Building rails at home?

[kage]

Ok. So last year I saw some pics and vidoes of people riding what looked like home made rails. Some did not seem to have a whole lot of snow around either. I don't have any snow anytime in my backyard ( california - beach).
My park skills are probably not that great, so I thought, what if I set up some rails in the backyard to practice on? Can't hurt (too much anyway) and might do some good. So what do I make them out of, especially if I'm cheap?
Has anyone done this? I have a lot of lumber around ,lots of 20 foot 4 x 12's, but that's wood, not too smooth. Big Plastic pipes? Something I could cover the wood with? Any ideas out there?:confused:

[tyberesk]

wait if there is no snow...are you building a rail for inlines or for another sliding surface?

[kage]

skiboards and snowboards only.

[tyberesk]

what can u use if you dont have any snow?

[zackariah]

Masonite for the top is generally a good way to go, or so i've heard

[kirk]

Masonite gets absolutely destroyed when it gets wet. I had a halfpipe for a while that we had to change the panels nearly every month for it to be ridable. Any type of plastic really would be a smooth top for grinding, but you still have to find a way to move with no snow.

[zackariah]

ahaha sorry about that. thanks kirk. soorrry folks for my misguidance

[kage]

I could cover it from rain. But I wonder about the snow, the snow seems to mostly come off the rails after people ride them, or is that my imagination?

[kirk]

I put a boat cover over my halfpipe... water still finds a way in. Masonite isn't a very strong material, and it likes to warp. It is really good for skating ramps because it is super smooth, but its one of the last things I would use for a skiboard box.

Personally, I would just go to a home improvement store and try to find anything they have that is smooth and big enough to use. PVC Pipes are an option, but you can catch an edge really easily on them. Since you have the wood already, you might be best off using that to make a basic box and just top it with something smooth you can find at a home improvement type store. Just make sure that your screws are properly countersunk, or you will ruin your boards.

[evanthehunter]

Yeah I was thinking about buying a 2" PVC pipe for this winter. We have some 1 1/2", will those work?

[Mark]

Don't use a pvc pipe... Buy some flat stock or better yet, a 16 foot I beam. then weld supports, also for a box I have a 2x2x8 box which i'll be covering in UHMW (fancy word for low friction plastic)

this is the kinda stuff you want:

http://cgi.ebay.com/UHMW-TIVAR-15-X-16-x-1-5-in-Plastic-White-UHMWPE_W0QQitemZ320173485810QQihZ011QQcategoryZ617 98QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

wood does NOT slide unless you know how to slide it. It is not something you want to learn on. the tall box i slide in this video was wood and it was super sketchy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy5kZ3m1LMA

[JUNGLEKID5]

use the pipe that you have laying aroun and drill holes into the pipe and screw it to the boards that you have.make the top holes bienought for the screw head to go threw but the botm one smaller so it holds the screw head. as far as sliding you can use numerus things like thae fake green gass { plastic rug} stuff or you can use plasic fencing and the build a little hill to putt it on. and help hit me up..

[evanthehunter]

is there a specific reason why not to use PVC pipe? where could I get some metal pipe?

[JUNGLEKID5]

pvc works but it scapes and your edges dig in but keep your boards flat and it works well

[Manlenium]

You can get metal poles at home depot. The metal kind used for fencing. Think it come in ten foot lengths.

You should try and build some with standard two by fours. Cheap, easy and will do less damage to your boards long term.

[Mark]

I would stick with a flat metal rail of some kind, thats what you find at the slopes so why practice on something that feels and slides differently.

[evanthehunter]

Originally posted by Mark
I would stick with a flat metal rail of some kind, thats what you find at the slopes so why practice on something that feels and slides differently.

alright, I think my cousin might have some old rail like pipe, ill try it soon ( finally snow on the weather forecast) :)

[hn03076]

Guess I'll go to HD this weekend and get rail material. After reading all of this I can't ride with you guys this year and get laughed at. I'll be in shape on the rails...finally!

[Mark]

my rail/box combo is set to begin construction this week, i'll keep you guys updated with photos/video. you will be amazed.