Then after days of curing, the CNC routers, or hand routers depending on the woodshop, will cut out the final shape, apply the edge trimming, paint it and send it on its way. Piumarta described the unique characteristics of wood. With all the alternate materials we've tried, from epoxy and fiberglass to carbon loaded thermoplastic nylon, nothing has had the combination of toughness, elasticity, feel and response of laminated sugar maple board. Piumarta was one of the first designers to put concave curves into boards in the early 1980's, and developed the first upturned nose. This curvature both strengthens the board and gives the rider more control of the board.
Every manufacturer has their own style or philosophy.
To get there, I do a lot of prototyping in foam cutting, letting all of our pro and amateur riders have a say in what feels good and what works before we go and cut tooling to make skateboards. So our approach is based on a feel functionality first, and then secondly, when no one's looking, I slip in curves and bends engineered into this 3-d curve, the concave, that makes the board stiffer, stronger, and makes it last longer. The other shape is called the plan form. According to Piumarta, this shape is largely determined by the choices of individual riders. Now the other shape we're talking about is the plan form, or the shape outline of the board of looking at a wall.