How To Begin Making Boards

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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Deeks63 on January 5, 2012 at 16:43

Hey JakJak - welcome to the group. Nice, simple flat decks with a good concave can be pretty simple to make with some pretty basic materials - for your first atempt, why not have a go at the tried and true rail-press method.  Drop throuogh gives you the flexibility of both Drop-thru and top-mount so that's also a good way to start.  I'm no expert, but I've made some very enjoyable decks wih a rail-press and have now moved on to drop-decks and a vaccuum press which can pump out more complex shapes...  check out some of my pics and i hope they give you some pointers on where to go.  There's some very good board makers hoverig around and most of the guys here are pretty helpful.  Deeks.

Permalink Reply by Cents on January 5, 2012 at 19:09

Hey not meaning to hijack this thread but currently what's the most cost effective wood (performace vs cost) in Australia for use in longboards?

Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Deeks63 on January 5, 2012 at 19:18

I have found that hoop pine ply is very good albeit a little soft, but if you use a good epoxy over it the results are excellent. It is readily available in various thicknesses, I use a vacuum press so I use 1.5mm 3-ply as it behaves much like a genuine veneer and you can get complex bends using it. If you want a flat deck with a concave you can use virtually any decent ply up to say 6mm thick - 2 pieces laminated together very successfully. I would try for a marine ply for better results and the cost isn't too high...

Permalink Reply by Cents on January 5, 2012 at 19:24

Thanks! Great info. Now I'm off to find the easiest way to press. Cheers

Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Deeks63 on January 5, 2012 at 19:24

Last set of decks I made with 6mm marine ply I got a 2400x1200 sheet for about $85 and the place (Mitre10) even cut it up on their vertical saw into 1200x300 pieces for me. That was enough for 4 longboards made in a rail press that cost me about $35 to make....

Permalink Reply by Alexander on January 5, 2012 at 19:27

the buunings up my way sell 4mm marine grade hoop pine at $32 for a 2.4x1.6 sheet

Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Deeks63 on January 5, 2012 at 19:29

For sure Alex... I'm not a great fan of Bunnings in my area (SE Suburbs of Melbourne) as I find their ply is pretty shitty, but there's some good ply suppliers around home that have loads of the good stuff!
Marine grade comes in several species (birch, gaboon, hoop pine, etc) but th hoop pine is generally the cheapest and is great for decks - you just need to glass at least 1 side for strength and to protect it as its a bit softer than the others.

Permalink Reply by Cents on January 5, 2012 at 19:38

Oh wait so Marine isn't a wood but rather a wood grade. Ok cool. Someone needs to make an FAQ!

Though just to clarify " If you want a flat deck with a concave..." so I'm guessing no drops, rocker and no w-cave? So if I want these I'll need several thinner sheets ie. 3mm 

6mm so I'm guessing you got 8 planks all up from that 2400mm x 1200mm and so each deck was 12mm?

Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Deeks63 on January 5, 2012 at 19:51

12mm thick - yep. I have some pictures on my profile of some of the decks ive had a go at. Marine grade just generally means a waterproof adhesive is used between the plys. The thicker the ply you are using, the harder it will be to get any complex shape other than a concave. I've seen some rail presses that can also get some W but it's not as easy as it sounds.

Permalink Reply by Cents on January 5, 2012 at 19:55

Thanks for all the help. Apologise to Jakjak for hijacking his thread :)

Permalink Reply by JakJak on January 6, 2012 at 14:11

thats helpful to :)

  thanks

oh btw what is a rail press?

Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Deeks63 on January 6, 2012 at 16:39

the "rail" runs the length of the press and is compressed down by the cross beams of timber to form the concave in the deck - like below:  Let me know if you need more details and I can email them through! This press cost about $35 to make...

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