Making Rails

[ski_dem]

i know somebody has got to have built a rail, so i heard the best way to make rails is with PVC pipe but i still need plans for it
anybody that ever built a rail tell me how

[kirk]

I wouldnt reccomend using a PVC pipe to make a rail, unless you want it to be like sitting on the ground. PVC is weak, and if it isn't constantly supported, it could easily bend and break. There are several different possibilies you could pursue to make a rail. If you want a round rail, I'd reccomend purchasing a 2.5" black or galvanized steel pipe from a home depot or somewhere like that. It costs like $25, and they come in 10' or 21' sections, so it might be a little hard to get home. Depending on where you buy from, they could have some delivery available.

There are tons of different ways you can make the support for these. I'd reccomend using bolts. The only problem with this is that you need to have a tap to thread the rail. This is probably the best method because it leaves the surface completly smooth. Just make sure you have a very wide base to support the rail. The width of the base should be approximatly twice the height of the rail.

If you want a square rail, There are a few things you can do. Sometimes they have square rails around for various reasons. I'd just ask someone, tell them what you are trying to do, and they should be able to help. If you need more help, just let me know. Me and a couple of my friends built a skatepark in his backyard with like quarteres, kickeres, tables, fun boxes, rails, spines, and the like, so I have quite a bit of experience in this area.

[griswald]

here are some good rail plans:

http://www.aggressive.com/help/rail_plans.cfm

[ski_dem]

thanks, i came up with an idea of my own
ok what if u took to smaller & thicker, pieces of pvc like 2in.
take 2 of these and lay them on a 2x4 of equal length, then drilled up through the 2x4 and into the pvc pipe
so now the 2 pvc pipes are side by side on top of the 2x4
then u could just suupport the 2x4 with more wood
so would the 2x4 support the pvc pipe enough with screws or bolts and nuts, like every foot?

[kirk]

yea, that would probably work. I put a 2" pvc pipe on a quarter one time because it was cheaper. I used 3" drywall screws, and it works pretty good. I'd put them in like every 4-6" though, because they don't hold the pvc pipe too well. Bolts and nuts would be pretty difficult because you couldn't get to them. Also, a 2x4 isn't really 4" wide, so 2 2" pvc pipes will stick out the sides... but that really wont affect anything.

Also, pvc is fast as hell, and it feels like a regular rail that someone dumped WD-40 all over. Good luck trying to build that, and hope it work.

-kirk

[matthew]

ya pvc has one hell of a fast slide what i do with my pvc rails is just put them on the ground and if i want it to tilt or something just pack snow under it as for other rails i just make mine in shop i am makeing a kinked rail now and i am thinking about maybe doing a c rail (i get all my steel from the school there makeing a new part to our school and there are rails everywhere)

[ski_dem]

making a box

thanks, well i think i might try it out of pvc pipe cause it'll be cheaper and try to get used to the fast, if that doesn't work i know thiers a some old pipe in my garadge i can use,
i was also thinkin about building a box with some left over wood i have, so if anyone some plans for building it or has built one, i need some tips

[ski_dem]

kirk, u live in state colledge so u ski at 7 springs?

[jhritz2000]

where you at?

Hey MATTHEW, KIRK, and SKI_DEM....where are all you guys at in PA? and where do you ski? Theres a bunch of us up in the st. marys area(half hour from Dubois) We all ski up at Holiday Valley in NY. Just wondering where the rest of you were?

[ski_dem]

hey jhritz2000, i ski pretty exclusivly at seven springs,
its a nice place and last year was awesome cause we had tons of snow, i been up to holiday valley like 2 times for a mini road trip, and vermont but basically 7 springs
there are alot of people on here from PA thou

[jhritz2000]

yeah i didn't relize how many skiboardees we had in Pa. I no theres about 10-15 skiboarders in our ski club right now, and Holiday Valley is packed with them!!

[matthew]

ya there are alot of us as for me i ride at skiroundtop small mt. they have one run thats about strate down where geting a new supper pipe and a new park this year i got high hopes for it

[kirk]

Yeah, I normally ski at seven springs. They have great rails, but they usually dont have that great jumps. Sometimes they're nice, just depends on how they do them... I'll think I'll be hitting up Tussey a lot too because like 10 min. away. Never been there yet, but I hear its ok. I've been to holiday valley once, but that was a few years back. Anyone who wants to ride somewhere, hit me up, its always cool to have more people to skiboard with.

Also, I made a few boxes. They're pretty simple to make and cost like $50 for everything. Make sure you get sheet plastic for the top, so it will slide nice and smooth, and make sure to counter sink the screws, so they dont rip up your boards. If your just using it for skiboarding, you can make it without coping or anything. I could make you some plans for the ones I made If you want them. The first one I built was 2' wide, 8' long, and 18" high. It was easy to make and took like an hour and a half or so, and that was for everything from cutting the wood to finish. I'm not sure about the others, but they're pretty similar. They're all built the same way, so generic plans work pretty well if you make dimensions for it. A skinny box might be pretty cool for skiboarding, to do like kind grinds and stuff. Let me know if you need anything else.

-kirk

[ski_dem]

i'm always lookin for guys to ski with up at 7springs

i think i figured out how to make a box after i thought about it, and i got some like 1/2in. plexi glass i think will work if i counter sink the screws like u said, i just got some pvc pipe to start making a few rails
I was also thinking if the reports are wrong and we dont' get much snow this year, what if u made the base for jumps out of haybails, and then packed the snow into it, wonder if that would work

[kirk]

I used haybails at my grandmas house a few years ago to make jumps. If they are frozen, they work real good but sometimes they slide. They help alot because it wont take any time to make a decent jump.