The Rails Thread

[Xen]

+1 for the doubled sided tape (go thin); it really helps with the inevitable rattles that will happen.

[BL0B]

is it the screw threads keeping the rail up? i had that happen forvever ago, haven't used rails in years.

[ToshiroTownune]

Anyone try the moth jawns with the rounded edge on one side for improved hurricane/feeble maneuvering? Got a set I’m about to put on.

https://www.liljawnsrails.com/product-page/moth-jawns

@xen are heroins your go to now over sc hsr slimline?

[Xen]

Anyone try the moth jawns with the rounded edge on one side for improved hurricane/feeble maneuvering? Got a set I’m about to put on.

https://www.liljawnsrails.com/product-page/moth-jawns

@Xen are heroins your go to now over sc hsr slimline?

@ToshiroTownune

I still use both, but prefer the slimline HSRs. They slide faster (they're harder) and have that angled surface to compensate for concave creating a flat 'slide plane' no matter how close or apart the rails are, really smart design; Heroines are are bit lower with more rounded / beveled edges...I think they might be lighter? Heroin comes with better screws.

Slimline better for grabbing, if you do that.

[FrontsideFrank]

Anyone try the moth jawns with the rounded edge on one side for improved hurricane/feeble maneuvering? Got a set I’m about to put on.

https://www.liljawnsrails.com/product-page/moth-jawns

@xen are heroins your go to now over sc hsr slimline?

Never tried the moth shape, but rock the standards constantly. If you end up liking his round bevel, the standards have the same one (just on both sides) and are a bit cheaper.

[Xen]

Truth be told, if more brands, even those with existing slicks, made more 8.25/8.125 slicks I’d skip rails.

Madness is the worst with their slick centers OR slick nose and tails…ffs.

[yourbreakfsat]

New Deal rails are back

https://www.longboarderlabs.com/product/new-deal-rails-white/



4 holes and a rounded surface instead of flat. I'm tempted to try these out.

[FrozenIndustries]

New Deal rails are back

https://www.longboarderlabs.com/product/new-deal-rails-white/



4 holes and a rounded surface instead of flat. I'm tempted to try these out.

They're awesome rails, but one big caveat: the screws that come with them are way too short and stubby. I ended up getting some #8x.5" wood screws (pretty sure it was that size) and used those instead.

[MysticalTypeExperience]

Edit - YOLO ordered some black New Deal rails.

[goodatmeth]

Is there anything great or terrible about the creature serrated rails? (Edit: Or the glow in the dark ones)
My local only got these and pig rails (in bad colors), which were terrible to set up in the past.

[The real veganshawn]

Slappy Hour rails are my jam, 13.5 in so no rail wheel bite

[Prostate Exam]

Is there anything great or terrible about the creature serrated rails? (Edit: Or the glow in the dark ones)
My local only got these and pig rails (in bad colors), which were terrible to set up in the past.

I really like the glow in the dark creature rails, but not the serrated ones. I heard the break pretty quick and are just all around bad quality

[goodatmeth]

Expand Quote

Is there anything great or terrible about the creature serrated rails? (Edit: Or the glow in the dark ones)
My local only got these and pig rails (in bad colors), which were terrible to set up in the past.

[close]

I really like the glow in the dark creature rails, but not the serrated ones. I heard the break pretty quick and are just all around bad quality

Thanks! Got the glowing ones

[mj23]

Hadn’t checked this thread in a while because I had a good run of setups with rails installed effectively, no rattle, no issues getting yanked out etc. Madness defeated!

 Then I set up a new board with some Pig rails that have really been pissing me off. Not my first time using Pigs but definitely my worst experience so far.

Here’s where I went wrong, so you all can learn from my mistakes.

1. I usually drill a tiny starter hole before putting the screws in. This time I skipped that, and went straight for the screwing. I used a drill. Screws went like 2/3 of the way in and then started stripping like hell. Screw heads still weren’t flush even with the rail so I new they would get fucked up really quickly if I tried to skate em.

2. I put a tiny strip of tape under the rails to hold em in place, which is a new move for me. It succeeded in holding the rails in place while I put the screws in, which is nice because it removes some guesswork on positioning. Rials don’t slide around while you work on em, etc. This is probably fine to do and I might do it again in the future. But I would probably still drill starter holes anyway. And in the past I’ve used glue. It requires letting it dry a bit but I think it might be my preferred method.

3. I went and bought #6 wood screws 1/2” long, to replace the shitty Pig screws.

4. Removed old screws, and filled in holes with wood glue so that hopefully I could re-use the holes

5. Replaced old screws with the new ones. They went down flush very easily. Did it by hand to avoid stripping em out again. No drill this time. Unfortunately one or two of the holes were still too big or not glued enough or SOMETHING because the new screws still didn’t quite grip enough to get the rail on super tight.

So in conclusion 3 of the 4 screws on each rail are in nice and solid, 1 of the screws on each rail is a bit fucked. Maybe if I had used slightly thicker screws it would have worked better. In the future I’m just gonna try to buy rails that actually come with decent screws in the first place. And drill the starter holes. And screw the rails in by hand after that.

So now I’m just gonna cut my losses and start skating the thing now because I’m annoyed by fucking around with it. If the rails come out I’ll just shift the rails over half an inch or so and start over with new holes.

[Roisto]

Always screw by hand. Maple is hard as fuck so you have to go slow and put a lot of pressure on it. Much easier to do by hand. I don’t have any power tools so I’ve never had ant problems with Pig rails. They have always required a lot of force to screw down but not once have they become loose or anything other problems like that.

[FrontsideFrank]

Hadn’t checked this thread in a while because I had a good run of setups with rails installed effectively, no rattle, no issues getting yanked out etc. Madness defeated!

 Then I set up a new board with some Pig rails that have really been pissing me off. Not my first time using Pigs but definitely my worst experience so far.

Here’s where I went wrong, so you all can learn from my mistakes.

1. I usually drill a tiny starter hole before putting the screws in. This time I skipped that, and went straight for the screwing. I used a drill. Screws went like 2/3 of the way in and then started stripping like hell. Screw heads still weren’t flush even with the rail so I new they would get fucked up really quickly if I tried to skate em.

2. I put a tiny strip of tape under the rails to hold em in place, which is a new move for me. It succeeded in holding the rails in place while I put the screws in, which is nice because it removes some guesswork on positioning. Rials don’t slide around while you work on em, etc. This is probably fine to do and I might do it again in the future. But I would probably still drill starter holes anyway. And in the past I’ve used glue. It requires letting it dry a bit but I think it might be my preferred method.

3. I went and bought #6 wood screws 1/2” long, to replace the shitty Pig screws.

4. Removed old screws, and filled in holes with wood glue so that hopefully I could re-use the holes

5. Replaced old screws with the new ones. They went down flush very easily. Did it by hand to avoid stripping em out again. No drill this time. Unfortunately one or two of the holes were still too big or not glued enough or SOMETHING because the new screws still didn’t quite grip enough to get the rail on super tight.

So in conclusion 3 of the 4 screws on each rail are in nice and solid, 1 of the screws on each rail is a bit fucked. Maybe if I had used slightly thicker screws it would have worked better. In the future I’m just gonna try to buy rails that actually come with decent screws in the first place. And drill the starter holes. And screw the rails in by hand after that.

So now I’m just gonna cut my losses and start skating the thing now because I’m annoyed by fucking around with it. If the rails come out I’ll just shift the rails over half an inch or so and start over with new holes.

The couple sets of pig rails I've tried gave me nothing but problems on install, as well. Here's a couple points worth expanding on from my experience with them (and as a capenter).

1. Had the exact same stripping problem when the screws got in about 1/2 way and it was caused by the rail itself (with my set). The holes weren't molded wide enough to let the screws seat all the way down. They just got pinched part way in and stripped the wood out because of it. I used a drill to widen the holes. Gotta be careful doing that though. Once the drill bit catches the plastic it will pull through real fast.

2. I'm a fan of the tape method, myself. I put a sliver of double sided carpet tape (cheap and easy to find at any lowes/home depot) between each mounting hole. It's strong enough to hold everything in place while positioning/installing and to prevent rattling after, but still allows rails to be removed and reused (if they outlast the deck).

4. Glue works good if you're just trying to keep a screw in place with a stripped hole. Fill the hole with glue then put the screw in to dry in place. If you want to "heal" the stripped hole you need to put more wood in there to take up the space created by the stripping. Easiest way is to tap in a couple wood slivers/shavings. I'll shave off a little bit of scrap wood with a knife or break a couple pieces off of a toothpick (whichever is easiest to get ahold of at the time) then press them in with anything rigid that will work (nail set, screwdriver, Allen key, etc.).

[goodatmeth]

I have very little experience with rails, only shortly used the pig rails mentioned before.
Got the creature ones in front of me and can't tell if there is a right and wrong way to place them.
The pig rails had two very differently shaped sides, the creature ones seem pretty symmetric but there might be the tiniest difference or I'm just going crazy

[Prostate Exam]

Always screw by hand. Maple is hard as fuck so you have to go slow and put a lot of pressure on it. Much easier to do by hand. I don’t have any power tools so I’ve never had ant problems with Pig rails. They have always required a lot of force to screw down but not once have they become loose or anything other problems like that.

Whenever I applied my rails without any powertools they started rattling right off the bat. So I go with a power drill now, but I screw them in at very low speed.
I need to start predrilling now though and use double sided tape. Has any one ever tried the rails where you drill through the whole board, I dont know what they are called, but they seemed to be used by old vert pros.

[manysnakes]

Pre-drilling is everything when it comes to woodworking. Always pre-drill, just a little pinprick hole is all that's needed.

[GBLange]

Expand Quote

Always screw by hand. Maple is hard as fuck so you have to go slow and put a lot of pressure on it. Much easier to do by hand. I don’t have any power tools so I’ve never had ant problems with Pig rails. They have always required a lot of force to screw down but not once have they become loose or anything other problems like that.

[close]

Whenever I applied my rails without any powertools they started rattling right off the bat. So I go with a power drill now, but I screw them in at very low speed.
I need to start predrilling now though and use double sided tape. Has any one ever tried the rails where you drill through the whole board, I dont know what they are called, but they seemed to be used by old vert pros.

powell rat nuts?

[Xen]

Pre-drilling is everything when it comes to woodworking. Always pre-drill, just a little pinprick hole is all that's needed.

For rails I always pre-drill, start with a drill, low torque, finish 50% by hand.

[kevs.clips]

I've been making my own rails lately out of UHMW bars lately. Since shipping is so expensive from the states to Canada it's a lot cheaper to make these than order Lil Jawnz (although I've bought a couple of pairs from him and they're well worth the money). They last forever (some homie I skate with has had the same set he made years ago for almost a decade) and only take about a half-hour to make.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/jig-and-fixture-parts/32045-uhmw-polyethylene?item=46J9015

With the 3/8x3/4x48 bar you can get 2 and a half sets out of them. I just cut them out with a hack saw, drill/countersink them and round the edges off with a bit of sandpaper.



They're a little wider than regular rails at 3/4" wide but they feel really good. They're a lot more predictable than Pig rails which I find super icy feeling, and last way longer than any other rails other than Jawnz. If you had better tools you could probably easily shape them to any dimensions/shape you'd like but for me just cutting them and rounding them off slightly does the trick.

[FrozenIndustries]

I've been making my own rails lately out of UHMW bars lately. Since shipping is so expensive from the states to Canada it's a lot cheaper to make these than order Lil Jawnz (although I've bought a couple of pairs from him and they're well worth the money). They last forever (some homie I skate with has had the same set he made years ago for almost a decade) and only take about a half-hour to make.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/jig-and-fixture-parts/32045-uhmw-polyethylene?item=46J9015

With the 3/8x3/4x48 bar you can get 2 and a half sets out of them. I just cut them out with a hack saw, drill/countersink them and round the edges off with a bit of sandpaper.



They're a little wider than regular rails at 3/4" wide but they feel really good. They're a lot more predictable than Pig rails which I find super icy feeling, and last way longer than any other rails other than Jawnz. If you had better tools you could probably easily shape them to any dimensions/shape you'd like but for me just cutting them and rounding them off slightly does the trick.

So cool. I can't even tell you how much I love seeing stuff like this here.

What size and bit type(s) are you using to drill/countersink?

[animalflesh]

Wish I could gnar twice, rad stuff

[kevs.clips]

Expand Quote

I've been making my own rails lately out of UHMW bars lately. Since shipping is so expensive from the states to Canada it's a lot cheaper to make these than order Lil Jawnz (although I've bought a couple of pairs from him and they're well worth the money). They last forever (some homie I skate with has had the same set he made years ago for almost a decade) and only take about a half-hour to make.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/jig-and-fixture-parts/32045-uhmw-polyethylene?item=46J9015

With the 3/8x3/4x48 bar you can get 2 and a half sets out of them. I just cut them out with a hack saw, drill/countersink them and round the edges off with a bit of sandpaper.



They're a little wider than regular rails at 3/4" wide but they feel really good. They're a lot more predictable than Pig rails which I find super icy feeling, and last way longer than any other rails other than Jawnz. If you had better tools you could probably easily shape them to any dimensions/shape you'd like but for me just cutting them and rounding them off slightly does the trick.

[close]

So cool. I can't even tell you how much I love seeing stuff like this here.

What size and bit type(s) are you using to drill/countersink?

Hey, thanks so much! I use a 1/8th drill bit for the holes then I use one of these countersink bits I found on Amazon to countersink them.

https://www.amazon.ca/Countersink-Carpentry-Woodworking-Individually-Packaging/dp/B08JLQNSNB/ref=Oct_m_oup_7205612011?pd_rd_i=B08JLQNSNB&pd_rd_r=a4c569fe-9a84-4e63-b342-a2b67e6340e3&pd_rd_w=Ckf0m&pd_rd_wg=ILcrK&pf_rd_p=5d800131-57e9-476f-8b50-255dad2628a4&pf_rd_r=9YXHHNXNXF10C7ESNAFQ

[Landmine]

On a similar note I use a self-centering bit with the rail taped in place.  I picked up a couple when I had to hang a bunch of doors and now I look for any excuse to use one again, I love em so much.

https://www.mcfeelys.com/snappy-5-64-in-self-centering-hinge-bit-set.html

[Watson]

First time in this thread, but wanted to share my rail mounting routine. I ride Pig Rails because we always have them at the shop and they slide good but the reason they always crawl up the screws when putting them on is that they don't make the hole through the rail big enough for the provided screws.

So before I put them on, I use a 1/4 drill bit and drill it through the bottom hole, then use a bigger drill bit (not sure exact size) and ream out the hole on top so it countersinks better. Sounds like lots of work but takes two seconds. Works perfect, my rails lay flat and don't rattle. The other week one of my screws even fell out of my rail and it's still staying flat without rattling thanks to the tape.

[BartHarleyJarvis]

Question for all you toe side rail riders: do you have issues with frontside boardslides? It makes sense to me for bs boardslides and feeble/smiths, but then for fs boardslides it seems like having that dragging rail would be an issue or feel awkward.

[mj23]

Question for all you toe side rail riders: do you have issues with frontside boardslides? It makes sense to me for bs boardslides and feeble/smiths, but then for fs boardslides it seems like having that dragging rail would be an issue or feel awkward.

i havent had a problem. just need to stay aware of the fact that the board can shoot out in front of you more easily if youre leaned too far back over that toeside rail. to be honest this is the first time i've realized that it could be a problem, hope it doesn't fuck with my head now lol

[BartHarleyJarvis]

Does anyone sell single rails instead of pairs?

Also, any guidance for rails on eggs? Do you try to bend the rail a bit? How far in do you screw the rail?