vacuum press + clamps for camber/rocker?

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skibumben
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2021 9:17 am

vacuum press + clamps for camber/rocker?

Post by skibumben »

anybody use a method similar to community skis for pressing skis?


seems like a simple way to press and easy to adjust camber/rocker without making tons of mdf molds.

i could use a sheet of steel or aluminum layed flat as a cassette base to vacuum press on to. and then clamp the cassette outside the vacuum against blocks to add camber and tip tail rise. assuming the metal sheet would flex in a uniform way when clamped for nice radius on the tips and tails.

anybody try something similar or have thoughts?

ben
SleepingAwake
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Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 11:06 pm
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Re: vacuum press + clamps for camber/rocker?

Post by SleepingAwake »

Yes I've done that a couple times. For my first pair of skis and then again last season when i was building 3 snowboards that were all different and i didn't feel like building more moulds.

I made a tip and a tail rocker profile with a 5mm mdf inbetween, and then another 3mm mdf across everything. Everything clamped down to the beefy vacuum table that i built for the router sledge to profile the cores.

Never had an issue with it, just a little fiddly
skibumben
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2021 9:17 am

Re: vacuum press + clamps for camber/rocker?

Post by skibumben »

thats good to know! i mocked up my setup with the sheet of 14ga steel this week, using spacers for tip atail and camber and it seems like it will work. plus, starting the laying from a flat surface i should be able to easily align the layup to the steel and then to the spacers and clamps using marks drawn on all the pieces. im probably due to start a build journal and figure out how to post some of my pics.
jerseyjeff
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:40 pm

Re: vacuum press + clamps for camber/rocker?

Post by jerseyjeff »

I've been planning a similar, modular, adjustable setup. Did you do it and do you have any pictures?
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