Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

Backyard Rail

22K views 29 replies 12 participants last post by  SnowOwl 
G
#1 ·
I'm building a box and a rail in my backyard, and i need some advice on supplies. For the rail, i'm planning on going with a double barrel made out of PVC pipe since it's cheaper and easier to build with than metal. Will this work or is it a waste? Also, any advice on what to use for supports. I've got a very limited budget, so free stuff is best.
 
#2 ·
Here's an idea for one seeking free materials:

Go to a local establishment, this includes a nearby library, hospital, senior citizens' center, etc. (any public venue basically) and find a nice rail, bonus points for finding a kink rail. Take a hacksaw to the base of the supports and then just strap that baby to the roof of your car. Remember to hang a red flag from the rail while transporting it or else a cop will pull you over (you need that red flag, it's the law).

Easy, and free.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Haha, that's hilarious, so you better not forget the red flag to not get pulled over for transport, but stealing a handrail is ok :laugh:
Not knocking you, I just think thats funnier than shit.

Oh yeah, and fuck the hacksaw, get a cordless sawzall to fly through it. You could probably get a handrail removed in less than 10 minutes with one. On a side note I wouldn't reccomend using pvc because it will more than likely crumble under the weight of a human being, especially with the force you on a snowboard could throw at it.

I'd use wood if you don't know how to weld but if you came to me (I'm a welder) I could probably whip something up for you out of square metal tubing for around $100 and it would maybe take me all of 1 hour or so. Then you just need to skin it with whatever they put on those boxes to make them slick.

Check local welding shops and give them a rough drawing, you'd be suprised how quickly and inexpensively something like that could be built.
 
G
#4 ·
My school has a fabrication shop with various welding and metalworking supplies, so if anyone could help me with how you would weld a rail together (ARC maybe?), i could get permission to build it as a side project and get my supplies from a scrapyard.
 
#5 ·
If you don't know how to weld I wouldn't reccomend a snowboard box or anything structural for your first project. See if the shop teacher can help you. Welding isn't exactly the type of thing you just pick up and do first try. You will be arc welding though, whether it is Mig, Flux, Stick etc. to answer your question. You will be welding on mild steel. Mig or Flux core would be your best bet because it is the easiest to learn.
 
#9 ·
me and a couple friends built a few boxes this summer using wood frames. we did use small metal rails for the coping, but they were easy enough to drill through with a powerdrill. also, we ordered polyethylene online for the top. it was a bit pricy but worth it, the stuff is slippery as fuck.

we did all of this with almost zero experience and ended up with a couple of solid boxes. it didnt take long either.

sorry i have no rail-building experience but i can give u more info on how to make these boxes if u want.
 
G
#18 ·
theres gotta be someplace to buy pre made hand rails (like actual hand rails) that u cud just stick into some kind of a solid support... they'd prolly be pretty big though if you went that route..

I've been thinking of doing this for some time, but the snow I ended up getting this season is telling me not to bother... lol.
 
G
#20 · (Edited)
If you made a wooden base, couldn't you mill out a groove and just put a large piece of pipe in there? glue it if you really want to....

Let's see if I can ascii draft this here:

.. _
_/. \_
|.\_/.|
|......|
-------

The view is a cross-section, the hexagonal shape representing the pipe, the saddle being the wooden base. Throw a few coats of varnish on the wood for water resistance and I think it may work. There shouldn't be issues with the board touching the base given a large enough diameter pipe and the fact that you'd be falling off by then anyways. Plus you could round off the edges of top of the wooden base structure.
Sound idea? or am I way off my rocker?

ok had to edit, ignore the dots...for some reason the forum didn't like my formatting.
If you can't understand what I "drew" I can try to get a gif or jpeg up.

edit again...i see this idea has already been mentioned....
Would scrapyards be a good place to find rails? Or dumpsters behind machine shops?
 
#21 ·
Honestly as a welder, I'm going to say that is a lot of work. If you had a few pieces of metal you cut by yourself with a sawzall, or a skilsaw with a metal blade any welder should be able to throw together a simple single rail in less than an hour, and for a narrow box (12" or so) maybe 2 hours. If you are going super duper cheap and have the material, I don't think your idea would be a bad route. If you have any good welding shops you may be able to find something but at our shop we usually cut the stuff to pieces right when we get it. Check with a place that does a lot of commercial remodels, you might be able to find some type of rail for free.
 
G
#23 ·
If you have an older board that can become your 'backyard jib board', and that's all you're going to use it for, go ahead and fully file down the edges. Then you can use just about anything for your rails without worrying about catching your edges. For example, PVC pipes make a much less expensive box-edge than metal pipes.
 
#28 ·
me and my buddy are building a rail. we are making an a frame out of 2X4's the just screwing two 1-1/2" PVC pipes to the top 2X4. the pipes will hold because they are have a small diameter but with the same thickness of plastic. it will be light and under $50
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top