Longboard From a Snowboard
by Powlow411 in Outside > Skateboarding
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Longboard From a Snowboard
Snowboard is the perfect material to build a longboard ! The stiffness and the width are perfect to this use !
So I decide to remplace my broken wooden longboard with this old snowboard that i had.
The perfect snowboard for this application must be pretty stiff and with a nice design ! (not like mine ;) )
Supplies
For this project you will need :
-An old snowboard
-A screw driver(for the snowboard binding)
-A truck wrench
-A pair of trucks with the screws and nuts
-Something to trace on the board
-A metal saw (you can cut all the board with it it is just longer)
-A jigsaw (with a metal or wood blade) (optional)
-A drill with drills of the right diameter (5.5mm for me)
-Some sandpaper
-A chamfering drill (optional)
-Wax Material and Accessories (optional)
-Epoxy, varnish, paint (optional)
-Skateboard grip
-Some clamps and two trestle
Get Rid of the Snowboard Binding
For this step you just need to unscrew the binding and reuse it for something else ;)
Test the Stiffness
This is important to do a blending test to adjust the length of your board.
If you board is to flexible you will have to shorten the board to obtain the right blending.
Dont forget that the metal corner on the side also strengthen the board (keep it or not to adjust the blending)
You can trace on the board the part that you don't need.
Adjust and Trace Your Design
Now that you have the length of the board you can choose the design you like !
There is a lot of example on the internet.
I personaly choose a geometric design because i like it and also because it is easier to cut ;)
Dont forget that a symetric board will be easier to built (reuse of the binding holes, balance...)
Cut Your Design !
For this step you must remind that board are made with multiples materials (carbon fiber, glass fiber, wood, and metal) so for the first cut go slowly to avoid bad surprises...
The metal corner of the board is often very hard, don't hesitate to cut it with a metal saw to save your jigsaw blades.
On my first cut i kept the metals corner but the board was to stiff so i finally cut them.
Once cut you can sand the sides of the board.
Protect the Sides
The snowboard are made with many differents materials and with different techniques.
In some board the wood will be very impregnated with glue and in other the wood will be standard (like in my case)
You don't want the water to impregnate the wood and make it inflate, it will destroy the board if you enconter a storm ;)
Different options are avaible to protect the side from water :
-Epoxy or glue the sides
-Varnish the sides
-Paint the side
I used another option because i didn't had this stuff, the waxing...infact the sliding part of the board was a bit destroyed and i decided to wax it to make it nicer.
Doing this i thought to try it on the side as protection. I will see if it stays and if it protect the sides !
Fix the Trucks
To fix the truck you will need to find the balance line of the board !
If your board is symetric and if you stayed on the center of the snowboard, you can reuse some of the snowboard binding holes !
The advantage to keep the up side of the snowboard up is that i already have the chamfered holes done. I only had to drill four more holes !
Dont hesitate to make the hole a little more bigger than necessary, it will be easier to fix the trucks.
Once the holes drilled, you can fix your trucks !
Put the Grip on
In this last step you just have to cut and put some grip on the board !