How & Why to Install Skateboard Deck Rails | Tactics

Skateboard deck rails are thin, hard plastic strips that screw onto the bottom edges of the deck, providing a slick barrier that makes your skateboard slide even further on just about any surface. They also work as a shield to keep your deck's graphic safe. Pick up a pair and start shredding like its 1989!

Special Thanks to Liam Helberg for showing us how it's done with deck rails! IG: @liamhelberg

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Why to Install Deck Rails: 00:00
How to Install Deck Rails: 00:56
Maintenance: 2:54

[tomvaughan]

wow I just searched up how to put on deck rails and where to put them and this video from a few minutes ago showed up

[TheDeadStretch]

I know this is an old video but I have a tip that might work. At 3:05 when a screw hole gets stripped for a Guitar strap the easy at home fix is to shove a toothpick in the hole, break it off and add some wood glue. After it dries there is now something the screw/s can hold onto.

[vincentsomna]

PRO TIP: never put the screws in from the outside to the inside. That will cause your rail to bend up making it prone to hang up on things. Instead, screw them In from 1 side to another.

[spiccolirocks]

Always predrill your holes when installing screws into wood, especially hardwood! Driil a hole the size of the screw shank or just a bit smaller! It will remove just enough wood and give the screw threads a uniform surface to bite into! Use wax on the screw heads to make installation easier! Remember, you are only drilling into the deck about a 1/4 of an inch! And if you do strip out a hole cut and glue in a small wooden dowel! An 1/8, 3/16 dowel should do. Just drill the same size hole as the dowel, glue it in, let dry and you have something solid to work with again! If that's too much work, you really don't care! So hack away, Butchers!

[BerserkerNick]

These came on every board when I was a kid

[landonkane]

Pro tip put double sided tape under it to secure it when screwing the screws in

[antonvouk]

I love that tactics is showcasing a Cal Skate deck in the beginning of this video. Oldest skate shop still operating. Located in Portland Oregon!

[skate]

I learned that hand screwing can actually make it strip more than with a power drill. I did my first two rail installations with a power drill set resistance to 5 and it didn't overtighten it was perfect. I decided to move them closer together because they were too far apart and the graphic was getting destroyed, but I did it with a screwdriver last time and it gets tight but then it starts slipping and won't fully tighten into the deck. I have the rail rattles and they are SO FRUSTRATING!! One screw from each rail won't fully sink in and I don't want to move them again because I already moved them. I hope I can resolve that issue soon. Awesome video!

[joecordova]

You forgot that rail help you grab your board for when you do airs

[pandorasbox]

Omg thank you so much man, my town is very small and has maybe like 5 people in the skate scene so A lot of the curbs are very crusty and I’ve been trying to boardslide on them and it doesn’t go to well but this has literally saved my life (and my board)

[Dan_Kornfeld]

To repair a stripped out screw hole, cut a small piece of a bamboo skewer (found very cheep at any supermarket), and glue it into the hole using wood glue, or super glue. Let the glue dry (sand anything that sticks out), then just screw the rail back in its original position. Done!

[TheReal_DeanD]

very nice video. I remember as a kid deck rails used to come on nearly every deck. Now you can't even find deck rails in a store or it is near impossible to find.

[entheo]

I started skating on the cusp of old school fish tail boards and new school popsicle sticks. Everybody wanted to distance themselves from the 80s so nobody would be caught dead using rails. I think I’m gonna get some for my board. I do remember how fun it was to slide with them.

[surfinairwaves]

Cool! Ive got my first introduction to board rails thank you

[diegoespinosa]

Thank you for this video. No other decent one like this... for us who bought our first skate for the kid it is awesome. Appreciate it.

[MRK.]

do not screw the ends first, you can get a "bubble" in the middle

[landonkane]

What I do is I get some heavy duty double sided tape and then place it on the deck rails so when u place it on the deck it won’t budge and u can drill it in without a problem cause decks are slippery af

[heinrichsmit]

A tip for screws into wood I learnt the hard way, to avoid stripping wood, drill thin pilot holes. All that's left is to turn the screws in. The threads are made easier and you can use a hand screw driver too.

[Ardeact]

some things to note with screws is to predrill and don't screw all the way in yet without screwing in the other ones, will save you a lot of trouble

[igneocognitotalos]

I feel like these would make the board crack easier... having all those screws in the wood. I didnt know people still did this these days.