I like how it is inexpensive and only requires basic tools... -But as an engineer, I can't resist wanting to make a few improvements! 1. Steering: make it self-centering instead of self-turning *just need the pivot point further ahead than the halfway point of the front skis - the further, the more self centering it is. *if you are worried that makes the board too far away for feet, just add a second board for the feet (also gives you the ability to change/adjust the balance by moving the seat and footboards) *while you are improving the steering, use some milk jug (=nylon sheet) to make large washers between the boards and washer/nut. A nylon cutting board would also work, but that costs money. 2. Longer skis: *adjusts widths of each end / run one set inboard or outboard far enough to have longer skis without hitting when you steer. (I'd opt for the steering being outboard for improvement #4 below) 3. Padding: get some cheap foam (preferably "closed cell" for water impermeability), tie it to it (no tacks or nails to worry about coming loose) or use contact cement. Padding goes a long way, so thinner is better. 4. Sit-down and lay-down use: *add hand hold pegs to the front of the steering skids *extent the seat board or use 2 separate pieces so you have surface area up front to lay on *either make sure is cut away to not interfere with foot steering -or- Simplify the design to have a pad running the whole length and use the pegs I mentioned to foot steer and hand steer 5. make it fast (also lighter) Skis: *go to goodwill/salvation army/garage sale and pick up cheap skis (I got 2 pair at goodwill for ~$10.50 together) *you will need a way to cut through the metal rails on the edges of skis (hack saw etc, just not a wood saw) *don't need boards the whole length anymore, just as spacers at the attachment points (saving some weight and making the height spacer-adjustable) ***Up until this point, it's all been about $10-15*** If you had no budget limitations 5. Lightweight and more permanent frame + dampening: *use aluminum angle instead of wood. (recommend 1/8"Th x [whatever size needed for the weight of the person]). Bolt it or if you have a welder then even better. *Use thin press-board etc, such as what clip boards are made of, or thin plywood to make the seat areas *use some rubber sheeting/tire/etc between where the frame attaches to the tops of the ski mounts to give some limited shock/vibration dampening and a little more flex for the skis to follow
These are amazing improvements! I've went through all several times, I'm certainly going to use these and make a V.2, thank you so much for the detailed suggestions!! Now to find time to plan and build it... :)
@@kove I'm in the process of building a couple sleds for adults, designed for speed and control and with proper suspension. (parts are in my living room right now!) The skis were cheap ($10 for 2 pairs at goodwill), and I could just bolt some boards and pads to them and have almost nothing spent on the project for a much faster than store sled. But I want to make supremely awesome sleds, so rather than a quick and decent enough for many years build, I'm making it more complicated and expensive. Basic criteria: *Overbuilt - nearly every time I go sledding, there is some point when a bunch of people all cling/pile onto 1-2 sleds and try to go down the hill. I want a sled that can handle that without breaking. *I want steering and prefer to have brakes, so sketchy hills become an option *light and permanent - I don't want to drag a heavy sled up a hill, so wood isn't ideal for the primary frame/structure (good for seating pads though) *need to fit in my car - preferably in the trunk, but at minimum only needing the bigger seat folded forward. *pads. Even as children, we would put pads in our sleds. Now I'm too old not to. If you want an idea of what I'm making, I was drawing up plans and saw something similar on NXT Garage (youtube channel). Check out his sled build playlist, especially videos 4 and 5. His is a bit frail and squirly. Since I have a background in mechanical engineering, naval architecture (steering systems), and general metal fabrication, etc; I see several ways to improve on his sleds, but overall I commend his basic design and his are really cool. For a rough idea on cost: guessing I'll have about $120-220/sled (I'm doing a no-welds build) *shock/dampers are $60-100/sled from ebay or amazon (cheap Chinese mountain bike shocks) *Alu tube/channel/angle etc for swing arms and framing ~$20-30/sled *Seat pads (foam, boards, vinyl covers?) ~$10-30/sled *Misc/Hardware ~$10-40/sled It could all be done with a drill and a hacksaw, but I have grinders etc, and a little cnc router that will let me make more complicated parts. I'm guessing cutting and drilling the frames will be fast, but all the mounting brackets, tapping holes, etc will take a solid Saturday. Any parts I decide to mill will turn out nice, but I'm slow, so they will take a day or more by themselves. With work and life, I hope to have these both built in 2 weeks (assuming parts arrive in time).
You really dont need pvc runners. Wood can be planed and sanded far smoother. My wooden runners outperformed both plastic and metal by having less friction using bees wax! If anything it was too damned fast...
It's a nice thought but that thing looks like it would break the first time your boy wiped out I got a little girl and she's a bit of a thrill seeker she's five and she's a size 10 so she's got some meat on her I'd have to doctor up your plans a little but I like your design. Thumbs up
Good build.👍 Enjoyed watching you build it. Pity about the annoying music though, made it difficult to hear you. Not all your viewers are “young” and have excellent hearing. (I’m 68yo.) Seems to be a silly trend these days, that most you-tubers have the need to include music in their videos, that is louder than their voices. Please accept this as a suggestion to improve the quality of your videos and not so much of a complaint, as l realise music has it’s place in videos and movies etc, etc...just not monotonous or louder than the commentary.😊👍👍🇦🇺🦘
I like how it is inexpensive and only requires basic tools...
-But as an engineer, I can't resist wanting to make a few improvements!
1. Steering: make it self-centering instead of self-turning
*just need the pivot point further ahead than the halfway point of the front skis - the further, the more self centering it is.
*if you are worried that makes the board too far away for feet, just add a second board for the feet (also gives you the ability to change/adjust the balance by moving the seat and footboards)
*while you are improving the steering, use some milk jug (=nylon sheet) to make large washers between the boards and washer/nut. A nylon cutting board would also work, but that costs money.
2. Longer skis:
*adjusts widths of each end / run one set inboard or outboard far enough to have longer skis without hitting when you steer. (I'd opt for the steering being outboard for improvement #4 below)
3. Padding: get some cheap foam (preferably "closed cell" for water impermeability), tie it to it (no tacks or nails to worry about coming loose) or use contact cement. Padding goes a long way, so thinner is better.
4. Sit-down and lay-down use:
*add hand hold pegs to the front of the steering skids
*extent the seat board or use 2 separate pieces so you have surface area up front to lay on
*either make sure is cut away to not interfere with foot steering -or- Simplify the design to have a pad running the whole length and use the pegs I mentioned to foot steer and hand steer
5. make it fast (also lighter)
Skis:
*go to goodwill/salvation army/garage sale and pick up cheap skis (I got 2 pair at goodwill for ~$10.50 together)
*you will need a way to cut through the metal rails on the edges of skis (hack saw etc, just not a wood saw)
*don't need boards the whole length anymore, just as spacers at the attachment points (saving some weight and making the height spacer-adjustable)
***Up until this point, it's all been about $10-15***
If you had no budget limitations
5. Lightweight and more permanent frame + dampening:
*use aluminum angle instead of wood. (recommend 1/8"Th x [whatever size needed for the weight of the person]). Bolt it or if you have a welder then even better.
*Use thin press-board etc, such as what clip boards are made of, or thin plywood to make the seat areas
*use some rubber sheeting/tire/etc between where the frame attaches to the tops of the ski mounts to give some limited shock/vibration dampening and a little more flex for the skis to follow
These are amazing improvements! I've went through all several times, I'm certainly going to use these and make a V.2, thank you so much for the detailed suggestions!! Now to find time to plan and build it... :)
@@kove Glad you like them. I'm a fan of building things with family.
I enjoyed your video too, especially the savages moment!
@@andrewstambaugh8030 Same here, very rewarding seeing them learn and making treasured memories.
@@kove I'm in the process of building a couple sleds for adults, designed for speed and control and with proper suspension. (parts are in my living room right now!)
The skis were cheap ($10 for 2 pairs at goodwill), and I could just bolt some boards and pads to them and have almost nothing spent on the project for a much faster than store sled.
But I want to make supremely awesome sleds, so rather than a quick and decent enough for many years build, I'm making it more complicated and expensive.
Basic criteria:
*Overbuilt - nearly every time I go sledding, there is some point when a bunch of people all cling/pile onto 1-2 sleds and try to go down the hill. I want a sled that can handle that without breaking.
*I want steering and prefer to have brakes, so sketchy hills become an option
*light and permanent - I don't want to drag a heavy sled up a hill, so wood isn't ideal for the primary frame/structure (good for seating pads though)
*need to fit in my car - preferably in the trunk, but at minimum only needing the bigger seat folded forward.
*pads. Even as children, we would put pads in our sleds. Now I'm too old not to.
If you want an idea of what I'm making, I was drawing up plans and saw something similar on NXT Garage (youtube channel). Check out his sled build playlist, especially videos 4 and 5.
His is a bit frail and squirly. Since I have a background in mechanical engineering, naval architecture (steering systems), and general metal fabrication, etc; I see several ways to improve on his sleds, but overall I commend his basic design and his are really cool.
For a rough idea on cost: guessing I'll have about $120-220/sled
(I'm doing a no-welds build)
*shock/dampers are $60-100/sled from ebay or amazon (cheap Chinese mountain bike shocks)
*Alu tube/channel/angle etc for swing arms and framing ~$20-30/sled
*Seat pads (foam, boards, vinyl covers?) ~$10-30/sled
*Misc/Hardware ~$10-40/sled
It could all be done with a drill and a hacksaw, but I have grinders etc, and a little cnc router that will let me make more complicated parts.
I'm guessing cutting and drilling the frames will be fast, but all the mounting brackets, tapping holes, etc will take a solid Saturday. Any parts I decide to mill will turn out nice, but I'm slow, so they will take a day or more by themselves.
With work and life, I hope to have these both built in 2 weeks (assuming parts arrive in time).
Great suggestions!
I have to say this..I have the same chopsaw and same drills. Great minds think alike. Thanks for sharing this video!
Nice!! 🧠
This is awesome 👍. Great job Dad!!!
Thank you!
What a saweet build! Maybe a urinal build is next... for the savage in the garage?😂
not a bad idea! 🤣
Wow! Whats an awesome project!
Thanks man, it was fun
Looks like it was a fun project to do!
Easy and fun!
I really liked the video will follow your updates. Like!
Thanks Crazy!
Lol!!!🤣 After the kid gave the “pee warning” I had to watch this one!!
LOL Yes and he 100% would have done it!
Thank you!
Thanks for watching. Did you make one?
When should I be over this weekend to give it a go in the next round of snow that’s coming?!
Crack of dawn!
Ima try to make this 😄
Go for it, it's easy. Use some of the improvements in the pinned comment. ;)
About to give this a try with a few of the upgraded suggestions in the comments
Andrew's suggestions are phenomenal. If it wasn't negative 10 outside right now, I'd get out there and build it.
Is it hard to make??
No, just took some time.
You really dont need pvc runners. Wood can be planed and sanded far smoother. My wooden runners outperformed both plastic and metal by having less friction using bees wax! If anything it was too damned fast...
Dang, didn't even consider that. Looks like I'm buying some bees wax soon. Thanks for the tip!
Dang, that could impale someone!
🙂👏
Thanks Strongman 👌
It's a nice thought but that thing looks like it would break the first time your boy wiped out I got a little girl and she's a bit of a thrill seeker she's five and she's a size 10 so she's got some meat on her I'd have to doctor up your plans a little but I like your design. Thumbs up
Indeed big little lady, congrats! Thanks Nicholas, Andrew's comment I pinned has amazing improvements to my plan. Check it out.🤙
First!
Good build.👍 Enjoyed watching you build it. Pity about the annoying music though, made it difficult to hear you. Not all your viewers are “young” and have excellent hearing. (I’m 68yo.) Seems to be a silly trend these days, that most you-tubers have the need to include music in their videos, that is louder than their voices. Please accept this as a suggestion to improve the quality of your videos and not so much of a complaint, as l realise music has it’s place in videos and movies etc, etc...just not monotonous or louder than the commentary.😊👍👍🇦🇺🦘
Thanks Brian, I appreciate your feedback. You aren't the only one who has voices this. I'm learning all this and feedback like yours helps a ton!👌