The process of carving a skateboard takes a bit of time.  The piece is carved out of green wood.  Which is to say wet, freshly cut wood. Ideally the wood spits its water at you as you carve.  I use western red cedar because it is ideal in so many ways.  Its light, strong and becomes harder as it ages.  It splits easily facilitating carving--but also renders the piece fragile.      First it is carved green and carefully hollowed out , then put away to dry .  It shrinks radially along the growth rings as it dries.  Some material must be left to “true up” or eliminate the distortions caused during drying.  When it is dry enough it is finish carved.


Finish carving is the coolest and most exasperating part of the process.  The rhythmic uniform rows of chips and the way they reflect light is the essence of what these pieces are all about


After finish carving, the board needs to be set up and carefully skated.  This takes thought:  alignment, wheelbase, balance, wheel bite, deck height are all considered. 

After its properly set up, the trucks are taken off and the board is painted.  Depending on the time of year this takes a while.  I use mostly lacquer but acrylic and oil base as well.


The next task is grip tape.  Several approaches are used, from subtly painting the standard grey, using transparent tape, or to installing my own grip medium.


Now the board is skated more aggressively and any problems that  occur are corrected.  The board is done.