Box Building FAQ

[LTDSNOWBOARDER]

Id say to not worry about money too much, the pvc might work, but we wont have snow for like 5+ months so you could gradully just save some money up. I made a wooden rail last year and was really, really hesitent about trying to boardslide it, but when i tried to it didnt work out to bad. I would say i only caught my edge like 2 times.

[Stevo]

Id say to not worry about money too much, the pvc might work, but we wont have snow for like 5+ months so you could gradully just save some money up. I made a wooden rail last year and was really, really hesitent about trying to boardslide it, but when i tried to it didnt work out to bad. I would say i only caught my edge like 2 times.

I've got more important things to save my money for, as does dan. Formica works fine, we tried it at skier1260's yard park. Why go through all that trouble of ordering and shipping and waiting? I was just posting that for ideas, not what we were gonna actually use.

[pyro_boarder]

If any one has any links to sites with designs, please post them (other than rampplans.org). I'm having trouble finding anything. Thanks.

[pyro_boarder]

I fixed some of the concerns that were addressed and finished the top sheet table. I also formatted it to be more appealing and hopefully easier to read. I am still going to fix some more of the things everyone mentioned, including adding some diagrams. Again all suggestions are welcome.

[Shadows]

so, plexi glass is soft as shit

formica is actually expensive - 60 bucks for two 13 foot boxes, that are 1 foot wide. i think she said $1.53/sq ft

uhmw/hdpe is even more expensive.

 

so what the hell?

im making two boxes and so far i have only spent like 10 bucks on screws. now im down to the topsheet/coping and i think total its gonne be like 200 bucks.

 

pipe is around 60 bucks.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Shadows

[pyro_boarder]

so, plexi glass is soft as shit

formica is actually expensive - 60 bucks for two 13 foot boxes, that are 1 foot wide. i think she said $1.53/sq ft

uhmw/hdpe is even more expensive.

 

so what the hell?

im making two boxes and so far i have only spent like 10 bucks on screws. now im down to the topsheet/coping and i think total its gonne be like 200 bucks.

 

pipe is around 60 bucks.

 

Fixed that. Eventualy I want to add price comparisons as well as a table of materials for coping but haven't had the time.

[Shadows]

Fixed that. Eventualy I want to add price comparisons as well as a table of materials for coping but haven't had the time.

 

i was hoping more fore suggestions/info to help me save money

the depot wont sell/give scraps, and neither will the kitchen stores

[Shadows]

so, i just got back from buying the rest of my materials. topsheet was 47 bucks for a 4x8 sheet of formica. thats enough to cover both of my boxes, with a little extra.

i got 5, 10 ft black steel pipe for 10 bucks a piece. so all together it was like 100 bucks (not including wood, cause i goot wood for free)

not bad. i guess

[zaldon]

i was hoping more fore suggestions/info to help me save money

the depot wont sell/give scraps, and neither will the kitchen stores

depot does have a scrap bin that has bad wood for loooow prices

[k2rider2690]

i use ABS plastic and it works great! it isnt too expensive and my friends and i have only caught our edges in it 3 times over the past 3 years. of course it helps if u dull your edges a little. i bought enough for and 8ft long boxy by 8inches wide 3 years ago. i just bought another set a week ago for 53 dollars. heres the site

 

http://www.indplastic.com/index.cfm?fuseac...amp;product=173

 

 

oh and something i forgot you dont need cooping with this plastic. at least i dont have it and it works great. the plastic slides super nice ill post a video soon

[DiMe]

I recently built an 8 Ft flatbox and choose 1/4" clear plexiglass for my top sheet because I scored some for free. I also purchased 2 8ft 1" aluminum angle iron for coping. After flipping through some of the box building threads I noticed many people are against aluminum because its sticky and has potentiel to catch edges. I also seen somewhere in a post that plexiglass can be a little sticky.

 

Any advice on weither pr not I should use aluminum angle iron with the plexi glass. My origional plan for a top sheet was formica and steel angel iron until I scored the plexi and seen the price difference in aluminum and steel angle iron. I'm debating weither I should just put the plexi and angle iron on and see how she works when we get some snow or if I shouldn't bother using the aluminum.

Edited November 5, 2006 by DiMeThIcOnE

[Tyler]

before u do anything, make ur box longer. 8 ft will get boring in a hurry. you will get on it and before u know it you will be off of it...

[DiMe]

before u do anything, make ur box longer. 8 ft will get boring in a hurry. you will get on it and before u know it you will be off of it...

 

I'm not worried about length right now. This is the first box I built and want to make sure it slides well with the materials I have. The frame is already built so extending it is out of the question and I would be really upset if I did extend it and my top material and coping didnt work

 

I plan on building a longer box if this one works out well

 

So anyways back to the origional question. Aluminum angle iron coping and 1/4" plexi glass top sheet? Good or bad idea...

Edited November 5, 2006 by DiMeThIcOnE

[k2rider2690]

ok you are doing the same exact thing that i did when i built my first box. It was eight feet long and i used plexi glass and aluminum angle iron. Lets just say that it worked, but after the first season i got all new stuff. the aluminum works but u can catch your edge. if you have the money go out and buy ABS plastic. It works just like the mtn boxes and slides super nice. you dont need any angle iron then too. right now i have two 8ft boxes with abs plastic and im loving it. the problem is that your going to be spending about 50 bucks for the plastic.

 

heres the web site. i would suggest getting .25 and no thiner. the reason is so that you can counter sink your screws

Edited November 5, 2006 by mikey

[Tyler]

website??

[k2rider2690]

http://www.indplastic.com/index.cfm?fuseac...amp;product=174

[Tyler]

how do u think this stuff would slide, i have a sheet of it laying in my garage...its24''x40''... so i could make a 13 ft box at 6 in wide....just an idea...http://www.hockeygear.com/toshbo.html

Edited November 5, 2006 by Oakley21

[DiMe]

ok you are doing the same exact thing that i did when i built my first box. It was eight feet long and i used plexi glass and aluminum angle iron. Lets just say that it worked, but after the first season i got all new stuff. the aluminum works but u can catch your edge. if you have the money go out and buy ABS plastic. It works just like the mtn boxes and slides super nice. you dont need any angle iron then too. right now i have two 8ft boxes with abs plastic and im loving it. the problem is that your going to be spending about 50 bucks for the plastic.

 

heres the web site. i would suggest getting .25 and no thiner. the reason is so that you can counter sink your screws

 

How did the aluminum and plexi work for ya? Was it very sticky or very dangerous because of the soft aluminum sliding horizontally? I am going to use ABS plastic for the next box I build. You don't use any coping at all and don't run the risk of catching an edge with it?

[pyro_boarder]

how do u think this stuff would slide, i have a sheet of it laying in my garage...its24''x40''... so i could make a 13 ft box at 6 in wide....just an idea...http://www.hockeygear.com/toshbo.html

That looks like it should slide fine, but I can't tell what kind of plastic it is. If its HDPE, ABS, PVC, etc. it would be great. If it's acrylic or Plexiglas it should be ok, but you would need coping.

 

 

Also, I plan on revising the FAQ soon. If anyone has any ideas or anything to add to improve the FAQ, it would be appreciated.

[Tyler]

include a section of what materials you definetly need coping for and which ones you could get away without it...

[DiMe]

Holy fuck. I'm going to answer my own question for anyone else who ends up having the same question as up front as possible. DO NOT USE PLEXI GLASS OR ALUMINUM on a box at all! I slid my board accross the top of the box with my hands a few times and dug into the apparently butter soft angle iron without even trying as well as scratched the shit out of the unslippery plexi with whatever little bit of dirt or debree that was under my board or on the surface.

 

I'm taking the plexi and angle iron off and buying a sheet of ABS to use as a top sheet before the snow even comes for me to try what I have now.

 

 

DO NOT USE PLEXIGLASS OR ALUMINUM EVER. It will not resemble a mountain box.

Edited November 7, 2006 by DiMeThIcOnE

[DiMe]

Ok after doing some research and reading through some other threads on this forum I've figured out that majority of the resorts use UHMW aka Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. It is a bit pricey but for what it is I think its worth it. I found .25" thick 24" x 96" sheets on http://www.mcmaster.com/ for $96 which will make ya a 1' x 16' box or two 1' x 8' boxes.

 

Hope this helps anyone looking for a good top sheet of resort quality.

[splooshie]

they use plexiglass on the boxes at shawnee. if uve ever slidden the boxes there... well... you can tell that its horrible for sliding

[Matt-Stunt]

they use plexiglass on the boxes at shawnee. if uve ever slidden the boxes there... well... you can tell that its horrible for sliding

 

 

haha its definetley not!!!!! plexyglass shatters buddy! and yes i do know wut im talking about!

[Tyler]

whats a good topsheet thickness?