Foam Core?

[wings540]

ive been toying with the idea of building a pair of skis for a school project and am wondering how foam would work for a core. the reason i ask is because i have experience working with various types of foam, and have an easy method to cut it. i have little experience with wood, and dont have the tools to shape it properly. has anyone tried to make a foam core ski? how does it compare to a wood core ski? i would hate to put all the time and effort into building a pair only to have them snap or delaminate after the first day..

also, is vacuum bagging an effective method to use? if i were to go through with building a pair i would be on a low budget, and building a press for $x,xxx just wont work for me.

best regards, and thank you for the advice.

[skidesmond]

Foam has been been used for years. I have no idea what kind of foam is used. A friend of mine who makes ski chairs has cut up many skis and foam is in a lot of the older skis. The foam I saw is black, if that means anything to anyone.

Many people in the forum vacuum bag.

[wings540]

Thanks for your reply. for foam i would probably use DOW 1" insulation foam. its very light and very dense, and easy to find at Lowes. it can be cut to almost any shape with a hot wire, and then sanded

[skidesmond]

I don't know if that foam is dense/strong enough. The foam I saw in skis was a hard black foam. But it's worth a try. I'd use 22 oz triax fiber glass or heavier if you can find it.

Anyone else have experience w/ foam?

[OAC]

Foam is for shaving! (A quote from a previous post)
I would say, forget it, if you don't find the "right" foam (whatever that is?)
Before you go ahead, read this:
http://www.skibuilders.com/gallery/deorbit.shtml
...and my project ended in the workshop...


But don't let this stop your creativity!

[wings540]

Skides: it could have been depron. which comes from europe and is often used to make radio control airplanes.

OAC: thats what im worried would happen if i where to make them with foam. so it looks like ill be making them with wood cores if i decide to go through with it.

also, what would be an average cost for the whole deal? formers, cores, cloth, plastic, and bagging system (-the pump, have one of those)? and do you think it would be possible to get an educational discount? after all they will be designed in a cadd program and i would likly use some of the shops equipment.

[twizzstyle]

For your first pair definitely go wood. I have yet to see a successful DIY foam ski. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, but it's not easy. I can't imagine that insulation foam will work though, it will crush itself when the ski flexes unless your skis are 1" thick. I've been toying with the idea of a wood/foam mix core. Either swiss-cheesing the core, then filling the holes with foam, or running wood/foam stringers the entire length.

Basically there are so many other lessons you're going to learn on the ski-building path, that you want to leave out as many unknowns as you can. Foam is in my mind a big unknown in our little DIY world still. Follow the tried-and-true methods posted by members of the forum (not necessarily the same as the tutorials on the main SB site) and you'll do fine.

As for the cost - if you're vacuum bagging the biggest expense is going to be resin. Fiberglass is cheap, you can bag with just about any plastic sheeting (although actual bagging material is pretty cheap too), and then of course base material, edges, and top sheet. For small quantities you've basically got two choices (SkiBuilders.com or snowboardmaterials.com) both with similar prices, not too bad.

For vacuum bagging supplies I've always ordered from aircraftspruce.com (although I don't vacuum bag my skis).

Good luck!