Press Cat Track

For discussions related to designing and making ski/snowboard-building equipment, such as presses, core profilers, edge benders, etc.

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nzskier
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 1:35 pm
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Press Cat Track

Post by nzskier »

What is used for the cat track in the mongo and I beam press's?
it looks fairly light weight.
Cheers
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falls
Posts: 1458
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:04 pm
Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

Aluminium square or rectangular hollow section. Some people use steel instead but Al will be heaps lighter (I think 1/3 the weight?). Having said that a 2m long cat track made up of 100 pieces 40cm wide (20mm square 3mm wall aluminium) still weighs about 20kg. And Al is generally a fair bit more expensive than steel. Al is easier to drill though.
You can either use the same size the whole length or some people use wider pieces in the running length then narrower (but with the same height) pieces in the tip curvature where you need the cat track to "bend" more. I think the biggest cross section you want to use expecially in the tips is 25mm x 25mm, but mostly people are using 3/4 inch (about 18mm). Ski tips are generally tigther radius than boards so I would recommend around the 18-20mm size.
Don't wait up, I'm off to kill Summer....
dg
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:09 am

Post by dg »

I started off with a steel cat-track but it proved too heavy to suspend well and switched to aluminium instead - plenty stiff enough and hands very well.
doughboyshredder
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:37 pm

Post by doughboyshredder »

sorry, but this is getting stupid.

nzskier, you need to learn to search the forums and use them correctly. Most of your q's have been answered many times and these repetitive threads do nothing but clog up the forum.

this has been discussed in depth so many times that it's ridiculous.
Underdog
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:37 pm

Post by Underdog »

Hi I'm pretty new to this, In the process of building my first pair of skis, I have looked around quite a bit to find more information about cat tracks but I still don't understand why people are adding them to their presses, what advantage do they offer?
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MontuckyMadman
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Post by MontuckyMadman »

Underdog
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:37 pm

Post by Underdog »

Oh, thanks a bunch. That was exactly what I was looking for but couldn't find for some reason.
doughboyshredder
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:37 pm

Post by doughboyshredder »

MontuckyMadman wrote: The search function on here has actuually improved it would seem
best way to search any site is google.

just go to google type in "material for cat track site:www.skibuilders.com"

and you get to this page : http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=c ... ilders.com
which says this:
I then used 3/4" X 3/4" square tube for the tip and tail ends of the cat track, all material was .065 wall thickness. ...
On the top of the friggin page.

Really, google can answer almost all of lifes questions.
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MontuckyMadman
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Post by MontuckyMadman »

skidesmond
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Location: Western Mass, USA
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Post by skidesmond »

Not admitting to a being newb or tardo ....... I actually use the search function and it works fine.

But thanks for the Google search tips.
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