DIY Ski Sled - Plezuh

In an ever-growing expectation for this year's snow, a friend of mine tipped me on the existence of a type of sled in Slovenia, called "Plezuh" that people either buy or make themself from old skis.

The sled is made out of a single ski with a seat on top and there are many varieties that you can find online but one design looked really promising so I decided to go with it and try to build it.

Even though the original one is made out of aluminum, I've built mine out of steel as it felt that it will be stronger and more durable, and easier to source locally.

The total height of my ski sled is about 40cm, with the iron pipe pieces at 40cm, the angle iron base supports at 42cm, and the seat support angle iron at 20cm.

The vertical supports are spaced at 10cm and the shock absorber is mounted at one-third of the height of the vertical support.

If video is your thing, feel free to watch me below as I build the sled from start to finish.

Tools and materials used in the video:

• Bicycle rear shock absorber - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9hHdij
• Countersunk machine screws - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AT7CkL
• Self-locking nuts - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Atkskj
• Washers - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AkujfN
• Epoxy glue - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A3XwGT
• Inverter welding machine - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9vLtSb
• 6013 Welding rods - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AUYAHz
• Angle grinder - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AqT1xd
• Battery drill - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AbyN39
• Assorted drill bits - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AfL1OL
• Black spray paint - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A3M1nV

To cut the iron pipes I've used a cut-off disk on my angle grinder and I've cut two pieces of 40cm each.

I've also cut the two opposing corners of each pipe at about 5mm so they can have more clearance from the ski and the seat when moving.

At 8mm from the end, I've drilled 6mm holes for the connecting screws, through both of the square tubings.

To get rid of any sharp edges, I've ground all of the corners and edges with my angle grinder.

The top and bottom angle iron pieces are prepared in the exact same way as the tubing where here we have two 42cm pieces and 2, 20cm pieces.

On all of the pieces, I've drilled two, 6mm holes that are spaced at 10cm.

The shock absorber that I've used is a salvaged part from the scrapyard and I originally planned to mount it directly on the angle iron pieces. However, the mountings of it are pretty tick so there wasn't enough space for the ski to fit.

To solve this, I've cut two small pieces of 3x3cm square tubing so the shock absorber mounts can fit inside and I made some notches in them for it to be able to move freely.

The positioning of the mounts is dictated by the angle at which you want the vertical pieces to sit. I have mine at around 15 degrees.

To reduce the gap in between the two bottom angle pieces, I've made two notches in it so the shock absorber mount can go on top of both the bottom pieces.

Once the position of the shock absorber mounted was determined, I used my stick welder to weld both of the mounts.

Since they are made out of 3x3cm square tubing, and the vertical support is made out of 2x2cm square tubing, I used a filler rod to help me span the gap at the edges.

In the end, I've used my angle grinder to clean up all of the welds and made the joints smooth.

For the seat, I wanted to have more support on the edges to prevent any damage in the case of a fall.

At first, I only planned to have just the middle two angle iron pieces but I've also added two more at the front and the back running opposite of the mounts. This way the seat will be fully supported and hopefully will be less prone to damage.

To mount the bottom assembly of the ski sled to the actual ski, I first removed the bindings that were on the ski and I inspected which of the holes present I can use for the mount.

The ski had several different bindings installed through its lifetime and I didn't want to make any new holes so I don't reduce its strength.

Once I picked 6 holes I drilled them all the way through with a 6mm drill bit and using a countersink drill bit I made space for the bolts on the underside so they sit flush with the surface of the ski. I could have mounted the whole thing from the top as the bindings are mounted but I was afraid that it might be torn apart in case of a fall.

I then marked their holes locations on the bottom angle iron assembly and drilled them as well.

For the seat, I wanted something with a bit more strength so I used an old piece of laminated board that had wood strips in the middle and a veneer on the top.

The piece is 40x30cm and I've made some round overs on the corners.

Before final assembly, I wiped all of the metal parts with acetone and applied two coats of spray paint to protect them.

For the seat, I applied two coats of boat lacquer so it is protected from the snow.

Since the center core of the ski is wood I didn't want any water to enter inside and possibly delaminate the ski in the future so I used two parts epoxy to fill in the holes.

Before attaching the sled to the ski, I first added epoxy glue to the screws on the bottom sides they are as watertight as possible and I then secured the bottom mount to the ski with nuts from the top.

The vertical pieces are also secured with screws and I've added washers on the outside to prevent them from unscrewing.

The entire assembly needs to be tight but still allow for movement to the shock absorber.

To mount the seat, I've attached the seat mount to the vertical support pieces with screws the same as on the bottom and I flipped the entire sled upside on the seat.

Once I positioned the mount in the center of the seat, I marked the locations of the holes and pre-drilled the holes to fasten it with screws from the bottom.

Unfortunately, we don't have any snow yet here to try it out but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

As of now, I didn't add any handles to the sled as I think that the seat can be used as such but once we get the chance to try it out I might add a handle to the front as per the original design.

To see how the sled handles, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for an update video and also check my other Instructables for more projects.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you all in the next one!