How to Build a Longboard Skate Board

Young shredders grow up to be longboarders.

If you like going fast with wide, sweeping arc turns with your skateboarding, you need a longboard. Longboards are long, flat and made for speed. Because skateboards are relatively simple with a minimum of parts, consider building a board to your preferences. Select the deck of your choice, your preferred trucks and your favorite wheels to build your own custom board. Most skate shops sell the necessary parts and tools to build custom boards.

Things You'll Need

• Longboard deck
• C-clamps
• Power drill
• Measuring tape
• Marker
• Trucks with kingpins
• Skateboard key
• Wheels
• Grease

Instructions

1. Secure the deck, bottom-side up, to a work bench using C-clamps. Have a friend measure the distance of your normal skateboarding stance. Measure the distance between your feet when in the stance.

2. Measure your foot stance distance on the bottom of the board deck. Mark the front foot and rear foot position on the deck's bottom.

3. Find the center point for each marking. This is the middle of the line going across the deck from the foot stance markings.

4. Place the trucks on the deck and mark the screw holes on the deck. Drill these out and place the trucks over the hole and insert the truck's deck screws. Flip the deck over and use the washer and nut to tighten the trucks to the deck. Add the deck plugs over the nuts.

5. Peel off the backing of the deck sandpaper sticky. Align it over the top of the deck and stick it on the board, covering the deck plugs and truck screws. Flip the board over.

6. Slide the wheels onto the truck spindles. Insert one kingpin into the center of each wheel and use the skateboard key to tighten the kingpin to the truck, securing each wheel.

7. Spin each wheel feeling for friction. Loosen the kingpin until no friction is felt, then give it a quarter-turn to tighten, ensuring the kingpin is tight enough to secure the wheels without infringing on the roll of the wheels. Go ride.

References

• Go Longboard
• Roarockit: Build a Skateboard Deck or Longboard