Homemade Aluminum Longboard Deck

Energy & Sustainability Fun & Games Workshop
Homemade Aluminum Longboard Deck

Your typical, complete, drop-through longboard seems to weigh in at about eight lbs. This homemade aluminum version from Redditor davvik is, therefore, pretty seriously overweight at 12. But that may not matter, depending on the intended use and the rider’s preferences.

His construction method seems pretty accessible, too. The truck-mounting plates are milled billet, but the treads themselves appear to be just cut and/or bent flat bar stock of the type sold at hardware stores, laminated together with a bunch of bolts, washers, nuts, and spacers. The spacers are drilled aluminum round rod, but the other hardware is stainless steel, which probably accounts for a significant chunk of the total weight. The design is similar to this fancy CNC-milled drop-deck version from David Cindrich. More pics and dimensioned drawings available in the photo album, below. [via Hack a Day]

A longboard out of aluminum


From the Pages of MAKE:

MAKE Volume 26: Simple DIY Longboard

MakeV26_cover_300.jpg
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

4 thoughts on “Homemade Aluminum Longboard Deck

  1. Dennis says:

    Very nice piece of work!
    How’s the rigidity? Looks like it would give you a perfect bounce.

  2. zach says:

    I actually made a deck similar to this a few years back, she is retired and hanging on my wall. I noticed you said it picks up speed very quickly, this is true in my case as well. I actually milled out a pocket for the truck baseplate to sit in so it would be more of a drop through flush mount, and it worked beautifully. I hope you locktited your nuts on!!! great work by the way!

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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