I started building 2 years ago, and haven't kept a journal here on ski builders but I decided its about time to start one. Recently I have gotten a few friends who really wanted to make skis to join me in hope to be able to get some better equipment and make more skis under the Offset label. Ill cat...

After building a few successful pairs and getting a solid process down I have been wanting to do some experimenting with natural composites. From some research I found that flax or hemp could be suitable. options. I couldn't find any hemp that was heavy enough or woven in a bi or triaxial, but I did...

I read that I should wait to press on the topsheet if I am struggling with finding a correct stiffness for my skis. I would hate to waste so much time and money like I did on my last pair (they are straight up too flexy to ski) and figured I should give it a try. My only question is what material I ...

Well there is 2 12 foot beams and 2 14 foot beams so I was originally planning on buying all 4 and cutting them all to 8 or 9 feet. That way I could use the metal I cut off for the ends of the press. However would the press be long enough if I just bought the 14 foot beams and cut those in half?

So I found some 8" by 8" I beams on Craigslist in great condition for really cheep, but they are 12 and 14 feet. I don't have a plasma cutter so I have no easy way to cut the beams to size. How might I go about cutting these without spending a ton of money?

Same thing happened to me but I had one continuous sidewall I just sucked putting it on. The screw I put in worked fine but like you said was super sketch.

Its so cool to see one of my favorite skiers make is own skis!

Clear nylon from Miller Studio

So after pressing my first ski, I gave it a flex and realized how soft and noodley it way. It would be alright to ski, but I was looking to make something a bit stiffer. Is there any way to stiffen it up without covering the graphics on the topsheet too much?

I have some extra cherry that would look great as a sidewall. It's a bit hard but it seems like that would be a good option

oh yeah, i meant core not base

On my first pair of skis once finished i noticed that the base was very in even. It has a lot to do with my mold being not perfectly smooth, but I also observed that the edge of the base, where the teeth of the edge overlapped the p-text, stuck out a lot. I saw that community skis cuts a groove into...

Would there be any major down fall to using square pieces of mdf or other wood for a cat track? I'm making a press and for now I don't want all the bells and whistles, but i figured if i could use wood to make a cat track that would be one cheep way to improve my press.
Thoughts?

Ya, it's PBT. Would the isocap 8210 from snowboard materials be a better option?

So after riding my first pair of skis the topsheet began peeling and chipping along the edges of my skis. This happened on my volkls too so I'm not too worried, but it seems to be worse than what was happening on my volkls. Any ideas on how to prevent this on my next pair?