Photos / Projects / Skate Box

This is a small fun box I built a while ago and thought I'd share it. It's a variation of Bud Stratford's box plans. I really liked his idea to make a curb sized box. This way I can make stands to raise it or lower it for variation. I plan on making 10" removable stands to raise the box to approximately 18".

Since I skateboard and rollerblade, I decided to put angle iron on one side and 2" coping on the other side (the major difference between my box and Bud's Box. Once I get the stands built, the versatility of the box will be awesome.

The approximate dimensions of the final box are 6' long, 2' wide, and 7 3/4" tall. You could easily make it longer, wider, and taller to suit your needs. I made it smaller for easier storage, plus I'm more of a fan of shorter/technical grinds.

Here are some basic instructions (refer to Bud's instructions for plans and more details/options):

• Build the lower frame
1. Cut 5 - 21" 2x4s and 2 - 6' 2x4s.
2. Assemble the frame placing a 2x4 every 18" on center.
• Build the upper frame
1. Cut 5 - 19.5" 2x4s and 2 - 6' 2x4s.
2. Assemble the frame placing a 2x4 every 18" on center.
• Attach the 2 frames together
1. Cut 7" 2x4s braces. You can cut as many or as little as you need. 4 is probably the right amount, 2 at the least. (You can make these taller if you want a taller box. If you do this, cut 6 braces and gap the 2 frames accordingly)
2. 1 frame will obviously be less wide than the other, this is for the coping. Align the frames so 3 sides are flush... leaving room for the coping on the other side.
3. Place the brackets near the corners on the inside of the frame. If only using 2 brackets, place them at opposite corners.
• Attach the coping Support
1. Find a 2x3x6' (I found one at Menards) or cut your own, and attach it in the notch where the coping will go. This will set the rail up high enough to be grindable.
• Create the deck
1. Cut a 3/4" sheet of plywood to 6' long and 22.5" wide and attach it to the top of the box.
• Attach the Angle Iron and Coping
1. Attach a 6' piece of angle iron to 1 side of the box.
1. Drill a hole in each end and counter sink the iron with a bigger bit so your screws will be flush with the metal.
2. Pre-drill holes in the wood so you be sure not to break off the wood screws.
2. Attach a 6' piece of 2" diameter pipe to the other side of the box. You can use any of the methods mentioned on this site. I personally drilled a hole 3" from each end of the pipe. Then I drilled another hole at an angle through the top frame to the underside of the ramp. Then I popped a bolt through each end and it's extremely.
• Skate on the rest of the day.

More info in this blog: B-days, Interviews, and Friends, Friends, Friends

Photos taken in Ankeny, Iowa

Album added 19 years ago (Apr 4, 2005).