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Metal rail in shop class help

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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
I am gonna make a rail for my "final project" in shop class. We obviously have a welder, so it's gonna be metal. I was thinking a down flat down, to make it a little more challenging then just a flat bar, so i get a better grade. What should the dimensions be? it can't be a fucking huge rail, so i was thinking like 10-12 feet. either 4-2-4 (feet) or 4-4-4. Do those sound good? and how high up should i start and end it, and how long should the supports on the bottom be so that i can spin on and stuff without it tipping over? I know, build a jib, but it's kinda dead.
And i did search bar, so don't even say that
Thanks
Dec 18 2008 4:28PM
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Lineskiah11
Posts: 2029 - Karma: 21
if your only going to make it 12 ft then just do a flat down. a fdf will be kind of cramped for space if its only 12 feet. 16 you could probably do it but i think a single kink on a 12 ft rail is def the best. like 7 and 5 or 6 and 6
Dec 18 2008 4:32PM
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.Brink.
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 189
for FDF your going to have to have a pretty long rail or else the kinks are going to be way too abrupt, I would make it a FD like the guy above me said
Dec 18 2008 4:36PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
alright, so flat down. any ideas on how wide to make the base supports?
Dec 18 2008 4:39PM
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R.Fahey
Posts: 8602 - Karma: 539
I would make the horizontal base supports 3 feet long.  And try to make the rail start out at 3 feet tall and end at about 16 inches tall. 
I used to make all kinda of rails in shop class.  It's so fun getting credit for shit you'll use.  welding is fun.
Dec 18 2008 4:43PM
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.Brink.
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 189
how high off the ground is it going to be? But probably around 1.5-2 ft per side so 3-4ft total depending on the height
Dec 18 2008 4:44PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
i don't know, it's gonna be for learning stuff, so nothing nuttable, so maybe like, 2-3 feet high? if that sounds good
Dec 18 2008 4:51PM
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sstricky
Posts: 1876 - Karma: 111
i would make it a max height of like 2.25 feet.    when you go over that it just gets a hassle if you wanna hit it in the summer or when theres limited snow. but if you live in CO and theres always 4 feets of snowsies in ur yard then go ahead and make it taller.
Dec 18 2008 4:56PM
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BKlein
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 81
ya each part of the fdf wud be too abrupt
i'd make it a a 6 by 6 df as opposed fd  becuase if its df you cud do disasters and such
Dec 18 2008 4:56PM
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ajax
Posts: 2852 - Karma: 1,245
Click for larger image


Click for larger image

Ok so I made a down flat down in welding class as well. My specs were: 20 ft rail; each section 6.66 ft; each leg was approximately 1.5 ft; the angles are all just under 20 degrees, each "foot" is about 1.0 ft, except the very top one is probably about 2.5 ft; the feet were made with C CHANNEL steel, while the rest was all 2x4 (I forget how thick).

So, my suggestions to you are as follows. If you only have 16 ft of rail to work with, either do a flat down or a flat bar. But if you can get 20 ft, the down flat down is a fun rail. I would make all your legs the same length (about 1.5 ft) if you can set it up on a hill. This way, you won't have much of a rackage potential, and you can set up variations pretty easily like up-down-up and so forth. Also, I would try to use C Channel feet; they are just way more secure in the snow than 2x4 steel. Also, if you plan on setting it up earlier season when there isn't an excess of snow, i would make the first "foot" long, and the other ones shorter. This way, if you fall off the rail early and there is minimal snow protection, you are less likely to mess up your skis on the feet. Also, if you have a flat backyard, an up down would be pretty fun i imagine.

I have also made a 20ft flat bar that is 2.5 ft tall. If you make a flat bar, I would suggest making it a little shorter than that.

Hope that helps.
Dec 18 2008 5:01PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
yeah, i am in NY, so i don't get that much snow

2 feet off the ground sounds good
Dec 19 2008 1:55PM
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eheath
Posts: 61652 - Karma: 123,517
Also think about maybe a flat-down-flat. What sucks about welding kink rails is getting the angles all right and shit. But 3 ft wide base works well. then just use fatty supports and weld it up good, grind down the top and you're ready to go.
Dec 19 2008 2:04PM
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highflyer21
Posts: 555 - Karma: 39
2-3 feet depending how high you make the rail
Dec 19 2008 2:58PM
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dubT-jib-1
Posts: 110 - Karma: 11
Here is one I posted in build a jib and i made the first bottom support 4ft wide and the second 2ft wide the only thing i would change is a less drastic down section because the second flat ended up being to close to the ground. I couldnt make it to high though because I never have snow to build a big enough lip on to it. The angled side support is 1/2 inch rebar and the bottom support is old t-posts for fencing.

Click for larger image

I also found that if you buy the metal with the factory primer on it and dont pai t it that it slides much better
I also rub a regular candle on it each time though.
let me know if you have any other questions.
Dec 19 2008 6:48PM
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salothruster181
Posts: 61 - Karma: 39
my 30 ft pvc down flat down is really fun you could prob do 6-8 feet but 4 is way to short for each section

Dec 19 2008 7:57PM
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sirskizalot
Posts: 4370 - Karma: 161
i was thinkin about makin a rail in my metal class but i didnt want to pay for all the steel so im just making a little skier on a rail out of sheetmetal, flatbar and some metal rods.
Dec 19 2008 11:32PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
i'm lucky, we don't have to pay for the steel, my teacher has a ton
Dec 20 2008 12:22AM
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