The Handmade Skateboard by Matt Berger
Spring House Press, 2014.
$24.95; 160 pp.
The winners have been chosen!
Former Fine Woodworking editor, Matt Berger, has written a book: The Handmade Skateboard. This is a cool book that teaches you how to make your own skateboard and is good for both beginner and advance makers. Along the way, Berger includes the history of skateboards as well as profiles for many top builders and behind the scene tips. From the book, you’ll learn how to design and build longboards, cruisers, and street decks and it also includes information on building from a kit. Check out one of Matt’s boards in our online gallery.
Building a skateboard would be a great project to work on with your kids or grandkids.
The lucky winners are duna6430 and crowbartexas.
Be sure to check back again for more great giveaways.
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The Handmade Skateboard includes step-by-step instructions for five skateboard builds, including these classic pinstripe cruisers.
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The skateboard is a true American garage-shop invention. Chapters on the history of the skate deck and a complete illustrated design guide will help you design your own custom build.
Comments
Looking forward to building a wooden skateboard with my boys...
i'm in, thanks
would be a perfect project for my grandson :)
I have a young son who is always on the go. He needs a stylish ride.
What a great project idea! Used to ride a deck as a kid; would love to make one with my son...and make one for myself. Count me in...
Although I have never ridden a skateboard, I would love to make a couple for my two grandsons
Looks like the perfect book for a 68 year old.
I'd love to try making my own skateboard and this book would be great to have on the shelf.
I want this one....
Reminds me of the 70's when I was building skate boards for a living in California.
This could be fate. I didn't win the drawer DVD so maybe I'll be building skateboards instead.
Could be a great gift for my nephew (if his mom let's him use it!)
I've made a few skateboards using a couple different techniques. I'm interested to see what this book recommends.
I have a niece who loves going to skate parks. However, she often has to assert herself to get the gang of boys there to let her have a turn. Since she spends time with us, this looks like a perfect opportunity to get a very cool board made together and get her some street cred in time for the spring thaw! I have 18 nieces and nephews. This book could get a workout! We'd love to use it!
My nephews would really like this...
I remember when we made our own skateboards. Back then they were 2" x 6"'s with the metal trucks attached from our sisters' roller skates. The most fun was riding them at night and watching the sparks fly as we took the curves. Progressed from skateboarding to surfing which I still love at age 63. The water is a lot softer than the pavement.
This book would make a great addition to our library in the Wood Studio at the Goggleworks Center for Arts in Reading, PA ...
I'm sure my Construction technologies students (wood shop in the old days) would be pleased to have this in our shop library. I know my level three students would be rolling around campus in no time.
This would be great, I could build one with my son then in a few years with my daughter.
Thanks FWW and Matt.
Ken.
Would be a great project for my middle school students!
I skated for 8 years as a young'n, now 39 I've recently been admiring longboads and the Powell Peralta and Santa Cruz retro boards. It didn't occur to me to build one! duh.
It would be a great project to build with my woodworking students
I've wanted to build boards for a long time. This just might be the incentive!
I've been making longboards for several years, first for my son and daughter, then later for their friends and family. I love making them for the fun of playing with wood grain and species color. The kids just thrash them! I would love to get some fresh ideas for design and construction.
I never thought about making a skate board, now you go tmy attention and would love to make one for my Grandson. Thanks for energizing me. GB
This would be a perfect gift for my neighbor, age 18. A skateboard rider and builder. He is also in college at UC Santa Cruz. A path similar to Matt's. Now it is to the luck of the draw.
Scale it up and make a surfboard too.
Made one with my daughter early this year. Bent it laterally and longitudinally.
Then we applied fiberglass to the bottom for strength. Looks similar to the cover pic.
This would be a great gift for my son! He used to be an accomplished skateboarder and something of this quality, built by his Dad, would be a wonderful display piece in his home.
I've helped my 14 year old son assemble skateboards from purchased parts in the past and it's been a really good activity for us to do together. Now, we could make a board from scratch and that would be even better as it would involve spending even more time working together!
I want to make one for my 5 year old. I want to start on it now cuz by the time I finish he will be old enough to ride it LOL!
This offers the possibility for a small business. Surely there would be a market for hand-made skateboards, given the popularity of this competitive sport. They might not give the performance of the professional competition models, but that's not the point - their class and one-of-a-kind status could make them very popular.
Would love to have this book for my middle school tech ed classes!
Building a scateboard with my son will be a good way to get him away from his computer where he spends far too much time. So the book might be just what we need to lure him into the wood wokshop.
What a fun project(s) that would be with my son - we could work together to build something he really enjoys.
My son bought a longboard this past summer. I had considered making one, but wasn't sure I could pull it off. I'd love to receive the book and make one for him and/or my daughter; she went the cheaper route and bought a plastic pennyboard.
Wow, does this bring back memories. Would love to make one with my grandson.
Looks like a great book. Does it come with a section on making "Handmade helmets" to protect my 14-year-old's thick skull?
My niece Summer makes awesome longboards, she's pretty awesome herself. I'd like to see her win this book.
Here is a video of Summer doing her thing:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10102001222725633&set=t.22223250&type=3&theater
And some of her creations:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.441306926002422.1073741828.421125084687273&type=3
This looks Like a great book to have and use
I would love to have this book to use in my class. I was a shop teacher whose program was shut down in a money saving effort by a short sighted superintendent and school board. Now in my retirement I have set up shop in a residential youth treatment facility working with troubled teens four days a week. Our shop is in a building on a hill with a paved drive and sidewalk where we could do some awesome test runs. Catch me on Facebook, Roger E. Boomershine Skill Center, Springfield, Ohio.
I would love to share this book with my boys. Actually I might stuff it under the tree if it comes in time.
Thanks.
My 15-year old daughter loves all three of her boards - and has mentioned wanting to build her own longboard...I'd love the chance to see her pick up woodworking and do this with her!
While I might use this book to help me build a board for my son, I would probably use it to create a killer long board for myself. I'm 54 years young and have wanted a long board since I first saw one!!
My Grandson, Mischa, and I made his first longboard in my workshop. He now owns and operates Flat Spot Longboards shop in Chinatown Vancouver, BC. Check it out. It would be great to have this book to continue our family projects.
I'd like to build a skateboard, I think it would be a challenge. I'm sure my grandchildren would be my biggest critics!
This looks cool! Does it come with knee pads?!
I skateboarded for about 20 years before hanging it up for a while - I found that falling off a surfboard in water was a lot more enjoyable than falling on concrete! I just picked it back up again though last year and I've been thinking about making my own since I have a ton of great wood sitting around but never enough time to build something. Building a skateboard and a surfboard, though, are both high up on my list.
I made skateboard decks when I was a kid out of phenolic resin form plywood. They were tanks, but bombproof. I like both the traditional longboard look and the marquetry. Carry on Mr. Berger.
Looks like a fun project to make with my kids!
I'm in!
Broke my arm riding a newfangled nylon board. Perhaps if I had had this book and made my own, things would have been different. Now it is time to make some boards with my kids. No nylon boards for them. EVER I never win these types of things but I keep trying... ;)
Pick me please
Back in the 80s I made my own skateboard from a blank, because I wanted a longer nose than any board I could buy at the time. Since then they've reached the point where the nose is as long as the tail, far surpassing anything I thought to do. The cover of this book suggests that it only talks about solid wood boards but the description says it includes laminated boards, so count me in.
Love it. A good project
Let's get trucking!
This WOOD (pun intended) be awesome as my son is big into skate boarding, what a better way to get him in the shop and have him learn to make his own board or two. Maybe a future career !!!
Looks interesting...any longboard designs in there?
looks like an awsome book!!
Some awesome boards would be in the working. Love to get that book.
Skateboards...could be the portal through which my teenage son enters woodworking!
My grandsons would love a custom skate board.
I would love to do this project with my son
Looks like an awesome book. Always wanted to build a nice custom wooden skate deck. This book might just help give me some ideas to start building. Cheers
This book has arrived at the wright time! Ahead of Christmas time and a skate board is a wonderful gift. It is just about reading it and spend few hours in the shop! Teaching my boy will also be a lot of fun.
I was the only girl in my 7th grade woodworking class and I made a skateboard. Now I have returned to woodworking and would love the make that board for my nephew.
Looking forward to making one.
I would love to read this book. I recently helped my Grandson complete a short board with large trucks. We used a laminated board that I had made in 1964 for a skateboard. I drew the outline of the board on the plank but never cut it out. The board was made from strips of hardwood from my uncle's cabinet shop. They were various widths and I set them up in a surf style pattern. I kept it for 49 years. So we used that board to make his sweet street ride.
This would be a great project for my son and I to tackle. He would love to build his own skate board.
I have four boys who would love to build thier own boards. I see lots of shot time in thier future.
Looks like a cool book! My daughter would probably love a custom board.
Moving to California. First need to shape skateboards and then surfboards.
This would a be great gift for anyone
this makes me want to get my skateboard back out.
Fun!
My son wants to try to build his own skateboard, so the timining of the giveaway couldn't be better.
Thanks everyone for the amazing comments about my book! I love reading these.
Just like many of you have commented so far, a skateboard is the perfect project to jump-start the woodworking careers of your kids and grandkids. It will introduce them to many common shop tools and techniques, and the end result is something they'll be proud to show off to their friends.
If you don't win a copy, I hope you'll go buy one and follow through with your pledge to bring up the next generation of woodworkers!
Cheers,
Matt Berger
http://www.sk8makers.com
http://www.facebook.com/sk8makers
this book looks awesome! if i don't win it, i'll have to buy it. long time rider, shorter time woodworker, i think this would be perfect "under my tree"
This looks like a great book and the timing is perfect. I was just planning a build for my son! Thanks for this giveaway Fine Woodworking!
Cool my nephew would love one for sure
This would be great in the shop for my students....and me!
nice !!
Building a skateboard would be a fun project.
Well even though I gave up the search for "chin" a long time ago, I still have been wanting to build some decks for my n & n's!!
interesting...
Sweet book.
In the mid seventies I worked for a skateboard manufacturer in SoCal. We built solid oak, ash, and mahogany boards. We built the full line of Logan Earthski's, Sims, and Torger Johnson models. It was a lot of fun working there with several of my surf/skate buddies. Not only did we build boards but we also made wheels - we all became test pilots for new products - great time!
It would be fun to see and compare the differences between what we did then to what is being done now!
Very cool. My seven year old son would love one of these.
My 8 year old son wants a skateboard and this would be a great way to get him in the shop.
Two summers ago, my then 13 year old son was using my table saw by himself (without my permission) to make and modify skateboards. Fortunately, he still has all his fingers! We made a rule that he could only use my tools while I was there so we could learn how to use them safely. My son is an avid skateboarder and he goes through at least 1 deck a year, sometime 2 per year. I think this would be an excellent book for my son and I so we can work on building decks together! Safely!!!
I am a custom woodworker , with a business which i just dissolved but AM NEVER going to give up my passion...with this being said , i woukd love to win this book as i have a son who's passion is skateboarding ....so together , we could use this book to get off on the right foot......Start his business !!!!! Thanks , Steve.
i woukd love to win this book
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