one of the best/worst parts of converting the old ice carving secrets into the new ice sculpting secrets is seeing how horrid my photography used to be versus the mildly acceptableness that it has going on now. It’s embarrassing (see above 😬), but also a relief 🤣
my multi-luge ice luge design
updated somewhat 5/17/23 when added to iss
My multi-luge ice luge design was my idea of how to help solve ice luge “problems.” Read on…
Okay, so you have two types of ice luges: channel (or track) luges and tube luges. Each type of drink luge has its advantages and disadvantages. The channel luge is more of a “pure” sort of luge; drinks poured down it get real cooling action as the channel is cut into the ice itself. However, it’s messy, often short-lived, and sometimes there are limits as to what sort of sculptures can be made into a channel luge.
On the other hand, the tube luge has very few sculptural limits; almost any sort of ice sculpture can be adapted into a tube luge. The downside (and dirty little secret!) of the tube luge though, is that drinks are cooled only slightly on the way down because of the insulating tubing.
If only there were a way to combine the two kinds of luges…
combining the 2 kinds of ice luges
It turns out there is! And that’s why you’re bothering to read this, isn’t it? The multi-luge design is by no means a perfect solution; it’s not really adaptable to many sorts of ice sculpture designs. But it does offer lots of luging, even way into the night. The design was road-tested at a fraternity event and proved very satisfactory.
Carving the design is not terribly difficult; the base pieces are the only welds required. Some engraving skills might be required depending on the complexity of the logo or message on the face of the sculpture. An oval version is included below if you prefer a less angular design.
Some knowledge and experience helps in adding the luge tracks. The diagrams below might be helpful if you’re new at this. To learn more about adding a tube luge to a sculpture, check out making a luge out of almost any sculpture.
you can pour into a funnel for the center tube luge or down either side for the track luges. 3 luges in one!
the base shown on the right is a good way to elevate the luge exit points. However, if you don’t use a full thickness ice block for this, you’ll have to add an additional base piece below that for stability.
different design approaches
Well, as far as different design approaches, I have, instead of the trapezoid design: the oval design! See below
But that’s about it. As soon as the R&D team comes up with new shapes, I’ll post them here!
here’s a look at the back to give you a better idea of the luge tracks, in red
and finally, a side view, showing the track cut into the ice
how would it work on a CNC machine?
If you have a CNC that currently costs more than $15K, then you could probably make most of this on it. I don’t know what machine that is, but I have one that cost around $12-13K and I could ALMOST make this on it. I just need a little taller gantry. So maybe $2K gets me that taller gantry?
Anyway, this is the eternal question: shouldn’t I wait to get the machine that can do everything I need it to?
No.
You should get the (quality) machine that you can afford, right now. That’s because you’ll be losing ground waiting that you could have gained with the less capable machine. I learned this the hard way.
Oops, sorry, I went off on a tangent! It happens 🤣🤣
What was I talking about? Oh, yeah, I MIGHT try to do this on my current CNC. But it might require an ice slab a bit thicker than I can handle. I’ll let you know if I get a chance to try it and see how it goes.
However, I CAN think of a work around where it would probably work on my machine…🤔 If I end up trying it, I’ll post it here.
for more info and some guidelines
If you have any questions about my multi-luge ice luge design, email me or comment below. (It might not let you though.) If you would like to use this ice sculpture design or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. The design collection page lists designs on the site.
You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets facebook page and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!
