core timber(s) used ???

richie · Post by **richie** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:24 pm

Hi guys,

I've successfully built 1 pair of ski's and 2 splitboards with cedar cores and ash sidewalls this season. I thought it would be handy espec for relative newbies like me to see a poll giving a rough indication of the core materials people are using.

We can add timber variants to the poll if you want to suggest too ok. Perhaps if you have some views on why a specific timber has good or bad properties this would be useful to post too.

cheers
Rich

falls · Post by **falls** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:30 pm

Bamboo

PROS:
comes pre-vertically laminated (reduces work for me)
Flavour of the month
Light (?)
Planes well (but wears blades out more quickly)

CONS:
Doesn't go that well with routers along curves at times (see recent thread on climb cutting and larger diam bits)
Wears cutters out faster

richie · Post by **richie** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:45 pm

my mate makes wicked whitewater paddles with it! and I think a few guys use it for ski's/boards.

Pros:
1. lightweight
2. cuts well with router and bandsaw
3. cedar is not gonna suffer too bad if it ever gets moisture in it as it doesn't deteriorate quickly

Cons:
1. splinters hurt!
2. soaks up tons of glue

ben_mtl · Post by **ben_mtl** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:23 am

I mix poplar and ash (ash is only for stingers where the bindings will go) + maple sidewalls.
Can't complain except it's more work to make a core blank than cuting bamboo flooring... but I can't find suitable bamboo flooring locally.

twizzstyle · Post by **twizzstyle** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:52 am

Bamboo for me, but I'm especially lucky because I have a cheap local supplier in Seattle.

SHIF · Post by **SHIF** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:40 am

Bamboo for me too, with some adders...
My vertical laminated flooring planks clean-up to about 90mm wide. I add a 19mm wide strip of poplar to both sides to make them wider. The sidecut shape is cut into the poplar zone and 16mm Massaranduba sidewall blocks are added to create the final core blank.

You can see there is very little poplar in the final core for this particular ski design:

Tail end photo via iPhone

The sidewall hardwood is so stiff that it must be split into two 8mm wide strips to make the recurve at the ski tips for this "5 dimension" ski shape.

-S

skidesmond · Post by **skidesmond** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:29 pm

I use ash, maple, douglas fir. I prefer ash over maple. I use the fir to soften the ski.

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core timber(s) used ???

Core materials

core timber(s) used ???

Cedar because......