Ski Builders Forum

That press looks super nice. I have a couple quesitons for you Alex. How big of a hoist did you need to put that press together and stand it up? About how much did you spend on all your press materials including: frame, bolts, hoses, mdf for top and bottom mold. I have been searching around the forum and am trying to get a ballpark price for a I-beam press. Thanks a bunch, happy building!

Thanks mate.

Not including the heat control, I would have spent around $3000 (Australian Dollars) on the press all up. However, I have access to a welder at home and I didn't pay for the MDF, uni supplied that for me. I also had a compressor already. This includes things you don't think about, like welding rods, glue, paint, castors, delivery fees, hose fittings, air line etc.

I found ringing around for steel prices made a big difference - I was quoted anywhere between $750 and $2000 for the steel.

For the hoist, I used a block and tackle attached to the roof of the shed. It's basically a chain and pulley hoist with a hook on one end. It worked fine, but it was pretty dangerous and you'd need to make sure your shed was built pretty strong.

Reworked the heat control system this week, the blankets are now controlled by two separate PID controllers & SSR's. Should give better control top & bottom, I was finding the top blanket was creeping in temp quite a lot with a single controller.

Also finished off my basic cassette today - will post up details soon.

2011 board coming in the next couple of weeks + some veneer experimentation

For now though, off to the snow! I still haven't ridden all the boards I made last year so will be doing so tomorrow.