By Steve Batchelor
Whether you are into skateboards, bikes or in-line skates you really need a jump ramp to launch yourself into the air and perform all those crazy aerial stunts. You have probably been and tried out other peoples ramps but of course you want a better one in your own back yard. Read on and we'll tell you how to go about it....
Step one
Check out as many jump ramps as you can, it's the best way to find out what kind of ramp you want for yourself. When you find ones you like make a note of what you like about them so you can copy it for your ramp. You are interested in the height and transition; why not take a photo on your mobile to refer to when you're designing your own.
Step two
Collect together all your notes and photos and sit down and design your ramp on paper. Decide how high you want to go, don't go over board to start with if you're a beginner, you can always make a bigger ramp in the future.
Step three
When you have the design you want sketched on paper you need to draw the shape of the transition (sides of the ramp) on some plywood. The best way to do this is to lay a large sheet of plywood on the floor, tie some string about 8 feet long to a pencil, place the pencil on the corner of the plywood, stretch the string out along and extending past the shortest edge of the plywood and anchor the end of the string to the floor. You can then draw a curve keeping the string taut as you do it. You may need to play around with the length of the string and the anchor point to get the curve you want.
Step four
When you have sketched the curve you want on the plywood and you are happy with it, you can cut out the shape with a jigsaw. Make sure to get an adult to help you....
Step five
When you have cut the shape out get the edges nice and smooth with some sandpaper or and electric sander. Then you can lay it on another sheet of plywood, or if you had your head screwed on when you planned the ramp you might be able to get both sides of the transition out of one sheet of plywood. Trace around the first transition then cut and sand to suit.
Step six
Now you have two identical pieces which you should brace together with some 2" by 4" timber. Nail or screw a length at each corner. If you're clever you will make the ramp the same width as the material you are going to use for the curved riding surface of the ramp to save you cutting it.
Step seven
Fix more 2" by 4"s lengths between the curved sections of the transitions at 6" intervals. Make sure these are well fixed and your ramp will last longer. Screw from the outside in with at least two screws at each end for the best results. Pilot drill the holes for the screws to prevent splitting.
Step eight
Glue and nail a piece of flexible double ply to the riding surface; obviously you will have made your ramp the right width to accommodate this without cutting it...
Step nine
Fit a flat thin piece of metal at the bottom of the ramp to bridge the gap and give a smooth transition between the ramp and the floor. Make sure there are no exposed nails or screw heads on the ramp or your tyres and wheels won't last long.
Step ten
Hopefully you have finished up with a strong sturdy design. Test the strength of the ramp with your own body weight before you use it. It would be a shame to break your neck after going to all that trouble....
Steve Batchelor is a Extreme Sports enthusiast and the webmaster at http://www.extremesportguides.com/ where you can find some great information on many different extreme sports. He also recommends infogoldmine for more info on extreme sports as well as many other subjects.
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