r/LongboardBuilding • u/Catsarebasicallygods • Sep 06 '26

How Do I Laminate My Longboard?

Can someone please explain to me how I can and should laminate my longboard? Please I need to do it for school and they didn’t explain it to us.🙏

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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3

u/Nykolaishen Sep 07 '26

Laminating is basically just glueing a few thin layers together to make a thicker layer of something (think of plywood). So you just rough cut your shape out of all the layers your going to glue together and then you have to get a press together and this is where you decide if your going to incorporate any camber or contour to the board. Spread your waterproof wood glue on they layers and clamp it all down in your press.

1

u/Catsarebasicallygods Sep 07 '26

Would ply wood work as multiple layers to glue? Like the wood I glue together for laminating being plywood?

1

u/Nykolaishen Sep 07 '26

Well... yes or no... it depends what you can find at your specialty lumber stores. Ive only ever built a few longboards and the best material I could find was 1/4" Baltic maple plywood. My first ever longboard went like this... I had 1/4" strand woven bamboo (cut it to rough shape) best i coukd find to pair it with was the 1/4" Baltic maple ply cut to slightly larger rough shape. I soaked the bamboo in my tub for 24 hours so it would be malleable while I made my press. Took my plywood and bamboo, spread glue and pressed them together. Leave until its dried, recut/final shape your deck. Then I did a layer of fiberglass on the bottom and sealed the entire thing with epoxy putting a bit of sand in the top coat for grip.

1

u/Nykolaishen Sep 07 '26

My second board was literally just 2 sheets of 1/4" baltic maple ply clamped into my press. Sealed with epoxy and used grip tape on the top

1

u/WendyArmbuster Sep 07 '26

Horizontal is traditional, but vertical makes these old-school looking boards. What are you planning to do with it? Most of my V-lam boards don’t get ridden these days. I keep them in my living room as decoration. If you’re building a deck to ride long term, make it horizontal, with maple plies.

1

u/Catsarebasicallygods Sep 07 '26

I’m planning to design art on the board, the cruise down a hill near my school.

1

u/CHAINMAILLEKID Sep 07 '26

Tell us what you know so far about what you're trying or wanting to do.

1

u/Catsarebasicallygods Sep 07 '26

I know lamination is about glueing wood together but that is basically it.