MAKE Volume 26: DIY Simple Longboard

It’s safe to say I’m a board addict, so I was super excited to check out MAKE editor-in-chief Mark Frauenfelder’s Simple Longboard project in MAKE Volume 26, our Karts and Wheels issue. When Mark’s teenage daughter Serena asked for a longboard, Mark gave her his old classic board, but after a while, he missed having it, so he decided to make his own. Using a couple of layers of Baltic birch plywood for the deck, and such household items as giant binder clips to keep the glued pieces together while drying, and boxes of books to lend weight, giving the board camber, Mark made himself a sweet cruiser. I’m a fan of the wheel cutouts he added, which make the board perfect for laying into deep carving turns. Being an artist, Mark also added some fancy custom graphics to the base. Naturally, he wanted to share his step-by-step instructions with the community. Check out his project on page 46 of Volume 26, or head over to Make: Projects to collaborate. When Mark finished his board and Serena took for a test skate, she wanted to trade. Looks like he’ll be building another!

Here’s Serena with the final board:

Make: Projects community member Mike Adair used Mark’s instructions to build one for his son David. Nice job, Mike! Check out Mike’s blog for more on his build:

From the Pages of MAKE:

MAKE Volume 26: Karts & Wheels
Garage go-kart building is a time-honored tradition for DIYers, In this issue of MAKE, we’ll show you how to build wheeled wonders that’ll have you and the kids racing around the neighborhood in epic DIY style. Build a longboard skateboard by bending plywood and build a crazy go-kart driven by a pair of battery-powered drills. Put a mini gasoline engine on a bicycle. And construct an amazing wind-powered cart that can outrun a tailwind. Plus you’ll learn how to build the winning vehicle from our online Karts and Wheels contest! In addition to karts, you’ll find plenty of other projects that only MAKE can offer!

» BUY or SUBSCRIBE

10 Responses to MAKE Volume 26: DIY Simple Longboard

kentkb on May 26th, 2011 at 12:42 am said:

Mark put on a great demo talk at Maker Faire Bay Area too. I love his graphics, I wonder if he will ever get the board back from Serena?

Reply ↓
kentkb on May 26th, 2011 at 12:42 am said:

Mark put on a great demo talk at Maker Faire Bay Area too. I love his graphics, I wonder if he will ever get the board back from Serena?

Reply ↓
David Frost on May 26th, 2011 at 1:11 am said:

davids right truck is backwards

Reply ↓
David Frost on May 26th, 2011 at 1:11 am said:

davids right truck is backwards

Reply ↓
- Goli Mohammadi on May 26th, 2011 at 6:50 pm said:
  
  You’re totally right!
  
  Reply ↓
- Goli Mohammadi on May 26th, 2011 at 6:50 pm said:
  
  You’re totally right!
  
  Reply ↓
- Goli Mohammadi on May 26th, 2011 at 6:50 pm said:
  
  You’re totally right!
  
  Reply ↓
Dan Clark on May 26th, 2011 at 1:20 am said:

That header picture has a great motion blur effect–but for me that just highlights the fact that Serena could get a pretty nasty forehead injury if she falls forward while wearing her helmet like that. Safety first!

Reply ↓
Anonymous on May 27th, 2011 at 2:14 pm said:

The girl should get someone to show her how to wear a helmet properly. I see kids riding bikes that way all the time and I shudder to think of what will happen to their brains if they crash. It isn’t a hat, it’s a functional piece of equipment. An improperly fitted/worn helmet is probably worse than none at all.

I’m only saying this because I’m older than most of you and feel it is my duty to warn you kids when you’re going to do something that might end up leaving scars or worse.

Reply ↓
Reed on April 5th, 2012 at 5:24 pm said:

Or you could go to http://longboardmaking.blogspot.com/
It’s a great resource/tool in addition to this article

Reply ↓