How to Build a Skateboard Grind Box

Materials Needed

To build your skateboarding grind ledge, you're going to need some building supplies. You can get the wood and hardware from any local home improvement store, and you can often find the steel that you need there, too. For the piece of steel, you might find it at a store like Home Depot, but if not, look for "Steel" in your local businesses. Here are the building materials used for making this skateboard grind ledge:

• Materials needed
• One 4×8, 3/4" thick plywood sheet
• Eight 2×4 boards, 8' long
• One 1lb box of 1 5/8" screws
• One 1lb box of 2 1/2" screws
• One 2×2, 1/4" angle iron​

• Tools needed
• Tape Measure & Pencil
• Circular or jigsaw
• Drill w/ Phillips bit
• Assorted drill bits
• Combination Square

Cutting Up the 2x4s

After you've got all of the building materials together.  You're going to be doing some cutting - Make sure you know how to operate your saw safely, especially if you've never used a saw before.  You don't want to lop off any fingers.  

Grab one of the 2x4's, measure out a length 1'9" (one foot nine inches) long, and cut it. Keep doing this, and make 12 pieces total this length (you should get four pieces from each 2x4).

Next, take another 2x4 and measure and cut 6 pieces that are 1' long each.

At the end, you should still have four 8' long 2x4s, along with 6 pieces 1' long, and 12 pieces that are 1'9" long.

Framing the Bottom

To start building, you're going to build the frame for the bottom of the box. It will look like the picture to the side here.

Basically, you take two of the 8' long 2x4's, and screw in three of the 1'9" pieces between them. Make sure to measure, and put the middle one in the exact center! You're going to want to put 2 screws in at each joint, in the places where you see the black spots in the picture.

A little piece of wisdom from Jason - pre-drill the holes that you are going to put the screws through, and that will help to keep the wood from splitting. Use a 1/16" drill bit to do it.

Framing the Top

The top of the box is a little more complicated - build it to look like the picture to the side (again, you can click it to see a larger version).

Use the last two 8' long 2x4 boards for the sides, just like you did for the bottom piece. But for this one, you're going to put 1'9" pieces every foot, all along the boards. Before you start, I suggest measuring out along the 2x4's and drawing a line on the board at every foot. Do it with both boards, that way you'll be able to see where to place the screws.

Now, you don't technically need to use all nine of the 1'9" pieces here - you can get by with only five of them. That'll make the box lighter to move around, but it will also make it break easier. Keep that in mind. I say use 'em all!

Building the Height

Using four screws for each board, screw the six 1' long pieces to the bottom frame, like this. Notice that the screws are put in diagonally. Put two screws in on one side, like you see here, and then two more on the edge side of each piece (so, like I said, 4 screws for each piece).

Attaching the Top

Now, flip this whole thing over, and set it into the frame you made for the top (the picture shows what it will look like when you are done, not with it flipped over).

Put four screws in each piece, just like you did in the last step. And Jason warns, make sure that this whole thing is square, or you'll end up with a wobbly box!

Attaching the Plywood

Once your box is completely framed, make sure it's flipped back with the top on top (like the picture for the last step).

Next, is screwing on the plywood. Take your huge sheet of plywood, and use your saw to cut out one piece that's 2' wide and 8' long, and another piece that's 1' and 3/4" tall.

Screw the plywood sheets to the frame. If you decide to make a taller or shorter box, just cut the front piece of plywood to be 3/4" taller than your box (that way it will line up with the top after you put the top piece of plywood on).

Coping

This is the last piece. Take the piece of angled iron, and drill a 3/16" size hole at each end of the piece, one on top and one on the bottom, just like the picture shows (click on it to see it larger). This box is big, so you're going to want to put screws in about every 2 and a half feet down the line, too.

Here's a tip - make sure to drill these holes a little off from each other, like one an inch up or down from the other, that way when you put the screws in they won't hit each other!

Once you have all the holes drilled, take the 3/8" drill bit and drill down into each hole a little (not all the way through!). This is called "countersinking" the holes, and it's so that the screws don't end up sticking up and catching stuff.

Caring for Your Homemade Grind Box

Once you have the entire box built, go back over it and make sure you don't have any screws sticking out at all. You'll probably want to do this again after a few days of using the ramp, and then every once in a while after that! Nothing will ruin your day more than catching a screw!

If you leave your skateboard grind ledge outside, make sure to cover it with a tarp at least (you can also build it out of pressure treated lumber, or paint it - these will protect it too).  This whole project should cost less than a hundred bucks, and you'll have your own grind ledge! Enjoy!