Checkerboard Veneer Skateboards!
Decorative hardwood veneers can be assembled into all sorts of designs and patterns.
I learned to ride a skateboard after I began making them in my college woodshop in San Luis Obispo, Calif. There was a healthy market for my laminated skateboard decks in the college beachtown, and I sold boards to earn some extra cash.
Through the years I settled on a construction process that involves laminating seven layers of maple veneer in a vacuum press and then decorating the bottom with a checkerboard pattern with a technique called marquetry. The lamination is shaped using a foam mold, giving the board convex and concave to make it easier to ride.
The flat pin-striped board is constructed from three thick layers of hardwood with a more rudamentary construction process.
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Decorative hardwood veneers can be assembled into all sorts of designs and patterns.
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A checkboard pattern of hardwood veneers decorates the bottom of this longboard skateboard constructed from seven thin layers of Canadian maple.
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The striped longboard on top is constructed with three layers of 1/8-in. thick hardwoods. The checkboard skateboard is constructed from seven layers of thin maple veneers.
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When assembled in a vacuum press, the skateboard is bent to a mold giving it concave and convex.
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top view shows grip tape and veneer logo
Comments
Nice skateboards Matt.. They have article written all over them. Teenagers across the country would thank you.
Thanks MV! I produced an audio slideshow for the Website detailing how I made the checkerboard. You can watch it by clicking on the link next to "Design or Plan Used." These are fun to make, mostly because it's a change of pace from the typical woodworking project.
i remember listening to your audio slideshow a while back. the boards look great man i love em. yea its impossible to live in san lui and not somehow be introduced to the surf mecca and skate sceen. i never lived there but surfed with friends on a regular.....i might build me a board soon i have never done it and would love to ride again. atleast i know who i can ask for help now. great work Matt. talk to you soon........
My son will love this. He's been making longboards for his friends using a wood press and threaded rod.Time to take it to the next level!
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