Well today. I decided to mount the trucks on my board I created. Been making boards for a while but I’m not experienced enough to say I know what I’m doing. For example, I found out my board is flexing a bit, should’ve tried it earlier before going full throttle on the rest of the things, never felt so much disappointment in myself. Should’ve known the motor itself adds on a lot of weight for a 7 layered deck, I got a video of standing on the board, so rn I honestly got no idea what to do. Any experienced board makers have any tips? I am thinking about adding more veneer on top but i don’t know. Just feel disappointed and lost my motivation.
Video is unplayable as it’s in the shit apple codec
Alright just added photos
By my standards that’s stiff. Are you worried about the deck breaking? What’s it made of?
Your standards are squeued lol this deck looks like it would break instantly if it hit any bumps
I would say you could add a couple layers of fiberglass maybe but it’s not such a simple feat
very. two of my 3 boards can bottom out
What?? why would you want to ride that lmao that’s so annoying /offtopic now
Seriously though OP idk it is pretty unfortunate. What materials did you use to build it?
Add fabric to the bottom if you want it to flex less, not the top.
Carbon fiber would help more, being so tensile.
Never used fiber glass nor carbon fiber, The next thing I was thinking about was adding more veneer but not sure if that’ll work
Got no clue how to use carbon fiber, was thinking about adding more veneer but not sure
I don’t really think veneer would add enough to make a difference but welcome to try, maybe @NullBlox has some advice
Cuz I added 7, majority electric skateboard decks run 12 because of the weight of the motor I just thought it was good enough, wasted my time when I could’ve added more but I tried my siblings board that I made which has 9 and seems to hold up better, not as much flex as mine
Not worried about it breaking, it’s rock hard Canadian maple, can easily ride it if it wasn’t equipped with a motor and a enclosure, since my enclosure is exactly where the flex is happening, it can damage my two lipo packs, along with the solder joints. I need it to be solid so that doesn’t happen
@Red_souls
Standard MTB is 9-12ply (Really Long Deck)
Standard Downhill is 9-12ply. (Long Deck)
Standard Popsicle street deck is 7ply. (Short Deck)
Layup is as follows:
Standard 9Ply
1: Face
2: Core - (Just a ugly face)
3: Core
4: X-grain
5: Core
6: X-grain
7: Core
8: Core
9: Face
Then there is a Beam Layup as I call it.
1: Face
2: Core - (Just a ugly face)
3: X-grain
4: Core BEAM
5: Core BEAM
6: Core BEAM
7: X-grain
8: Core
9: Face
Beam seems to have less flex, but depending on length its still flexy.
@Red_souls
I looked at your board.
Add concave. This reduces flex. More Concave less flex.
Concave Tips:
If you choose concave but hate concave them only do it on the edge of the deck about 1-2 inches in.
This will round down to less when pressed, if you have a mold and get what Im saying.
If you choose concave, the more the stiffer, not always stronger.
My suggestion is add one more Face/Core Grains to top and bottom.
BAM! Total of Two
If you want to keep weight down, you can use 7ply or even 8 but need concave.
There is really no reason a 7ply cant handle the forces it just needs to be designed for such things.
We are in a new era of skateboarding, so a lot of us are doing what you are. (Experimenting with new ideas and shapes.)
How would I be able to add concave if everything’s set? Never ran into this type of problem before, adding more veneer was definitely one of the top ideas on my mind, might make it 12 or 10
Concave would be only possible by heating the glue and then repressing it and holding in the press while it cools. This may work… it should. You can dewarp twisted decks with heat gun, time and holding it in reverse twist’s. This seems overkill for your project and would require some home made tools.
Like a heat press, skateboard press. Possible but not idea.
The solution I think is just more plys.
If you have 7 now, try 9. You may enjoy the min flex 9 has. I dont think 9 will feel like a loaded vanguard.
It should be stiffer, now a 10 ply might be to stiff, and you can always add the extra one.
I only say this because I hate a heavy board so if 9 works, then I let it be.
Most if not all my builds are 9plys, hand made in the house.
I only got a vacuum press to make my boards, will definitely try 9. I’ve also seen your videos. Really nice shop you got there, i wanna sell boards in the future, like a little business. Gonna have to jump on stiffening the board cuz now this just messed up the date I was gonna complete it. I’m going to try 9, here’s also a photo of me standing on a 9 ply, one of the boards I made for a sibling, only reason I said 10 is because I need to be very careful the flex doesn’t destroy my batteries and my other electronics in the enclosure since it’ll be right where the flex is
Is it me or have you got popcorn all over your floor?