Trial and Error

[frenchies2two]

trial and error

how many boards have you gone through until you got a decent profesional looking one

me about 5

i got it down now though

[Loki440]

well i would say all of them so far in my mind, but most would say bullsh!t to that but really i am still working on perfecting all of it but i would say boards 6,7, & 8 are decent, but i know i have no where near came to my limit as far as quality goes.

but ive screwed up only one board competely as i had some glueing clamping problems

[frank]

I never have and never will make a perfect board.

[frenchies2two]

wefunk has

[whitmell]

I was pretty proud of my first and only board (check the zappa board thread), except for the way I drilled the holes for the trucks. I thought the bottom was going to be the top, but changed my mind later, deciding I'd rather have rocker than camber for this one. Hence, what I thought was going to be covered up with griptape ended up being quite visible. Few things I learned that will def. help w/ future boards:

-Make sure I have both batteries charged up for my wireless jigsaw. I only had one and it died 3/4 way into sawing the board. I actually had to use a skill saw for the rest. On that note, don't use wireless tools, they blow.

-Drill your holes from the bottom to the top. I took a chalk line tool and popped a line straight down the board. I then took a T-square and lined up the trucks exactly. Then I drilled the first hole down through the truck hole. Made sure it was lined up again, then drilled the one on the other side. Then I put the hardware into those 2 holes and drilled the last 2.

-If a bit breaks off, don't continue to use it. It will split a ply on the other side.

-It's worth the time to start w/ heavier grit sandpaper and work your way up to at least a 220.

-I used 2 coats of cherry stain. This was the cherry on top (no pun intended), it made the board look 10 times more professional. So I def. recommend staining it, prob. something light unless you want a dark stain. **Be sure to use a coating of wood conditioner on soft woods like birch, etc. It makes the stain soak in more evenly. **

-If you paint acrylics, don't polyurethane the board first. The acrylics won't stick well. Or maybe if you poly and then sand the area you're painting, I don't know.

-I used spray on Polyurethane. I don't know if this is the best way to go or not, it looked nice but who knows if it seals well. I put about 8 coats.

-The wood screws around the edge of the shape (drawn on the plywood) from Toothless worked REALLY well, the seal was tight and even all around.

-Epoxy resin is the $hit.

[tofman]

whenever you drill holes, put a piece of the same sacraficial wood directly under where you're drilling. you'll find that the wood won't split when you go through it. unless you were to push really hard or, of course, us a broken bit. it's a usefull tip i got from my joiner cousin.

also, you can get wood drilling bits, which have a sharp point and then have the biting edge that is the full diameter. don't use these. use metal drilling bits. if you're worried that you won't drill exactly where you marked the wood with a pencil, use a centerpoint tool.

i hope that was clear enough, it works for me.

[Wicked.Pissah]

heavy duty masking tape along a cut line almost completely eliminates splintering for table saws and radial saws.

EVEN PRESSURE, APPLIED SLOWLY.

use lots of glue, but make sure it is spread really evenly.

go slow.

i have yet to complete a board (first deck being pressed as we speak, should be shaped by the end of the weekend at the latest). this is all from my dad, who restores old furnitire, and from the many many experiments i did with smaller pieces of baltic birch. basically i tried every method and material i had ever heard of multiple times to try and get a feel for what works best. not as good as actual experience of course, but i'm really glad i did it. i feel way more confident that i won't waste board-sized pieces of wood making stupid mistakes.