Are you interested in taking up skateboarding, but can't, because you don't know how to put one together? Today, you're going to learn how to put a deck together, so the above will no longer be a problem.
You will need a few items to assemble a skateboard. Mainly: some skateboard wheels, some skateboard trucks, some skateboard bearings, some nuts and bolts to mount the trucks on the board, some skateboard griptape, and a skateboard deck. You'll also need a few household tools, like screwdrivers and such.
The first thing you must do before assembling your skateboard is find all the parts. Things you will have to take into account while doing this are: what shape of deck do you want? What type of trucks are you looking for? Do you want soft wheels, or hard wheels?
You may not know what those things are. It's pretty simple stuff, just ask your local skateshop guy or go down to the local skatepark and ask some of the skaters down there. People are typically glad to help out a fellow skateboarder.
Now that you have all the parts, you will want to start piecing the board together. I like to start by applying the grip tape. Grip tape is pretty easy to apply, just lay it down on the board and smooth it down with your hands, flattening bubbles as you go. If you run into a bubble, you can slice it with a kraft knife and then push the air out.
Now that the grip tape is on the deck, it's time to cut off the extra bits hanging off the edge. Scrape down the grit on the sides of the deck using a screwdriver or other piece of metal. With the tough grit having been removed, the excess tape should cut away pretty easily.
Now that your board has been gripped properly, you're ready to install the trucks. You'll need to poke your bolts through the grip tape so that the trucks can fit over them easily. Instead of poking the bolts through the top of the tape, flip the deck over and poke them through the holes there; it's less of a guessing game this way.
With holes in the tape, it's time to install the screws. Simply poke them through the tape, and try to make sure that they're flush with the top of the deck. If they're not, don't worry too much, that can be fixed later. If you want risers on your deck, put them on now.
Once you've got the screws in the board and the risers installed, you're ready to put on the trucks. The trucks are very easy to install, simply place them over the screws and bolt them to the deck.
Don't forget that the trucks should be oriented so that the kingpins point toward the center of the deck. If the screws aren't flush with top of the deck, you can overtighten them and they should sink down. Don't overtighten them too much, or you risk cracking the board.
Now that the trucks are on the deck, you're ready to put on the wheels. You'll need to get the bearings into the wheels. A great way to install the bearings is to place the bearing on the axle of the truck and then force the wheel down over it. There are special tools for this, but they're expensive and don't work as well as this method.
When you have bearings in all four wheels, it's time to put the wheels onto the trucks. Usually, the picture on the wheel goes out and faces away from the center of the deck. This step might seem silly, but you wouldn't want to install your wheels backwards!
You should also keep in mind that it goes washer, then wheel, then another washer, and then the nut. Some trucks don't come with washers, in that case you wouldn't worry about this. Washers simply help the wheel move a little more freely.
Tighten up the wheels and you're ready to skate! Don't forget that when you're putting a skateboard deck together, it's going to take some time. Also remember that no skateboarder is perfect, and your first assembly might be a little funky looking. It will still skate well, though!
