Berg Skis - Round 1

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:49 am

Long time stalker, first time builder and poster.
Just finished building a press and molds for some mid-fat mid-west backcountry touring skis. The idea is to make something decently light and easy to maneuver through tighter trees with a waxless (fish-scale) kick-zone for low angle touring - think rolling hills and no need for skins or kickwax.
Specs are as follows:
175cm - 118-80-107mm (18.4m r)
Vertically laminated Sitka Spruce core
22oz. Triax Fiberglass top and bottom
UHMW PTEX sidwalls & tip spacers
4001 series sintered PTEX base material w/ embossed kick-zone

Photos here:
(link removed, I need a couple posts before I can add links, but I'll update this thread with a photo link ASAP)

I've found a few people trying out the kick-zone/traction/fish-scale thing in the past, most involved just cutting into the base creating a debossed pattern. It seems simple enough, but the downside is that it easily fills with snow and no longer provides traction. To create a raised pattern, I plan on cutting the fish-scale pattern into a block of wood, heating the base material, and pressing it onto the block - essentially molding the scales into the base. Has anyone, or does anyone know of someone who has tried this or something similar? My main concern is that it will make grinding the bases difficult and potentially grinding off the pattern, but I'm afraid to try molding the scales post-pressing since the heat might cause some delamination/bubbling if there are any gaps in the layup.
Any and all help is appreciated - I'll definitely be trying out the process and providing updates on here as I learn more.

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:31 am

Link to photos:
http://s1326.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... erg%20Skis

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 6:50 pm

Just finished the first attempt at 'branding' cores - we'll see how it looks after layup.

I'm using west systems 105 epoxy with the 207 special clear hardener, but I'm not sure how transparent 22oz. triax. glass fiber will be...any suggestions? Maybe I'd be better off just branding a wood veneer top sheet?

*This is also my first attempt at posting an image, sorry in advance if it doesn't work.

Cornice · Post by **Cornice** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 10:10 pm

It will look very clear. You can barely see the glass. That is going to look awesome!

skidesmond · Post by **skidesmond** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:35 am

How was the branding done, hot iron or laser, or....? Deatils? Thanks.

skimann20 · Post by **skimann20** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:56 am

Great Idea! can't wait to see how they come out.

Have these cores been profiled yet? they look thick? or is it just the shadow line?

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:19 am

Did it the old fashioned way - hot iron branding:

And yes, the cores are profiled - ~10.5mm at mid, 2.5mm at tip, 3.8mm at tail...the black sidewall + shadow makes it tough to distinguish from that first picture.

gozaimaas · Post by **gozaimaas** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:24 am

nice work

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:27 am

Also, the branding iron was made by Custom Branding Irons LLC. (http://www.branding-irons.biz/). The guy that runs the place, Terry, is super helpful, and the 2.1x3.2" custom brand you see here was $140 (shipping included).

twizzstyle · Post by **twizzstyle** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:26 am

Wow, that iron is awesome! Would look really nice on some veneer!

Those are going to be some stiff skis with a 3.8mm tail!

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:22 am

twizzstyle wrote:Wow, that iron is awesome! Would look really nice on some veneer!

Those are going to be some stiff skis with a 3.8mm tail!

Yea, I used a planer core profiler similar to the one shown in the SB articles section and based the angle on having a 10mm flat section under the bindings with a minimum thickness of 2.5mm at the tip...which left me at 3.8mm on the tails. I didn't want to go too much further because I'd start loosing thickness under binding. We'll see if 3.8 is too stiff, but it might help as I'd like to add a textured kick-zone for quick low-angle touring and the added stiffness will help the ski hold camber for gliding.

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:04 am

Here's the first one after layup. It went alright, definitely learned I need to be a bit more careful about aligning tip/tail spacers as they shifted during layup/pressing. Also, this is just after cutting the ski out with a jig-saw, still need to run the router around the sidewalls and give it a base-grind, but I wanted to try out the binding inserts so I threw a binding on real quick:

The clear epoxy and top-sheet is super transparent, way more than I was expecting, and really lets the branded wood core show through...another plus is I didn't have to use iron shavings to find the binding inserts!

skidesmond · Post by **skidesmond** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:46 pm

I love the idea of the branding iron!

Cornice · Post by **Cornice** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 8:53 pm

Wooo those look great! I especially like the look with the telly bindings. Congrats!
Try stapling the tip and tail spacers on the very edge to the side will. You would be surprised how well a little swingline stapler solves that problem.

jlindy86 · Post by **jlindy86** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:20 am

Cornice wrote:Wooo those look great! I especially like the look with the telly bindings. Congrats!
Try stapling the tip and tail spacers on the very edge to the side will. You would be surprised how well a little swingline stapler solves that problem.

Thanks! The Voile switchback bindings are going to be ideal for quickly switching in and out of touring mode if I get around to adding the fish-scale/kick-zone feature.
And thanks for the stapler tip...ill give that a try when I get around the pressing the second one.

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Berg Skis - Round 1

Berg Skis - Round 1