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?
If you aren't sure what these things are for, you can head to your local skateboard shop and ask the knowledgeable people there. Skateboarders are happy to help you figure things out if you're new to the sport.
Once you've purchased the pieces for your new skateboard deck, it's time to put it together. Many people begin by putting on the grip tape. This is easy to do, simply peel off the backing and lay it down firmly with your hands. Flatten out the bubbles as you go. If there is a bubble that you can't get rid of, cut it with a sharp knife and it should flatten out easily.
Once the tape has been applied, you'll want to grind down the grit on the edge of the board using something metal like the side of a screwdriver. Once you've removed some of the grit, you should be able to easily cut away the excess grip tape.
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.
Once you've poked holes in the grip tape, insert the screws into them. The head of the screws should be flush with the grip tape, but if they're not, we'll fix that in the next step. If you have risers for your board, you'll want to install them now - they should slip right over the screws.
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.
It's important to remember that the trucks need to be placed so the king pins and bushings are facing the middle of the board. Also, if the screws aren't flush with the grip tape, you can over tighten them. If you overtighten them, they will dig into the deck a little, but will look nicer and also help you skate better by not catching on your feet.
With the trucks on the board, it's time to install the wheels. First, slip the bearings into the wheels. An easy way to do this is to put the bearing on one of the truck axles, and then slide the wheel down the axle until the bearing is firmly inside it. Do this for all four wheels.
Once the bearings are in the wheels, install the wheels on the trucks. Typically, the graphic on the wheel faces the outside edge of the board. You don't want to install your wheels backwards, so don't forget this.
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.
After you've tightened the wheels, your board is ready to ride! It's important to remember that assembling skateboard decks, like any other job, takes some practice to get right. Your first skateboard assembly will probably not look very good, but it will definitely be functional!
Lazar Rodriguez has been a skateboarder for a very long period of time. He loves longboarding, trickboarding, and everything in between. If you're looking for an online skateboard shop after reading this article, please check out http://www.the-skateboard-shop.com/