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HOW ARE PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARD DECKS MADE?

Have you ever heard about the terms “7-ply” or “9-ply” skateboard decks? If yes, you must be familiar with several types of skateboard decks on the market. Although skaters know the importance of a good skateboard deck to their skating experience, not many of them know about how these decks are made.

In a post where SkateAdvisors explained the manufacturing procedure of a skateboard deck, the website has pointed out several interesting facts in the manufacturing process. Those facts will be revealed in today’s post like a summary based on that explanation.

Before learning about the manufacturing procedure, let’s learn about how these layers can be connected together with adhesives. In terms of popularity, PVA, PC-2365, Multibond Sk8, and Titebond II are famous adhesives used in the skateboarding industry to attach these multilayer skateboard decks.



High-quality skateboard decks are usually made of Multibond or PC-2365 due to their special formulas. However, the adhesive is just a part of the manufacturing process so I would like to continue with the details.

GATHERING VENEERS

After the veneer is dried up to a level that only 8% of the moisture is left, it will be collected and put through a sander - a machine used to freshen both faces of the veneer. After going through this step, both sides of the veneer should be finely sanded. Consequently, the manufacturer will apply glue to two sides and press these veneers together.

APPLY PRESSURE ON THE LAYERS

According to the post shared by SkateAdvisors on youtube about producing a skateboard deck, pressing the layers is a crucial step that will directly affect the quality of the product. Typically, manufacturers will need from 28 to 35 veneers in order to create a 7-ply deck and all the veneers are pressed at the same time to increase efficiency and save time.

At this step, the deck gets its shape and the concave is gradually found as desired. To provide the necessary amount of pressure on the veneers, hydraulic presses are widely used since they won’t produce any amount of heat that can damage the deck.

Do you know that your skateboard deck will be put under the pressure of 25 psi for about 1.5 to 2 hours until it finally becomes a perfect deck? The reason for doing this is to make sure that all the glue can be distributed evenly and avoid voids between layers.

DRYING AND DRILLING HOLES

The pressed skateboard decks are left in the normal condition for about 3 days in order to get all the water out but remain at a proper level of moisture inside the deck. After a couple of days, all the glue will be dried out and no shear force between these layers should be detected.

Now your deck is almost done but lacks some holes to attach the trucks into it. In this step, each company has a different way and machine to drill the hole so that they can be compatible with their produced trucks.

According to the procedure shared by SkateAdvisors on about.me, the deck will be cut and rounded to remove all the sharp edges before becoming a complete skateboard deck.