HELP ME

[JReilly]

Sorry but I'm new to making skis, how much will all the materials and tools cost? I think i have every tool actually except the ski press

Thanks,
Jake Reilly

[hugocacola]

ohh dude

i think no one will anser you, because they lost the numbers betwen much stress.... ehehehe

but count with a bounch of dollars ehehehe

happy start, and think carfully when think buying stuffs, "poor people spend money twice"

[Eight]

Just getting started myself, but maybe its best not to think about the price of it all.

Kind of a "if you need to ask then you can't afford it" situation? Lol.

[Kevin6q]

If you are trying to build a pair of skis to save cash stop right now. After you invest in the time, tooling and materials you will be spending as much, if not more, as if you went and bought some year old boards. Sounds very philosophical, but build because you enjoy the challenge and reward of doing something yourself. Not trying to be discouraging, a pessimist or anything else negative; but saving cash arrives after you amortize the tooling costs over a few pair of skis. Even then, the savings is pretty small. You can build some great skis (or whatever item you like) but my experience is the first pieces leave a bit to be desired. It usually takes a few builds to gain the experience to begin achieving what is planned.

The benefit of building things is after you gain the experience you can start getting what you want from these items. There is also the rewards of having a great day using something you made yourself; a sense of satisfaction you will understand after you build the first pieces. Even if they suck, there is a great joy in using them. There is also something pretty fun when your friends of other skiers discover the boards you're on were made by you.

I've just started my first pair of skis so my pontifications might seem hollow and unjustified. I have built, boats (kayaks, sail, power, row), ski poles, tents, all sorts of clothing, rifle parts, ice boats, buildings, traction kites, brewed kegs full of beer, loads of composite "stuff" and a barn full of homegrown toys(built the barn too). There is a transference of skills and I have a great workshop so building a new thing is less expensive but I've stopped building things with the idea of saving cash. I build because I enjoy learning and get a kick out of doing it myself.

[Nick's Sticks]

First.
Kevin, you made ski poles? Do you mind sharing? It seems like it would be pretty easy but I'd like to see what you've done.

Second.
I agree with Kevin. I've spent hundreds of dollars on the press and jigs, and I already had all the tools. I don't think of time as a waste because building stuff is what I do. I've always had the philosophy, why buy something when I can make it myself. You will need a table saw, jig saw or band saw, router, drill, sander, torch, lots of pipe clamps or bar clamps, and pretty much every hand tool you can think of. The cost of the tools alone runs well over 1000. I would look into vacuum bagging. It looks cheaper than a pneumatic press and seems like you can get equally good results.

If you think you have the ability to make skis you should. No matter what you spend it will be worth it when you make turns on you own sticks.

[knightsofnii]

after a few thousand dollars I'd love to say I lost count, but now its part of my job to make sure I count every penny, damn taxes hahaha.

[drews]

Yeah I am trying with just a simple screw thread press and I hope to have a rideable board the first time as I spend hundreds of hours review articles and staying up really late thinking about how to do this with the least amount of money. I would say if you do your research and you build a screw thread press that you will probably spend around 300-400 just on the simple things, like I have so far, but you will be spending the big bucks around 500 just for a vaccum system then you have to buy the bags each time. If you go with the nuematic pressure system it will be a little more and if you are looking for an all around easy build you won't find it building these. It is also expensive but you do it for the satisfaction not for the price!! I can't wait for snow we got about 2 inches at 9,000 feet a week or two ago and it has gotten below freezing every night and probably hasn't gotten above 49 in the last 2 weeks, so lets hope for some good snow soon our local ski hill is supposed to open on the 20th of December but they are replacing the beautiful old (one of the first in CO) Pommel lifts with a ....new pommel lift yeah so yeah enjoy building your skis it is totally worth it!!!

[Kevin6q]

Hi Nick,
Sorry for the delay getting back to the forum. Computer failure requiring a replacement. Total PIA and cash drain.

Making poles is pretty simple. Mine have been for nordic skiing and are 3 layers of carbon around a tapered drill rod blank. The carbon is uni with one layer around the circumference of the rod, the next layer runs the length and the third is same as the first. The carbon is wrapped with tape to compress it before heat cure. An autoclave is best but these are not household tools.

I'm writing a series of articles for fasterskier.com about how nordic ski gear is made and one of the pieces is about poles. I never photographed my pole making so have no photos of the process. I will be making more poles and photographing the process for the article series. When I have it finished I'll fill you all in. I'll also be laying up some skinny skis too.

[davide]

For my first pair I spent 30 euro for a router, less than 20 euro for other manual tools and about 50 euros for wood to build molds and router tables. Then material cost for one pair was about 60 euro, plus a vacuum bag (about 5 euro). I borrowed the vacuum pump, but later I got a second hand one (almost new) for 100 euro.

Of course you can spend much more if you like.