How to Build and find all the right tools for a Skateboard--Daniel

 

One of the most favorite sports I have played and still do to this day is skateboarding. Skateboarding is the sport which normally contains a wooden deck with metal trucks and wheels attached that rides basically wherever you want. A lot of people think that building a skateboard is hard and get discouraged to build one themselves and will just have someone do it for them. But I feel like building a skateboard can be a pretty self accomplishing feeling that everyone who rides a skateboard should do and feel.

First step to building a skateboard is finding a deck and grip tape

You can find decks at skate shops, online, or even some clothes stores. Finding decks is extremely important, There are many different decks you can find and buy at skate shops and the prices vary for each deck. For beginners I suggest buying and riding a blank deck which normally costs anywhere to $40-60. If you have been riding for a little bit I suggest buying a little more expensive and reliable board for instance a “Baker” deck or FA board. A baker deck or Fa board has a different design than a normal blank deck, that keeps the board more sturdy and reliable. A baker board and FA board can cost about $60-100 so it's understandable if you just want the blank deck for cheaper. When you buy a deck from skate shops, you usually get yourself a griptape which they put on for you for free. They also already drill holes in the board for the next steps to building a skateboard which is for screwing the trucks in. Make sure you get grip tape with the deck because the grip tape keeps you steady when riding and doing tricks, without the grip tape you would pretty much just end up sliding off your board when attempting tricks.

Next step to building a skateboard is getting trucks, wheels.
After getting yourself a deck, you're gonna need trucks and wheels for your board. You can find these again at skate shops, clothes stores or online. Trucks and wheels varry as well just like a deck, You can find some cheap trucks and wheels all varying in price or get yourself a little but more expensive but more reliable trucks like hollow and thunder trucks that normally cost about $30 for each truck. For the wheels I would suggest getting bone or spitfire wheels that vary between 20-40 dollars. Getting yourself the recommended trucks and wheels like thunder trucks and bone allow you to do more tricks and grind on rails without damaging your trucks and wheels faster.

Next step is finding “hardware” or just screws and bolts to equip the trucks and wheels to the board and bearings for the wheels to spin on the board
You can find hardware pretty much anywhere, I would recommend skate shops like pharmacies or just buy them online. The hardware is only a couple of bucks and you can find bearings for about 15-20 dollars all depending on the store.

Finally is assembling the board.

To assemble the board it's pretty straightforward you attach the trucks to the board with the hardware. You can do this with a phillips screwdriver and a wrench or a “skate tool”. After you screw the trucks into the deck with the hardware, you put the bearing into the wheels and screw the wheels on the trucks with a wrench or skate tool. After that, You have pretty much built yourself your own skateboard, hope these tips were helpful and enjoy riding!