Vintage Inspired Skateboard

To be fair, I largely got the idea for this skateboard from Rockitalk and his skid board. I really liked his idea so I took it and made it my own: slightly modifying it and putting my own spin on it. It's really fun to ride this thing around town, you get a lot of questions about it. I love it because it looks awesome and you can actually use it and ride it! So if you're looking for the same thing, lets get to it...

If you're interested, this board is now for sale on etsy here.

Supplies You Need:

• 1/2" thick and 2 1/2" wide maple wood planks
• Skate trucks, wheels, bearings, risers
• about 2" long metal rods

Tools You Need:

• Hand/power saw
• Wood glue
• Power drill
• Power sander
• clamps
• compass
• tape measure
• ruler
• cutter/scraper
• wood stain

The first step is to cut 3 wood planks to your desired board length. I cut mine to about 30" long.

I then took my power sander and throughly sanding down all the edges and corners. I did this just because I think it gives it a better look when the planks are all glued together and the edges are sanding down. It's personal preference I guess.

I wanted to make sure my board was strong enough to actually ride everyday. To do this I hid metal metal rods in between the planks. To do this, drill a hole into one side of one plank and another hole directly across into another plank. Repeat this twice for each seam in between the planks. Place and glue your metal rods into one of the planks. The photos probably display this easier than I can explain it.

To connect the planks together for your board, use a wood glue such as gorilla glue. Run a bead of glue on each surface being glued together. Line up your boards and make sure the metal rods all line up. Then pull out all of your clamps and let this thing sit overnight.

After the glue has dried, remove all your clamps to reveal your solid board. There will probably be some glue overspill. To clean it up I used a variety of shaving it off with a razor blade and sanding it off.

I wanted my board to have a classic look with a round front end and a tail. To get the round front end, I used a compass to mark it off and a jigsaw to cut it out.

For the tail, I cut the back of the board to a 45 degree angle. I then cut another plank to the width of the board along with a 45 degree cut to both sides of the tail. Check out the picture for reference on this. I then sanded down the tail piece too.

To attach the tail, I use the same method I used to connect the 3 planks together for the deck. I used a metal rod at a 45 degree angle between the deck and the board. I then glued it together and clamped it overnight.

Find the center of your board and drill the mounting holes using a truck or a template to get the right spacing. Also be sure to take a bigger drill and counter sync your screw holes so your screws sit nicely on your deck.

You could also add some wheels wells if you think that is necessary. I didn't feel I needed them for my board, I haven't had any board bite yet.

Finish off your board with a stain of your choice. I also added some "Trav Design" graphics on the tail.

Slap on some trucks, bearings, wheels, and risers if necessary and you are good to go! This really is a fun project and I love how it looks. I get to ride it everyday and always get stopped by people who are interested in it. Let me know if you make one and how it turns out and if you think of any improvements or changes like I have done.

If you're interested, this board is now for sale on etsy here.

Be sure to check out my blog to follow me and more projects like this at travsdesk.com and follow me on Instagram @travderose and Vine at Trav DeRose

-Trav