How to Build Your Own Indo Board
Balance is essential for skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding. When yours is lacking, one way to train your muscles to better stabilize your body is to use a balance board, a brand of which is called an "Indo Board." Making your own balance board will allow you to spend as much time as you like rolling back and forth on the board, even when you're indoors.
A woman balancing on an Indo board at surf camp. (Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images)Step 1
Make pencil marks on a piece of plywood, creating a rectangle that is 50 inches in length and 12 inches wide. To give it more of a polished look, place a large coffee can at the corners of the rectangle and trace its outline. Cut out each corner with a jigsaw to create rounded corners on all four sides.
Step 2
Set your newly-cut piece on top of the remaining piece of plywood and trace the outline of both ends. Your balance board needs to have bumpers on the bottom of each end of the board, so that's what you're tracing right now. The bumpers should have the same curve as the outside edges of the board, and be about 1.5 inches wide. When you have the outside edges of the board traced, lay a T square along the long side of the tracing and draw a perpendicular line from one long side of the tracing to the other, so that you're creating a shape that looks like a capital "D." Cut both of these bumper ends out with a jigsaw.
Step 3
Sand the edges of the balance board top and bumper ends, to remove any jagged edges and generally smooth out the surface. Sand as much as you want; you're likely to be wearing skate shoes when you're using the board, so this is generally cosmetic.
Step 4
Attach the bumper ends to the bottom side of the big board using 1.25-inch wood screws. Affix the screws at each end and in the middle.
Step 5
Stick two 1-inch anti-stick pads, which look like little rubbery discs, onto each bumper end, on either side of the bumper. This will help keep the board from making a lot of noise when it touches the floor, according to Snowmie.
Step 6
Cut a piece of 6-inch PVC pipe to a length of 11 inches, using a hand saw or table saw. Use pipe that with a wall thickness of at least .3 inches, so it will be strong enough to hold your weight without collapsing. The thicker the PVC you can find, the better suited it is for your project.
Step 7
Sand the cut edge of the PVC pipe so it's smooth and won't cut you when you handle it. Set the pipe under your balance board and you're ready to stand on the board and start practicing.
Things You'll Need
Pencil
Measuring tape
3/4 inch plywood
Coffee can
Jigsaw
T square
1.25 inch screws
Drill
Anti-skid pads
Sandpaper
6-inch PVC pipe
Tip
For a more finished look, paint or varnish the balance board -- or simply cover it with stickers as you might do with your skateboard, snowboard or surfboard.
