new board idea/ few questions

[ATB Longboards]

what is the difference in strength/flex by glassing the plys together using resin and cloth compared to just resin?

i have a few ideas for my next build but im not sure which way to go.
im thinking a dervish style drop thru, small dancer around 38-41'', or something similar to the vangaurd.

thinking laying it up like this:
top to bottom

1/16 maple
1/8 aspen
8oz fiberglass
1/8 aspen
1/16 maple
8oz fiberglass



im also going to try to come up with some sort of simple press for this board

i want it to be light and thinking about using 1/8''plastic sheet. i been trying to look into what will bond to it. not much luck

i tried my best at using the search tool. sorry in advance.

[SoloRider]

The glass in the middle isn't doing a damn thing for you. The easiest way to think about it is to picture your deck as a wide flange beam(i-beam if you prefer). After all a skateboard is really nothing more than a simple beam spanning a couple of trucks.



The strength is in the flanges at the top and bottom working against on another. When the beam flexes down, the top compresses and the bottom elongates, were you to add an additional flange in the middle, all that flange would do is flex without compression or elongation.

Couple more things:

Your shape needs some help, if it's drop through you need to be about an inch or so clear of the trucks before the nose and tail flare into the body of the deck.

Not sure what you're talking about with the 1/8" plastic.

[ATB Longboards]

i never thought of it like that.
with the plastic i was thinking of gettting some 1/8'' pieces and using that instead of wood. i got some about half in thick that was super strong. i used it to make the deck for homemade FreeLines


would the glass bond to the plastic?

any advice on a board press?

[LongboarderFORlife]

hey i would widen the treck mounts. at the neck. and just use BB its really easy. use 3 plys 1/8 bb or 4 plys and just fiberglass that.

[SoloRider]

would the glass bond to the plastic?

Unlikely, adhesives work better with porous surfaces, since you're already having problems with glass delam on wood moving to a more difficult(and likely impossible) suface is not a good idea. Get a couple of basic wood decks(4plies of 1/8" Baltic is a great place to start) that go the distance under your belt before straying too far from the norm. Nothing wrong with experimenting but getting the fundamentals down first will give you a better chance at being successful with non-standard materials.

any advice on a board press?

Simple Dimm press is going to be you're best bet. The foam has enough give to make up for some of the mistakes you'll make in dimensioning and still get decent pressure.

[ATB Longboards]

is there any specific foam to use for the press?
im still working on a shape to make
i kinda wann try to put my originals on as drop thru. but the problem is when they turn completely there would be about 1/4'' of space left for the deck. im thinking of making this deck 4 plys of 1/8'' BB ....but...... the top layer will have a larger cut out then the rest and possibly same with the bottom so the trucks could fit. the trucks would be bolted in 2-3 plys and the other layer(s) would be glassed together still the length of the board but not connected with the trucks.

Good idea?

once i get more ideas ill post some pix

[SoloRider]

is there any specific foam to use for the press?
im still working on a shape to make
i kinda wann try to put my originals on as drop thru. but the problem is when they turn completely there would be about 1/4'' of space left for the deck. im thinking of making this deck 4 plys of 1/8'' BB ....but...... the top layer will have a larger cut out then the rest and possibly same with the bottom so the trucks could fit. the trucks would be bolted in 2-3 plys and the other layer(s) would be glassed together still the length of the board but not connected with the trucks.

Good idea?

once i get more ideas ill post some pix

For foam you want to pick up some extruded polystyrene, usually it comes in pink(Owens Corning) or blue(Dow), but can also be found in green(Pactiv) and yellow(??). It's all the same stuff, there's different strength ratings but I don't think you'll notice much of a difference.

Also, on the Originals, I think drop through is a bad idea. It doesn't really work(yeah Hoch, I'm aware of the exception) and even if you can make it happen it doesn't take a lot of deck to get railbite when you're sitting that low. I would recommend you either topmount or flushmount.

[ATB Longboards]

thats the deck so far. its all drawn to scale its 35'' x 9 9/16"

as the trucks go
from what i seen flush mount is the bottom deck cut out so the trucks can fit nicely inside. seems like alot of strength is sacraficed?

[Considerthebirds]

with the tail like that, it seems more fragile than if it were say reversed, (where it would flare to a skinnier tail near the extreme) Maybe not though.

[ATB Longboards]

with the tail like that, it seems more fragile than if it were say reversed, (where it would flare to a skinnier tail near the extreme) Maybe not though.

i was thinkin of that but i think it should be fine, the difference in widths are literally a fraction of an inch

[jsweriduk]

If you don't mind spending the extra money on maple, go for it. I would personally just use baltic birch until you get the process down. I would also make it top mount, and round the edges with the exception of the ones in the swallowtail. Good luck

[ATB Longboards]

should i get 6-8 1/16 sheets or 3-4 sheets of 1/8 ? which would be easier to work with/ have a nicer end result and be strongest?
does having drop thru trucks affect the strength drasticly ?

2 more days till i start this board im pretty excited