#Build micro mini ramp trial#

THINGS ARE STARTING TO LOOK LIKE A MINIRAMP. USING OUR JIG SAW AND SOME 2X4’S AS MAKESHIFT SAWHORSES, IT WAS FAIRLY EASY TO CUT THE 4 PIECES.

USING THIS APPARATUS, WE WERE ABLE TO DRAW OUR TRANSITION.

#Build micro mini ramp trial#

MORE OR LESS BY TRIAL AND ERROR, WE FOUND A CENTER POINT FOR A RADIUS THAT WHEN PIVOTED, CREATED A CURVE THAT JOINED THE PLATFORM LEDGE WITH A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO FLAT. TO DO THIS, USE SOMETHING LONG AND STRAIGHT TO CREATE A RADIUS. THIRDLY, DRAW THE CURVED LINE THAT YOU’LL CUT TO MAKE THE TRANSITION.WE OPTED TO LAY OUR 2X4’S FLAT, SO WE DREW THIS LINE 2” FROM THE EDGE. NEXT, DRAW A LINE ACROSS THE BOTTOM TO REPRESENT THE BASE, OR FLAT PART, OF THE RAMP. THIS WILL NEED TO BE AS TALL AS A 2X4 SO THAT THE FRAME CAN PROP THE BOTTOM.WE GAVE OURSELVES A PLATFORM OF TWO FEET. THIS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO CUT THE REST. TO DO IT OUR WAY DRAW A LINE DOWN THE CENTER OF THE PLYWOOD SHEET AND MAKE THE CUT. THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE PROCESS.

START BY MEASURING AND DRAWING YOUR TRANSITION.

Super important for the way the ramp feels and what type of plywood sheeting you use to cover it. Like I said, we used 1 sheet of ¾ plywood for our transition templates because we went for a smaller, more compact mini and well, we’re cheap. STEP 3 – THE BUILD: MAKING THE TRANSITION We pulled it off using this stuff and didn't waste a whole lot of material. It’d be nice to have an actual sawhorse, a square, and a real level, but this is pretty much all you'll need! We'll get to the different options for materials later. This is pretty much the bare minimum supplies you’re going to need.

2’X4’ A LOT OF SCREWS – 1 ½” IS A GOOD LENGTH.

We weren’t sure exactly how much material we needed, so we had to go back a couple times to grab the stuff we were missing. We got to know the guys at the hardware store by our place pretty well. This would end up costing you a bit more, but would likely be worth it if you’ve got the space. A nice size would be 3-4 feet high, 20 feet in length, and 8 feet wide.

Which is small. This allowed us to use one sheet of ¾” plywood for all 4 sides of the ramp, with 4 pieces of 3/8” ply topped with 4 pieces of 1/8” ply for the surface. This also made for a nice fit in our front yard.įind a spot that’s as flat as possible and the rest is up to you.

Slightly under two feet (1’10”) high, 16 feet long, 8 feet wide.

YOUR ABILITY LEVEL (IS THIS A DIY FOR YOUR KIDS?).

HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO SPEND ON MATERIALS.

HOW MUCH WOOD YOU HAVE AT YOUR DISPOSAL.

THE SIZE OF THE AREA YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH.

Here’s what we did, how we did it, and some recommendations for building your very own front-yard mini!įirst, you’ll have to decide where you want to build it and how big you want it to be. The consensus among the build crew is we did it cheaply and ended up with a solid product! I will be the first to admit though that some corners were definitely cut. This spring, my roommates and I set out to build our first mini ramp. We spent some time researching different DIY plans, watching youtube videos, and talking about what we wanted for a ramp. We built it over the course of a week, working on it for a couple hours every couple of days and spent roughly $500.