Wake Skate Construction - Step Two.

In step 1 I showed how to make a wake skate jig. You can see the process here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Wake_skate_jig_Step_one_of_making_a_wake_skate/

In this instructible i will show how to make the wake skate.

I did some research on the web using the following sites:

http://www.wakeskating.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2317

http://waterdancing.blogspot.com/2007/07/build-wakeskate-from-scratch.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2081891_build-wake-skate.html

http://forums.wakeoutlaws.com/t1015.html

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?p=98708&sid=2e09a927420901b231cabe8b291b01dc

And following some links on those sites.

I decided on what I believe to be a two stage rocker with dimensions of the board being 1000mm in length 375mm width and 174 tip and tail width with an approximate 50mm rocker. I took an image off the web to scale up and copy.

Step 1: Cut Plywood.

Cut your plywood into 400mm x 1100mm you will need between 3 and 5 of these sheets. It depends on the quality of the ply and how strong/light you want the final product.

Step 2: Clamp Ply in Your Jig.

I used wood glue and clamped two sheets at a time. I think it is possible to glue all sheets at once and to use a more waterproof glue. This is just an experiment so im trying various things and will improve next time. I had help from a friend which makes things much easier.

As you can see I made clamps out of wood and bolts. I believe that it is quite a good method but if you have loads of clamps that will be fine too.

I refer you again to: https://www.instructables.com/id/Wake_skate_jig_Step_one_of_making_a_wake_skate/

Step 3: Draw Your Design on the Glued Plywood.

Draw your design onto the glued plywood. The design is up to you. I recommend doing some research.

You can see from the photos that the gluing process isn't perfect and thats why it is good to cut your ply a little bigger than your design.

Step 4: Cut Out Your Design.

Cut out your design using a bandsaw. If the gluing process wasnt perfect there could be a few gaps in between sheets. Shove a screw driver in the cracks, fill with glue and clamp. Let it dry.

Step 5: Final Shaping.

Take clamps off and shape your board with a belt sander or by hand if you are brave and have the patience. I just followed my drawn on design. I then rounded the edges nicely. As you round the edges you will see the layers or the various plys. You can use these "lines" as a guide to make nice even edges. You will see what i mean when doing it.

Step 6: Make Some Fins.

Design some fins. They should be long and shallow. I dont know much about this step. We designed some and are going to see how they handle. I used a very thick plastic ruler (~5mm) for the fins. Wood should be good too. Drill vertical holes in them and attach with wood screws.

Make sure to resin the holes you drill in the board. Also counter sink the holes slightly.

With more research and help from a mate we uncovered this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakeskating

It seems its better to use Aluminium as fins. I will give this a go and update the 'ible.

Step 7: Fiber Glass Resin. YUK!

We decided to use fiberglass to coat the thing. I gave it one coat on the bottom and think il sand it smooth and put a design on it and then give it an overall coat and leave it. Fiber glass is messy stuff and I'm not keen for the hassle. We will test the wake skate and see how it goes.

Read the instructions on the tub and coat. Use gloves!

All that is left is to put regular skate board grip tape on the top and it will be ready.

Enjoy!

I would like to thank my sponsor and co builder!