A DIY Balance Board for Future Surfers (With a Free Template!)

Find a suitable piece of scrap plywood – 3/4″ hardwood plywood works best if this board is for the whole family, as it can easily and safely hold the weight of an adult.

If you don’t have a piece at home, head to the store for a piece of 2-foot by 4-foot 3/4-inch plywood.

You can print out our optional template and prep it by taping the sheets together to create the full-sized outline, or skip it if you don’t have a jigsaw or don’t want rounded edges – a straight-sided board will work too!

*Note: One of my favorite wood shopping tips: if you don’t have wood cutting tools at home, most big box stores or lumber shops will cut a piece to size for you if you ask.

Place your template on the plywood and trace around it with a permanent marker.

Grab your safety goggles and fire up the jigsaw! Clamp your plywood board to a sturdy working surface and cut along the outline (or your desired shape).

For added stability, I put small bumpers on the bottom of my board. These bumpers only allow the roller to roll to the edges of the board and no further – stopping it from sliding out from underneath the board. This way, when you’re rolling back and forth on your roller, it will hit the bumpers rather than from flying out from under your if you slide too quickly from one side to the other.

You can use scrap from the ply you cut away for two long blocks that will create simple bumpers. Mine measured 8″ long by 1.5″ wide.

Sand, sand, and sand some more! Starting with coarse-grit sandpaper, thoroughly sand the top, bottom, and all around the edges. Sand again with medium grit, then again with fine grit.

I used a palm-sized power sander to speed the process up, but you don’t have to! If you have a small spare wood block, you can wrap sandpaper around it to make sanding a little easier.

After sanding, wipe down your board and bumpers with a damp rag or tack cloth.

If you want to stain your board, this is the time to do it! Apply a wood stain (if desired) to the board and bumpers and let dry for a solid 5-6 hours in a well-ventilated, dry area. Apply additional coats for a darker color (I applied two).

I highly recommend doing 2-3 coats of polyurethane with sanding in between – mostly because I like to use my board with bare feet for better stability, and a few extra coats of a nice thick finish means zero chance of a surprise splinter. Splinter-free is the way to be.

I did 2 coats of clear gloss, painted my stripes on just with some leftover paint I had, and then applied one more on top, to seal in the stripes and give it a glossy, super-smooth finish!

*Note: You’ll want to let dry for at least 8 hours between coats – if it’s still tacky, it’s not dry. Once you’ve put your last coat of poly on, you’re going to be dying to test this thing out – resist! Make sure you give your board a solid 24-48 hours of dry time before you hop on – take it from me…sticky feet are a real bummer.

Attach your bumpers using two screws at opposite ends for each bumper. I started my screws through the top of the board, but only because I knew I was going to be covering them with grip tape. If you’re not, start the screws through the bumpers, making sure they don’t go all the way through the top of your board.

As you can see, I actually attached my bumpers BEFORE staining, and although it doesn’t really make a big difference, it’s technically not the most detailed or thorough way to do it. Personally, I say do it in whichever order you prefer.

*Note: Keep in mind that the closer to the middle of the board your bumpers are, the less room you have to roll – for younger boarders who might just be learning balance, bumpers a bit closer together can be a great way to ease them into balance training. 

I added grip strips at the edges, and although it’s optional, I recommend it! I wanted to make sure I had something at the edges to keep my feed from sliding, and have been thankful everytime I get on it that they’re there.

I included the grip tape shape I cut out in the template, but you can just cut strips from a roll if you’d rather keep it simple! For younger kids, you may want strips going horizontally the full length of the board (these help immensely if you or your kids like to wear socks while boarding).

*Note: I purchased my grip tape at Home Depot (it was actually meant for stairs) but if you’re having trouble finding it, there are tons of places to purchase it online – I even found a bunch of sites that sold cool colors and patterns like these or these.

For the roller, you can either use a foam roller (I use a 6″ diameter, 18″ long roller) or purchase a piece of 3″ PVC pipe from a local supplier or box store (they’ll cut it for you). Wrap a few pieces of duct or grip tape around the pipe for added stability.

*For the original-sized board, trim pipe to 18″ and for a smaller kid-sized board, a 2-inch pipe trimmed to 12″ works well. 

Add fun stuff, decorate, and make it your own!! You or your kids can add decals, stickers, stripes, or even paint their own designs