Home made Kevlar/Carbon fiber Deck?

**Yakuza** · 03-22-2008 07:55 PM

I have made my own decks before out of ply wood and old snowboards, but i want to take it to the next level. I got the idea of making a campsite board out of Kevlar or Carbon fiber. I was thinking of perhaps using a very thin sheet of aluminum or plywood for the core. I wanted to know if anyone else out there has ever made a skateboard out of composite materials, or if anyone has any experience with composite materials.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

**Uni** · 03-22-2008 08:25 PM

Search Function, upper right hand corner. Type in Carbon...tons of info, or check the sticky "Board Build Resources" or something to that effect at the top of the forum. tons and tons of info....

**Dkofnrc** · 03-22-2008 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by Yakuza

I have made my own decks before out of ply wood and old snowboards, but i want to take it to the next level. I got the idea of making a campsite board out of Kevlar or Carbon fiber. I was thinking of perhaps using a very thin sheet of aluminum or plywood for the core. I wanted to know if anyone else out there has ever made a skateboard out of composite materials, or if anyone has any experience with composite materials.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

There are a lot of guys here that can help you out. Check the search function if you haven't already. Back to your question though. A aluminum/carbon deck will work with the right thickness. I have never tried sandwiching carbon/aluminum but I do know that glass/carbon doesn't stick to well to a smooth surface like metal. I would recommend doing a glass board first to get the feel for how layup work. Also a board made out of aluminum/carbon will probably be spendy. Using maple/baltic birch "bb" will be cheaper and do just fine. How ever if you have money to blow then I would say do a foam core with carbon/glass. Oh how much are you planning on spending? and are you going to use a vac bag or just do a hand laid board?
DK

**thomasberg** · 03-22-2008 09:38 PM

This is how I would envision a project like this, get a 3/16 in thick piece of aluminum and then sand both sides until it has a matte-like finish, but rougher, then get some epoxy and laminate the carbon fiber on the top and bottom.

**Cranks** · 03-22-2008 10:38 PM

why on earth would you want aluminum in the middle?

**Alpha06** · 03-22-2008 10:57 PM

Aluminum is strong, lightweight compared to steel, and between 1/16 and 3/16 the flex can be made to vary. It needs to be drilled carefully though since it likes to crack.

P.S IMO 3/16 is a bit too much for the base if it will be less than 36", 3/16 is what the rogers speed board uses without carbon fiber and epoxy

I would try a .125" sheet layered with high performance epoxy, fiberglass, and finally, carbon fiber

6061 T6 should work best. The 7000 range is stiffer I think but also more crack prone...

If you want something that doesnt crack go titanium

**Ted** · 03-22-2008 11:14 PM

You should really spend an afternoon going through the fish. It's a great resource. After this I would start with a simple build, Toothless press with 1/8th ply would be a good build and makes an awesome deck. Laminating a deck is an aquired skill, the more you build the more you will understand the materials and processes. This will give you an understanding of how to build more complex decks properly.

Ted from Roarockit

**243racing** · 03-22-2008 11:38 PM

I was going to say ask alpha but he already posted. I'm not sure if an aluminum core would be worth it. The weight you're trying to save with the carbon is way less than the weight of the aluminum. Maybe try a foam core, or has anyone done a balsa core?I'd like to see that.

**Uni** · 03-23-2008 12:11 AM

Jestah the franken doc from NZ does balsa core injection (edit: on further research he may have said infusion....? see my note on lack of memory...) frankenscience...They're light as hell and stiff as hell, some of the most beautiful boards I've ever seen....I have no Idea on there construction. For the week or so I was with him to and from paskapoo last year he imparted alot of knowledge but my memory was perhaps a tad porous from constant exposure to Team Green

....anyways He's pretty secretive (i would be too!) but if you pm him maybe he'll let loose some trade secrets?

**GriffinSk8** · 03-26-2008 10:53 AM

Yes I work with carbon fiber all the time. Aluminum can be hard to work with it needs to be anodized first to hold the fiber and you need to figure out the tinsel strength to work with the fiber to give memory. Metals are hard to work with and take up a lot of time too. It can be done you just need to know how to work with it and what you want done in the end. Thin hard wood or foam and rock maple will work. You can also use hard and soft wood combos in different layers. Look up my post in board building on What's in your board? It's no page #2.
Good luck.
Thane
GriffinSk8

**scratch** · 03-26-2008 08:34 PM

Just gonna throw this out there... if you are going to be building a sandwich or cap type carbon or composite board, the thinner it is, the less effective the composites will be. Thicker core = stronger board... A core is just a device for giving composites shape and transmitting load to different composite layers. While a thin piece of aluminum may be stronger than a 1/2" piece of foam, when wrapped in carbon the foam will be stiffer (and weigh less).
Optimal composite construction is about shapes... creating a whole that is greater than the sum of it's parts, not just layering strong parts together. Consider folding cardboard to create structures that will support more weight than that same piece of cardboard when it is flat...
The cores job it to maintain the shape (and transmit load via shear, but that's another ballgame.)

**Yakuza** · 03-27-2008 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by thomasberg

This is how I would envision a project like this, get a 3/16 in thick piece of aluminum and then sand both sides until it has a matte-like finish, but rougher, then get some epoxy and laminate the carbon fiber on the top and bottom.

Thats what my original idea was. But im not sure if i want to use aluminium anymore though, it sounds liek too much of a hastle.

**bikerboy997** · 08-19-2010 07:33 PM

You seem to be trying the same thing that is going on at www. cgskate. com. He makes all kinds of mixes between bamboo and Kevlar and carbon fiber and whatnot. The boards are pretty nice too. If you're looking for some quality, handmade carbon fiber boards. try out www .cgskate. com.

**RSnider** · 08-19-2010 11:51 PM

First, forget about using kevlar at all. It just isn't suited to board building.

Kevlar is used primarily for it's toughness (think of leather) and abrasion resistance (I'm talking serious abrasions, way more than cosmetic scratches, which would be confined to the clear coat, anyway). However, this also makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to cut with standard shears and a set of kevlar shears will run you anywhere from $30-$60 depending on from where you purchase. Compared to carbon fiber, kevlar doesn't have near the stiffness.

If you're just looking for the "wow" factor, consider some carbon fiber/fiberglass hybrids. You can get the 'glass strands dyed in some pretty wild colors. Watch out for the price, though; some of the hand-dyed stuff is ultra labor intensive and will cost a premium. The mass-produced stuff can be bought for fairly cheap.

Secondly, if you're just getting into composites, which I assume you are since your original idea was to use a "thin" core of aluminum (the opposite of what you would ideally use for composites), you might want to consider something cheaper than carbon fiber for your first build. Composites are a tricky thing to master in itself and working with carbon fiber is loads more difficult than even fiberglass, so jumping straight into composites with a carbon fiber layup is a seriously steep learning curve.

**3KCarbonBoards** · 08-20-2010 10:13 AM

Hey bud I am currently working on perfecting my own carbon deck. I work in aerospace an would definatly go with either a foam or honeycomb core...which one really depends on the properties you want. For most cases you will want your carbon plies wrapped around the edges to prevent delam and the number of plies will contribute to the flex you will get. I would also highly sugest vacuum baggin the layup to really get a good compaction. I can't tell you how I did mine given that I'm trying to sell my decks and I don't really want anyone to read this and take my design but if you have any general composite layup questions feel free to hit me up. You should check out the thread I posted last night, it's got a few pics of two of my decks. http://www.silverfishlongboarding.co...r-deck-co.html

**JamesCahill** · 08-21-2010 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by Yakuza

I got the idea of making a campsite board

For like, in the woods and stuff?

Ha sorry i couldn't resist. But everyone is right - maybe try something a little less intense for a first composite built, aka fiberglass. Even uni-directional fiberglass is easier to use than normal fg, so maybe even start there.

I would recommend saving up a bit of money, then going out and buying a decent amount of supplies and experiment. Make 2 or 3 boards, with different methods of composite application. I've glassed about a dozen boards this year and i'm still finding better ways of doing things. Practice makes better longboards.