the
Skater's
edge
14
THAT FIRST BOARD New skater, old model.
Hey, you finally got that skateboard. Yea,
good of mom went down to the toy store
where she assured you they had "A com-
plete selection" (about 3) and bought you
the one the salesman said was "top of the
line. Poor of mom. She saw how much
you loved skateboarding and thought she'd
surprise you with a brand new skate. It's
not exactly what you consider the ultimate
deck, but in fact, most of the good skaters
today started out on what I consider a toy-
type skateboard, just like the one mom got
you. Don't sweat it too much, it's a good
start to get you rolling, but keep your hopes
up toward that 'dream board.' If you do own
one of these cheapos follow me through
the parts and we'll see what we can do.
Pick up your skateboard, sort of light-
weight, right? That's because most of the
materials used are not quite as strong as
other skates, so keep an eye on the deck
and trucks (wheel mounts) for small stress
cracks or any other signs of failure.
Usually whoever puts this type of board
together is in an assembly line without any
real idea of what quality control means, so
check everything over. Start by taking a
close look at all the hardware (nuts, bolts,
screws, etc.) that are holding the
skateboard together and see if they are
tight. Ideally, you'll want anything that can
vibrate loose to be a nylon insert locknut,
but if this isn't the case keep track of things
and replace them as they fall off (because
they will).
One thing that the 'assembly gorillas'
have no problems tightening down, are the
trucks and wheels. You probably snatched
that deck from mom and instantly skated it
down the sidewalk. It didn't roll too well
right? How about turning, did you tip up on
two wheels and crash into the bushes? We
can fix this. Grab dad's tool box and find a
socket or wrench that fits your wheel nuts.
Ease that nut back off until the wheel spins
better, even if the wheel wiggles quite a bit
on the axle. The bearings in this type of
skate are the semi-precision type and won't
roll much, but they'll get you down the
street.
Now keep digging in the tool box and find
a wrench that will fit your truck nut and bolt
(the kingpin). If your trucks have a single
nut adjustment, (a top nut only) just loosen
it up until you can turn the truck down with
some hand pressure, but don't loosen it up
so much that you risk having it fall off. If you
have the two step adjustment type trucks
(with a nut locking on the baseplate and a
kingpin) you'll have to ease the base
locknut off the plate, loosen the kingpin out-
ward and then lock the nut back on the
baseplate.
Go see how your board works now.
Much better you say, but your feet keep
sliding around because the board's so
smooth. You must have a skate without
griptape. Go down to the local skateboard
shop or hardware store and buy some 'non-
skid deck (like sandpaper) as its also
called and stick it on your deck top where
you put your feet. Convince ol' mom that
you have to have griptape in order to safely
skateboard and she'll probably help you in
the cash department.
Now that you've completed this little fix-
er-up, your skateboard probably isn't as
bad as you thought. Keep it in good shape
and keep on dreaming about that smooth
rolling-concave-precision bearing-coper-
lapper-wide truck-slide riled-skateboard
you always wanted, it will come in time.
A few good tips are still in order for any-
one who has bought a new skateboard, re-
gardless if it's an inexpensive 'toy store
model or a top of the line deck purchased at
the local shop. The number one thing I tell
skaters to do when they get a new deck is
to, "Stay out of water!" I can't seem to get
this to sink into people's heads, because I
always see a lot of water damaged
skateboards running around. Water will
ruin your bearings, blister the paint job on
the deck, cause delaminating of the wood.
layers, breakdown the rubber cushions in
your trucks, and believe it or not, cause
your deck to have sort of a weird 'wet
puppy' odor. I don't know what it is, it just
stinks.
The next question usually is "How should
I lubricate my skateboard?" and I usually
answer again with, "Stay out of water!" if
you own a skateboard that costs up in the
$75 range you probably have full precision
bearings that are packed in thick grease
and will roll smooth and fast, without any
added lubrication for quite awhile.
Another thing to keep in mind is the "van-
ishing skateboard" problem. A lot of people
out there will do anything to get their hands
on a skateboard even if it means bumming
someone's life by stealing their
skateboard. So, do yourself a big favor and
keep your skate under your arm when not
skating or at least keep one eye glued on it
at all times. Most people think their
sideyard, courtyard, garage, or locked car
are well protected areas, but if you want
your stick swiped real quick, just leave it in
one of those places. I've actually seen
someone "borrow" a skateboard, skate
down the street, get in a car and drive away
as we stood there helplessly watching.
There's a million ways to get your skate
stolen, but the best way to minimize your
chances of being a victim is to keep it under
your feet and skate on it as much as possi-
ble. Easy enough.
Another thing to be aware of as a new
board owner is warranty coverage. Get a
warranty card from the place of purchase (if
one is available) and read through it to see
what you can and can't do on your
skateboard. After reading it, you'll probably
get the idea that you can't do much on your
board except ride down the sidewalk, but
most companies (not all of them) are open
to realistic claims on board breakage.
While you're at it, ask the shop owner about
any other warranty coverages on trucks,
wheels, etc. They should know the story.
Finally, don't worry too much about your
deck getting all scraped up and used look-
ing. A skateboard is meant to get thrashed
a bit, so gear it up with the proper protection
devices and get the idea out of your mind
that you're going to keep it in nearly new
condition, you'll end up having a lot more
fun. Take care and skate safe.
Bob Denike
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