I need some luge advice

**cheese12365** · 11-01-2008 03:19 PM

I have been longboarding for a while now and want to get into street luge. I cant afford to buy a board so i want to make one. i cant work with aluminum or other metals so i am wondering if i could make one entirely out of wood and just put my longboard trucks on it. if anyone has a wooden one please send me a picture and if you can the dimensions. and i have one last question. do you really need 3 trucks? and what is the point of 3 trucks?

**bucksaw87** · 11-01-2008 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by cheese12365

I have been longboarding for a while now and want to get into street luge. I cant afford to buy a board so i want to make one. i can work with aluminum so i am wondering if i could make one entirely out of wood and just put my longboard trucks on it. if anyone has a wooden one please send me a picture and if you can the dimensions. and i have one last question. do you really need 3 trucks? and what is the point of 3 trucks?

search "buttboard"

you'll get all the info you need

**neuros** · 11-01-2008 04:00 PM

And if a buttboard isn't enough, do some research into Darren Lott's "Gumball Machine". It's a woodie designed by Lott (who domesticated the buttboard) and looks like a good woodfab project as well as an excellent first luge.

**cheese12365** · 11-01-2008 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by bucksaw87

search "buttboard"

you'll get all the info you need

Pardon my seemingly stupid question but what exactly is a buttboard? and if it is at all similar to luge what kind of speeds can you hit on it?

**cheese12365** · 11-01-2008 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by neuros

And if a buttboard isn't enough, do some research into Darren Lott's "Gumball Machine". It's a woodie designed by Lott (who domesticated the buttboard) and looks like a good woodfab project as well as an excellent first luge.

thanks for the advice. i dont mean to bug you but can you give me some info on this gumball machine? i have looked around and cant seem to find much on it. all i got was that its a luge board and not a buttboard.

**dapol333** · 11-01-2008 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by cheese12365

Pardon my seemingly stupid question but what exactly is a buttboard? and if it is at all similar to luge what kind of speeds can you hit on it?

to find out more information, you can use the search function which, if you move your cursor over forums, is the third one down. there you can type in buttboard to search.

a better idea is to click on forums and go to the "Luge and Buttboarding" section. there are many threads specifically about this and will answer most of your questions.

**chrismcb** · 11-01-2008 10:12 PM

A buttboard is a classic luge. A street luge and classic luge are very similar. Typically a streetluge is dropped, has a head rest, and might have foot pegs. A classic luge is made out of a single piece of wood, isn't normally dropped, and can't be longer than 4 feet. You can make your own buttboard out of a sheet of plywood, and two trucks, and you are good to go.

Typically a buttboard is slower than a luge my a few miles an hour. I would recommend building this if you want to build something. You can build a gumball machine, but it is a little bit more complicated to build, is officially considered a luge.

What sort of long board trucks do you have?
Check out my website for some pics, or buttboarding.com for more info on buttboards.

**Mr. Sociable** · 11-02-2008 12:20 AM

Buy the book Street Luge Survival Guide by Darren Lott. Everything you need to know.

**cheese12365** · 11-02-2008 07:18 AM

i would like to thank everyone for all the help. but i have a question. what is the point of having 3 trucks and 6 wheels? and is it necessary for a luge? can you use 2 on a luge or can that only be done on a buttboard?

**dapol333** · 11-02-2008 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by cheese12365

i would like to thank everyone for all the help. but i have a question. what is the point of having 3 trucks and 6 wheels? and is it necessary for a luge? can you use 2 on a luge or can that only be done on a buttboard?

Advantage of 2 Front Trucks On a Buttboard

**cheese12365** · 11-02-2008 05:08 PM

what is a good length for a luge?(not buttboard) im about 5feet 8 inch

**Mr. Sociable** · 11-02-2008 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by cheese12365

what is a good length for a luge?(not buttboard) im about 5feet 8 inch

Lie down in what you feel is a comfortable riding position and have somebody take some measurements. A luge is an extremely personal and custom thing.

**cheese12365** · 11-02-2008 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Sociable

Lie down in what you feel is a comfortable riding position and have somebody take some measurements. A luge is an extremely personal and custom thing.

thanks. i was just wondering cuz i have seen them up to 7 and a half feet. so i was just wondering. cuz my plan was to make it about 6feet 8 inch. but i was worried it was too short.

**chrismcb** · 11-02-2008 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by cheese12365

thanks. i was just wondering cuz i have seen them up to 7 and a half feet. so i was just wondering. cuz my plan was to make it about 6feet 8 inch. but i was worried it was too short.

My luge is about 5 feet, and I'm 5'11.

You can but three trucks on a buttboard, but it isn't race legal.
A second set of trucks up front will give you more traction in the turns, but you don't HAVE to run a third truck. I would strongly recommend running at least 3 trucks though.

A luge can have foot pegs, and a long head rest. IGSA limits the length to 10 feet. But most generally aren't longer than a foot half more than the rider.

My luge starts about under my knees, and ends just behind my head.

**cheese12365** · 11-06-2008 05:48 PM

i have a safety concern. i want to make a dropped luge, a little over 7 feet long. is it way too dangerous to make that out of wood. i want a design like this one. http://www.auldovertheroad.com/lugeb...eSchematic.gif

so i want to make it out of wood. and i am wondering if the joint between the long 2x4 looking part and the dropped part will fail on me. after thinking i got nervous about it before i bought the wood. so i was jsut wondering if 7 feet is too long for a dropped board, or if you can even safely make a dropped board out of wood.

**chrismcb** · 11-07-2008 04:22 AM

The picture you linked too was a board that is 6 1/2 feet long. Dave raced this board for many years. I think he even raced it into the XGames.

I am assuming the "pan" won't be 7 feet long? Just the board itself? How will you connect the pieces? Auld had 4 carriage bolts holding the 2x4 to the pan. Just make sure you get a good piece of wood for the pan. I would use some sort of a plywood, and not a solid piece, as plywood will be stronger.

I'm not an expert, but Auld's design is pretty decent. You can email him if you want, I am sure he will give you some pointer or suggestions.

**cheese12365** · 11-07-2008 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by chrismcb

The picture you linked too was a board that is 6 1/2 feet long. Dave raced this board for many years. I think he even raced it into the XGames.

I am assuming the "pan" won't be 7 feet long? Just the board itself? How will you connect the pieces? Auld had 4 carriage bolts holding the 2x4 to the pan. Just make sure you get a good piece of wood for the pan. I would use some sort of a plywood, and not a solid piece, as plywood will be stronger.

I'm not an expert, but Auld's design is pretty decent. You can email him if you want, I am sure he will give you some pointer or suggestions.

alright. thanks. i was going to use 3/4" plywood and i was going to use wood glue then carriage bolts, apparently wood glue when dried can be harder than wood. so i thought i would do that for extra support.

**chrismcb** · 11-07-2008 10:16 PM

I wouldn't bother with the glue. Just use the carriage bolts.
If you just use glue, you will most likely rip the plywood in half. So you still need to use the bolts.
But if you use both, you won't be able to break the board down if you want to in the future.

**cheese12365** · 11-08-2008 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by chrismcb

I wouldn't bother with the glue. Just use the carriage bolts.
If you just use glue, you will most likely rip the plywood in half. So you still need to use the bolts.
But if you use both, you won't be able to break the board down if you want to in the future.

ahh. good point. yeah. i think i will skip out on the glue now. but im excited, buying wood today.

**mikenike605** · 11-08-2008 08:04 PM

i know some kids who managed to make a decent streetluge out of wood. the design is good enough i keep telling them they should attempt the same design with metal.
i dont have any pictures but i could show you a video of it in action and get you hooked up to a place to contact them.