JD's Garage Micro
The following is an online account of the construction of a mini half pipe I recently built in my garage intended to help others out there looking for tips and information on building ramps in general. I've been skating about 16 years and have built a few other ramps in the past, but really took my time on this one to plan out the best ramp I could pull off in the limited indoor space of my garage. The dimensions for this ramp are ~19' x 8' x 2-1/2'.
I found quite a few useful sites online with information on building ramps, but also thought many out there to be a little vague when it came to complete details. Special thanks to Todd Falcon, Miles Sims, Don B., RampPlans.Org, and Andrew Crooks over at freerampplans.cjb.net for some of the information and influence I took into consideration for the finished design. My account isn't a perfect guide for everyone, but I hope it helps someone out there.
The cost for the materials that went into this ramp (not including tools) was approximately $400-425.
Materials
- 5 3/4" 4'x8' sheets of plywood - One for the side cut template, and 4 for the usable side cuts
- 1 1/2" 4'x8' sheet of plywood - For the platforms
- 8 3/8" 4'x8' sheets of plywood - For the first two underlying layers of the skating surface
- 4 1/4" 4'x8' sheets of best quality sanded plywood - For the final skating surface layer; Alternatively I could have used Skatelite, Polyboard, Rampskin, etc., but I chose to go with plywood for this ramp which would always be indoors
- 2 8' sections of 1 1/2"-2 3/8" Galvanized steel pipe - For the coping; The kind I used is the silver kind commonly used for fence posts
- 4 boxes of 1 5/8" Wood Screws - Skate Surface Layer Attachment
- 2 boxes of 2 1/2" Wood Screws - Joist/2x4 Rib Attachment
- 41 8' Sections of 2x4 - Joists/Ribs
- 1 Bar Of Soap - For coating wood screws
- 10 2" Long 1/2" Bolts - For bolting transition structures together
- 12 4" Long 1/2" Bolts - For bolting flat bottom to transition structures
- 22 1/2" Nuts
- 44 1/2" Washers
- 8 3/16" x 3" Toggle Bolts
- 8 3/16" Washers
- Wood Shims - (optional: I used them to keep my ramp from wobbling on the nearly flat, but imperfect floor of my garage)
Tools
- Power Drill with Drill Bits (must have 1/2" or other appropriate sized metal drill bit for drilling holes in coping to fit toggle bolts)
- Saw Horses or some type of tables to use when sawing
- Circular Saw
- Jigsaw
- Pencil
- String/Twine
- Tape Measure
- Carpenter's Square
