Longboard Build, Part 2

I grew up with skateboards. Great job, I am sure he will love it!!! Thanks for sharing.

-- Pat, Colorado

nice skateboard.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

That is just too cool!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Here is a link to a couple of guys that I met at a furniture show. They build longboards that you may find interesting.

http://www.bottegamontana.com/

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Sweet I want one.

That is a nice skateboard.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

sweet dude!!! when I was in the 8th grade i made a FAT board for my best buddy…back then the “Alva” was the cool board—of course this was 1982 the height of the SO-CAL skateboard re-birth…my step son just looked over my should and wants one!!!

very cool…look forward to checking more of your work…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...SING WITH ME: "Sum...sum...sum...summ...summ...summ...summertime..."

I have the same table saw as you. I like it a lot. it works for most things. Not the most accurate and most functional but gets the job done. I like the skateboard you made too. It looks great.

By the way, do you notice that that table saw gets the surface scratched really easy. Mine is so easily scratched and it’s making me quite mad!!! lol.

-- Tyler, Illinois

When I read “longboard” I thought of the backboard we use for extrications, and thought ‘what an odd thing for a woodworker to make as a hobby item’ Maybe I’m working too hard, lol. A very nice skateboard.

-- cough...cough....next big purchase is wood for the next project, Mark

I like it, now that the last picture you took is also very very good. wonderful board!

-- If knowledge is not shared, it is forgotten.

Nice Work…. I like the personal touch with the lettering.

-- Chris

not knowing much about skateboards. How did you bend the board. Did you steam it. I missed your past posts on it. I guess I will look and most likely answer my own question. Nice board, by the way.

-- JJohn

I would be VERY interested in knowing how you achieved the convex design. It’d be an excellent how-to for you to write up describing how you get the board to bend so the “bounciness” is provided.

-- Brady Gaster, Indian Trail NC

I will have to check the exact size, but I believe what I used was 3/8” plywood with 5 veneers. I bought it from a lumber specialty shop, and was surprised to find that “specialty” sheet goods often come in 3’ x 5’ sheets rather than your typical 4’ x 8’. (I believe that’s what it was. Been a while, so you can correct me if I’m wrong.) I bought two sheets so that I could rip them to about 12” pieces and have 6 strips to hopefully make 3 decks with. Being 5’ long also allows for some creativity (and mistakes) in the length of the board. I laminated them with waterproof Titebond, which didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. I will probably try another method on the next attempt, but there is a possibility that I didn’t let it cure for long enough. I let it sit for two days. As far as adding the arch to the deck, I used concrete mix bags and bricks, stacked and placed until I achieved the amount of arch I wanted. It’s a crude method, but it’s what was readily available at the time. I would like to try using a vacuum bag and plywood forms one of these days. Steaming, as John asked about, would be fun to try too, but I don’t have the setup or the experience. Thanks for all the comments and interest!

Hey Tyler, I do like the tablesaw, but as you said, it’s not precision but it does do the job. I haven’t had any major scratching, but I have a feeling you have some more hours on your saw than I have been able to put in just yet. I would love to get out to the shop more frequently, but it’s only as time allows. Thanks for commenting. I have wondered about making a zero clearance plate for the tablesaw, and now that I have seen yours I know it’s feasible. Thanks for your example. Nice job, and I think I’ll copy your design.

-- Tim, Fresno, Ca

That is so cool. Please post more of your work. You have an excellent shot of the board at ground level. It could be a professional advertisement for your production line. Nice work.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

Tim
Real nice board. I only want to be young enough to use one! LOL
I’ve done a fair amount of steam bending. Ash bends the best and then it should be green. Oak isn’t bad but should also be green. If you over steam it, it will become “brash” or brittle. If you want to steam: 15 minutes per 1/4” of thickness (or 1 hr for 1 inch) don’t over steam. You don’t need to pressurize the steamer and safet if you do not. You want the heat to soften the Lignin in the wood and the moisture to keep it from drying out. I use an old plactic drain pipe with a rag stuffed in the ends. Run a hose from an old tea pot or can to get the steam in. Nothing complicated. You’re going to have some failure: some will crack and some will down right break on you. Nothing you did wrong; .... happens and wood is fickle. I think for strength of the board, I’d stay with laminated bends. Try some epoxy. Not polyester. Epoxy is more flexable and polyester (typical fiberglass resin) is more brittle. Unfortunately epoxy is more expensive.

Good luck.

David