So I'm starting a deck company, and was wondering if anyone had any deck tips and tricks on making a homemade mold to start. I've heard bondo is ok, but I wanted to know if any other ways were better. Also a few things about the company, the decks will be a mellow flowy shape, and 7 plies.
But any tips on wood type and molds are very much appreciated.

You should have all this figured out before starting a "company" but this will help you more then anyone on here. There's pages of information ranging from types of glues,mold making tutorials, what size drill bits you need and even lacquer to use.
http://www.fingerflipinc.com/forum/index.php?board=8.0

heres a tip , use bondo glass. and first have a good mold before thinking about other things. once you get the base down then you can move up.

You should get a good expierence of deck macking before starting a company

Ken .I wrote:

You should get a good expierence of deck macking before starting a company

PRO TIP: make decks before you try to sell them. FIRST IMPRESSIONS DUDE

I didn't mean it as a company to sell stuff, just that in the distant future I might start a company, sorry to be misleading . Thanks for the tips.

No problem, good luck man

thank god, this kid redeemed him self from not being a '' i haz a tek dek dat i paynted come buyz it 4 30 buks'' kind of person, just get a good mold and practice practice practice

^ haha, i see that all the time. "orderz nou nd getz 1 fwee weel"

lol yea, but practice!

^i'm getting a mold asap.
does anyone know if birch wood is good for deck?

laserfbs wrote:

^i'm getting a mold asap.
does anyone know if birch wood is good for deck?

no go see what real skateboards are made of, use that

Ok, thanks to everyone, I'm getting bondo for a test mold, to get the shape, I'll post a pic a day or two

laserfbs wrote:

Ok, thanks to everyone, I'm getting bondo for a test mold, to get the shape, I'll post a pic a day or two

Bondo actually holds up really well, as long as you're not planning to make a ton of decks from it.
The wood you want is maple
make sure to get wood glue
all you veneers should be approx. 1/42 of an inch
Thats all the advice ill give you

Yeah just practice and experiment until you sell

^^(oliver)i do plan on making a small amount, for this year, and change it up each year. Basically, I plan on making 7-10 per month, and selling them on a website/ at events. If the mold loses consictency, I'll make a new one.
I'll also work out ply amounts(5 or 7) and shape, in that i've been thinking about doing like a rad ramps thing, but not as wide, and a more flowy shape, but i'll still do splits.

EDIT:never mind about the cruiser thing, I changed my mind.

bondo glass

^ok.

what kind of "wildwood" would you guys like on decks. i found a place with sick stuff, and might order when i get used to making decks. for now, i'm using 1/32 maple plywood, and dying the plies different colors.

laserfbs wrote:

what kind of "wildwood" would you guys like on decks. i found a place with sick stuff, and might order when i get used to making decks. for now, i'm using 1/32 maple plywood, and dying the plies different colors.

i know exactly what your coming from you have great ideas ? YES you do . but slow down do you have a mold ?do you have wood ? have you ever made a fingerboard? slow down get the basics, dont waste money on wildwood and put it on a bad deck. basic steps first. i was the same way when i first started making decks, but slow down and think things out. BASIC thinks first just helping you out

^ thanks, you have been soo helpful through this, and I thank you. I'll definitely slow down, I'm just so excited to start. My local store has only basic colors, so I kind of jumped at the cool patterns. I'll be making a mold tomorrow and getting wood for it in a few large sheets. I have limited experience on a simple deck, but this is a difficult process, I'll slow down.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me on this.

Yeah man it's very exciting when you start! I think it's fine to talk about it and ask people for their opinions but you need to be careful because you don't want to talk up all these ideas and not be able to deliver you know? I've done it before and I'm sure plenty others on this forum have too so just keep that in mind!

^yeah, I completely agree. Sorry to go too fast. I looked a little deeper and saw that the store is in Illinois and is by pickup only.

dude no worries everyone gets a head of themselves. Also here's a website where people have said to buy wildwood. I found it using the link I gave you in the begininnig I'm telling you man use the FFI how to section to your advantage! Every basic question to deck making has been asked like three times there plus other useful tips.

http://www.veneerspecialists.com/collections_colors/wildwood_collection.html

http://www.fingerflipinc.com/forum/index.php?board=8.0

yea no problem, if you need help just pm me.