OT: I just started making longboard skateboards!

This is my first build. It is 72" long. I just started my second build this weekend.

This is a pic of the wood laminated together, cut out with the template on the right and edges routed round.


This is after 2 coats of teak oil.


After a couple coats of varnish.



Taped for strips.


Strips layed.


Finished board after several coats of poly.

Very nice! It's my second passion (riding them that is) and I seem to do a lot more of it in the colder months - never been able to figure out why that is. Anyway, really nice work dude! Love the look of the finished product. Beautiful. How's it ride??

Pic below is my favourite longboard pic I've taken. It was a long time ago now.......before I got smarter and bought my first set of Randals (I like Randals). It was taken just after letting go of a city bus when I was headed across town. It's funny when I read about people who get strange looks when they tell folks they ride bikes for fun. I get that too sometimes but it pales in comparison to when I tell them (at the age of 36) that I still ride skateboards too...........LOL

The link below is of a pretty sweet longboard video Original put together. Good stuff. I wish Adam and Adam (used to be from Loaded Longboard) would do a stellar HD vid sometime. Those guys are the absolute best at what they do.


Anyway, keep up the good work! Looks awesome! :thumbsup:

I've got a bustin boards complex. I'm not sure why but I haven't riden it in a damn long time. Definately more in the summer for me.

sweet! I love the nose guard you made. I love my longboard too. In summer, I find my self riding it to work more frequently than my bike. The looks I get as I ride through town are priceless. From the incredulous "he's too old to be doing that!" kindergarden parents [my daughters age] to the 'nice longboard, man." from the local skater punks.

That's my daughter off in the distance, finishing off the commute home from the shop.

At work.

Winters hit here, and the roads are in absolutely no condition to ride in. And I'm bummed.

Jim Z in VT said:

Pretty....but no anti-skid on the deck? I haven't been "on-board" in years, but my decks were always covered with anti-skid tape.

What's the current thinking on wheels? My last board (probably 30 years old....lost in the basement somewhere right now) had wheels that were 4" wide and ~2.5" diameter.

JZ

Click to expand...

Like biking: Gears or no gear? Fixed or not fixed?

Grip tape is still used by 99.9% of skaters across the spectrum of riding styles (street, downhill, dancers, pool riders, ramp riders etc.) but in this case, being 72" long, these boards are normally reserved for those nice easy cruises down the road. Carving long turns and walking it as you roll along. Nice mellow riding. Basically, these boards aren't designed for any real significant tricks therefore tape isn't required (especially if you're a bare-footer as many are when riding these big cruisers). No tape also allows the builder to show off some of the craftsmanship that goes along with building these beauties and also allows the rider the ability to enjoy it. Still, most will even tape these boards as well and push small tricks from them.

As far as wheels go.......that would take all day as there are a billion different sizes (both in terms of width and diameter) as well as a billion different densities. All serve a purpose and some are better than other for different reasons but I'm not getting into it............

Like with bikes; find what you like - ride what you like.