3 longboard skateboards I just finished

[sascha gast]

ok, had some shop time and wanted to try some solid wood boards.
here we go, all boards are book matched wood and drumsanded until I had perfect flex in the boards at my 175 pounds, they are nice and solid with just enough flex.

first board, mahogany 48" long, wheel wells, cindrich trucks but will end up with indy hybrids and axle extensions
http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402638.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402642.jpg

next one is cocobolo, 62" long, about 9.5" wide original S10's and they'll stay on it, carves like a dream

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402596.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402602.jpg

and the last one is mahogany, 65" long, indy hybrids with SZ 40mm axle extensions

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402652.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402656.jpg

rear of the 65" board

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402657.jpg

top view

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402662.jpg

cocobolo top view

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402606.jpg


short mahogany top view

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402645.jpg

and here just a few of my quiver I acquired since november
I still have a zebra wood board that'll be about 45" long but I need some fibreglass and copper to finish it. all boards will get a few narrow strips of grip, either tread tex/poly, glass glitter/poly or even monster paint traction, I'll see which ones looks best since they won't need tons of grip

http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/122402624.jpg

thank you for looking, and sorry for all those pics

[Bruce Page]

Quite a collection. Do you worry about the edge joint failing?

[Brice Burrell]

I spent some of my younger days on a skateboard, nothing like these beauties, but I can certainly appreciate the works of art they are. Very nice work.

[sascha gast]

Quite a collection. Do you worry about the edge joint failing?

not worried a bit.....Festool domine:D

thanx guys

[Bill Huber]

Those are really nice looking board almost to nice to hit the streets with.

Like Bruce I would like to know if you did anything to the joint, splines or something like that.

[Richard Dragin]

Hey Sascha, It's been a while! Good to see you are still in the shop and I see you have yet another interest. The boards look great and I bet they get a lot of interest around here.

So do you smoke a cigar while the dog pulls you on the skateboard?

[sascha gast]

Hey Sascha, It's been a while! Good to see you are still in the shop and I see you have yet another interest. The boards look great and I bet they get a lot of interest around here.

So do you smoke a cigar while the dog pulls you on the skateboard?

of course i do, I love my cigars. I just got back from riding along the beach, had my cigar and picked up some Starbucks and went back home.
A great day

good to see you too Richard, how are the chairs coming??

[Andrew Nemeth]

Sascha,

The boards look awsome!!! You mentioned needing fiberglass for the zebrawood board. Are all of the boards fiberglass reinforced? If so, what kind of layup are you using? I might be interested in making a longboard for a really good friend of mine.

Thanks,
Andrew

[sascha gast]

Sascha,

The boards look awsome!!! You mentioned needing fiberglass for the zebrawood board. Are all of the boards fiberglass reinforced? If so, what kind of layup are you using? I might be interested in making a longboard for a really good friend of mine.

Thanks,
Andrew

nah, the other ones are not, but the zebra wood needs a little support and might get a layer of 6oz glass on top and maybe a copper panel with patina on the bottom.
we'll see

[Sean Hughto]

Where's your pool, pipe, and ramp set?

Nice decks.

[Brian Effinger]

Beautiful, Sascha. The great job you did bookmatching the boards are what really make them stand out. Excellent job. :)

[Glen Butler]

Nice looking work. I am interested in how you shaped them.

[Richard Dragin]

...................................... how are the chairs coming??

As a matter of fact....I'm finishing one this week. Still have the backdrop set up?

[sascha gast]

I designed the shapes in Illustrator and cut them out with my 24" plotter
http://www.pbase.com/saschagast/image/121599571.jpg

I stuck them to a sheet of mdf and cut them out, redefined the shapes and used that as the templates for the hardwood.
then I used a rasp on some of them and a simple round over bit on others or a combination of the 2

[sascha gast]

As a matter of fact....I'm finishing one this week. Still have the backdrop set up?

sure do, it's installed in my living room
if ya need help I'm sure we can find time

[Jim Rimmer]

Nice work, Sascha. Beautiful boards; seems a shame someone will put their feet on them.

From an older generation, my first skateboard (called sidewalk surfboards then) was a 2x4 nailed to the skates that attached to your shoes that I swiped from my sister. This was in the late 50's. Anyone here remember skate keys?

[Larry Fox]

Sascha, those boards look fantastic and I imagine that they are an absolute blast to ride. I currently ride a Powell Skull and Sword 9.5 but a long-board is definitely on the "bucket list". I have not spent much time on a long board and it always surprises me how far forward the front trucks are set. The middle one in the picture is an interesting one also. I have never seen anything like it - is it of your own design as well?

Great work indeed.

[sascha gast]

if you are talking about the one with zebra wood, no that's a Surf rodz design, I am going to make a few extra decks to fit the metal parts though.
it's just bamboo cross core

[James Artibee]

Sascha, Those are fantastic,The cocobolo one is a piece of art ,absolutly beautiful. You should be very,very proud. JIM

[Jeff Monson]

Great work, I would like to get my son involved in a shop project and this is right up his alley.

What stock do you make the boards from 8/4?

Also do you have a internet source you recemmond for the hardware?

Thanks, those are really nice boards.

[Ben Abate]

Sascha,

Out of curiosity are your boards curved at the tip or tail? I was just wondering. I'm too old to be fooling around on those but I still have interest in how they were layed up if they were. I understand that you edge glue them but I'm so used to seeing boards that have a flip at either end. Maybe I'm thinking snow boards hey.

Great stuff, do you have a shop that you build boards for people?

[sascha gast]

8/4 is great, on average, those boards end up, depending on length of course, just below 3/4 thick. i just started skating last november, so i don't do this for others....but i would if somebody asked.
these boards don't have a concave yet, but i will make some with concave top and convex bottom, just like surfboards and they will be hand shaped.
still looking for the perfect wood.

as for hardware, daddies boardshop, milehigh skates are where I go, surf-rodz makes awesome cnc'd trucks. i did lots of research on the best components and it does matter. great trucks and wheels make the board

thank you everybody

[Mark Bolton]

Really nice, its awesome to see something like this when you open a link here. Nothing against traditional woodwork but what a great sight.

Other than riding an old plastic skateboard (early teens probably) with a whale tail type thing (I think it may have been called a shark) I am not a skater of any sorts. But I have a question on the mechanics.

The wheel wells (would never have known other than reading your post), how do you locate them as the trucks pivot when you carve. Do you mount the trucks and then roll the board left right to mark the locations? Or is it just done by eye/experience? Really interesting.

I think esthetically, 4th from the left is my pic in the pic.

Really nice work.
Mark

[Brad Westcott]

Nice work and beautiful wood.

So is skateboarding coming back?

If you make these boards any longer, they may just start looking like a luge.

[Tony Shea]

Wow man, was shocked to see this. Something totally different and want one for myself! I've been surfing for about 8 years now and have never been on a longboard skateboard. But then again where I live it would be tough to use often but still would love to have one, and one as good looking as those. Like everything about them man, keep up the good work. Oh, how much you lookin to get out of those?

[sascha gast]

thanx again guys.
yeah i totally fell in love with skateboarding. longboards are fun and I just started last november at the age of 40.

the wheel wells are done just like you said, had the trucks on the board and marked the spots where the wheels would hit if I didn't have axle extensions.
and then used a 1" ball mill to cut away. a belt sander would work too.

I haven't even thought about selling them. right now I am making them for myself and for fun, but if I ever did, I'd make the decks and have everybody just get the trucks they want.

thank you guys

[Aaron Wingert]

Sascha, that cocobolo board is spectacular. I'm not a skateboarder, but beautiful woodworking is beautiful woodworking!