I’m getting faster at making sandwich boards. Today I made two in about an hour. This time I made them with nice timber sheet instead of chipboard using my Bunnings Warehouse gift voucher. (I also bought about 500 screws!)
Anyway, I thought I’d share a couple of tips that I’ve learned with experience.
Use plenty of (but not too much) glue.
I suggest this pattern for the screws joining the plank to sheets (going into sheets first)…low, high, low, high, low. What I mean is I’ve been putting the screws in in a zigzag pattern to use the full width of the planks. I think it’s best to have three low ones because if I’m not mistaken there’s more force in that direction. I’ll make a diagram to explain my reasoning if you want. I’m not sure if it’s correct.
This screw pattern also results in there being more room to work with when fitting your hinges. You place the hinges on the sides which is where the screws are positioned lower and the hinges are automatically higher so it works out nicely.
Do you think using 16 screws to attach the hinges was overkill? I decided since I have 300 of that size anyway I’d just go for it.
Now I’m off to go hopping and gapping on 1 ugly (my first, lazy attempt) and 3 beautiful sandwich boards.
They look really well put together, Andrew. The only thing I worry about, though, is, since the grain is going sideways, you run the chance of just splitting the board in half when you hop onto it. Be ready for that to happen so that you’re not surprised. They also may warp in the sun.
Heavy-duty plywood should eliminate both possibilities.
I did consider that when I bought them but that was the only way they were available. They’re between 20 and 30mm thick and seem very sturdy, plus I’m pretty light so hopefully I won’t have any problems.
As for them warping, will they be fine as long as they’re not stored in the sun?
I just set up a really great trials line with my 4 and a half sandwich boards (the half is my suicide mount board…one wiht only the planks and hinges) that goes around in an arc then up onto a big boulder and onto my letterbox. I haven’t managed to do it all yet and it’s really hot outside. I’ve just come in for a break and I’m going out for a second batch of attempts soon. Wish me luck!
Hey Andrew
I would say your best bet is to put some 2x2 or anything available against the grain, probably best on either end. They look good but with hopping on them and everything, I’m thinking they will split. Maybe possibly who knows, but its worth the extra few cuts and time.
That grain looks very break happy to me too! So, if you decide not to re-inforce them, at least have your buddies shoot video when your hopping. I wanna see the fall! --chirokid–
By the way, 20-30mm thick was a typo…I meant more like 10-20mm. Yes, I did consider bracing them with some planks. I might still do that. I’ve been hopping around on them this afternoon and they do feel solid.
I like these ones with the planks on the inside because I think that although they are the same width at the top, they look narrower. Even though they don’t fold up flush together, you can place one inside the other which saves some space.
Check out www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albuu61 if you want to see how I used them this afternoon (or one of the ways anyway). I did eventually clean the line. It was fun.
(I also bought about 500 screws!)
--chirokid–