best method to keep material allinged while pressing??

[coutureskis]

ok, so I am starting to build my own skis and have some major questions on how to keep everything in its place while the skis are pressing.

first, is it better to have a cassette with sides to keep the components all allinged or is that a waste of time? should I just make a cassette like what is commonly shown on this site which is basically a sheet of alluminum that you assemble your skis on??? how does the wood core not slip out of place while pressing??

and if any one knows the answer to this, I would LOVE to know....

When building a ski with a Titanal layer the same width as the ski from tip to tail... should you leave excess and trim with a router during the finishing process?? or just cut right to the same size as the exterior profile of the shape of the ski? and, is there any special router bit to use that cuts alluminum sheet well or just go through tons of regular carbide tipped ones??

any help is greatly appreciated! I will post pictures as soon as my first pair is is started!

[endre]

cassettes are the only great way, it will stop the base from warping. just make the walls of the cassette so high that they support the core.

the aluminum is not the problem, fibreglass is the killer.

[coutureskis]

so, if I am getting this correctly... the fiberglass is actually more abrasive than the alluminum when profiling the sidewalls?

and also... what is anyone using for sides in their cassettes? to keep the base, core and filler materials in line while being pressed? If I make the cassette out of alluminum sheet, then should I make the sides out of like strips of aluminum bar stock about a 1/2 inch thick in the shape of the ski?

thanks for the help!

[endre]

you can make the cassette from 3mm mdf on a thin metal sheet.

[rockaukum]

I use a sheet of HDPE (1/8" I think) as a pressing layer. I use carpet tape to hold the base material in place and use standoff's to locate the core on the base
Here you can see the tape on position on the base(these just came out of the press)

Here are the locating pins

Good luck.
ra

[sammer]

My setup is pretty similar to rockaukum's (except I use vacuum)
base gets taped to HDPE but i use locators hot glued in place to hold the core in place.
These are sacrificial and get cut off with the flash.
Just make sure they aren't taller than the core and trim your fiberglass around them or you'll end up with voids around them.



hope this helps.

sam

[bigKam]

I've tried a number of different techniques, but aligning using G-man/rockaukum's stand-offs method seems to work well.