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| midlo |
 Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:25 pm |
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Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 219
Location: Maryland
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| i'm about to start planning and building a 4 ft high, 12ft wide mini half in my back yard. I think i could build a descent one if i just went at it, i'm pretty good with hammers and saws. But,...i was wondering if anybody could tell me how much flat bottom is appropriate for a 4ft mini half, and how long the string should be when i draw out my transitions?. i'm thinking somewhere around 70" for the tranny. it will probably make more sense to me if i had it in front of me, and i could just eye it up. But, any experienced suggestions would be helpful. thanks-midlo |
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| rwadley |
| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:46 pm |
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Joined: 24 Oct 2004
Posts: 89
Location: TN
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I generally use a 2x4 for drawing transitions. Some people draw eliptical transitions, though.
8 ft of flat is good
a 70" radius is tight, but some like it that way. I prefer a 84-96" radius, but different strokes for different folks.
screws are better than nails.
osb board is bad for ramps
mount your 2x4's on its small edge
space 2x4's no less than 9" apart
Beast |
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| midlo |
| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 10:26 pm |
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Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 219
Location: Maryland
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thanks. what should i use to get a supersmooth surface? i've always heard masonite.
Do you think 2 layers of plywood probably 1/2" thick will be enough. (i'm older and fatter these days)
oh yeah.....what is "eliptical"? |
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| altomic |
| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 10:32 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 2098
Location: here and there
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wait for a house to be demolished near you and then go and salvage all the cross beams that are used to hold the roof tiles on. I used those for attaching the ply to my ramp..
my ramp was oiginally 8 foot high with 12 foot of flat (and 12 foot wide). but it didn`t cut the mustard so it was reduced to 5/5.5 foot high. the 12 foot of flat was still way cool and I totally dug it, as did everybody who rode the ramp.
maybe for 4 foot high go 8 to 10 foot of flat. I`d say 10 definetly for the flat.
Im hanging to get back to australia and build my self a half pipe.
fuck, there was just an avalanche near my house. |
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| childish gambino |
| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:11 pm |
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Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 290
Location: Victoria, BC
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| I don't know about the radius of the tranny, we usually just eyeball it. Depending on how tight it is 8 to 10 feet of flat is good for a 4 foot. 2 layers of quarter inch ply with masonite or skatelite is perfect for surfacing. My weight goes up and down between 180 and 220 and that amount of surface seems pretty strong. 4 foot mini's are so fun. Good luck and post pics when it's done. |
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| mattvon |
| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:24 pm |
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Joined: 13 May 2003
Posts: 1327
Location: Minneapolis
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Hey, I've built a number of minis, here are some guidelines--
7' radii are standard for 4' miniramps in most parks, quick, but not too gnarly. I have a mini in my garage which is 2-1/2' with 6' radius. I've got a 1' extension on one end, when you get going pretty good on the 3-1/2' section, the 6' radii seems plenty quick.
10' of flat would be perfect for a 4' mini. I've got 8' flat bottom on mine, and it's damn near perfect...quick, but gives you just enough time to set up for the next wall.
Riding surface--inside, Masonite, outside, plywood or Skatelite/Ramp Armor. Masonite is dusty, but a damp mop will take care of that. It's cheap, too. Masonite will not hold up in damp climates outside, however. If you live anywhere even a little wet, I'd suggest painted plywood, or if you can afford it, one of the expensive skate layers like Skatelite or Ramp Armor.
I'm a big guy, and my mini is 2 layers of 3/8" CDX and 1 1/4" layer of Masonite. It's plenty strong enough for skating, if you make sure to keep your 2x4 joists no more than 4' or at most 6' apart.
One last piece of advice--DO NOT freehand the transitions on your first template piece. It'll come out jacked, and you'll end up with a kinked tranny. Use a 2x4 with a hole in it for a Sharpie, and nail the other end down--that will guarantee smooth transitions.
You might want to check out www.rampplans.org, lots of good advice there.
Hope this helps! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions... |
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| altomic |
| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 12:57 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 2098
Location: here and there
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yeah to do the trannie shape, take a piece of 2*4 and nail it in to a poistion so that you can attach a piece of 7 or 8 foot string to the end and usingh a marker on the end of the string, swing it to draw your trannie. ::
if the trannie is 4 foot high then you should be able to get 2 trannie pieces from a piece of 8*4 foot 7 ply.
yeah, defitnately use screws for ply and anything that the ply is attached to.
if it is an outside ramp and you are using multiple layers of ply I would suggest painting each layer.
people will say "what the fah..." but it does preserve the under neath layer, cause if they get damp they will rot (sometimes with you realising.)
also layer the top ply layer, lay it down on an angle. when riding rather than both wheels hitting the joins between plys, the diagonal joins will make the ramp smoother. |
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| altomic |
| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 1:00 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 2098
Location: here and there
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altomic wrote: yeah to do the trannie shape, take a piece of 2*4 and nail it in to a poistion so that you can attach a piece of 7 or 8 foot string to the end and usingh a marker on the end of the string, swing it to draw your trannie. ::
if the trannie is 4 foot high then you should be able to get 2 trannie pieces from a piece of 8*4 foot 7 ply.
yeah, defitnately use screws for ply and anything that the ply is attached to.
if it is an outside ramp and you are using multiple layers of ply I would suggest painting each layer.
people will say "what the fah..." but it does preserve the under neath layer, cause if they get damp they will rot (sometimes without you realising and even if the top layer looks solid.)
also if its an outside ramp, paint the bottom of the bottom layer of ply as sometimes moisture will eat through from underneath.
also layer the top ply layer, lay it down on an angle. when riding rather than both wheels hitting the joins between plys, the diagonal joins will make the ramp smoother.
i was just trying to edit.
sorry |
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| BDS740 |
| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:59 am |
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Joined: 04 Feb 2004
Posts: 1006
Location: Daphne, AL
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We just about have my ramp finished. It's 4' tall, 16' wide, 8' transitions with 10' of flat. Seems to be just about perfect. The transitions are very mellow so you might go with 7.5' transitions but definately go with 10' of flat. 2 layers of 1/2" ply and I used a layer of roofing paper beetween the plys to help preserve the bottom layer and reduce noise. If you use masonite expect to replace it once a year. Here's a pic of the framework
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| auragreg |
| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:36 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 2382
Location: Highland, Michigan, USA, Earth
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great idea on the roofing paper .. did it really reduce noise?
When talking about painting the layers - what kind of paint are we talking about?
I heard aboutputting layers on diagnoally ... but what is the best way to do that. Just start putting the ply down and cutting what hangs over? |
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