Make Your Own Sandboard - Attempt Three

The second attempt actually went better then this one. I was actually trying to improve when I made this, but I didn't. So read away and you can come to your own conclusions (or read mine at the bottom)

Third Attempt Third Attempt Ingredients;
  • 6 individual pieces of 1 ply wood, about 90cm wide x 130cm long
  • Lots of bricks and other stuff that weighs a lot
  • Jigsaw
  • Drill
  • Piece of laminate, about 90cm wide x 130cm long - you need this to be as smooth as possible
  • Marine Glue
  • Wood Glue (optional)
  • Laminate Glue
  • Skateboard Griptape
  • Thick rubber strip (for the foot bindings)
  • Thin piece of rubber, about 90cm wide x 130cm long
  • Cushy rubber (the same sort of thing that wetsuits are made out of) - this goes around the foot bindings to make them more comfortable
  • Thick Elastic (Goes around the back of your ankles in the foot bindings)
  • Clamps
  • Nuts and bolts
  • Washers
  • Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
  • Scissors or Laminate Cutter
  • Wall Filler Stuff
  • "Bender"
Instructions;
  1. Design the layout of the board, I went with a wider design then in attempt two, to see if that made any difference. Essentially the same idea of the straight body and rounded ends.
  2. Mix up the marine glue according to the instructions on the pack.
  3. Place the first piece of plywood in the "Bender" and apply glue to the top of the wood, place the second piece on top of the first piece, so they are glued together in the "Bender", apply glue to the second piece and then place the third piece on top of that. Repeat until all pieces are glued together.
  4. Place a sheet or something on top to cushion the board, then clamp the edges and apply bricks to the middle part of the board so that it gets a nice bended shape in the "Bender"
  5. I left it all for a week, but you may be able to leave it for less time, read the instructions on your glue to see what it says.
  6. Once the glue is set, remove the bricks and clamps and remove the wood from the "Bender", it should now have a nice "bent" shape to it.
  7. Copy your sandboard design to the wood and cut it out using a jigsaw.
  8. Sand the board so that it is all nice and smooth.
  9. Use some wood glue or some more marine glue and fill in any cracks that may have appeared on the edges from the cutting.
  10. Clamp the edges and leave the glue to set (read the instructions for how long it takes)
  11. Remove the clamps once the glue is set.
  12. Stand on the board and decide where you want your feet to be positioned. For this board I decided to have both my feet on a 90 degree angle to the front of the board.
  13. Trace your feet onto the board.
  14. Cut out two pieces of griptape that are slightly larger then your feet and glue them to the board where you will be standing.
  15. Drill two holes on either side of the grip tape for both feet (refer to the picture below). This is where the screws will go through and the ends of the bindings attached.
  16. Cut out two strips of the thick rubber.
  17. Put the bolts through the bottom of the board so they are sticking out the top.
  18. Poke holes in one end of both of the rubber strips, so the bolts can go through them. You only want to attach one side of each foot at the moment.
  19. Attach the rubber strips to the board by poking the bolts through the holes. Put washers on the bolts, then screw on the nuts. (Refer to the pictures below.)
  20. Measure out the length of the rubber strips so that when the other end is attached to the board it will hold your feet on tightly, Cut the strips to length.
  21. Cut out enough wetsuit material so it will wrap around the thick rubber nicely and sew it up. Slide it on the rubber and you now have some cushioning for your bindings.
  22. Bolt down the other end of the rubber strip, so the bindings are now fully attached to the board.
  23. Turn the board upside down and prop it up on something. Cover the large thin piece of rubber in glue and glue it to the bottom of the board. (Refer to the picture below)
  24. Once the glue is dry, cover the rubber and laminate in glue and glue the laminate to the rubber on the bottom of the board. (Refer to the picture below)
  25. Wait for the whole thing to dry and then cut out the rubber and laminate to the shape of the board. I used scissors for this, but you could also use a laminate cutter. (Refer to the picture below)
  26. Using wood glue, glue up any parts of the board that have become separated. Clamp the sides together and leave it until the glue is dry. (Refer to the picture below)
  27. Remove the clamps and place filler around the side of the board so that any little cracks are filled in. (Refer to the picture below)
  28. Sand the whole board so it is nice and smooth.
  29. Paint the board however you want. (Refer to the picture below)
  30. Tie the thick elastic to the bindings so that it goes around your ankles.
  31. Now go and try it out.
All the plywood First piece in the Bender All the pieces in the Bender Adding bricks Removing bricks Curved plywood Copying the design to paper Copying the design to the plywood Gluing any cracks Getting ready to drill the holes Attaching the bindings Close up of the bindings Gluing the rubber onto the bottom of the board Gluing the laminate onto the bottom of the board Trimming up the laminate and rubber Gluing any cracks in the side Applying filler to the side of the board Painting the board

What I Learnt From This / How It May Have been improved upon

  • A Wider board isn't necessarily a better board, actually it's a worse board. Don't make your board too wide.
  • Wood Glue works a lot better then Marine Glue, so use that instead.
  • Adding a layer of rubber and having the board wider, made it really heavy so it didn't work as good.
All of the boards The bend in the boards