If you want a truly personalized skateboard, then you’ll either have to pay someone to make it for you or build it yourself.
Understanding how to piece together the components of a board is a huge time and money saver.
It will also help you to better understand your skateboard and ensure that you’re not caught short the next time you need to change your wheels, deck, trucks, or other parts.
What do you need to put together a skateboard?
To assemble a skateboard, you will need all of the following:
- Skateboard Deck
- Grip Tape
- Trucks
- Wheels
- 8x Bearings
- 8 Nuts and Bolts
- Risers (Optional)
- Screwdriver
- Allen Wrenches
- Skate Tool
- Razor Blade or another sharp blade
Once you have everything in order, you have all that you need to build a complete skateboard!
Let’s get started.
Step One: Add the Grip Tape
Place your skateboard deck on the floor so that the nose and tail are pointing up.
Make sure the skateboard deck is lying flat.
Remove the backing from the grip tape and place it flat on the deck.
You’ll need to take your time and make sure you smooth the grip tape inch by inch to avoid air bubbles.
Use the screwdriver to trace an outline around the edges of the skateboard and then trim away the excess grip tape using a sharp knife or razor blade.
Once the excess grip tape has been removed, you just need to sand the edges until they are smooth.
Step Two: Add the Trucks to the Skateboard Deck
Find the mounting holes and punch through with the screwdriver before sliding the bolts through the holes.
If you want to install risers, you’ll need to attach these to the bolts.
If not, just attach the baseplate to the skateboard.
Hold everything in place and attach the trucks one by one, making sure that they are facing one another.
Use the skate tool to fasten the nuts and tighten the heads.
Step Three: Add Bearings and Wheels
Remove axle nuts and washers, place the wheel bearing on the axle, and push the wheel on the bearing until it slides in place.
Add the bearing spacer from the other side of the wheel and wait for the popping sound, which indicates it has locked in place.
You will need to do this with all four skateboard wheels.
Add a washer to the skateboard truck axle and follow this by adding the wheel and the second washer.
Once you have finished, tighten everything using a skate tool and make sure the wheels are tight and secure.
Step Four: Finish and Test!
Once you’ve finished assembling all those skateboard parts, give it the once-over and make sure everything is flush and clean.
Remove excess grip tape, check the wheels, and ensure that the screws and nuts are firmly secured.
Stand on the skateboard and try it out.
If something doesn’t feel right, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and whip out the skate tool once more.
Do You Need a Skate Tool?
A skate tool is not essential, but it combines many different tools into one and makes your life easier.
However, you can swap skate tools for other basic tools.
If you have those items, you won’t need the skate tool.
But a skateboard tool is cheap, widely available, and small enough to fit in your pocket, so it’s worth keeping one to hand from our perspective.
Is it Difficult to Put Together a Skateboard?
If you’re able to follow basic instructions, it’s very easy to assemble a skateboard.
It will take a little time and require some elbow grease, but if you follow the instructions above, you’ll have a complete skateboard on your hands within half an hour.
