# Skinny and Ramp Plans



## Acme54321 (Oct 8, 2003)

Does anyone know if there is a website that has plans for good skinnys, ramps, ect?

I want to build some but I want to build them good, not just slap them together.

Thanks


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## biker3 (Jan 18, 2004)

*well..*

unless your building 6 ft kickers and banks and **** for a skatepark I don't think you really need plans. Especially for skinnies all you really need a log or even just a 2x4. You can make some really nice skinnies as long as you have supports for it. DJ are really easy to make as long as you get some sort of good transition your bike will pretty much cut out a good line to hit. A wooden kicker on the other hand takes a bit more precise work but a trick ive used in the past to make a pefrect transition is using a pen tied to a string with no slack and it will draw out a good tranny if u tie it to one end of the piece of wood. Anyway just take your time and build nice stuff is really all it takes.


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## NCBigHit (Jan 15, 2004)

I see how skinnies are basically pretty simple but had a question. I was gonna try to sink 4 by 4's into the ground as the legs that hold up the skinny...how deep do I have to sink them if I want the skinny to be 6-8 ft off the ground? Anyone know?


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## Acme54321 (Oct 8, 2003)

If I was going to build something 6 to 8 feet tall I'd make a steep A frame type of support, that would probably be the most stable, you'd need like a 12 foot 4x4 and sink it 6 feet to keep it upright but I would bet that would still be stetchy.

I was thinking about sinking 8 foot 4x4s in at least 4 feet for a maximun height of 4 foot (Duh). Then stringing 2 2x4s between each 4x4 and planking between the 2 bys. I was also thinking about sinking 4x4s in the same manner but instead of stringing 2x4s I was thinking like screwing 2 foot long 2x4s on each side of the 4x4 post, forming like a T. Then drilling through the 2x4s so that I could sting a planked (or uplanked) 4x4 bewteen each post and bolt it to the 2x4s so that the height of each section could be adjusted to however I like.


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## Nate N (Jan 12, 2004)

Acme54321 said:


> If I was going to build something 6 to 8 feet tall I'd make a steep A frame type of support, that would probably be the most stable, you'd need like a 12 foot 4x4 and sink it 6 feet to keep it upright but I would bet that would still be stetchy.
> 
> I was thinking about sinking 8 foot 4x4s in at least 4 feet for a maximun height of 4 foot (Duh). Then stringing 2 2x4s between each 4x4 and planking between the 2 bys. I was also thinking about sinking 4x4s in the same manner but instead of stringing 2x4s I was thinking like screwing 2 foot long 2x4s on each side of the 4x4 post, forming like a T. Then drilling through the 2x4s so that I could sting a planked (or uplanked) 4x4 bewteen each post and bolt it to the 2x4s so that the height of each section could be adjusted to however I like.


Dude, you need to go and kick the dealer's ass who sold you that batch of crack, cuz it's some baaaaaad sh!t. You only need to be 18" - 24" into the ground with 4 x 4's for building skinnies on top of them. Could you honestly imagine digging a hole 6 freakin feet deep? That's a hella lotta un-needed work.


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## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*Norshore is done this way*

do it right and gain the respect of other trail users like hikers, and it'll be safe. Jim

http://www.nsmba.bc.ca/structures/structuresgood.htm


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## Banshee Rider (Jan 19, 2004)

Check out that site JimC linked for you. Theres alot of good info. The stunts arent hard to build if you just use your head, but to me theres so much more to making a stunt cool, like the trail, especially if you plan on having other people ride it. If the trail completely sucks, has no flow at all, and just isnt fun to ride, then chances are no one will ride it just to go hit your stunts. Check out the section on rock work, thats the way to make sh*t last a long time. Check out the section on flow as well. But whoever told you to get a 12' board and have 6ft of it in the ground is complete moron. i wouldnt listen to much else he had to say after hearing that bullsh*t. Id think if you planned on building a skinny thats 6-8ft high that your a pretty skilled and experienced at riding this stuff so you should already have a good idea of how to build stunts?


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## namaSSte (Dec 19, 2003)

I'll let these guys handle the stuff on skinny's but ramp plans can be found all over even though most are pretty weak. Ramps aren't acutally that bad to make although not inexpensive if done right. I just built a 3' quarter pipe into my garage (the wife loves it - not!). I also have a nice spine transfer and a couple of wedges at home and all were done without real plans. 

Biker3 is right though, for launch ramps and quarters, the string and pencil method is best to get the radius down. Just be careful you don't get the radius too steep, you'll be surprised how much air a 3' ramp with a 9' radius will give you - very surprised! Anyway, I am gonna be outta town for a couple of days but if you want details on building them, email or pm me and I'll respond on Friday. They are too long to really post unless everyone really wants to see them.

Good luck, let me know if you want more detail.


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## NCBigHit (Jan 15, 2004)

Banshee Rider said:


> Id think if you planned on building a skinny thats 6-8ft high that your a pretty skilled and experienced at riding this stuff so you should already have a good idea of how to build stunts?


There aren't very many stunts at all where I live so now that I can drop off of all the retaining walls and loading docks, I gotta make something bigger. Plus it'd be nice to have something in my back yard just to mess with...I'm confident I can build the ladder part just fine, just curious how people go about elevating it. I can either use 4x4s, or make a crossbeam between 2 trees that are near eachother...never had the chance to do (or see) either method. Based on the pics youve posted on this site, you seem pretty skilled, certainly more than I, any additional advice would be welcome.


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## Acme54321 (Oct 8, 2003)

Nate N said:


> Dude, you need to go and kick the dealer's ass who sold you that batch of crack, cuz it's some baaaaaad sh!t. You only need to be 18" - 24" into the ground with 4 x 4's for building skinnies on top of them. Could you honestly imagine digging a hole 6 freakin feet deep? That's a hella lotta un-needed work.


That's what I was saying...

He was talking about building 6 to 8 feet tall skinnies, at 18-24 inches deep that would be wobbly and fall over. I was saying that you would have to dig a 6 foot hole to make it stable at 8 feet high with 4x4 as support, maybe it wouldnt need to be buried 6 feet but pretty freakin deep. Even then a eight foot 4x4 would probably flex a bunch with a rider on it. Now where I said 4 feet deep for a 4 foot tall might be a little overkill, and I wouldnt wanna dig that hole. Ive never even seen post hole diggers that would go 5 feet. If you didnt understand that either I'm sorry, I'm not too good with words.

Thanks for the link Jim, I didn't even think about using logs but that would be alot cheaper and more abundant than 2x4s and 4x4s. I'm just builing this crap in the back yard to practice on, ect, so I don't see it being over 3 feet tall as of right now. Since I suck. I never said anything about building 8 feet, that was someone else who posted before me that I was referring to or something.


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## Banshee Rider (Jan 19, 2004)

Hey, your approach with one beam between two trees for a support is good. Thats the easiest way to support a bridge. If the trees are much wider than 7ft across then id recommend one tree (or 2x4 or 4x4) that goes perpendicular from the ground to the support to ensure its plenty strong. From then on you should be fine with laying the frame work for a latter or putting in a skinny. 

If you find your self with only one tree to work with, you can have one end of the support connected to the tree and the other end proped up with two more pieces of wood so they form an upside down ' V '. 

If you find yourself with no trees at all then..well..its gonna be tricky, and id suggest getting help from 1 other person for that since it could get frustrating doing it alone. You could make a series of upside down V's like i mentioned above or you could make something looked alittle more like an upside down U (imagine it with sqaure coners, ud use 3 peices of wood) Theres alot of options for building a "free standing" structure, but with what id mentioned so far you should well on your way to making some cool stuff. good luck, and be sure to post pictures when you get stuff build. 

-Sparky


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## gonzostrike (Jan 3, 2004)

Banshee Rider said:


> . Id think if you planned on building a skinny thats 6-8ft high that your a pretty skilled and experienced at riding this stuff so you should already have a good idea of how to build stunts?


Exactly. If you have the skills to ride a 7-foot-high skinny (NOT ladder bridge), you should know how to build it, because you'll know what feels wobbly and what doesn't.

I'm not your daddy, but I'd caution you STRONGLY against trying something 6" wide and 7 feet high unless you can ride 6" wide skinnies safely at 1 foot, 2 feet, 4 feet, etc. If you haven't taken a fall from a 7 feet-high skinny, you're in for quite a scary first fall. It's nothing like eating shyte when riding trail. Way more impact, way more likelihood of bone/joint injury.

JimC's link to the NSMB stuff is VERY valuable, you should read it carefully before wasting lumber and fasteners and your own time.


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## NCBigHit (Jan 15, 2004)

gonzostrike said:


> Exactly. If you have the skills to ride a 7-foot-high skinny (NOT ladder bridge), you should know how to build it, because you'll know what feels wobbly and what doesn't.
> 
> I'm not your daddy, but I'd caution you STRONGLY against trying something 6" wide and 7 feet high unless you can ride 6" wide skinnies safely at 1 foot, 2 feet, 4 feet, etc. If you haven't taken a fall from a 7 feet-high skinny, you're in for quite a scary first fall. It's nothing like eating shyte when riding trail. Way more impact, way more likelihood of bone/joint injury.
> 
> JimC's link to the NSMB stuff is VERY valuable, you should read it carefully before wasting lumber and fasteners and your own time.


I see the confusion...I meant ladder bridge, not skinny. I guess I shouldnt use them interchangably anymore. I was thinking 2 or 3 feet wide..more to focus on the drop aspect at first. I can ride a 6-8inch wide skinny for quite a while, but I have no real desire to add danger to the situation by elevating it...for now I'm happy being able to ride it at all. Sorry for the confusion.


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## gonzostrike (Jan 3, 2004)

*no sweat, keep working on the technical stuff!*

it's okay, lots of folks make that error. my friends and I have built 5" wide ladders that we call skinnies. now THAT's confusing!

keep after the elevated ladder riding. I strongly suggest A-frames for support. Here's a shot of how my friends and I build stuff:


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## NCBigHit (Jan 15, 2004)

gonzostrike said:


> it's okay, lots of folks make that error. my friends and I have built 5" wide ladders that we call skinnies. now THAT's confusing!
> 
> keep after the elevated ladder riding. I strongly suggest A-frames for support. Here's a shot of how my friends and I build stuff:


That is awesome stuff! Looks like if I build a wide enough base, perhaps I wont have to sink any supports into the ground, and it would be (kinda) portable. Sweet. It'll prob take a while for me to build, but I'll be sure to post when I do. Thanks again.

mike


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## ScaryJerry (Jan 12, 2004)

gonzostrike said:


> it's okay, lots of folks make that error. my friends and I have built 5" wide ladders that we call skinnies. now THAT's confusing!
> 
> keep after the elevated ladder riding. I strongly suggest A-frames for support. Here's a shot of how my friends and I build stuff:


which one of you works at a lumber yard?


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