MONKSKI - Made in New Zealand

[bender]

Ok so the name is lame but it was all I could think of.

So here it is. New and First skis to be made by me. The are pretty basic with measurements 109mm Tip, 87mm waist, and 96mm tail, 170cm long. The measurements come from up-sizing a K2 Omni. Most of the skiing I do is on piste.

The core is pine 8 pieces of 12x12mm with a 24x12mm in the middle.
4001 black ptex base with two layers of 22oz bidirectional glass under core, and one over the core. The final layer is a .5mm Rimu veneer (a native timber in New Zealand).
Sidewalls and tips are wood (pine).
I will be vacuum bagging them.
I will finish them off with a couple of coats of Spar varnish.

Feel free to comment, I think I have just about read every post on the site so thanks for all your help already.

Nathan Monk (Bender)


Cores and patten


Tip/tail Profile


This is what the Rimu Veneer looks like

[doughboyshredder]

too much glass imo.

[bender]

Thanks for he comment. I thought that it will be ok as I am only using biax not triax.

Cheers

N

[twizzstyle]

So no longitudinal fibers at all??

They will resist twisting like a mo-fo, but might be soft under normal flexing.

And with an asymmetric layup about the core (2 layers on bottom, 1 on top) if you heat-cure the ski, you may end up with some goofy camber. If its all symmetric (1 layer top, 1 layer bottom, etc) then there aren't issues.

[Three31]

Is your Biax +/-45 or 0/90?

[skidesmond]

I'd be interested in more details on the construction of the skis also. I'm still working on building my ski press and adjustable form. My first pair of skis will be similar to these, ie made to look like an all wood ski but use modern construction techniques.

[bender]

Hi all

Some progress. bases are now cut out and edges glued on. What a cr*p job that was. I have drilled some holes in the wood core to marry up with some dowels that I have glued to the base material.
I have also got hold of some biax glass 45deg but it looks like it is 400gsm (11oz?) I think that it will be ok if I use two layers of the 400gsm under the core and two layers over. Does this sound right the core is 10mm under foot and 2mm at tip and tail. I will also be putting an extra layer of glass under the binding area as I am not using binding inserts.


Tip detail


Locator dowel, sanded down to the same hight as core


Core on locator dowel


Tail detail

Hope to have them bagged this weekend

[bender]

They are complete. Many issues but quickly here are some photos. Thanks for all your help.



more images to come.

[bender]

[KevyWevy]

very purdy!

[bender]

So here is the saga.
Finally got the mould made out of 1/2" mdf screwed down at each end with a 10mm spacer in the middle to create the camber. The tip and tail risers were mdf cut to shape. Over this was laid a sheet of bench top laminate secured with carpet tape. Over the bench laminate I carpet tapped some polyethylene. I used this as a release instead of coating the bench laminate.

My mate with the vacuum pump and vacuum advance unit rang to say he was on his way, so I began the lay up. Then disaster struck, he arrived at which point I had the bases, first two layers of glass and the cores already laid up. It was then that he realised that he had forgotten the pump itself. We quickly finished the lay-up of the remaining layers. We then sealed up the the bag and loaded as much weight on the mould as possible. I then followed him back to his place out in the country got the pump and raced home.

In my attempt to keep the skis light the core soaked up a lot of the resin and we did not get the pressure on soon enough. There is some delam that I have fixed by mixing more resin and pouring it in the gap and clamping it up.

Over all not a bad first attempt.

This is the final figures:

Length: 170cm
Tip: 119mm
Waist: 87mm
Tail: 109mm
Camber: 8mm

Core: 2mm - 10mm - 2mm symmetrical (Pine)
Weight: 1340gm each ski (only 6gm difference between the two)

The design was based on my K2 Omni 160cm and it is interesting to note that the Monkski's are almost the same weight. I think the pine cores had made the difference. They are quite stiff but that was what I wanted. They will mostly be used on the groomed trail.

To you all, many thanks for all your help.

[pentagram]

Hi Bender,I like the rimu topsheet, can I ask where you got it (I am in new zealand also)

[plywood]

nice looking skis! looks like you got the perfect timing, now provide us some early season action pics!

I`m so jealous right now as i just checked some webcams of your resorts...

[bender]

Found a great supply of veneer in NZ is door manufacturers. They often cut purfect sized bits off that cover skis just fine. this is very thin stuff and very easy to sand through so be careful.

The next pair I make I am going to use a ptex top sheet to hopefully stop the chipping.

Plywood, we ski at Turoa and Whakapapa in the North Island. Great fields but not much in the way of powder. Season opens 20th June at Turoa. Just to make the Aussies green with envy... a season pass for BOTH fields costs $385 (if purchased early) that is about $232 US. Check out www.mtruapehu.com.

Nothing like skiing on an active volcano.


BTW You guys are awesome, I am honored to even be building with you guys.

[plywood]

you`re so mean!
when i was at turoa there were heavy snowfalls and we didn`t have time to ski as we arrived pretty late and had a ferry to catch the other day...

chipping will always be an issue with sandwich constructions. at what angle did you profile the sidewalls? on one pair i beveled the sidewalls with approx. 35°. this reduced the chipping to a minimum. you just have to be careful then to use the right wood for the sidewalls as the sidewalls have to take up a higher load due to the angle. on my pair i busted the sidewalls a little as i hit some rocks...but i used ash sidewalls which is not that good due to the year rings. maple or an other, more homogenous, stronger wood would do a better job.