How to Make a Cruiser Board (Old Version)

Description:

Note: This is the older version of my cruiser board video. Since then, I have created a new video on how to make a  cruiser board that is higher quality.

This week my friend asked me if I could make something similar to a Penny Board, but he wanted it to be wood instead of plastic. So of course I said yes and went to work right away. The hardest part of this project was figuring out how I would get the bend in the tail. You can either use a solid piece of wood and steam bend it or you could use a technique called bent lamination (gluing together multiple pieces of thinner wood to create a thicker, bent piece of wood). I ended up using 1 sheet of 2’x4′ plywood that was a 1/4″ thick. I started by cutting it into 3- 8″ wide strips and glued them all together, while using multiple clamps and a 2×4’s to give the tail a nice bend. I let the glue cure for a full 24 hours and the board was ready to be cut. I originally traced the original plastic penny board to use as a template, but have since made my own set of templates that you can download below for free. Using a jig saw, I cut out the penny board and sanded everything smooth. Then I drilled a total of 8 holes with a 3/16″ drill bit for the trucks to be mounted. I used a countersink bit on all the holes to allow the bolts for the trucks to sit flush with the top of the board. Before installing the trucks, I applied a few coats of Wipe-on Polyurethane and let that dry for a couple days to ensure the finish was fully cured. Normally I would apply grip tape at this point, but my friend didn’t want grip tape on his board so I went ahead and installed the trucks and wheels to finish everything off. This board came out a lot better than I thought it would and my friend is really happy with how it turned out as well!

Shopping List:

1- 2’x4′ Sheet of 1/4″ Thick Plywood

1- Can of Wipe on Polyurethane

1- Set of Trucks and Wheels

1- Roll of Grip Tape