Loaded Vanguard Deck trimming: 41" Flex 2 -> 39" Flex 3

General Discussion
1

Hey guys,

I’ve joined this forum recently. I am a Student living in Germany. I was awed with the vanguard builds on this forum(whitepony,OKP,…) and started getting the parts for my build. I snatched a used vanguard flex 2 deck. I really like the flex and feel but it is just a tad too big for my taste.

So my question is, would it be possible to cut it down to the size of the flex 3 deck and keep the same flex stats ?

I’ve made a template and marked both ends of my deck. the 2 upper holes of the deck can be reused so it doesn’t mess with the aesthetics. (See the black lines - don’t worry its just watermarker)

If you guys think this wouldn’t mess the deck, I’d give it a go tomorrow :slight_smile:

Sry for my english.

FullSizeRender.jpg2448×3264 1.82 MB

1 Like
2

the flex 2/3 refers to how much fiberglass they use to reinforce the board.

i’m thinking you want to go from 42" - 38"? should be fine but I would just trim more off one side instead of cutting both ends.

3

Why? That’s a good idea to cut both ends, it doesn’t mess with the aesthetic and the weight is in the same place it was before!

4

well its literally twice the work/time and cutting the lower end only would actually preserve more of the graphics. its just a suggestion… :upside_down:

5

You’re actually quite right, cutting just the lower end would be even better

6

But by cutting just one end the slight curves in the middle of the deck wont be centered anymore, i think you should cut both ends.

1 Like
7

Thanks for the input guys ! Cutting just one end would lessen the work but I think it’ll just take about one minute per side so it time/work wouldn’t bother me too much :smiley: Plus I think it would shift the center of the board towards one side because its tapered into the middle section.

I guess its okay to give it a go then ? I just don’t want to ruin this beautiful deck :)…

8

I think you should be fine !

9

I wasn’t sure how much the board tapered in the center. Honestly I would stay with the longer deck. its nice for speed!

10

Mhmm… I just think that by shaving off that few cm to match the boosted board length it would be more comfortable carrying around. I hope I get the best of both worlds. The harder flex from the flex 2 deck plus the more manageable length from the flex 3-5 decks.

Plus it would be able to fit into my gym locker :smirk: The size it is right now it is just barely too big to put it in diagonally haha… Thats actually a big point for me :smiley:

1 Like
11

What’s your plan to cut it? Jigsaw or what?

12

Forgot to mention, but the flex will decrease slightly. Because your two supports (trucks) will be closer together.

13

Yeah I have a jigsaw lying around somewhere. Will clamp it down tightly and go for it.

14

Yea you’re right. I’ll put the trucks where they would be positioned after the cut and I’ll try out the flex

15

Great idea! The board is indeed quite long.

16

dont cut it like that tbh, youll trim down the width even more and the vanguard is already a very slim board. I recently made my own DIY bamboo/gfk version of the vanguard and in MY opinion, I cut out a really awesome shape which pretty much does what you want to do, but in a sexy way! :smiley:

basically its the vanguard camber & concave, I made the total length a little shorter, but the stance a little wider by stretching the wider ends of the board a little!

right next to the flex2 42" vanguard!

1 Like
17

That looks sooo clean ! Would be just the right size! And that camber WOW :scream: sweeeet… Mby I should’ve spend the money in getting the tools and materials for building my own deck lol…

Yea the width would trim down by 1-2mm actually. The stance wouldn’t be positioned where its meant to be. But I wouldn’t care if I can trim this big boy down a bit. I was thinking that I could modify the trim a bit to keep the concave/width/curve.

So this is how I wanted to trim it (original template/trim), blue part is getting trimmed:

Ohne Titel2.jpg2132×1121 1.78 MB

I could make the curve more outward to look like this (this way I can keep the widest part of the deck)

Ohne Titel.jpg2097×1249 2.02 MB

Either way, I think I’ll be going for it since the downsides are not that big in exchange for getting my preferred form factor :slight_smile:

Will update with pictures tonight !

18

i would really just cut down the bottlenose! much easier, hard to screw up and it looks as if its meant to be! just follow the curve of the widest part, take a fitting large glass/plate and draw a perfect circle connection the outline. that way you preserve the stance, width and just lose some wheelbase.

19

simple always works best - its near impossible to screw this one up and it will look great. :slight_smile:

vanguard - 1.jpg1024×255 69 KB
vanguard - 2.jpg1680×513 137 KB

2 Likes
20

Actually thats quite the good idea ! I’ll use something more convex tho so I can preserve just a bit of the bottlenose. Reason why I went for this board in the first place is for the boosted board look :smiley: I’ll try not to trim off the width/stance