A sheet of griptape, whether it's pre-cut, or cut from a roll, should exceed the length of your board. Pre-cut griptape is usually about 33" in length.

1) Lay your deck face down on the work area. Make sure the top surface is dry, and free of dirt and debris; this ensures the griptape will stick to its full potential.

2) Hold the griptape by the corner and peel of" the tan backing, just like you would peat the backing off of a sticker. Make sure you don't stick the griptape to anything by accident, as it will readily adhere to anything it comes in contact with.

3) Using both hands, hold the griptape several inches above the deck and align it so that the sheet will cover the entire surface.

4) Lower one side of the griptape onto your deck's nose, or tail.

5) Imagine that you are putting up wallpaper and roll the griptape onto your deck. Roll it on slowly and deliberately, smoothing it down in order to prevent air bubbles.

6) Once it's down, use your fingertips and the palms of your hands to press evenly over the entire surface of the deck. This ensures that the griptape adheres completely.

7) Next, you need to remove the excess griptape that is hanging over the edge of the deck. At a 45-degree angle, file around the entire edge of the deck several times using moderate pressure.

8) With the razor blade, or utility knife, cut along the filed edge of the deck, removing the excess griptape. The best way to do this is to cut from the underside of the deck so that you can see the razor blade protruding upwards through the griptape. Cut towards yourself in a slow and detiberate fashion, keeping your arms and fingers clear of the blade. A steady arm and a sharp blade will make cutting much easier.

The next step towards completing your board is to attach your trucks with the mounting hardware.

1) Poke starter holes through the griptape via the predrilled mounting holes in your deck using the Phillips-Head screwdriver, or Allen wrench.

2) Insert the mounting hardware through the poked holes - griptape side up.

3) With the palm of one hand, hold the mounting hardware from the griptape side, and use your other hand to fasten the truck.

4) Continue holding the mounting hardware from the griptape side, and hand tighten the mounting hardware nuts. This will secure your truck to the deck.

5) Repeat steps 3 - 4 for the other truck.

*When you put the trucks on, make sure the kingpin and bushings face inward, toward the middle of your deck. The kingpin and bushings of both trucks should face each other. it is imperative your trucks are mounted this way; otherwise, your board will turn in a manner that could result in injury.

6) Using the 3/8 " wrench and Phillips-Head screwdriver, or Allen wrench, tighten the mounting hardware.

7) Tighten each bolt moderately at first. This ensures that the trucks are secured with even pressure onto the deck. If your trucks are moving from side to side, this means you need to tighten the bolts down a bit more. Be careful not to over-tighten the hardware either. If the bolts are pulling through the top of the deck, you've tightened them too much.

The last step is to insert the bearings in your wheels, and to then attach the wheels to your trucks.

1) Since most of you probably don't own a bearing press, the next best thing to use is your truck.

2) Remove the nuts from your truck's axle.

3) Slide one bearing onto the axle, and place a wheel on top of the bearing. Using the palms of your hands, press the wheel down firmly onto the bearing. The bearing is securely inserted into the wheel when you feet it slide in and stop.

4) Since each wheel needs two bearings, flip the wheel over and insert another bearing.

5) Repeat steps I - 4 for the three other wheels.

6) Before attaching the wheels to your trucks, place one washer between the truck and wheel, and one washer between the wheel and nut. Washers prevent your wheels from locking if you experience axle slip, or if the nut accidentatly tightens itself.

7) Hand-tighten the nut onto the truck's axle.

8) Using the 1/2" wrench, tighten the nuts down moderately. Don't tighten the nuts down so that your wheels can't spin. Your wheels should have several millimeters of play between the truck axle and the nut.

9) Repeat steps 6 - 8 for the three other wheels.

*Most skate-tools come with bearing insertion ,devices. The problem with most of these devices is that there is little or no leverage-point to work against. Using a truck to insert your bearings al low-, you to use your board as a leverage-point,

You're finished! That's all there is too it. Go skate!