thanks to all for advice in material selection(herb, paul, etc…) and for the tips and pointers. The first one turned out pretty nice. It’s 40" x 9 1/4". I used 9ply birch, 2 coats of stain, 4 coats of polyuerethane clear gloss. The stringer is a sharpie special. I taped it off, sharpied it, put a coat of resin on it, then kicked it under the lights. When I peeled the tape off, the stringer looked all shiny and like an actual stringer! heeheeee. Anyhow, next one will have actual inlays. Trucks and wheels are on the way. Hey paul, how do you mount trucks on a blank? Do you make a template before you cut the shape out? Or do you just eyeball it and use a large straight edge? I have my own ideas, just wondering. Don’t want a board that goes right when you want to go left. peace. more pics: http://www.crofox.com/skatestandsmall.jpg http://www.crofox.com/skatebellysmall.jpg chris 
