Building a skateboard from parts is a forty-five minute job on a kitchen table and takes no special skill. What it does take is doing things in the right order: there are three or four mistakes —griptape flattened from the middle, kingpins facing outwards, the axle nut cranked all the way down— that you cannot undo later without taking half the board apart.
The parts
| Part | Quantity | Reference price |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | 1 | €74.90 median |
| Griptape | 1 sheet | Often included with the deck |
| Trucks | 2 | €59.99 median per listing |
| Wheels | 4 (one set) | €55 a set |
| Bearings | 8 | Two per wheel, size 608 |
| Hardware | 8 bolts | With their 8 nuts |
Trucks come with a trap we have documented in the catalogue: some shops sell a single truck and others sell the pair, and the listing often does not say which. Below €45, assume it is one truck; a deck needs two. More detail in the trucks guide and the price guide.
Hanger width has to match deck width:
| Truck | Axle width | Deck width |
|---|---|---|
| 129 | 7.60” | 7.4” – 7.8” |
| 136 / 139 | 8.00” | 7.8” – 8.2” |
| 144 | 8.25” | 8.2” – 8.375” |
| 149 | 8.50” | 8.375” – 8.6” |
| 159 | 8.75” | 8.6” – 9” |
| 169 | 9.125” | 9” – 9.5” |
These are the figures from Independent’s own chart, read off their site on 2 September 2026. Worth saying, because the simplified mapping that circulates online does not match it: it starts the 149 at 8.25” where the manufacturer starts it at 8.375”, and it leaves out the 144 entirely — which is exactly what Independent recommends for an 8.25” deck.
Every manufacturer shifts those brackets by a tenth of an inch or so, so if you land right on a boundary, check that brand’s own chart.
Tools: a skate tool is enough
A skate tool is a T-shaped or Y-shaped tool carrying the three sockets you will need —axle nuts, kingpin and mounting hardware— plus a screwdriver in the handle. That one tool builds an entire board.
Without one you need three separate socket wrenches and a Phillips screwdriver or an Allen key, depending on your bolt heads. Add a utility knife with a fresh blade and a file.
1. Prepare the deck
The top surface has to be dry and free of dust and grease. Work out which end is the nose (slightly longer and more open) and which is the tail before you stick anything down.
2. Lay the griptape
This is where most boards get ruined, always for the same reason: dropping the whole sheet at once and then trying to flatten it starting from the middle. The air gets trapped and it never comes out.
- Deck flat, top face up.
- Peel back only the first couple of inches of the backing paper and fold the rest away.
- Rest that adhesive strip on one end of the deck, centred, overhanging slightly on both sides. Better too much griptape than too little.
- Work towards the other end, peeling the backing off gradually: the air escapes ahead of the sheet instead of getting stuck underneath.
- As you go, press with your palm from the centre line out to the rails, never the other way.
If a bubble survives, prick it with a needle and press it towards the hole from the outside. A big one is better lifted while you still can.
3. Score, cut and file the griptape
Run the file flat around the whole perimeter, following the edge of the deck, until you have a continuous white line. That line is your cutting template.
Cut with the knife from underneath, blade angled outwards and resting against the edge, following the line. Several light passes, not one hard one. Keep the offcut: rubbing it along the freshly cut edge stops the grip from lifting a month later.
4. Punch the eight holes
Flip the deck. The mounting holes are there, but the griptape now covers them. Push through from below with the screwdriver, one at a time, just enough for a bolt to pass.
5. Mount the trucks: the classic mistake
The two kingpins must face each other. The kingpin is the large bolt through the middle of the truck that compresses the bushings; it has to sit on the inner face, pointing at the centre of the deck. Mounted facing outwards, the board turns the opposite way to what your body expects and becomes unskateable. Look at the board from the side: the kingpins should be facing in.
- Push all eight bolts in from the top, through the griptape.
- If you are using riser pads, they go now, between deck and baseplate. Without a riser the usual bolt length is 7/8” or 1”; with risers you need longer ones.
- Drop the baseplate over the bolts, kingpin inwards, and thread the four nuts on by hand.
- Tighten in a cross pattern —one nut then its diagonal, then the other pair— over several passes, so the baseplate seats flat.
- Stop when the bolt head sits flush with the griptape. Going further crushes the plies of the deck.
6. Press the bearings into the wheels
A skateboard uses 8 bearings, two per wheel, all of them the standard 608 size (8 mm bore, 22 mm outer diameter). That is why any set fits any wheel.
Without a bearing press you lever them in using the axle itself:
- Take the nut and washers off one axle and leave the bare thread.
- Slide a bearing onto the axle, shield facing outwards.
- Push the wheel down onto it with your body weight, straight, until it seats fully. It makes a dry click when it bottoms out.
- Pull the wheel off, flip it, drop the spacer into the hub and repeat with the second bearing.
Push straight. A bearing pressed in crooked will drag inside the wheel forever. And do not use a hammer.
The spacer is not compulsory —plenty of wheels ship without one— but it keeps the two bearings parallel and spreads the load of landings. Detail in the bearings guide.
7. Fit the wheels
The order on each end of the axle is washer, wheel, washer, nut. The speed washers stop the bearing from rubbing against the truck.
Tighten until the nut bottoms out, then back it off half a turn. The wheel should be neither loose nor braked: it has to spin freely when you flick it, with a barely perceptible amount of side play. If it stops almost immediately, it is too tight; if it rattles sideways, too loose.
8. Dial in the tightness
The kingpin controls how easily the board turns: tight is stable and predictable, loose is quick and twitchy. There is no correct number, only yours.
Start with the nut flush with the top of the thread and lean on one rail: the board should tip with comfortable pressure without the wheel touching the deck. Adjust a quarter turn at a time, never so loose that the top bushing pops out of its washer. If the board pulls to one side, one truck is tighter than the other.
9. The final check before you skate
- Kingpins facing in. Look at the board from the side.
- All eight bolts flush, none loose.
- All four wheels spinning freely and evenly.
- Wheelbite. Press hard on a rail: the wheel must not touch the deck. If it does, tighten the kingpin or add riser pads.
- The griptape, with no lifted corners.
Roll a few metres on the flat and listen: a rattle is usually a loose axle nut. And go back over every nut after the first session, because new parts settle.
Keep reading
- Your first board, part by part: beginner’s guide.
- Which deck width suits you: sizing guide.
- Wheel diameter and durometer: wheels guide.
- Hi or Lo, and the single-truck trap: trucks guide.
- Compare prices in the catalogue.
Two assembly guides from other shops, worth cross-checking: skatedeluxe and Warehouse Skateboards. For the exact width of a specific truck model, the manufacturer’s own chart is the reference, such as Independent’s.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a skateboard?
Between 30 and 45 minutes the first time, and half of that once you have done one. The slow step is always the griptape.
Can I build one without a skate tool?
Yes, but it is worse: you need three socket wrenches in different sizes and a screwdriver. Skate nuts are imperial, so metric wrenches do not fit exactly and forcing them rounds off the corners.
Do I need riser pads?
Only if you get wheelbite, usually from large wheels or low trucks. If you fit them, 7/8” and 1” bolts become too short.
Do I have to use bearing spacers?
Not compulsory, and the board rolls fine without them, but they are worth it: they keep the two bearings parallel and spread the load of landings.
How do I know the axle nut is tight enough?
Flick the wheel with a finger. If it stops almost straight away, back the nut off a quarter turn; if the wheel rattles sideways, it is too loose. The right setting spins for a long time with side play you can barely feel.