Rails

[Kevin]

Where would one find something that could be used as a rail? I'd like to find a piece of wood/metal/whatever that I can just throw in the back of my truck and plant somewhere where there's snow..

[chrisrunquist]

usually next to stairs

[Ult]

It would depend on what sort of manufacturing skills/tools you've got. I'm sure you could get stuff from the local Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace hardware to *build* a rail.

[Snowboarding_Native]

I teach kids to ride rails on bamboo or a piece of plastic fence rail with anchors....SOmeone told me that muffler shops can make you a very nice rail...welded and nice Might be a tad pricey....You can also go to a place like scheels and they sell skate boarding rails that work pretty damn good as well...

[greg]

I got this off another snowboard site-

Here is a simple way to build a nice beginner rail for under $50.

SUPPLIES
One 6 feet long, and one 4 feet long 2 by 4.
6 feet long, 4 inches wide iron.
Screw driver
Screws
Saw
Liquid Nails
All these supplies can be found at stores like Home Depot and Lowes.

HOW TO BUILD IT
1. Measure out four 1 foot lengths on the 4 feet 2 by 4.
2. Cut the four 1 foot lenghts out.
3. Screw two of the 1 foot lengths together in the shape of a T. Make sure the 2 by 4's are centered. Those are the legs.
4. Take the 6 feet long 2 by 4 and screw it to the top of the legs near the end of the two sides of the 6 feet long 2 by 4. The wider part should be facing up.
5. Put the iron on top of the top 2 by 4 using the liquid nails. Wait for it to dry, and you have a rail.

http://img1.putfile.com/main/12/36315444112.jpg

[Tlspen]

Ive got a couple that I set up in the winter time. One is in my sig. Your welcome to come with me and jib once snow falls. I also know of a few good rails around town and in lolo but your going to need to start off with something a lil smaller if your going to hit those. Big skys got a good one right at the front steps but you can only hit it after hours and even then you will get run off sometimes.

[chrisrunquist]

i'm down for jibbing. i don't know of any rails around missoula. there were a bunch of rails at lolo last year but nothing really huge.

[Tlspen]

I know of a couple. There are some fun ones at lolo school if there is enuff snow. There are a couple at the university also but again you need snow. If we get a good dump ill be setting up a couple rails outside my place. We have a nice fire pit and BBQ so maybe ill have some people over and we can eat and jib. All depends on our snowfall this year and in the past few years its not been that good.

[Snow Duck]

I know these posts are years old, but if anyone still needs some ideas; the first rail I ever used was another snowboard. Then there were plastic picnic tables. If you can get one of these, or even a good cheap bench, they work great. Wax the surface, though. I bruised some ribs from grinding a sticky wooden table and falling off rather ungracefully.

Another cheap supply to get you started might be a piece of railroad track, or check your local recycling center for scrap metal. I tried some PVC piping, too, but it can crack easily if the pipe isn't thick enough. PVC can be mounted on wood super easily, so build a light frame and nail/screw the pipe from the bottom (you don't want to grind on metal heads-scraaaaaatch!).This might be the cheapest and lightest way to go, plus if you need to hike, it can be carried without much trouble, as long as the rail isn't too long. I'm thinking about making a 'double wide' rail; two or even three pipes side-by-side for more stability.

[Kevin]

nice, I appreciate the advise! I moved to Utah a few months ago and we get tons of snow in our yard so I just need to build a little hill to start. I might just use an old snowboard to get started and go from there

[Snow Duck]

Cool! You can plant the board edge-up for grinds, or simply pop it upside down and have a wider surface to slide on. Build up a mound under the board so it's taller, otherwise it's harder to do anything other than glide across it. Have fun!

I was passing by an oil drilling/heavy equipment supplier the other day and noticed they had several big pipes welded onto some 'A' frames. One of those would be awesome for a rail; they were pretty long, about 12 feet or so. We've got tons of thinner metal piping lying around here but I need to figure out how to mount them on a stable base. That's what summers are for, right?