How to Make a Longboard Mold

A longboard is a variation of a skateboard that is just that -- longer and generally more specialized than a standard skateboard. Originally designed to provide a larger deck to walk during a ride, the longboard quickly became the standard design for all downhill and extreme skateboarding. A typical 40-inch longboard can be used for extended cruising, downhill racing and even slalom runs. Building a longboard requires a mold that the board blank is vacuum-pressed against to produce the necessary shape without stressing the wood.

Things You'll Need

  • 3-by-5-foot work surface
  • 2-by-4-foot poster board
  • Cellophane tape
  • Longboard to model
  • Permanent marker
  • Tape measure
  • Straight edge
  • Utility knife
  • T-square or framing square
  • Two 8-foot sheets of 2-by-24-inch R-10 Styrofoam
  • Carpet tacks
  • Dovetail saw
  • Sure-form 1 5/8-inch plane
  • Block sander with 40- and 120-grit paper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use cellophane tape to attach a 2-by-4-foot piece of poster board to a 3-by-5-foot flat, level work surface. Select a board that the mold will model and place it, wheels up, on the poster board. Use a heavy marker to draw the outline of the outside edge of the board deck onto the poster board.

    • 2

      Mark the areas of convex drop -- the "rise points" where the final, pressed board will be higher than deck level -- by marking inside the board outline at the places on the board where the level of the board begins to rise. This mold-drop will be achieved by cutting or carving away the mold material, beginning at this line.

    • 3

      Use a straight edge and utility knife to cut the poster board model blank. Cut all the straight edges with the straight edge to ensure that the resulting mold edges will be true.

    • 4

      Use a tape measure, straight edge and utility knife to cut a piece of 12-by-48-inch Styrofoam. Slide the model board to one side of the work surface and slide the cut piece of Styrofoam against the inverted model board, with the machine-cut side against the board. Use a marker to scribe the side of the Styrofoam piece with the outline of the depth and curve of the bottom edge of the board deck.

    • 5

      Remove the model board and place the poster board template onto the Styrofoam block. Be sure that the template edge is against the scribed edge of the Styrofoam, being careful to match up the rise points with the beginning point of the side scribes. Drive 1-inch carpet tacks at 6-inch intervals around the sides of the poster board blank to attach it temporarily to the Styrofoam block.

    • 6

      Trace the board outline onto the Styrofoam. Mark the rise points on the Styrofoam by transferring the marks where the block will need to be cut or carved to the edge of the outline. Remove the poster board and use a straight edge to draw lateral lines across the foam block at these points.

    • 7

      Use a straight edge and utility knife to cut away the Styrofoam along the unscribed side of the model blank. Cut away all the Styrofoam at the top and bottom of the block. The resulting in-process blank has all vertical edges cut away except those on the rise-scribed side.

    • 8

      Use a dovetail saw to cut away the Styrofoam to match the scribed lines on the machine-cut side of the Styrofoam block. Use the lateral lines to begin the cut and follow the scribed lines.

    • 9

      Cut away the scribed-edge side of the Styrofoam block to match the other side of the mold. Use the sure-form plane to carve any curved rises or edges on the model board. Finish the mold by smoothing rough edges and saw marks with 40- and then 120-grit paper on a block sander.