Requesting some input on first build.

oh amazing! I panic ordered because the store didn’t let me add more than 3 to my cart so I thought it was going out of stock and I’ve got a borrowed spot welder on the way

It might actually be out of stock anyway :grimacing: I’ll have to check.

@Smileyyreilly that’s a TS80 soldering iron, great iron. I think the sainsmart one is a little “better” but not sure if there are real differences.

Do you have any fishpaper in stock as well at the moment/next week or so? I have some but haven’t checked if it’s definitely enough

yeah I’m also a big fan of the TS100, would recommend getting a couple of tips (big chisel and/or beveled ones are my preference over the stock conical one) with it too

I think this one is a 100, the TS80 is the USB C powered one. “Lower” power but different thermal design so it generally performs as well or better, except for large thermal mass stuff where it gets swamped

oh yea my bad, I have a TS80 so it was kinda on my mind :laughing:

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Sorry for the derail there, on the build itself:

I mostly agree with @Anubis but the caveat is that big decent 6374s are probably not the best pairing with those ESCs. You either limit them to well under 50A to save the ESC and lose a lot of potential power or that ESC ain’t gonna have a good life. The FS ESCs can be fine but you’ve just gotta be very conservative relative to their claims

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Understood, my thought was to get the 6374’s so that I could have some room to upgrade components later down the road such as the vesc and upgrading the battery to a 12s pack.

Btw I’m in the same boat as you, building as a learning experience despite the cost and impracticality as well lol. I would recommend though that you see if you can score a battery here as either a backup if something goes wrong or even just as a point of reference. I got lucky and got a well made 10S2P pack nearly brand new for like €80, and I’ve actually just been living out of that instead.

oh yeah then this makes a lot of sense imo!

If you really want to go the battery building route, there are some things you must do.

  1. Buy a Kweld (and a lipo to power them)

You do not want welds popping off, which you will get with any cheap (<$200) spot welder. These aren’t portable chargers or powerwalls, they are skateboards vibrating down the road at 20+ mph. There are a lot of stresses on every part, including the battery.

A Turnigy Graphene 3s 5Ah lipo has enough current to power it. You can get it from hobbyking.

You will also want to practice alot and get the welder tuned up. I recommend that you get some of these practice cells and maybe even build a practice pack before you go live.

  1. Read as much of the Battery Builders Club as you can.

There many posts in there, but it will show you the good and the bad of battery building. Another good topic is Esk8 Battery Building for Dummies

  1. Post many many many many pictures to the battery builders club thread.

There are many experienced builders there that can help you throughout the build. Before you every step, send a pic and let us make sure there are no errors with your plan before you blow yourself up. There’s a good chance that your first battery will be bad or sketchy, thats why I reccomend you build it with practice cells and send the pictures there before you build the real deal.

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Hahaha yeah it’s a struggle, but I think it’s worth it! Noted, I’ll keep my eye out. I already purchased the Molicels so I’m kinda of stuck between just going for it and taking the plundge or backing out and just taking the hit on return shipping. I’m still inclined to go for it.

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Also the T12 is a very nice soldering station. It’s what I use and it has a lot more power than the other ones here.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PYFSCJ9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think your prices are a bit far off but not completely unrealistic

@Smileyyreilly check out this video I just did on a kit build with some similar parts

Anyways, yeah, DKP isn’t for everyone. You have to put in time to learn it, and @Evwan you can easily ride DKP over 20 but shock loading like large off-center bumps can be a bit jarring until you get used to it

They are super fun for slower speed riding, the turnability is great. Boardnamics trucks are a great RKP option though, and are probably the cheapest non-cast truck out there.

Edit: I also made a battery build video in that series, where I used the Kweld. I also highly recommend you read at least part of the battery builders thread and look at other examples

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I will do that! Thank you for the guidance.

I must add that I was getting discouraged on this project because I was never quite sure if the parts I was selecting were good based off the information provided. I am so happy that this forum exists because I really want to do it right.

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That’s what we’re here for haha

Everybody no matter how good they on has made mistakes in the past. You can be an established builder with 20 ekateboards under your belt and still have something go wrong or catch on fire. Happens to everyone, there are so many good part options out there that it’s hard to go wrong with wheels or trucks etc. as long as your getting them from reliable places. Where you want to focus your attention is the mechanical stuff because that’s the stuff that keeps you moving and could save your life. You don’t want a crap ESC to fail or your remote to crap out on you in the middle of a busy road.

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You fell in to the shiny webpage trap there’s quite a few parts there that some one would not chose on a 2nd build.

Pleas compare you parts to BKB kits his parts are mutch mutch higher quality for the monny you spending. After years buying parts and been on the forum most of us strongly Agree with his compromises for a reliable board whilst keeping the costs down. BKB Tayto Electric Skateboard Kit – Build Kit Boards

Spend more on the ESC it’s the heart of you build
Use lipos to start with its a big saving and a upgrade you can work on later.
Caliber II trucks thay are the proven over time trucks that feel good.
motors are motors you can spend more on quality but the cost jumps up quicker than quality. 6355 are more than enough for a dule set up need bigger for a single

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I would have to agree there was a fair amount of that. I will run my future purchase decision through you guys from now on. :slight_smile:

Will do, I’m currently reviewing my previous parts list. I will update my original post once I’ve finished.

When I was having a hard time finding legitimate 21700 cells I initially was going to go Lipo, but then the cells I wanted came in stock. I really do want to build a battery pack though, it was actually one of my main fascinations with building the electric skateboard. I do agree Lipo is less expensive, greater starting torque (from what I’ve read), very low voltage sag, less complicated, and is more suitable for a first build. I really want to build a battery though and I don’t mind the time and additional cost.

I was originally going to get these too! I had the hardest time finding mounting hardware that was compatible and seemed worth the cost. For using Caliber II trucks what would you recommend for mounting hardware?

Yeah that was a moment of weakness from me. Bigger is better! Or so I thought. I read through so many threads and watched so many videos on 6355 and 6374, KV ratings, Maytech, Flipsky, Torqueboards, but couldn’t decided what was better when it came to price/performance. So I simply pulled the trigger on the Flipsky 6374’s, because I knew they’d have enough torque. I’ll probably just use them, even if they’re overkill, just because the hassle of returning them and paying for shipping will be annoying, though I will see. Maybe down the road I could use them for a mountain board.

maybe here I can be helpful:


This is a perfect fit composed by: BD220 + BD shoulder bolts+Onsra Wheel and Onsra 45T pulleys.

I had the possibility to try both BD press fit-pulleys (you can fit it and it’easy) and the original Onsra 45T pulleys. I chose the latter because I do not trust the mechanical compatibility between BDpulleys and Onsra wheels:

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If you decide to do the same be advised you will need 2pcs.ID:8mm OD:22mm W:6mm bearings for the pulleys. Personally I had some difficulties to get them.