Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I wax and tune my snowboards?

   We've written up how we wax and tune our boards here.

    

2. Where are your snowboards really made?

   Every one of our boards is made in our shop in Carnation, WA by us. No part of our process is outsourced. We get raw materials (wood, base and sidewall material, inserts, fiberglass, etc.) as locally as possible and craft every board by hand.

    

3. How many boards do you make each season? What if I'm too late to get a board now?

   We make a very limited number of boards for sale to the public each season. The exact number depends on many factors, but never more than ten. We maintain a waiting list for the next season once our schedule is full. See the order page for more details.

    

4. Where can I buy one of your snowboards? What shops carry your boards?

   We only sell direct. Our focus is on custom snowboards, and each one is made to order.

    

5. Can you make me a custom top sheet with my graphics or pictures on it? What about a custom base?

   We no longer offer custom top sheets, and we've never offered custom bases. Our focus is on performance, durability, and construction quality, not on bling. Besides... it was a pain in the ass...

    

6. Do you ship overseas?

   Yes, however the cost can be quite surprising due to the length of the package. Please contact us with your shipping address and we'll see what we can work out.

    

7. What is the typical lead time for a new custom snowboard?

   Three to four weeks once we've finalized the design with you.

    

8. Do you make split boards?

   Unfortunately, no. We would very much like to make split boards, but Voile is very restrictive with their licenses.

    

9. Do you make alpine race boards?

   At this time we do not make alpine race boards. We specialize in all mountain freeride boards and have thus far concentrated our efforts on building the best freeride boards we can.

    

10. Do you make skis?

    No.

     

11. Can I come and watch part of the construction of my snowboard?

    Probably. Most of the construction process is either very boring, very loud, very wet, or all three at the same time. However, lay-up and pressing is fairly quick and quiet, and if you live in the Seattle area we can probably arrange for you to come watch this part of the process.

     

12. Can I come and build my own board using your materials and equipment?

    No. While the "make your own pizza" concept does sound like fun, making a snowboard isn't the same as tossing a pizza together and chucking it in the oven. There are a lot of sharp tools, heat, and chemicals involved and we don't want to be responsible for the inevitable pain.

     

13. Can I do my high school senior project in your shop?

    No. See the previous answer.

     

14. How can I learn to build a snowboard myself?

    There are a few web sites that help people learn to build snowboards. Check out skibuilders.com and grafsnowboards.com.

     

15. Can you make a really wide board for my large feet? What is the widest board you can make?

    The width of our boards is limited by the width of the materials we use, which is 32cm. However, that does not mean that we can make a board with a 32cm waist!! The widest part of the board will be the nose and tail, and the waist is narrower. The combination of running length, sidecut radius, and nose/tail width will all combine to limit the width of the waist. Practically speaking, if you’re willing to go with a very big sidecut radius on a board of reasonable length, then we can approach 28cm at the waist.