Holidays are coming, and whether you play hockey or not, you’ll want to get your hockey gear ready. The best way to do this is by building your own rink board. With a little bit of work, you can have a functional and visually appealing rink board in no time at all. In this article, we’ll discuss how to build a hockey rink board.
Table of Contents
What Is A Rink Board?
A rink board is a structural frame on which you’ll mount the ice surface for your hockey games. There are different sizes available, so you can find one that’ll suit both your needs and the size of the ice surface you have. As the name would suggest, the purpose of the board is to form a barrier between the ice and the playing surface. This protects the ice from being damaged during gameplay. The boards also provide a smooth skating surface for the players.
Even though the main purpose of the rink board is to keep the ice safe, there are many other good reasons for having one. The board is also used to keep score, as well as monitor how efficiently your team is moving around the ice during a game. The visual appeal of the board is also important, as players and spectators alike enjoy looking at a slick surface rather than a rough field or an ice castle.
The Materials You’ll Need
The most basic and cheapest type of rink board is made of four by fours and string. You’ll need about thirty-two of these to build a single-layer board about four feet by eight feet. For double-layer boards, you’ll need about an inch and a half of fiberglass insulation in between each layer of wood. These materials are available at home centers and lumber yards for a low cost. In most cases, you’ll need to buy your own ice machines to do this. However, the materials to make the ice are fairly cheap.
The Size Of The Ice Sink You’ll Need
The first thing you need to do is determine the size of the ice sink you’ll need. This will depend on how big you want your ice surface to be. If you have a large family and you want to host a lot of hockey games, you might want to consider getting an eighty-four inch ice surface. On the other hand, if you just have a few kids that play hockey and you want to stick to a more traditional sixty-four inch ice surface, you can find plenty of small ice sinks at the local home centers.
The Shape Of The Ice Sink
The next thing to decide is the shape of the ice sink. This will depend on how much room you have for the board. If you have a small area, you might want to go for an egg shape, as this will allow you to have the most ice while fitting comfortably in your space. Another option is to get a slightly deeper tray than you would for a normal freezer, as this will make the ice more stable and easy to move around.
The Style Of The Ice Sink
You also need to decide on the style of the ice sink. There are many different styles to choose from, so you can find one that suits both your needs and the area you have available. You can also ask the home center salesperson for help in this regard.
One more thing to decide is what material you’ll use for the encasing. You can use either fiberglass or wood for this part, but the type of wood will depend on what style you’ve chosen. For instance, if you’ve decided on a painted style for the board, you can use a standard two by four for the base, but for a more luxurious look, you can use a mahogany board.
As you can see, there are many different parts that you need to consider before starting to build the board. Once you’ve made all these decisions, it’s time to start designing and cutting the boards. We’ll discuss the cutting process in more detail in the next section.
Designing The Rink Board
Once you’ve decided on the size and shape of the rink board, you can move on to the next step which is to design the board. This is a fairly easy step, and you can use any type of drawing software to do this. You should take your time doing this step, as it will make the building process much easier. Once the design is finalized, take some time to study the layout and see how the board will look when finished. This will help you identify any potential problems before you start cutting the wood.
Cutting The Wood
The next step is to cut the wood for the board. If you’ve followed the previous steps correctly, you should have no problem in this step, as all the parts should have been pre-measured and pre-cut. The only thing you need to do is glue them together. Make sure you have all the proper tools for this step, as it can be quite tedious work. Even though it’s not difficult, it’s still a fairly time-consuming step, and you’ll want to make sure you do it right the first time.
Once the glue has dried, it’s time to move on to the next step.
Mounting The Ice Surface Onto The Rink Board
The last step in the process is to mount the ice surface onto the board. To do this, you’ll need to follow the instructions that came with the ice surface you purchased. This will usually involve screwing the corners and edges of the board to make it sturdier. You should also check for any leaks before you seal the final product. If you’ve followed the previous steps correctly, this step should be easy. Just make sure you don’t overtighten any of the screws, as this can cause damage to your ice surface. After you’ve mounted the surface, you can finally paint or stain it to suit your fancy.
Once all of this is said and done, you’ll have a functioning and stylish rink board that’ll serve your needs well.