How longboards are made. Yours on the board: Interview with a Russian longboard designer Homemade longboard

As a rule, people who are planning to make a longboard with their own hands mainly make the deck, and buy special wheels, suspensions and bushings from experienced manufacturers. This is quite justified, since the creation DIY longboard decks- this is the simplest thing that can be done on a longboard and such work requires a minimum of space, time, materials, money and skills. Whereas the creation of acceptable pendants, for example, will require equipment for casting silumin.

In addition, a deck, if you buy it from an experienced, reputable manufacturer, or even if you buy a Chinese one, which will not be much better than your homemade one, will cost you half the budget of the entire board. And this is the important part. The rest of the budget will be spent on suspensions and wheels with bearings.

Thus, we can state that with the average price of an assembled longboard in Russian stores being approximately 9 thousand rubles, as much as 5 thousand is for the cost of the deck, a thousand for a set of bearings, a thousand for bushings, and about two thousand for the wheels. This makes it even more worthwhile to build your own longboard deck. A homemade deck will not be better, but it will be much cheaper (about 2 thousand with materials), and if you take its production seriously, it may turn out to be better than the Chinese ones for 3-4 thousand rubles. In addition, by learning how to make longboard decks yourself, you will be able to sell them at a large profit for yourself, since the product is rare, valuable, and the demand for it significantly exceeds the supply. It is very difficult to find something sane in Russia, and all modern Californian brands began their work in ordinary garages. And now they earn millions of dollars a year.

What do we need to make a longboard deck? First of all, templates shape, that is, board shape profiles. And here it is important not to miss, since an error in the profile will lead to the board being completely unsuitable for riding. If the deck has too little elongation (the ratio of length to width), then it will be very unstable, the arcs will be torn, and on sharp turns such a board can easily tip over, which will inevitably lead to injury. If the elongation is too great, then the board, on the contrary, will not be able to be turned, not driven into an arc, and certainly not driven into a slide. It will only be possible to ride it straight or in gentle arcs, which does not correspond to the concept of a longboard, but rather will be a bulky and clumsy skateboard.

The elongation of the board depends on its general form (shape). At the moment, there are three main longboard shapes that have survived the process of natural selection.

The first, most classic style of shaping is surf-style decks. Their length must exceed 140 cm, and their width is from 1/7 to 1/5 of the length. The larger the number after the fractional line, the greater the elongation of the board. The greater the elongation, the more stable the board is, but the more difficult it is to move in sharp arcs and the worse it turns. The lower the elongation, the more nimble and nimble the board, but less stable and may not be prone to beautiful, even carve arcs. Also, the smaller the elongation and the shorter the board, the easier it is to catch on it, and this phenomenon is very dangerous.

The second design is dancers. These boards also have a length of over 140 cm and a width of 1/5 of the length, but in shape this is not a classic surfboard, but a specially designed shape for a stable board.

Both of these shapes are designed for maximum stability, very high stability, and to work with wide suspensions and large wheels. On these boards you can surf on the asphalt, like in the ocean, moving in smooth arcs. They are very easy to learn, as they are stable and do not rush to jump out from under the beginner. They generally forgive a lot of mistakes and are not traumatic. But there are also disadvantages. You can’t ride such a board where people walk, since it’s not nimble and it’s difficult to go around obstacles on it. On such a board you won’t be able to slalom, and aggressive carving won’t work either. On it, even a 90-degree turn will be given to you with considerable effort, and even then not always, and a 180-degree turn will have a radius of five meters at best.

But this shape has one advantage - such a board can simply be cut out of multi-layer plywood and without much effort. Yes, it will be as heavy as a coffin, but that doesn’t matter, since you will be riding it mainly in a straight line, and, therefore, the exorbitant inertia will only help. Yes, it will be difficult to accelerate, but once you accelerate, you can drive for quite a long time. Due to the large elongation, even sawn from plywood, such a board will have some “flex”, that is, springiness. And that's good.

In general, if you are making your first longboard, it is better to make a replica of something like this, since all other forms of deck require much more effort and expense. The easiest way is to find the shape of a board over 140 cm long that you like in an online store, take its approximate shape and cut it out of thick plywood.

It is important to note that if the board has recesses for wheels, then they must be repeated! Otherwise, when you start the board into a turn or arc, it will “bite” the wheel, and you will be ejected from the longboard at such a speed that you will only have time to get scared in the hospital, when you regain consciousness after a two-day coma. Remember this! The deck must be shaped in such a way that it is impossible for the wheels to “bite” in principle.

Having ridden such a coffin and learned to keep your balance, by the middle of the first season you will begin to understand that such a simple deck in design no longer meets your growing requirements for hardware - it is heavy, clumsy, with poor recoil and a complete lack of performance. And you will want another deck, on which you can ride like a human being, and not hobble around like on a scooter without a steering wheel.

And here, for the first time, you will be faced with an alternative - buy a normal deck, or try to delve more fully into the process, understand what a longboard deck should really be like and why, and then make it yourself.

The second path was taken by the current branded manufacturers, since the first path was closed to them - there was nowhere to buy a deck for a longboard at that time. If you have chosen this path, if your hands grow from the right place, then we will analyze in more detail the characteristics of the deck that are NECESSARY for longboarding.

The first and most important thing a longboarding board should have is. A concave is a longitudinal bend of a board made in such a way that the edges (edges) are raised above the middle. It turns out something like a trough, but not quite, since where the suspension is attached, the deck must be flat, otherwise the suspension will not fit tightly to the board. The concave is clearly visible if you place an even strip across the deck. Exactly between the pendants, the concave will be very pronounced, there the rail will lie on the edges (edges) of the deck, without touching the center line. And in the places where the pendants are attached there is no concave and there should not be - there the rail is adjacent to the deck across the entire width of the board.

What is a concave for? When a person has never stood on a longboard or is just learning, it seems to him that it is quite possible to do without a concave. Therefore, it is permissible to make the first board without it. But this part of the article is intended for those who have already ridden on a smooth, home-made deck, it will be clear to them.

When you try to drive a flat board into a carving arc, the board simply acts as a lever. The more you press on the edge, the more the board turns. It would seem that this is normal, but since movement in arcs is a movement along a sinusoid, such a rectilinear proportion of the ratio of pressure to rotation turns out to be extremely inappropriate - the arc turns out to be too active at the beginning and “under-twisted” at the left or right dead center. You can compensate for this with your body, but it is inconvenient and your energy is wasted. To avoid this, they came up with a concave, which allows you to make the ratio of pressure to rotation exponential (like the roll control stick on an airplane). When you just lay on the edge, the board does not turn as sharply as it could, and when you are already at the top of the arc and there is not enough pressure, the concave, due to the bending of the edges, allows you to make up for what is missing. That is, the entry into the arc occurs exponentially, just as the entry into the roll of an airplane occurs exponentially.

The concave has another purpose - to prevent you from slipping off the edge when you lay it firmly. It’s about twice as easy to slide off a straight board when carving, and it’s absolutely impossible to make slides on a straight board.

And the last function is to create a mechanical profile of bending resistance and additional recoil of the board - " flex". It also helps a lot to “surf” on a longboard, moving in clear, regular arcs.

So, to summarize:

1 . If the board doesn’t fit well into an arc or turn, if you lose your balance at the beginning of the turn, and in the middle of the turn you don’t have enough pressure on the edge to guide the longboard along the path you want, then you don’t have enough concave and it’s time to throw away your old flat board or sell to suckers. In other words, you can say that you do not have enough concave if its radius is too small at the beginning of the turn, and too large in the middle.

2 . If you lose your balance while carving and slide sideways off the board, it means you lack concave.

3 . If, after entering an arc, the board bends well, but returns to its original shape very sluggishly, without a clear “recoil” (flex), then you lack concave.

Finding the right concave by looking only at photos on the Internet is almost impossible. You have to try, make deck after deck, test them and come to the desired characteristics. This is what current branded manufacturers did. Another way is to take the exact dimensions of the deck deflections using patterns, using a board from a branded manufacturer as a basis. But for this you will need to either buy a branded board to make an exact replica from it, or borrow it for a week.

The second thing a longboard deck should have is. Camber is the transverse deflection of the board with an upward arc. That is, the board seems to have the shape of an onion. Camber allows you to increase the recoil of the board (just like a bow), which has a very positive effect when carving.

Without these subtleties, the longboard deck will not allow you to ride longstyle. In fact, you will simply get an elongated and very bulky skateboard. But nothing, that’s exactly what they were, they were made from ordinary surfboards, simply installing them on wheels. However, the difference between a straight board and a proper board is HUGE once you ride it.

To get the correct curves of the board, it must be made not from plywood, but from thin veneer, laying it on a special form (possibly from plaster or concrete), gluing it layer by layer and pressing it with a powerful press (over 300 kg). At the end you will get 5-7 ply plywood, but already frozen in the desired shape.

To improve the quality of the deck, one or two layers are sometimes made of fiberglass or carbon, but this is rather exotic. But, since you still only have to glue the layers of veneer epoxy resin, then you can try to introduce a sheet of resin-impregnated fiberglass into this sandwich. In any case, success will come only after a series of more or less successful experiments.

Carving

Carving is riding in arcs, through which you can control the speed and direction of the longboard's movement. In this way, carving is reminiscent of surfing or snowboarding. Long cruisers with soft longboard decks and soft wheels are suitable for this style.

Cruising

Cruising is a way of moving around the city on a longboard, comparable in its simplicity and convenience to a bicycle. In other words, from one point to another. Cruising is possible on any longboard, but the best boards for it are called cruisers. This is a short or medium board, light and maneuverable. This longboard is suitable for beginners.

Freeride- one of the most popular disciplines in longboarding. Involves aggressive driving on any paved terrain. The board should be rigid and with a low center of gravity, the shape of the wheel should be rounded, and the suspension should be carving.

Freestyle- as the name suggests, the concept is quite broad and combines several styles at once. For example, cruising or carving. Therefore, the boards can be different, for example, a symmetrical and flexible board with a drop-through design (see photo).

Downhill- This is a downhill race. The speed with this style of riding can reach 120-130 km/h. Therefore, the board must be technologically advanced, rigid, with large wheels with sharp edges. And, of course, don’t forget about a full set of protection, gloves and a helmet.

Slalom— descent around obstacles. There is a similar style in many sports. The rear wheels are soft for good traction. And the front ones, on the contrary, are rigid - in order to develop greater speed.

What else should you consider when choosing a longboard?

The weight of the rider is important: the suspension settings, choice of wheels and deck stiffness depend on it. It is also important to consider the coordination skills of each individual person. It is advised not to pay special attention to the floor when choosing a longboard.

All longboards are universal, but for the fair half of the human race, as practice shows, it is more comfortable and easier to learn on a wider and longer board. It is easier to distribute the center of gravity on it.

Which brands should you trust?

A quality longboard is a longboard assembled from branded parts. No one quality manufacturer does not make entire longboards. Some may make decks and wheels, for example, but most quality parts are made by different brands. There are a number of brands that produce consumable parts for suspensions, bearings, slide gloves, protection and all other accessories. Special attention It is worth paying attention to domestic serial manufacturers who combine quality and budget, against the backdrop of expensive branded assemblies - SuperApe, Surfgreen, Road Rash.

Decks

Rayne, Kebbek, Loaded, Landyachtz, Bustin, Omen, Goat, Fullbag, Sector 9, Comet, Earthwing, Neversummer

Pendants

Gunmetal, Kahalani, Buck, Paris, Caliber, Holey, Randal, Ronin, Tracker

Wheels

Abec11, Five-O, Bustin, Earthwing, Orangatang, Powell Peralta, Divine, Cult, Cloud Ride

How to make a longboard yourself?

Dima Kudinov
Resident of St. Petersburg

You can make the deck yourself, but you still have to buy wheels and suspension.

For manufacturing, several layers of plywood will be required - their number depends on the desired strength and elasticity. From plywood you need to cut several pieces slightly larger than the planned size of the deck. They need to be glued and bent. To do this, you need to either hang the workpiece and press it down with something heavy, or bend it under a special mold. And leave it in this state for two days.

Then you need to cut the long according to the chosen design. Sand, especially the edges of the deck, paint (optional) and varnish the board. You can stick a special skateboard skin on the top surface of the longboard - this will increase the grip between the board and shoes and increase the stability of the rider on the board. Final stage- this is to drill holes for the suspension and screw it. That's it, you can ride.

How often should you change your longboard?

Roman Trigubenko
Resident of St. Petersburg

When it breaks, replace it. The main thing is not to fly your nose into curbs or any obstacles. If you don't have Chubby Unicorn from Loaded, such a collision can be fatal. Since almost all boards are wooden, such a blow leads to splitting of the board, cracks and other troubles. In general, longboards, like skateboards, usually do not break due to jumps and all other tricks.

Ivan Pankratov
Director of the Nevsky Surf store

You can ride wherever there is good asphalt. Traditional gathering places are Palace Square, Central Park on Elagin Island and Sverdlovskaya Embankment.

Summary

Now, having received basic information about longboards, all that remains is to go to the store to buy your own - or try to make the board yourself, at least partially. For example, choose wheels and suspension for the deck depending on personal characteristics and preferences. There is no real summer weather to be expected in St. Petersburg, as the birthplace of longboards in the American state of California, so you can go to the city right now.

Photos provided by the heroes of the publication.

This short review what you'll need to create a budget longboard that can compete with commercial competitors that can cost up to $2,000.

The longboard I made reaches speeds of up to 42 km/h, and you can ride it up to 10 km without recharging. Below is a video of my test drive.

I would like to say a few words about the design/construction. You will probably need to change it a little, because the design turned out to be not very successful and is only suitable as a prototype. I plan to change it in the near future; in the last step of this instruction I will describe this in more detail.

Remember to wear a helmet and safety gear when racing, falls can be painful and cause injury.

Step 1: Platform selection

The longboard platform is more stable than the skateboard platform, which is why it is used as a basis. It should be solid, slightly curved towards the top and located above the wheels so that there is enough space underneath for the electronics. The diagram with photo number 1 shows all the options for the position of the platform; we are interested in the top one.

As for the wheels, you will need wheels with a relatively large diameter and medium softness for a pleasant ride.

The platform itself can be purchased ready-made, but I decided to make it myself, as shown in the photo. To do this you will need wood such as birch, clamps, and a saw to cut out the shape. The entire assembly process is captured in more detail on video (see the final step).

Step 2: Electronics

You can buy a complete set of all electronics; this will save a little time on selecting suitable components, and will definitely work.

There can be either one or two motors, but as a rule one is enough. A double motor will allow you to easily climb a hill, but will also significantly increase the cost of the board. The board engine itself must be powerful enough and have high torque. Brushless motors are commonly used for radio controlled aircraft.

Battery. Most use lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries. They provide good power with a small size and weight. However, they need good care(do not charge longer than necessary, and do not leave it on for a long time in a discharged state), because they can catch fire and the battery itself can fail. As an alternative, you can consider a lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO4), it is less hassle and still provides plenty of energy. You can buy a battery, I used 2 4S1P 25C 5000mah batteries, 4S1P means 4 cells (4S) that form one block (1P) but 6S is more than enough and comes out cheaper.

Step 4: Protective Container

To protect electronics you will need protective cover. To determine its dimensions, I laid out all the components on a sheet of paper so that they lay as compact as possible, and outlined them. The casing itself was made of aluminum. As you can see, it is not solid, and has a mesh around the edges. This is done so that parts that heat up during movement can be cooled by air.

Step 5: Eh, I'll pump it up!

Well, that seems to be all. Accelerated process You can watch the assembly in this video:

After some time of use, I began to have thoughts on improving the board. First, I would reduce the size of the board or use carbon fiber. The longboard turned out to be quite heavy and large, and it’s not so easy to jump on it.

I would not use a lithium polymer battery again. Although it is quite powerful and weighs a little, I was always worried about its condition, plus the board has to be disassembled to recharge it. Instead, I would use a lithium iron phosphate battery with a charging port.

I would also install wheels bigger size, and would use pneumatic tires.

Making the longboard was quite fun, so have at it!

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Good afternoon Today I would like to show you how you can make a longboard, otherwise buying this thing is quite expensive.

We will make the deck itself, but the suspension with wheels will have to be ordered from Aliexpress.
The price of 2600 rubles includes Express delivery. The set includes two suspensions, 4 wheels with 8 bearings and spacers. Everything is already installed in its place. The wheels have a hardness of 78 A. This means that they are quite soft and are simply perfect for “cellulite” asphalt.

Let's define some concepts and decide what exactly we will do next.
A longboard is a board on wheels.

We will need 3 ply 4 mm. plywood. It costs about 350 rubles per sheet (1.5 meters by 1.5 meters). We will need 3 strips 300 mm by 900 mm. The most important thing is that the grains are located along the long part of the workpiece (otherwise your board will be very soft). We cut out all three leaves. I advise you to immediately process the edges so as not to pick up splinters.

Let's return to our plywood sheets. We'll be gluing them soon, so make sure their surface is as clean as a baby's bottom. Choose the most beautiful sides for sheets, this will be the top and bottom of the deck.

Husband and wife Alexander and Svetlana Pakhotin are engaged in the production of wooden interior items under the brand Palesse. One day they came up with the idea of ​​making cruisers - boards for everyday driving around the city. Californian surfers used similar boards in the 1960s. Extremely simple, wide and stable, cruisers are simply designed for a soft ride on asphalt. Now Palesse make boards for the Sputnik 1985 brand and carry out private orders. The Village I visited their workshop.

The thickness of the Palesse board is one and a half centimeters, length - 61 centimeters, width at the widest point - 16 centimeters. The creators were guided by the dimensions of classic cruisers. Plus, such a small board is easier to carry around.

Usually used for boards durable material- ash or oak. Palesse first worked with Far Eastern oak, but later switched to American red oak due to its more interesting texture. The material is bought in a warehouse store, there is always a large selection there. When purchasing, pay attention to the absence of marks and knots, which could cause cracks.

The tools required to operate Palesse are a jigsaw, a thickness planer, a drill and a grinder.

The selected board is first cut to 65 centimeters, then passed through a surface planer, since it is usually thicker than the required one and a half centimeters. A thicknesser allows you to plan the same thickness along the entire length of the board, making it even.

Then the material is fixed, the shape of the future board is outlined according to the template, and the desired shape is cut out with a jigsaw. The workshop has special templates from which the deck is cut. The pattern is made using tracing paper: this allows you to correctly mark the center of the future board and measure where you will need to drill holes for the suspension. If the holes are located unevenly from the center, the board will collapse and it will be uncomfortable to ride.

At the next stage, the board is cleaned using a sander. It also allows you to round off edges that might otherwise cause you to cut yourself. Afterwards, holes for the pendants are cut out with a drill.

Acrylic is used for drawing water-dispersion paint: it does not contain organic solvents, therefore it is practically odorless, and is also environmentally friendly. The paint is applied with a brush, roller or spray. To create geometric patterns, use masking tape. Then the board is covered with two layers of varnish, which allows you to fix the design and protect the wood from minor damage and water. The varnish that Palesse uses is made from water based. Acetone-based varnishes contain harmful components and often turn yellow, distorting the color of the design.

In the process of coating the board with varnish, there should be no dust or sawdust left on it, so this stage is carried out in another, absolutely clean room, where the board remains lying until completely dry.

Next, glue sandpaper to prevent the feet from slipping. The workshop does not cover the entire surface of the board so that the wood texture remains visible. Special sandpaper for boards is sold in skateboard stores.

Photos: Andrey Gerasimov, Ivan Anisimov