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Cutting bases tricks and tips.

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:49 pm
by backyardskier
Another tricks and tips thread, this time about cutting bases.

My method is making templates with a vacuum channel, and with the vacuum on I use a palm router and go around the template. Not the cleanest way but it is really fast and works great.

What are your methods for cutting bases?

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:08 pm
by gozaimaas
My first board I made a full sized template and then used a laminate trimmer to "cut" the base. What a waste of time and materials not to mention it left a heap of swarf on the under side of the cut which had to be removed.
I now series of templates and cut by hand with razor blades. Its fast, cuts clean and costs no extra materials.
I have side cut templates as well as a heap of different shape nose and tail templates that I mix and match to create new shapes with a minimum of fuss.

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:28 pm
by vinman
to prevent warp, cut your base off the roll, and for skis split the material in half, a couple days before you intend to cut it to shape and let it relax on a flat surface. Some added weight on top might help. Material that is not flat will never cut to shape correctly.

In the past I blamed this on heat distortion but I have since figured out this is more likely due to trying to cut material that was not relaxed and totally flat.

Heat distortion still might happen for time to time. I run an AC unit in my shop when it is really hot out to prevent this.

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:17 pm
by twizzstyle
If you have a CNC router - make your own drag knife by grinding a 1/8" carbide drill blank into a blade, stick it in your spindle, and leave the spindle turned off. Perfect bases, and no mess to pick up.

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:54 am
by skidesmond
I do a similar method as Vinman/Backyardskier. Pre-cut the p-tex and let it accumulate a day or so. Tack it to the template, route it, place edges while still attached to the template. Once the edges set, the base can be carefully removed. I have not noticed any warping once the edges are on.

As always, before laying up make sure the bases are perfectly matched.

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 5:20 am
by pmg
Hi,

to prevent warping I always cut the base with the ski template first, then let it rest for some days. Then I use the base template (2mm less on each side) and rout the base in its final shape. Never had warping issues after, but notices that the base sometimes warps a bit after cutting it with the ski template.

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 5:53 am
by Akiwi
Thanks for the tips guys. As I was intending to cut my bast tonight, I see I should wait a day or so with the base unrolled so it can flatten out,