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Decided to build a skateboard like one that I built as a kid in the ’70’s. Laminated strips of contrasting wood with a bow, or rocker, to lower the center of gravity. As with all simple projects, this has grown a bit, and I thought I would start a thread, just ’cause it’s kind of unique for this forum.
Here’s the plan: Top and bottom will be birch and walnut, with two small cherry accents. These will be strips, from about 2-1/4″ to as small as 1/4″ wide, by about 5/16″ thick, to make 2 hardwood “skins” or planks about 10″ x 44″. I am planning to sandwich strips of maple, 3/4″ by 1/8″ thick in between for my crossgrain of this “plywood” for lateral strength, yielding a deck 10″ x 44″ x 3/4″ thick, with about an inch or so of bow.
Will problably use titebond II for the skins, and resorcinol or epoxy for the sandwich. Used resorcinol for the old one without any problem, but so far can’t find it locally.
I’m planning to steam bend the pieces in a jig before starting glueup, then glueup in the jig as well.
Any red flags so far?
question: If I were to glue the strips to make my 5/16″ by 10″ planks, would titebond II hold up to bending, either steam or cold? I figure it’s probably best to bend a bit before glueup, but it would sure simplify things to make flat planks and bend them as a whole.
As always, thanks in advance for the advice.
Replies
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Mike,
Sounds like a good plan.....except the part about gluing up with TiteBond II
i before
steaming, it won't hold up.
Did you try a couple of marinas for the resorcinol?
Dano
*all skateboards today are made from much thinner veneers, about 1/16. i would be using urea resin if i were building a skateboard. if your actually going to be using the skateboard, then figure on using 7 to 9 layers of veneer, which will give make the board rigid enough to ride on, yet it will flex enough that it won't break if you do any tricks with it. you shouldn't need to steam bend the pieces. if this is just going to be a decoration then you could build it any way you want becuase strength wouldn't be an issue. BTW, the curved nose and tail isn't to lower the center of gravity as far as i know, it's there so you can do tricks on your board.
*Ah, Andrerw Mike's been boardin' for a waaaaaay long time. Possibly even before your folks were born. He's building a "classic". FWIW.Dano
*I see. sorry about that then. I only ride new school decks
*i'd love to hear progress reports and see some pics when you get a chance. I'm building decks with my middle school shop classes. i bought some pre-bent new school decks, which the kids cut out, sand and decorate, etc. but it ends up being about a two class project. something more elaborate and more involved would suit me better. i'm hoping to do some prototypes this summer, but right now i just don't have the time to play with it.-kit
*Yeah, this is definitely old school stuff. A nice longboard for carving. Maybe a gentle kicktail if I can work it. I'm way too old for ollies, mc twists, etc. I'm gonna try the local marine supply for resorcinol this week. I have no idea where I got the stuff I used on the last one. Depending on what size container I have to buy, I may use it for the edge glueup as well. I don't think the glue line will show gluing birch to walnut. Hopefully I can get some pics as I go. I'll keep ya'll posted.
*what about weldwood? i used it on a boom i made for my parents boat, no problems at all and a nice long open time.....
*I'm not familiar with it. Recognise the name, but the only thing I can ever remember using under the weldwood name was maybe contact cement. But I'm also totally ignorant to what's out there. Enlighten me a bit. I'm open to any and all ideas. I'm planning to use resorconol because.....well.....that's what I used on the old one. Though I have no clue why I used it before. Probably poached it from my dad (-:
*I've made a few myself over the years, as well as snowboards. The earlier comment about your material thickness of 5/16" being too thick is correct (but I may be confusing your original post). I agree with 1/16" and 7 to 9 layers. I also have never used steambending. It's not needed if you use thin plys and make the deck a plywood with a cross-grain component. I've made two kinds of presses in the past.1) a two part mold of plywood torsion box construction forming to matching curves.2) a one part mold with using sandbags with boards on top and clamps to form the shape.I suggest the sandbag and clamp method if you are only making one - it's a heck of a lot faster and maybe more accurate unless your mold is dead on. Also, I second the Resorcinal adhesive, but I personally use West System epoxy system (available from any boat building supply house).Good luck.Seth
*Well I got the stock cut and laid out, and part of the bending jig made up. I'm planning to use a two part jig as Seth described. Haven't cut to thickness yet, as I don't want to get too far ahead until I find some glue. Hope to borrow a digital camera this weekend to post some pics.Seth, I think we are kinda talking about apples and oranges. I don't know if you're old enough to remember the old wooden water skis like maharaja, but that's about what I'm building. Laying it up in three layers is more for the ability to bend it than anything else.
*Wedge, I might be misunderstanding your project. Maharaja? Sounds like skating with Ram Dass! I'm very curious to see the project after it's all glued up. Thanks. My skate/snowboard making days were mid 80s. Sounds like you're talking 60s or 70s.Best,Seth
*wedge headhi- you've got a good idea going, and there have been some suggestions that sound really sound to me:1. using multiples if 1/16 veneer crossgrained hard maple for your core: there'll still be plenty of flex through the 44" of board, trust me.2. using west systems epoxy for the glue up: the epoxy when hardened will stay flexible with your plys & add life as well as strength to your deck. it will also fill voids or dead spots from any slight imperfections in your 2 part mold without compromising strength.you may have heard of http://www.sector9.com but if you havent, they make 48"+ longboard shapes that will take you back. i've got an old 48" rocker by THINK and it's built similar to what i've described above. very flexy in a good way.fwiw. have fun.alex
*Riding my buddies sector 9 is what got me excited about boarding again! I looked at them at my local boardshop, and they don't seem to make quite what I'm after. G&S makes like a 40 or 44 inch maple kicktail that I like the shape of. Just sort of an all around big board for bowls or cruising.Didn't get anything done on it this weekend, got frustrated and built a new workbench in my garage. This project seems destined to take forever. Should get some of the pieces glued up soon. I think I'm gonna try to glue up in sections to make planks and just bend it cold w/o steaming. An inch or so of rocker in 44" should be easy. I know it worked on the old one I did. BTW: I was going to get a set of russell trucks to put on this thing. Any opinions?
*sorry mr. wedgehead, i don't know russell trucks from a hole in the ground. i still have some old indy 169's with a toothpaste cap in place of one of the pivot bushings...alex
*I haven't seen 'em in person yet. Seems like most of the online boardshops use them on their longboards. My board still has some old lazar sloloms. Unfortunately I'm lacking the optional toothpaste cap upgrade....(-:Thanks again for all the input guys. I'll try to get some pics this week.
*Well, I got the whole thing glued up yesterday. Used the weldwood urea formaledhyde stuff vanderpooch recomeded. Great stuff. I'll try to post some pix this week. Borrowed a digital camera and have the pix on the little lady's p.c. Made a few small mistakes, but I think it will look alright.
*i'm eager to check it out, mr. wedge. sounds like you're having fun.alex
*As a matter of fact I am having fun. After the last few "serious" projects, it's nice to do one just for kicks. I got the little guy out of the jig yesterday afternoon, and all went pretty well. I put about 1-1/2" of bend in the jig, and got about 1-1/4" in the board when it came out. The thing seems really stiff and solid, and should be quite functional. I did make one fatal error on glueup, I got the two halves slightly misaligned, which I think will really show up when all is said and done. All in all, I think it will work well. I'll get it cut out and maybe a coat of finish on it tomorrow. A quick question: Would something like a wiping poly be flexable enough for something like this, or would an oil type finish be better?Thinks again for the help.Mike
*Made my first board out of sis's steel wheeled skate and a piece of pallet wood when I was 6 (1962). I have a flat long board a buddy made for me a year or 2 ago. It's just 5 plys of 1/8" BB ply and since I go at 285# he put a 1 x 2 stringer on the bottom and mounted the trucks to it. I doesn't flex much at all. I think I'm gonna shave down the stringer so it'll carve better. Might as well finish it with whatever's handy, because if you use it, it'll get worked.BTW: Before there were Maharaja's I rode wooden Connely's.
*Got It DoneYou're right. I spent some time putting a nice finish on it and it's already scratched up. But it looks nice up on the shop wall, and it's great for getting the mail. If I time it right I can ride the mile and a half down the hill and get a ride from the boss lady on her way home from work!Sorry to say I am unable to post the pics I took. Brought them to work an a cd from the little lady's p.c. but can't seem to get them to work on this 'puter. Letting firemen use a computer is kinda like giving an 8 year old a loaded handgun. Just not right....Here is what has come of this little project. This thing is stiff! I had to run my "planks" through the planer to flatten them before final glueup and they wound up a bit more than 1/4" thick. I expected this to end up being pretty flexy, but it's real stiff. There's gotta be an easier way. When I make the next one, instead of using 3/4" wide x 1/8" thick strips for the core, I would use 1/4" baltic ply and be done with it. I think 1/4" thick hardwood sandwiched over birch ply would be plenty strong.As for using this as a woodshop project, IMO it would be great. You get to wrap a number of useful skills in one tidy little package, that's fun to use when you're done. And it can be as simple or complex as you want.Thanks to all for the input. I've got the pics of the whole thing, hopefully by the time the new board is up and running I can figure out how to send 'em.Thanks again.Mike
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