Piecing the Parts Together: How To Assemble A Skateboard

For this, you will need a skateboard deck, some skateboard griptape, some skateboard wheels, some skateboard trucks, some skate bearings, some skate hardware (nuts and bolts) and some tools that you probably have laying around the house or in the garage.

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?

You may not know what those things are. It's pretty simple stuff, just ask your local skateshop guy or go down to the local skatepark and ask some of the skaters down there. People are typically glad to help out a fellow skateboarder.

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 the grip tape has been installed, it's time to install the trucks. Take your skate hardware, and poke it through the 4 holes on the underside of the board. Poking the holes from the underside of the board is easier than doing it from the top, because you can see where the screw should go through.

With holes in the tape, it's time to install the screws. Simply poke them through the tape, and try to make sure that they're flush with the top of the deck. If they're not, don't worry too much, that can be fixed later. If you want risers on your deck, put them on now.

Now that the hardware is poking through the board, and you've installed your risers (if you're using them) it's time to install the trucks. The trucks should slip right over the screws. Now that the trucks are on the board, screw them in.

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.

When you have bearings in all four wheels, it's time to put the wheels onto the trucks. Usually, the picture on the wheel goes out and faces away from the center of the deck. This step might seem silly, but you wouldn't want to install your wheels backwards!

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.

Tighten up the wheels and you're ready to skate! Don't forget that when you're putting a skateboard deck together, it's going to take some time. Also remember that no skateboarder is perfect, and your first assembly might be a little funky looking. It will still skate well, though!