Long Board Finished... not really...

I couldn't wait to get the board into a usable state, So I hacked together a wooden board from 3/4" plywood. I threw on some old skateboard trucks at first in order to see if the shape was what I wanted. I finished the remaining parts for the trucks. All of the pieces came together nicely and looked really clean.

Sadly I couldn't decide how to make the rubber bushings cleanly... As with all of my kludges I turned to my favorite tool in the shop: the 3 TON ARBOR PRESS!!!!!!!!
I had a 1/4" thick sheet of rubber, but I needed to cut somewhat clean circles out of it. I figured scissors couldn't do the job, so I looked around for somewhat sharp tubing. I couldn't find any so I turned to the next best thing... socket sets. The socket heads were round on the bottom so they can't cut you. Normally I wouldn't expect them to cut through a sheet of rubber, but 3 tons is enough force to cut nearly anything. The socket sets cut the rubber like it was butter.
The rubber was too soft.......
I succumbed to speed wobble and became a road pizza..... (there's no need for a picture of my leg... I'm pretty sure I'll have a large scar to remember the test of this long board.) I added more rubber to make the trucks tighter, but they're still alot looser than I hoped they would be. I guess I'll just have to learn how to ride better.

Long Board Progress

After a week of spare time I popped out a few parts. I avoided using the CNC as much as possible because it removes material so slowly. None of the parts were particularly difficult to machine. All of the setups could be done in a vice and they had fairly sloppy tolerances... although I did aim to get them as tight as possible for the fun of it.

 I also started to polish the parts. This is the first time i had a polishing wheel, so I got a bit carried away and started to polish everything. I still need to improve my technique. Machined surfaces polished easily, but the machining marks still remained. Surfaces left unmachined look alot better, but they aren't perfect mirrors.

 I got lazy and decided to make the side plates from polycarbonate. I can cut it at more than 10 times the rate of aluminum and I don't have to baby the machine as much. It should be strong enough and it looks aesthetically pleasing, so it's a win - win situation!

The spherical bearings worked perfectly and aligned up as I hoped they would. The bearing seats were a bit tighter than I hoped they would be. It's not a problem as long as I don't need to replace them. The trucks have really started to take shape, but the whole board is still a long way from being completed.