Building My Custom Cruiser: The Hands-On Process Behind the Design

I want to walk through the technical process of building my custom skateboard deck from raw veneers to a fully finished cruiser. This project wasn’t just about making something that rides well; it was about learning new tools, trying new workflows, and combining both digital and manual fabrication methods into a single handcrafted board.

Sourcing Materials and Beginning the Build

The project began with sourcing materials. I purchased the seven-ply maple layup from an online supplier, selecting hard rock maple veneers at 1/16-inch thickness. The top veneer, a thin sheet of cherry wood, was sourced locally from Woodcraft in Colorado Springs. I wanted that warm, reddish tone for aesthetic reasons, and cherry proved to be a great pairing with the pastel color I planned to use later.

Once I had the veneers, I began the digital modeling phase. Using SolidWorks, I designed the profile of the board with all the intended features: a narrow waist, a wide tail, and a pointed nose. After exporting the design as a DXF file, I used the school’s laser cutters to cut each of the seven veneer layers to shape. This took multiple passes since the natural warp in the wood caused some sheets to shift out of the laser’s focal plane. Still, with some patience, I completed all seven cuts and taped the layers together in preparation for pressing.

Creating the Foam Mold for Pressing

To shape the board, I needed a custom mold. I went to Home Depot and picked up several 2’x2’x1″ hobby insulation foam panels. After cutting these on a table saw into 1’x2′ and 1’x1′ pieces, I bonded them with spray adhesive to create a single 3’x1’x4″ blank.

At this point, I shifted from SolidWorks to Autodesk Inventor to design the full mold geometry. This step required learning Inventor from scratch, but it allowed me to create a precise 3D positive of my deck’s curvature, including rocker, concave, and the nose and tail kicks.

From there, I generated three parallel machining operations in Inventor’s CAM workspace using a 1/2″ square end mill. I brought the toolpaths and foam blank to the Solid State Depot makerspace, mounted the blank to the router table with double-sided tape, and ran an initial clearance pass. We discovered some high spots, so we lowered the toolpath and removed light material before executing the full cut. The final milling pass took around 40 minutes and yielded a clean, full-length foam mold ready for the press.

Laminating the Veneers and Pressing the Deck

With the mold and veneers ready, I moved into the glue-up phase. I laid out the veneers and applied Titebond III wood glue to the faces and backs of the core layers, and to the backs of the face veneers. I also sprinkled a fine layer of sawdust on each glued surface to prevent the veneers from slipping under pressure.

Once everything was stacked, I placed the glued veneers onto the mold, which I had lined with mold release fabric to prevent bonding. The entire setup was sealed inside a vacuum bag using vacuum tape and connected to a vacuum pump. We pulled approximately 12 psi below atmospheric pressure and adjusted the bag to get maximum surface contact.

About five minutes into the press, I realized the vacuum bag wasn’t applying enough pressure to fully form the side rails. To fix this, we used four bar clamps along the sides. Because we were clamping onto an already clamped surface, the clamps kept slipping; the workaround was to clamp the clamps together. It looked ridiculous, but it worked. The board stayed under pressure overnight for roughly 10 hours, giving the glue ample time to cure into a rigid, pressed form.

Final Shaping, Drilling, and Finishing

The next day, I removed the board from the vacuum bag and brought it to the IdeaForge woodshop. The shape was close, but the edges needed refinement. I used a large drum sander to bring the perimeter into its final form, then used a 3/16″ roundover router bit to soften all the edges lightly.

To refine the feel even further, I used a skateboard edge scraper to sculpt the contours by hand, then sanded the entire deck with a 150-grit disc on a random orbital sander. I drilled eight mounting holes—four in front and four in the rear—to allow for different truck positions and wheelbase lengths.

After a final sanding pass at 150 and then 200 grit, I brought the board home for sealing and coating. I wiped the surface with acetone to remove residue and dust, then applied two coats of oil-based polyurethane, allowing four hours of dry time between each.

Detailing and Sealing

After the second coat had cured for 24 hours, I masked off a centerline and sprayed on the pastel blue pinstripe that runs the length of the board. Some overspray landed on the cherry veneer, but I removed it quickly with lacquer thinner. Once the paint dried, I sealed it with two additional coats of polyurethane.

To improve long-term durability, I added a two-part marine-grade epoxy to the edges, the underside of the tail, and around each bolt hole. These areas are prone to water ingress and mechanical wear, so this extra step helped harden the most vulnerable parts of the deck.

Assembly and First Ride

The final step was installing grip tape and hardware. I took the finished deck to 303 Boards on The Hill to have it professionally wrapped. Once the grip tape was on, I installed my favorite trucks and wheels and finally stepped on the board for its first ride.

It felt exactly how I hoped it would: responsive yet stable, rigid underfoot but not overly stiff. The wide tail offered solid control during turns, and the gentle rocker and concave provided a comfortable stance for cruising. Visually, it matched my original vision; a blend of vintage surf and old-school skateboarding, with clean wood grain and understated color accents.

Looking Back

This build was both a design challenge and a learning experience. It pushed me to work across multiple CAD platforms, explore CAM workflows, and make decisions not just for style, but for structural performance and manufacturability. I had to think about tooling limitations, curing timelines, adhesive behavior, and press forces, all while staying on budget and working in a shared makerspace.

But the most rewarding part is knowing that I now ride something I built from the ground up. This board is not just shaped to my preferences; it reflects my skills, my learning curve, and my design values. It is one thing to ride a board that performs well; it is another to ride one that you designed, built, and shaped with your own hands.