Recycled Plywood Cruiser Board

Here's my instructable showing how to make a pretty badass-looking cruiser board deck, for free!

For those of you who don't know, a cruiser board is just a 22" (~55cm) skateboard/longboard that's light and easy to take anywhere. They're a lot of fun and actually really easy to make yourself.

Parts of a skateboard:

-Deck (the name for the board you stand on - this is what we'll be making)

-Trucks (the name for the metal mounts/axles onto which the wheels attach)

-Wheels

-Bearings (located inside the wheels, they let them spin with little friction)

-Bolts (used to mount the trucks to the deck)

If you don't already have these:

You can find cheap sets that include wheels, bearings and trucks on amazon/ebay (try searching for ' 3" trucks and wheels set ' or ' complete cruiser board truck and wheel set '). Also, you'll need a set of 8 skateboard bolts, 1 1/4" or so.

Why would you make it this way?

One of the features of a cruiser board is the curved back of the board (see picture above), called a kicktail. Assuming you were only using plywood, the only other way you can get this raised bit at the end of the board (other than the method shown here) is by stacking two layers of plywood on top of each other. This method doesn't look great and it means you'll have to have a very thick tail.

Thus the method shown here is arguably better because it hides the dull surface of cheap plywood, gives the board an interesting pattern, and also importantly allows you to have a constant, 15mm thick board while retaining most of plywood's strength.

If you don't understand the method on the following pages, try looking at my 'Plywood PC Case' for more detail.

Cut.

As per the template above, layout exactly 10 of these blue shapes on a sheet of 18mm plywood. Obviously choose decent wood because you don't want it to break under load...

Try to make the cuts as straight as possible to minimize sanding later on. I would recommend, if possible, using a circular saw for the main straight section, and a jigsaw for the short diagonal section.

Glue.

Once you've got your 10 pieces cut out, it's time to glue the board up. (Hopefully if you're unsure about the whole process, this step will help you visualize it better).

Layout the strips next to each other, with the striped end grain facing upwards. Apply wood glue in between the strips so that you are creating a board as above, with the striped grain facing upwards. Remember to apply copious glue and spread it out a bit (excess is better than too little here). Use some clamps to compress it tightly (but not so tight that it bows upwards).

After the glue has dried, remove the clamps.

Cut.

It's time to turn the rectangular board into a cruiser-shaped board. Find a cruiser board shaped template you like on the internet, print it out, and tack the paper to the wood. A jigsaw works best here for cutting it out.

Note: Try to choose a template that has holes marked out on it for when you add the trucks later.

Sand.

Unless you managed to cut the strips perfectly in the first step, the board will feel slightly uneven and ridged. Work from coarse grit sandpaper to very fine grit sandpaper on an electric sander (sanding by hand will take significantly longer).

When the board is very smooth, you can apply some wax/danish oil to really bring out the grain and finish it up.

Drill.

Your trucks each have four holes, one at each corner, for mounting them to the board using nuts and bolts.

Center the trucks on the board and mark out the positions of the four holes you'll need to drill at either end.

A 5mm bit should work here, but do check your bolts first. You may need to countersink the holes as well depending on the bolts you chose.

Assemble.

Drive the bolts through the deck and trucks, and secure the assembly on the underside with the locking nuts provided. Check the wheels spin and that the trucks turn. You're finished!

You might want to add grip tape (kind of like sandpaper) to prevent your feet from sliding.

Thanks for reading!