The added length and sharp angle of the tube will now draw water out of the hole and act as a drain. Use a small amount of silicon to glue the top 1" of the straw to the plywood layers and skate layer. Drill out the marked hole slightly larger than the diameter of the tube/straw. Now cut an extremely sharp angle at the bottom of the straw. Get a plastic tube from a hardware store (or even a wider straw from Dairy Queen) and cut it to about 6" long. Now use a towel to dry off the puddle and let the ply and surface air dry. A little trick is to drill a small hole in the middle of the puddle to mark it's location. If you've ever drilled in a 3/8" drain hole and expected the water to drain out, you know what happens - nothing. Sometimes rain water will collect in a puddle on certain parts of a ramp such as on the deck or where the transition meets the flat bottom. After the countersinking is complete you can quickly place the sheet into position and screw down. Place the sheet on a flat surface so countersinking is easier. Mark where the studs are on this strip and transfer these markings onto the skate layer sheet. One good trick for countersinking the upper sheets of a tall ramp is to take a strip of masonite or 3/8" ply that can bend along the radius. Check often for broken screws or fasten more if a corner lifts. Some screws might need to be tightened after a week of skating because the sheets might settle a little. Click on the layout photo below for an example. Position the countersink holes about 8" apart around the edges and 11 1/2" within the sheets. The screws should hit the studs below the sheets. If the ramp surface you are using has specific instructions for a grid pattern, follow those. These countersinks fit the 2" sheeting GRK screws which are also available. If your ramp takes 16 sheets of Skatelite Pro or Ramp Armor Deluxe, you'll want to order a four pack of countersinks. Expect to use one of these countersinks per four sheets of ramp surfacing. ![]() Two hex bolts securely tighten the lead drill bit to the countersink about 1/4" above the flutes. The countersink bits that we sell have four flutes that stay sharp for a long time compared to the less expensive single flutes. High quality countersinks are a necessity during the application process of the dense ramp surfacing. If you now provide a small expansion joint (nickel width) between sheets, countersink and screw down thoroughly, your ramp surface shouldn't buckle. Spread the sheets out on the nearby ground so they will expand in the sun. Basic recommendations are to apply the skate layer on a hot sunny day. 54mm to 56mm if you like to do technical tricks in a park and still want to ride bowls. 56mm to 58mm is perfect for dedicated bowl/pool and mini ramp riders. In general, it’s better to ride wheels between 54mm and 58mm. If the ramp surface you are using has specific instructions for expansion spacing, follow those. Tight trucks work great for street stuff but not so much for transition. Since this ramp surfacing is very expensive, make sure your measurements are accurate. Use a thinner kerfed (skinny) - carbide tipped blade for cutting the ramp surfacing and make sure it is very sharp! You don't need to tape the cut line if your blade is sharp and the blade depth is set just a little deeper than 1/4". This basic information is explained in greater detail within the template plan booklets. The skate layer is now inlayed between the metal. The metal edging is countersunk above the studs and secured with screws. To apply the edging, cut the 1/4" thick metal with metal cutting jig saw blades and grind and sand down any sharp corners. If this ramp will be in a backyard setting and you make it clear not to grind or smash the edges of the expensive ramp surfacing, you can skip the metal edging. That's it, take the coping off for now, get ready to surface.Quite often, metal edging is put down first and the skate layer is inlayed within this metal to protect it from chipping. Once you have your notches cut, keep the coping on and screw in the top piece of 2x4, so that it rests up against the coping. Adjust the notch to match how you want your coping to be. Then just look at it from the side to determine what your coping will be like, at this point it is just a matter of preference. Notice I am using one layer of 3/8" plywood and one layer of 1/4" massonite for my transition surface, then a layer of 3/4" plywood for my platform surface. Once you have an initial notch, take some scrap pieces of wood that match what you are using for surface. ![]() Start with a small cut and rest the coping in it, I'll explain how to determine how big your notch needs to be. ![]() You can see from the picture about how big and where the notch needs to go. The coping I am using is 1.5 inch diameter black metal pipe, I picked it up at Home Depot for about $20 per side. Before putting the top 2x4 in place, lets cut the notches for the coping.
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