Ramp Construction??

[meesh]

hey peoples
to the people that have built a ramp, i was just wonderin how you constructed your ramp as in did you do the frame(length & height) and supports first and then make the curve? or did you make the length and height and the curve then add the supports in? I thought the second was a more safer way of doin it but i dont know, anyone???

[HOLLYWOOD]

i did lenght and height first making sure they are the same then went from there

[meesh]

yes, but the supports when did they go in, after or before the curve??

[The Snitz]

Length, Height then Make your curve to fit in between. Weld the 3 pieces together, then fill in your supports. Then do the other side seperately with it clamped together which will make it exactly the same on both sides. Good luck

[dozza_the_goat]

The easy way is to lay the side out flat and then weld it all up. Then make another one on top of that. (double cut everything to save time. Once you have the 2 sides, stand em up and weld in the supports add timber top, start bike and go........

[meesh]

heh heh lol start bike and go( good shit) thanks for that info snitz and goat that has answered my question.

[meesh]

well it didnt take me long but i have one more question for ya's, my ramp is going to break in half, just wonderin if you make the ramp (bar the surface) and chop her in half or just make two separate pieces????

[dozza_the_goat]

tricky question. It depends.

The ramp im building now is a 4 piece. Theres the first metre or so, then the first tranny, then the main part, and a small removable triangle at the top.

Have a look at the attached image and you can see the different bits.

The two main parts I have done seperatly, while the top triangle is all welded together. When its all finished, I'll cut the main curved rails with a big cutter, and it will drop off.

I made the main bits in 2 peices only because I had to have the main rails cut diown as I could not fit 8m lengths in the car.

To ensure I got it all lined up, I laid it all out first, and then used chalk to mark it all on the concrete. Then when bits got moved, it was easier to line up again.

If I had full 8m long curved rails, I would have done it in one piece, and cut later. In my mind, that ensures that the most important part of the ramp. (the top face!) is 100% consistent.

[meesh]

swoit bro thanks i was thinking that aye, none of my shit ever matches up unless i make it in a whole then cut it. your ramp looks like its comin along sweet, post some pics when its done.

[DirtCowboy]

Just a question for you guys when we are on the subject of ramp building how are you getting the the nice smooth curve of the ramp what how do you bend the steel to get a nice smooth curve ???? Got the rest of the process all sussed out but was wonder how you went about doing that ?

[Mungoman45]

If ya can afford it, people get them professionally rolled at a steel joint. But if ya cant....people have just bent them as much and as close as they can themselves over a fence or something then if the upright side supports are all cut at the right angle, when ya weld it together it'll hold in the perfect shape ;)

[troop of doom]

yer myns rolled but its only half finished cos the welder broke now i dont no when it will be finished

[dozza_the_goat]

The best way is to get it rolled. Metal fabrication companies can do this for you.

You want to make sure that they do a lot of bending, because then they will have teh correct tooling (2 piece die) for teh job. If you get a cheap backyard roll, then you can get a twist in teh steel along its length. Also, it may not be a perfect radius.

Costs a bit to do it right, but if you are investing teh cash to build a full size reamp, tehn you may as well do it right. If the curve is crap, the whole ramp will be crap.

There are a few other ways to do it, such as cutting, or building it out of flat welded sections that suit the curve (complex), but if you want a sweet ramp, then roll it.

[DirtCowboy]

sweet thanks for the help guys i have to look around and get my self some quotes and see what sort of prices i can get it but as you said dozza if your spending the dollars you wanna get a good ramp for your trouble not a heap of crap cheers guys

[meesh]

i was practising bending steel the other day it is piss easy i just made a few cuts down the steel wacked it in the vice and bent the cuts together just pullin em closed with my hands but i guess if ya know exactly what angle you want you can get it rolled perfect but i'm gonna bend because i dont know exactly what angle i want so i'll be able to modify it if i'm not happy with the curve.