I could find was 30 cm, my longboard wide is 34 cm -.-

  1. Cut the grip surplussing the edges about 1 cm more
  2. Add the missing spots
    1. With a key or a wrench press the edges of the long board over the grip
    2. Cut the surpluses

Trucks

  1. Mark with pencil the holes for the trucks
  2. With a bench drill make the holes
  3. Add the trucks with the wheels

Step 7: Ready to Hit the Roads

I loved the strength of the glass fiber with the mahogany, but for the next one I´ll use walnut because it's stronger
Maybe apply some carbon fiber for some details.

I'll appreciate your comments