In this instructable I will show you how I made my longboard, I hope you like it as much as I do!

warning: always be safe around tools, and ride safe afterwards.

Step 1: Materials

To make your longboard you will need a couple materials. they are very easy to find, so this won't be a problem!

you're going to need:

- +/-9 layers of 1/2 mm maple veneer, it doesn't have to be maple, but this is a strong and still flexible wood so i prefer this for my longboards.

- woodglue

-scrap wood to make te press.

-a dozen bricks, or other heavy objects.

-spraypaint and clearcoat spray

Step 2: Making the Press

The press is used to give the board its concave while it is glued. this press consists of 2 pieces, 1 board with ledges glued on top and one strip of wood to press veneer into the mold.

make sure to round off all the edges so that de veneer doesn't break.

the strips of wood on the board are around 3cm +/-1 inch thick.

the 2 strips on the side of the mold make sure that de board gets concave, and the strip on the end of the board makes a kicktail.

Step 3: Preparing the Wood

before you can glue the wood you have to cut it to the right size, mine is 85 cm by 20 cm but you can make it every size you want, just make sure it fits in your mold!

cutting this thin veneer can be done with only a stanley knife, or a boxcutter.

when everything is cur to the right size, you can fit it in your mold and deside how big your kicktail is going to be. when you've prepared everything you can go to the next step which is glueing the veneers.

Step 4: Glue-ing

the next step is to glue the veneers together in the mold/press, before you start make sure you have something heavy in reach to put on your press so the wood takes the shape of the mold, i used bricks for this.

the next thing you have to do is cover 1 side of the first layer of veneer in glue, do this in a zigzag patern and spread the glue with a piece of cardboard, put ALOT of glue on the boards, otherwise it will not hold the shape.

the inner layers have to be coverd with glue on both sides.

when you've glued everything and set the weight on the press leave it over night to dry. wait at least 2 days before you start shaping the board.

Step 5: Taking It Out

After 24 hours you can take the wood out off the mold and make sure it went ok, don't start cutting yet, wait at least another 24 hours so the glue can fully harden.

Use this time to make a stencil for the shape of your board (see picture 3) and trace this onto the wood.

Step 6: Cuttting the Shape

After 2 days you can cut the board into the shape you want, I used a electric saw for this, if you don't know how to use these, ask someone who does, of your parent to help you.

After cutting you can round off the edges of the board (picture 3) I did this using a file and sandpaper, but you van use anything you want.

- To get a consistant round edge you can cut a pvc pipe in 2 and lay the sandpaper inside, this way it will follow the rounding of the pipe and give you and even roud edge!

The next step is to drill the holes fot the trucks, unfortunatly I don't have photos of this, but it is really simple to do.

First draw a line in the midde of the board, grab the trucks you're going to mount on you board an place them somwhere on this line(where you think is the right place but the rear truck has to be somewhat behind the kicktail).

Step 7: Graphic

In this step you're going to paint your board.

Before you start painting make sure you sanded your board really well!!

You can paint everything you want on your board or just leave it blank, I chose to paint a abstract skull on it.

First I made the skull on my computer, I used some pictures I found on the internet as inspiration.

I printed the design on normal paper and using a sharp knife I cut the black sections out.

Step 8: Painting Time

Before I painted the skull on the board I painted the board white using spraypaint.

To get the skull on the board I sticked the pre cut paper on the board using a prittstick, I used this because it will easily let go when I'm done with painting.

After I stuck it on o painted the board with light and even coats so the glue wouldn't let go, unfortunatly I forgot to take much photos during this step.

When the paint dried you can remove the paper and you will have your design on there!

Don't forget to apply a blank layer of laque when your finished painting, it will ensure your board is waterproof, and will give it a longer lifetime!