Copying a longboard deck

Next time ill just 3d scan it and print/mill the damn thing :rofl: if i ever copy a deck again.

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Welded some handles and misc holding points to it, cut the side metal to size and plastered the inside, tomorrow the next phase of plastering. Will it be a succes? I cannot give a CONCRETE answer to that yet.

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Dude it is looking amazing :star_struck:

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Outstanding

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such an imPRESSive project

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I re-read the thread and couldn’t find anything, are you planning to produce / stock these decks if (when) the final product works out?

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Thanks for the kind words guys. Its taking its sweet time since it takes quite some effort. If this works out im willing to make some decks yes, but i have no idea how this works out and i dont want to keep you guys’ hopes up too much :rofl:

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underpromise, overdeliver

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Goddammit, dude. Quit making cool shit I want.

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I would be interested in a blem or non-rideable deck for a reference deck to put on a wall.

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So glad you made the mold super long. Gives you the ability for different lengths of the nose or tail.

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So update time finally.

I made a test press with the mould using three stacks of cheap 3.6mm triplex to see the shape of it. Hold your horses though, its just a test and i expected the wood to crack. Here are the results. 300 bars is aproximately 38 tonnes of force (a little bit more). Below the pics i will explain my findings.















  1. The stackup i used was too thin, resulting in a bit mellower curves on the tail/front.

  2. One of my corners of the press lifted a bit
    ,i have to fix it. This could have resulted in the tip of the deck twisting a bit.

  3. The rear of the deck was twisted on the original deck, i have to see how much this is translated in my mould when i do a normal press with veneer and glass fibre. I may have to correct it in the mould.

  4. The original deck was definetly pressed with epoxy as glue.

  5. The camber and concave is copied perfectly.

  6. When pressing a deck with these curves it is extremely important to have a smooth and slippery surface for your wood to set into (else it cant slide properly enough) this is most likely why their top and bottom layers were carbon/glass fibre.

  7. Their original mould must have been for a different thickness deck, i think this because all the sharp corners (circled below) are pressed thinner than the middle/flat surfaces, showing peak pressure points. These points were also where the deck failed.

After thoroughly examining the original deck i understand why people like them, however i have to say even though the people who made this deck did know very well what they were doing im not impressed by the quality of it. A lot of shoddy work has been done that made the deck not as high quality as the landyachts evo for example.

All in all im not disappointed with how well this try has worked out. I will move forward with cleaning up the mould and finalizing it. Im also convinced that when i do press with similar materials and the same thickness as the original it will be almost be impossible to feel/see a difference in the final product.

Since the original deck did have some mistakes i didnt pay enough attention to i might have to adjust the mould. Will keep updating.

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Very Interesting and as you already mentioned and knew that using the 3.8mm crap, it was gonna snap - it did this exactly where expected eh.

As I’m Numero Uno (surely) in the queue for a deck - outta curiosity what is the actual thickness of a Century ? 15 or 18mm?

It’s been years since I’ve cross - laminated using a press, but build up those layers, ensuring even glue coverage everywhere and it won’t fail

#6 Greaseproof paper

#7 Fault of mass produced thicker / cheap material with air pockets / lack of glue. The only way that thickness will not snap is steam bending

Fantastic work so far and one that I’m gonna see out until the end - so you must keep going with this

If you want any specific info about laminating the layers, let me know and I’ll dig out some of my ancient cabinetmaking notes / books / etc pre interweb, when quills were used to write and rabbits and horses were boiled up for glue . . .

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I’m so happy it’s coming along. I agree that specific deck was poorly made and if pressed correctly that number of ply works. Got to make sure your press doesn’t leak lol. For a stiff esk8 two more ply would be perfect. Thanks for your hard work and creativity. I can’t even count how many esk8s I’ve made with that deck.

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The thickness of the original deck is 17mm in the high areas and 14 in the pockets (hence why i think the mould is not made for the thickness it js now) if i remember correctly, thanks for offering me info on laminating, i will most definetly ask when the time comes that im doing a for realsies deck.

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Yeah the qc was a failing point as we’ve seen here. Folks rma a deck up to 2-3 times :smiling_face_with_tear:.

I’m not sure there is a perfect one in existence. Mine may not fair much better. It is pretty tho.

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Im curious to it, but a hyphotesis we figured is that subsonic used glass/ carbon fibe on the bottom to help the veneer slide and thus settle better and be less likely to crack, do you know anything of it?

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No - I don’t think that’s the case. Perhaps a layer for strength between some veneer, but not below . . .

Anyway - how is my deck coming along ?

I’m gonna need it before Xmas y’know !

:ok_hand:

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Hah time for an update! No this project is not dead, its just way more work than expected.

Firstly i fixed the press, i drilled one hole kinda wrong, resulting in the steel rod deforming slightly. We drilled and put in an m20 bolt, which is not going anywhere. (This definetly didnt take us a good half hour pf drilling :woozy_face: )


Then the mould was platered to fix cavities/mistakes.


Sanded it flat. But wasn’t satisfied. Turns out there was a twist in the deck as previously mentioned. So i plastered it again on one of the last nice days in the year and sanded it straight a second time.



Second press with some wetted triplex and some extra layers because the first press was too thin.





Results are very good copy wise. but there was still a little twist in the deck, the front extra length is running a little flat and i didnt know how to feel about the results, ready to almost abandon it. Also i needed an indication in the mould of where the center is for if i want to cut the future decks.

Drilled holes in the concrete in the middle of the truck mounts with a printed jig, smashed in two nails, cut them down with a plate acting as spacer and epoxied them in place for good measure. Friggin plastered everything AGAIN and made sure all the slopes for mounting are flat/right angle and parallel. Also made sure the curves are exactly to fit on the back.



Now test fitted the two halves again with an old deck in between and everything is good. Will do ONE last test press, check the results and flatten the top mould accordingly. Then epoxy both halves, polish and paint. Then im confident i can produce some for yall.

And yes thats a welded pkp truck out of a set i made, works good and plenty strong.

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