A skateboard is a small piece of wood in the shape of a surfboard with four wheels attached to it. A single person rides the skateboard, guiding the movement with his feet. While some use skateboards as transportation over short distances, most are used to perform stunts.
1. Preparing the Materials
To minimize stress and damage, the skateboard decks are made of maple wood, which undergoes treatment. This form of treatment allows the deck to be peeled into multiple thin layers, which is stored within a climate-controlled environment.
2. Glueing the blank deck
To attach the boards, each thin layer is placed into a glue machine by hand, which is coated with a water-based glue.
3. Pressing the blank deck
After coating, the thin layers are stacked according to their grain and level of use. From this, the stacks are placed inside a hydraulic press, which then molds the nose, concave and tail features of the skateboard.
4. Finishing the blank deck
The board is then hand-shaped with a band saw. After this process, the edge of the board is hand-sanded using a belt sander so that it gives the curved shape.
5. Heat transferring blank deck
Finally, all the graphics are heat transferred using a hydrolic press to ensure protection and longevity of the board. From here onwards, it’s al up to you to design the board to your liking.