Can i use pvc pipe to make a snowboarding rail?

You can use PVC to make a rail however there are some precautions you should take. Don't use schedule 40 pipe, its walls are too thin and will break easily when cold. You want to use schedule 80 or 120. You also don't want to use the rail if it very cold out. PVC gets brittle when cold. Type 1 PVC doesn't like temperatures below 0°F. The pipe would also need to be supported very well to prevent flexing. As far as your edges digging in, you want to detune your board anyway. I've personally never had a problem with the edges of my skis digging in, PVC isn't a very soft plastic. Your best bet would be some 2" PVC pipe fastened to a 2x4 or 2x6 which is then supported by a frame that flexes as little as possible. Triangles are your friend when build any structure that needs sturdy support.

definetly no! pvc does very badly in cold, when it freezes it shatters, and the shards are very sharp. imagine you go to grind it, it shatters and enters your thigh, dont sound fun to me. get some thick metal piping.

no dont use pvc pipe.... this guy dont know what hes talking about..... pvc is too soft and if u hit it with to much anlge, your boards edges will start cutting into the pvc until one time you hit it and your egde gets caught in one of the cuts you just put into it and you break your face... plus PVC is was to flexable your going to end up reinforcing it using so much time and supplies that you might as well go metal stick with metal ( no aluminum ) for rails wither get a metal rail or the best way is wood to make a box and a plastic top sheet but even then you must cut holes into the top sheet so that when you drill the screws in they are flush with the top sheet... remember a milimeter over you will catch an edge and get hurt

You can but you have to know how to do it. The biggest problem is that is flexes a lot. I have a few rails which I have used PVC for in my backyard park, and have used two basic ways to keep them from flexing. #1 For thin pvc pipes you take a wide board and attach two or more tubes on top. This makes almost a box type rail that slides pretty well, and easily. #2 For bigger diameter round rails with PVC it is more difficult. I take a power saw and cut a slot out of the bottom of the PVC then put a strong board inside the rail for support. This works quite well but it is difficult to do, and it will make your rail HEAVY.

Nope. PVC, especially Sched 40 gets very brittle in the cold. Plus, it flexes a lot. So to make it strong enough, you'd need to add a lot of supports, which makes it no longer smooth. Defeats the purpose of a rail, right? Not a good idea. D