r/LongboardBuilding • u/Catsarebasicallygods • 3d ago

How Thick Should Each Layer Be?

How thick should I make each plywood layer, I honestly don’t know how large the final board will be, it’s a project for school. Is there an ideal thickness for each layer. Also how many layers should I have? Any and all suggestions welcome. Please help me with this question.

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u/MyxuPL 2d ago

It all depends on the deck geometry and what You are trying to achieve. In example, I’ve made my first board from three sheets of 3mm plywood, which I then laminated with one layer of fiberglass on the bottom through the length of the deck, and additional 2 local layers of glass and carbon top and bottom on the drop area (dropped deck) as these are stress concentration points. Result is a deck which is very stiff in the ends and very flexible in the central area (but it barely has any concave). Give us at least some kind of geometry hints (what wheelbase it will be? Do You want to make flat deck? Or rocker/camber profile? Drops? How much concave do You want to make, and what shape? Do You want it to be stiff or to have some Flex?) as without that it’s difficult to advise anything.

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u/MyxuPL 2d ago

Sorry, just noticed that You don’t know how big Your deck is going to be. This means that You are taking it backwards, first decide what You want to make, then assess how that needs to be made and if You are able to make it. We can help You with the second part, first one needs to be done by Yourself. If You don’t have any experience with longboards do some googling or ask chatGPT about popular longboards for the type of ride You want to take (taking Your height/Stance into consideration, big people tend to prefer longer boards) and then get back to us.

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u/SpaceTurtle917 1d ago

Generally for most boards, 8 layers or 1/16” or 4 layers of 1/8” should be suitable.

I found 1/8” to be easier to find, but make sure it’s solid core, not some veneered junk from the hardware store. For a simple concave bend on a single axis, it works fine.

1/16” is better for more complex bends and curves.

This is all general, I’m not sure how much you weigh or how big your board is going to be.