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On 10/13/2006 PSR
wrote in from
United States
(69.165.nnn.nnn)
Nimbly, be sure to check the flex on that snowboard. Put it up on four sk8 wheels that're on their sides, about where you think you'll mount the trucks. If it touches the floor when you just stand (not bounce) on it, it'll be too soft. When I started doing this in the late 80's, snowboards were considerably stiffer in general, not counting Racing boards. New-school park decks can way too flimsy, especially without the edges (which Always should be removed!!). A 'quick fix' is to use a thin-ply center beam bolted/glued to the underside of the board to add some stiffness back to it. Home decoration/hobby stores usually have some kind of thin hardwood stock (like mahogany or birch) in 2" x 2' sized pieces, which can fit nicely between the trucks.
If you want some concave/kicktail/kicknose, look into Pocket Pistol's wedge-foam kits, or Gravity's tail blocks. Just trim to shape with a carpet knife and use a beltsander or raspfile to further smooth/trim/customize the shaping of the foam bits.
Keep an eye out for stiffer boards, like BX decks or Freecarving boards at ski-swaps or play-it-again used sports stores, maybe talk to a snowboard rental outfit about old beaters lurking in the back of the shop. I've nabbed usable decks for as little as $2, as I don't care what the edges look like! One of my old snowboards is, after eleven years as a skateboard, still able to be used as a Hybrid/GS slalom deck. Few boards I could make at home would last as well, or work as well as it has.
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