Surf/Skate Board With Space Graphics

This board was inspired by a lot. I had ridden carver surf/skate boards before and loved the experience. It feels like your weightless going down hill and then you can easily pump back up again. I made a board previously using much simpler methods but then my dad backed over it with his car (no hard feelings cause he bought the materials for this board). On this board I wanted to put more effort into it. I wanted it to flex so it would be a smoother ride and I wanted it to roll straight. (the first one pulled way to the left ;p)

This my first Instructable, feel free to leave some tips and comments and remember to vote for me if you like it!

Thanks -

Drew Curlin

Here is what I used for the board. It ended up being pretty cheap (except for the trucks).

• Plywood .5cm
• Insulation Foam
• Tape
• Hot glue/gun
• Fiberglass and Resin
• Jigsaw
• Power Sander
• Wood Glue
• Paint
• Hardware mounting set
• Carver Trucks and some longboard wheels

Now you make your mold structure thing a dooey.

I wanted a board with a kick-tail and some curve in the middle so I made this form to bend my plywood on. It is just insulation foam cut out in the shape I want with some reinforcement. Experiment!

It does not need to be pretty cause no one is going to see it. (except all of you)

Now, cut out 2 rectangles of plywood that your board design will fit into. Rough up a side of both of them with sand paper.

Make sure you want the sides you roughed up to be in the middle and unseeable, that you are ready to work fast, and that you have your mold on hand.

Then apply glue on one of the sheets of wood and spread it with something. I used a plastic plaster spreader.

Press the two boards together and clamp them to the mold. I taped the front down and put a weight on the middle. At the place where I was starting the kick-tail I used clamps with a piece of wood under the foam so it would not compress.

Leave it for a couple hours at least (I left it overnight).

Next I cut out a piece of cardboard I could draw lines with, using my blown up sketch.

I flipped the piece over the center of the board when drawing so it would be symmetrical and then cut the shape out.

I then power sanded all of the sides down to get a smooth, non-splintery (if thats a word) edge. So far no disastrous mistakes.

Now I get to fiberglass the bottom of the board. This process adds a lot of strength and durability.

This was my first time fiberglassing and I made a couple mistakes and was not able to get a lot of pictures. (sorry)

First I mixed my resin with the hardener. I mixed about 7 ounces for this board and it was enough. I put a layer of the resin on the board with an old paint brush I was going to throw away. (make sure you don't use a new one because it will be ruined unless you want to spend 30 minutes cleaning it afterward).

I then placed the cloth on top and spread it out with another plastic spreader.

When it dried I realized I should have put more resin on and spread it better. Oh well, next time.

Now I sanded the fiberglass down all over the board. By sanding the line where the glass cloth is attached I was able to separate the cloth from the hardened class and make a smooth edge. Be careful, I got some wicked fiber glass splinters doing this. If you don't know about those they are basically invisible splinters that itch and burn. They can damage your lungs if you breathe them in so PLEAASSEEE wear a mask.

Ahh. The relaxing part. This is where the whole space thing comes from. It is kinda hard to see but I made a ufo flying away from earth into space. I had been sketching the little ufo in class a lot and wanted to incorporate it into my board design. When I was soon to begin I saw the SPACE challenge on instructables and decided it was time to make my first instructable.

Now I painted the bottom of the board. I placed my design on the board and put the trucks on to make sure they would not interfere with the design. I then poked tiny holes through the paper into the wood along the lines so I would be able to sketch the design on the wood again.

I then sketched the design out using the little holes as guide-lines.

To paint I recommend using a stencil with spray paint or painting with a brush and acrylic. Trying to tape out the design was unnecessarily difficult and was my only time-wasting mistake.

After I spray-painted the design I covered the entire bottom of the board with a lacquer to protect it and make it shiny. Looks pretty sweet.

Now get some carver trucks, grip tape, and some sick wheels and feel the weightlessness of these board designs. The flexibility of the plywood mixed with the feel of surfing trucks combine to make this board a joy to ride. Wear a helmet and some shoes.