Here is an example of a clamp press someone made.
http://students.washington.edu/seanr2/s ... front.html
Clamp press example
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twizzstyle
- Posts: 2204
- Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:25 pm
- Location: Kenmore, Wa USA
Hi there-
Somebody emailed me and pointed this post out to me.
Those are my photos, this was my attempt at making skis some 2 or 3 years ago now.
It was a good idea (I thought at the time) but I wouldn't recommend anybody use this method. You don't get even pressure, and you really don't get all that much pressure at all. (Probably 10-20psi max would be my best guess)
I have sense bought a firehose, and just need to weld up a steel frame for a pneumatic press. That is ABSOLUTELY the way to go if you want to make skis that are usable at all. I did ski on one ski I made one day, it it was ok-ish, not something I could ski on regularly. I've inflated my fire hose up to 80psi, although I'm not sure I want to go any higher for safety concerns. Pressure is a dangerous thing to play with if you aren't careful.
Somebody emailed me and pointed this post out to me.
Those are my photos, this was my attempt at making skis some 2 or 3 years ago now.
It was a good idea (I thought at the time) but I wouldn't recommend anybody use this method. You don't get even pressure, and you really don't get all that much pressure at all. (Probably 10-20psi max would be my best guess)
I have sense bought a firehose, and just need to weld up a steel frame for a pneumatic press. That is ABSOLUTELY the way to go if you want to make skis that are usable at all. I did ski on one ski I made one day, it it was ok-ish, not something I could ski on regularly. I've inflated my fire hose up to 80psi, although I'm not sure I want to go any higher for safety concerns. Pressure is a dangerous thing to play with if you aren't careful.
Here is my clamp press. Am thinking about going to prenumatic (but only becuase it takes like half an hour to do up all the bolts)
The skis we have made with this have been great. excellent durability, abseloutly no bubblles in the topsheet or marks where pressure has not been distributed evenly.
With the clamp press in the first few posts of this thread, i see a few big problems.
1. the aluminium or steel bars forming the 'cross' bits are bending, Thats bad. very bad. if they bend then they cannot apply pressure evenly in thehorizontal plane.
2. You need the whole thing to be mounted on something flat, and strong that wont bend. Wood isn't good enough. if you dont do this there is a good chance that your ski will be warped or not in the shape you would like. for eg. i used a i-beam so it would be flat and would not bend with pressure.
3. if you are going to make a really good clamp press the more horizontal clamp bits you have the more evenly pressure is going to be distributed. I like to space them about every 8-10cm apart. any closer and its a pain in the ass.
some other tips for a clamp press.
- It is very important to do up the bolts on each side of each clamp evenly. If one is done up tighter than the other pressure is not even and you can even warp your ski. I suggest having a drill with a pretty good torqe control so it will cut out at the right pressure.
- Double check and recheck that all are tight. (duh! u may say) but for exacmple if you do one clamp up tight, then do the next one up and then the third one a little bit tighter; then the second clamp is not going to be putting down all that much pressure.
A clamp press in my view is one of the most cost effective ski presses to build as it requires no pumps etc. However if your are after high volume out put of skis then this could get just a tad fustrating.
schuss
SCHÜSS 2011
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twizzstyle
- Posts: 2204
- Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:25 pm
- Location: Kenmore, Wa USA
Don't mean to bring up an old thread, but I felt it needed some updating.
The original posts were some pictures of the clamp press I built a few years back when in school. The skis were complete crap, basically unskiable.
It's amazing what a few years can do. I now know MUCH more about ski construction and composites in general, can weld, etc.
We now have a legit press complete with a PID controlled heat blanket, firehose, etc. We pressed our first ski this past weekend, and it turned out damn near perfect!
The original posts were some pictures of the clamp press I built a few years back when in school. The skis were complete crap, basically unskiable.
It's amazing what a few years can do. I now know MUCH more about ski construction and composites in general, can weld, etc.
We now have a legit press complete with a PID controlled heat blanket, firehose, etc. We pressed our first ski this past weekend, and it turned out damn near perfect!
