So in my planning to make a board for riding on the ice, my latest idea seems like (only in my head and on a piece of paper towel)it may prove efficient to attempt making. Where I work I can get my hands on a few scrap pieces of metal from cut offs and what not. The easiest seems to be thick steel plate which is too heavy to think of using. I can from time to time in the metal dumpster find 1/4- 3/8" aluminum flat iron cut offs and also some checkered plate cut offs.

Anyway my idea is to attempt to make a board just like a single deck snowskate out of metal:



thinking I could cut out the shape...then use a vice&dead blow to bend up the two lips on tail and nose....then I'll use the vice again to some how bend the board in the middle to beat in a little concave. I'm assuming that I will need to apply heat to soften the metal for bending nicely.......If I can successfully form the metal I want to cut many grooves into the base to make up the teeth in my head I'm cutting dozens of edges straight along the middle and turning outwards on the edges, resembles the straight lines on a metal file. Figure this is where I should have a denser metal so that the base stays sharp over time riding on ice. Thinking a die grinder or some sort of pencil grinder and many hours would work for the grooves

So I'm bringing this idea to your heads here, hoping that those with metal experience could tell me what kind of material I should use and whether or not this is even approachable. To me this is a challenge that if I get my hands on the material I should be able to make it reasonably cheap and learn a bunch about working with steel in this manner. If I can find a thick enough metal I would make it with more of a rounded base so that when you rocked it side to side the outer grooves would cause it to steer. Crazy??? I don't really know that is why I'm asking here:puzzled:

while not and an expert i have done some fabrication work. if your using alum i would say you wont need any heat.
as for vice and dead blow that could work, i would try and find something that has about the same contour for the edges and pound from the bottom from the middle out to the rails. you may need a metal hammer here ball peen or a mini sledge.

your board will be loud i bet. but interested in how it goes .
best advice get metal bang on it till you get what ya want :D