Has anyone ever made an ice shot luge?

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Jah

Jah

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Was wanting to have an ice shot luge for a Halloween party. I called the local ice house and they charge $150. I was thinking it couldn't be that hard to make one for hopefully around $50 and be able to reuse the mold. I have a big empty chest freezer and was thinking all i would need was a basic container for the mold. I am having trouble figuring out what would be the best way to make the grooves for the liquor without having to chisel them out after i freeze the ice block. Maybe super gluing some tubing of some sort to the bottom that way when it freezes the grooves will already be in the ice block....any ideas?
 
My first thought would be a block of ice, blowtorch, and copper tube. Heat up the tube, set down on ice, repeat. Or just use the business end of the blowtorch directly on the ice.
 
uncia said:
My first thought would be a block of ice, blowtorch, and copper tube. Heat up the tube, set down on ice, repeat. Or just use the business end of the blowtorch directly on the ice.
Click to expand...

Either this, or just use some PVC tubing of the right size in the mold. Cut in half so you have a half circle if needed. But I do like the hot copper tubing idea.
 
We just buy the block from a local ice company and melt it with a propane torch. I think a plain block is like $30.
 
Buy a block of ice. Rough out the path with a hammer and chisel/screwdriver. Smooth it over with a blowtorch.

Don't forget the hidden bucket of goldfish.
 
I wonder if that mold is set up so that a few copies of the mold back to back would line up with the races. then you could make it as long as you wanted.
 
Thanks for the ideas. I have to say I am particularly liking the blowtorch(who doesn't look for an excuse to fire one up). I think i'll go to the hardware store and see if anything jumps out at me. I would really like to be able to just fill up the container(I'm sure i will find one appropriate in size) where when i dumped the ice block out the grooves were already in place. Maybe even just use tubing and freeze the block in two or more stages where the shoots actually ran through the block instead of simply being chaneled out of the top. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to pull the tubing out though without craking the block. Maybe I could pour lukewarm water through them to help with removal.
 
We did... it was huge... 5 feet long, 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep. We built a wooden stand to hold it.

The issue is when it melts. If it's on a lawn it will destroy it. On a hot summer day in the shade, in virginia, it took a week to melt.

Don't use a torch - the flame is too wide and the width will make a channel that is about 4-6 inches wide.

I like the idea of using a copper pipe. In general though you only need a small channel as it will widen and get a lot deeper as the block melts and the alcohol channels through.

Also - people get skeeved about putting their mouth to the ice where all those other people have.

Another issue is getting the "exit" correct. All those people putting their lips to the ice melts it into more of a slope. What I suggest is that you use a cup instead.
 
definitely just go with this :)
51MK7RYyROL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
 
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One thing to consider when making your own is whether or not you want clear ice. Usually the ones you buy are clear and you can see through them however if you just freeze a block in a freezer it'll be opaque (ever freeze water in a water bottle). It's still ice and does the exact same thing, it's just a matter of preference as to whether you want clear or opaque ice. I believe if I remember right the way to get clear ice is to keep the water moving while it's freezing. I think mythbusters did a show on it a while back.

As for the groove down the middle, a simple hammer and chissel always works.
 
Another way to improve the clarity of the ice is to boil it, put it in the mold while still hot and then freeze. It's the dissolved oxygen that make is opaque, boiling gets rid of that.

I made one in college but it was kinda small. If doing it again, I would probably make a wood frame wrapped in plastic for the mold.

For the track, I used a soldering iron. It worked quite well actually. If you undercut the 'exit', you can have the shot kinda shoot off the luge. People won't really need to stick their mouths right on it that way.

Edit: Just had a good idea. Use a large wooden frame for the mold. Mount a hose to the bottom of the wooden frame in an S-curve and cover it in plastic. Fill it with water and when it freezes, flip it over. The hose in the bottom will make your S-curve track for you. Another thing that would be cool is to have two tracks that merge into one for mixed shooters.
 
we just got a block of ice from the ice house and used a router to cut the paths, we had a straight shot in the middle and a curvy run on both sides worked out great
 
shotblock.jpg



Ok so I just got back from the store and this is what I came up with. The container is 4 ft. long($4), 10 ft. of 1/2" rubber ice machine tubing($4), zip ties($3) and some freeze resistant silicone($3.50)....so a grand total of less than $15. Here is my plan: cut he tubing into two 5 ft. lengths and snake them the entire length of the container. Cut holes in both ends just big enough for the tubing to stick out of the ends of the container. Then I want to take the zip ties and use them by poking little holes in the bottom of the container in order for the tubing to hold its "snaking shape". Once everything is in place use the silicone to seal up all the little holes from the zip ties and on the ends for the tubing. Hopefully I will be able to freeze the shot block in a manner that when it is flipped out the tubes will have left adequate grooves for the booze. If all this works I intend to make a wooden frame so that the block sits at a proper angle, have a drip tray with dry ice in it to create the fog effect and mount some leds in the frame to hopefully give the ice some really cool illumination.
I will keep you guys posted on the progress.
 
Looks like a cool project....so is the liquor supposed to go THROUGH the ice block or just over it? I thought it was supposed to go through the ice block, (like an internal path)...but the router ideas sound more like an overland trek....

And for the love of god stop posting with green on white....you're making my eyes bleed!
 
shortyjacobs said:
Looks like a cool project....so is the liquor supposed to go THROUGH the ice block or just over it? I thought it was supposed to go through the ice block, (like an internal path)...but the router ideas sound more like an overland trek....

And for the love of god stop posting with green on white....you're making my eyes bleed!
Click to expand...



It could either go through or just on top. Most I have seen are just grooved on top of the ice. It would be sweet to make "shutes" go through the ice, however I think it would be rather difficult removing the tubing without cracking the ice....and naw, I like green and eye blood is pretty sweet too
 
Jah said:
It could either go through or just on top. Most I have seen are just grooved on top of the ice. It would be sweet to make "shutes" go through the ice, however I think it would be rather difficult removing the tubing without cracking the ice....and naw, I like green and eye blood is pretty sweet too
Click to expand...

just run hot water in the tubing and you should be able to pull it out, we just put the groves on the top
 
Some friends and I made a stand and about 6 ice luges a few years ago. We tried a bunch of different ideas to get the grooves in the ice including a torch, chisel, heated windshield scraper and heating up a copper pipe and touching it to the ice. By far the best results were with a dremel and a small sanding bit. We could carve a channel in a 4' x 3' x 1' block of ice in minutes. We would just get the channel deep enough so the liquor wouldn't come out of it when poored. Throughout the night it will keep getting deeper and a little wider. We also used plastic storage containers and filled them with boiled water and then put them in a chest freezer. Turned out pretty good - mostly clear. Also, beware - the alcohol sneaks up on you when you can't taste it. :tank:
 
We used to the pond out back and chip ut a big block of ice. You can make a rough path using a chisel and pour hot water down to make it bigger. If you want tunnels and such for multiple tracks, you need a blow torch. Don't bother with molds or buying pre-made luges.
 
My secret is using a chain saw! Soooo much easier. Just make sure the saw is clean. Empty the chain oil reservoir and then run the chain in a bucket of hot soapy water for a little bit. This cleans out all the oil and make sure you put the oil back in when done to keep it from rusting.
 
THANK YOU finally I was waiting for someone to say chainsaw. My friend works for an ice company and makes blocks of ice whenever she wants, so ice luges are an easy thing to come by for us...and yes the quickest easiest way to carve an ice luge is a chainsaw. It is, however, recommended that you carve BEFORE you start drinking.
 
some places will sell you an uncut luge that you can cut yourself... which is really easy...
 
The best way to make the carve out is using an iron. Anytime we had an ice luge in college you just plug in the iron, turn it all the way up, and melt yourself a nice v shape out of the ice block. Very easy to control when you are cutting the groove into the ice and much more exacting than a blow torch. That's my recommendation.
 
at the very end make sure to pour some warm water down the entire thing to smooth it out...
 

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