homemade dancers?

[ggadow7294]

I'm currently smoothing and shaping a homemade dancer... actually its more of a plank. unfortunately my mom gave my sander to our creepy neighbor. While I wait for her to go talk to him I'd love to see some photos of homemade boards over 5 feet, or setup advice, or even some building material advice. Anything on homemade dancers! thanks---

[cojeep636]

oh man, that sucks you're short a sander, at this step in the process. what type of sander are you using? you might be able to pick one up for cheap in the mean-time... i can find a 1/4 sheet sander for like ten bucks... may not be the best... but it will vibrate sandpaper which is all i need.

As far as homemade dancers... just keep your eye out. on these here threads, they pop up all the time.

My thoughts... what is your thickness of the board? either way you might (or probably, i dont know for sure) need a stringer, especially since it sounds like you didn't press any concave or camber into the board. basically, a strip of wood down the center, that is likely harder than your plywood, to support the weight.

Materials: well the most common for the deck is baltic birch, easy to work with... and relatively cheap, as well as an usually be found, through some work (not home depot or lowes, hardwood suppliers only)

You might look into fiberglass, but this is a territory that may be daunting to many, including myself... so finding more natural ways would be easier.

Any questions... im sure someone else on here knows more than me, i've never gotten the chance to try a dancer, i just dont have the use for it as i usually commute or dh w/ my boards.

[Cann0n]

[817]

Here are some pics of the second board we made (My buddy's dancer). This board is 49" long with no concave and a little bit of camber at the front 2/3 of the board. I really like the feel of this homemade dancer as it has some really springy flex and a super carvy feel to it. Was really fun to press and shape and is a great conversation piece out on the streets.

Make one, you won't regret it.

[SpeedDemon8]

Nice hand print, its a pretty creative idea!

[RiRak]

This is my dancer, 48" long 34.5" WB and 9.5" wide

Made out of 3 layers off 1/8 BB and 1 layer of 3/16 Bamboo with light fiberglass weave holding it all together, using epoxy. Pressed with 1/4" of concave and now has very slight rocker due to abusive riding

I'm riding it on Paris 180's Lime ZigZags with some 93a venom barrels and 78a Khiro Cones

[Griff223]

heres mine



go with some 180mm trucks and 70mm wheels. something kinda slidy might be good for shuvits

[tankshell]

I'm currently smoothing and shaping a homemade dancer... actually its more of a plank. unfortunately my mom gave my sander to our creepy neighbor. While I wait for her to go talk to him I'd love to see some photos of homemade boards over 5 feet, or setup advice, or even some building material advice. Anything on homemade dancers! thanks---

If you're trying to cut a 5'+ board out of a "plank" (do you mean a hardwood plank?), it's going to break the second you stand on it.

LongShawn is making a 6' pintail I believe. I'm sure she'd be happy to post pictures of it if she catches wind of this thread. Probably not a dancer, but principles of very long longboard should be there.

But anyway.. I don't feel like posting pictures, but I did a 58'' dancer, moderate-heavy camber, quite long wheelbase out of 2 sheets 1/4'' BB and 2 layers of 6 oz S-glass fiberglass. It is ridiculously flexy under my ~160 lbs. Too flexy. If I were to redo it, I would go with 5 sheets of 1/8'' BB with the 2 layers of fiberglass.

[flannelman]

yeah, i used 5 sheets of 1/8 BB and fiberglass on top and bottom. with 2.5 inches of camber and my weight it still s a bit high on camber. my thought though is that over time is will dampen and even out.

ps i weigh in at 280

[LongShawn]

Here is mine. I call it a cruiser. It's not done yet and you can find the build info here.

http://www.silverfishlongboarding.co...eck-build.html

[nickonack]

Instead of making a mold/press has anyone ever considered just sanding a piece of normal plywood to give it concave plus it would look cool youd be able to see the diffrent plys.

[LongShawn]

Instead of making a mold/press has anyone ever considered just sanding a piece of normal plywood to give it concave plus it would look cool youd be able to see the diffrent plys.

Shaping by sanding would take, literally forever, even with the most coarse paper. You need shaping tools, the electric kind. Then finish with sanding. Concaving plywood would look really cool, but the shaping process and the constant foot abuse might tear into the ply edges. And I think it would be hard to get a nice symetrical line around that last ply that is shaped through.

[hoch92000]

Here is a dancer I just completed. Funny, I find these all have very similar specs. 34,36,38" WB, 10" wide, 1/4" concave. Made from a solid oak plank. I think a dancer should have no or nominal camber and should sag a bit under your weight. It shouldn't have any more cave than barely noticeble, just enough so that your feet aren't slipping off, but a bit never-the-less. Flat doesn't work for me. More here at my blog http://zeerzameenbaords.com.

[Maxx]

Its only 48" but its my favorite dancer build yet. Poplar vlam with birch and flat with camber. I absolutely love this board, the flex is perfect for me and its really light.

[LongShawn]

Here's my finished deck! I don't know if you would call it a dancer, but it's pretty long. If you right click on the pics and click on open link, it will make the pic bigger and in a better resolution.

[tankshell]

Here's my finished deck! I don't know if you would call it a dancer, but it's pretty long. If you right click on the pics and click on open link, it will make the pic bigger and in a better resolution.

Wowzer. That's a hell of a pretty finish. I wouldn't even want to ride it it looks so nice.

[Californiaman]

Originally Posted by LongShawn View Post
Here's my finished deck! I don't know if you would call it a dancer, but it's pretty long. If you right click on the pics and click on open link, it will make the pic bigger and in a better resolution.

Have you ridden that board? don't you find the finish very slippery? i'm currently building a dancer and will start shaping it today, will go take some pic and upload them later. The tape at the top and the finish is currently what i'm unsure of. don't really know what i want to do.

[Californiaman]

Instead of making a mold/press has anyone ever considered just sanding a piece of normal plywood to give it concave plus it would look cool youd be able to see the diffrent plys.

I'm going to try that today. keep an eye open, ill post some photos. think it is going to be a long hard days work though...

[BlackRider]

My giant TAP bag has come in, so I'll be doing up a nice dancer soon. How many of those are OVER 5 feet? I'm just doing 60" which I think will be plenty. I would just lay with and stroke that last one with the pretty finish, I could never ride it.

[LongShawn]

Have you ridden that board? don't you find the finish very slippery? i'm currently building a dancer and will start shaping it today, will go take some pic and upload them later. The tape at the top and the finish is currently what i'm unsure of. don't really know what i want to do.

I have been riding it. I'm just now learning to ride, it's my first board, so i'm not doing anything to sketchy. I wear Addidas Goodyear car racing high tops and they seem to grip the board pretty good, even with a few coats of wax on it. But I am going to put on a couple strips of clear grip along the insides of the white strips.