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Build Your Own Skateboard

From putting on the grip tape to screwing on the wheels, check out this guide to building your own skateboard.

Build Your Own Skateboard - What You Need

Skateboard Tools

One of the big advantages of putting together a board yourself, rather than buying a "complete skateboard", is that you can choose your own deck, trucks, wheels and bearings. To put your board together, you'll also need a few tools: a file, a screwdriver, a knife or razor blades and a skate tool. You may need the help of a parent or older sibling for some of the steps - but you should be able to put most of your skateboard together yourself.

Build Your Own Skateboard - Putting On The Grip Tape

Skateboard Grip Tape

Your piece of grip tape should be a few inches longer than your deck so you have a couple of inches of overlap on each end.
Peal off the paper on the back of the grip tape and slowly stick the grip tape on to your deck. Make sure it's straight and covers the entire deck.
Press the grip tape down hard from the middle of the deck out to the edges. Go slowly and press from the inside out to avoid air bubbles. If you see air bubbles forming, slowly pull the grip tape back and re-press it down.

Edging Grip Tape

Build Your Own Skateboard - Edging The Grip Tape

Once you've put your grip tape on, you should have some hanging over the edges of the deck. Use a file and rub down the edges of the deck hard until the grain of the tape is worn off and the tape is white along the edges of the deck.
Use a razor blade or a knife (you may want an adult's help with this) to cut along the white edge you just wore into the grip tape. Do this step slowly and make your cuts are smooth so the edges don't look choppy.

Once the extra tape has been cut off, use some of that extra tape to rub down the edges of the deck until it's smooth all around.

Attaching Skateboard Trucks

Build Your Own Skateboard - Add The Trucks

Once you've smoothed out the edges, find the holes in the deck and use a screwdriver to poke through the grip tape.
Set each truck over the holes at each end of the deck and push the skateboard screws down through the deck and through the holes in the trucks.
Put the hardware nuts on the end of the screws and tighten them using a skate tool or a socket set.

Attaching Bearings

Build Your Own Skateboard - Attach Bearings and Wheels

Once your trucks are one, remove the bolts from the ends of the trucks and put one bearing in place on the axle. Put one wheel on top of the bearing and push down on it until the bearing is as far into the wheel as possible.
When you've done this for all the bearings and wheels, slide all the wheels in place on to the axels of the trucks.
Put the bolts back on the axles and tighten them with a skate tool or wrench. The bolts should be slightly loose so the wheels spin easily.

Your skateboard is now ready to go and you should be ready to skate. To check out skateboard trick tips and profiles of your favorite skateboarders, just click here.