Hey guys.
I was thinking about incorperating some balsa wood inti my ski tips (to reduce swing weght), ive looked around and it sounds like balsa is prone to delaminating.
Is this a good idea or will it just be a traonwreck waiting to happen?
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Balsa wood in ski tips
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nzskibunny
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:22 pm
- Location: new zealand
Again, likd twizz said in your other thread, keep it simple for you first couple pair. Don't try to get too complex, just build a pair, learn from your mistakes then begin to play with designs, weight and composites.
If you want a light ski just put some basswood or poplar in areas of your skis that don't take binding screws to reduce weight.
You already have a pretty light sounding design in mind.
If you want a light ski just put some basswood or poplar in areas of your skis that don't take binding screws to reduce weight.
You already have a pretty light sounding design in mind.
Fighting gravity on a daily basis
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www.Whiteroomcustomskis.com
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twizzstyle
- Posts: 2207
- Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:25 pm
- Location: Kenmore, Wa USA
Pair #1, keep it simple.
pair #2... you might consider foam core? I know some people have had disasters with foam core skis, but I did a pair of powder skis last year using the foam core blanks sold on BlankSlateSkis.com (I realize you're in a different country). That foam worked out great, I've got probably 15 days on those skis with lots of abuse and they're holding up strong, and they're fairly light (1.6kg per ski, 160cm long, 155-120-140). Since I kept the tips still at 2mm to match the tip spacers, most of the weight is in the middle of the ski. Very low swing weight.
You probably would want to do inserts for the bindings though, I personally wouldn't trust the foam to hold binding screws.
Also you would need to compensate the core thickness since the foam doesn't have the inherent stiffness that wood does. I tried my best to make it match my bamboo skis, but my stiffness measuring methods were very crude, so my foam skis actually ended up a little bit stiffer! Thread here if you're curious:
http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4190
pair #2... you might consider foam core? I know some people have had disasters with foam core skis, but I did a pair of powder skis last year using the foam core blanks sold on BlankSlateSkis.com (I realize you're in a different country). That foam worked out great, I've got probably 15 days on those skis with lots of abuse and they're holding up strong, and they're fairly light (1.6kg per ski, 160cm long, 155-120-140). Since I kept the tips still at 2mm to match the tip spacers, most of the weight is in the middle of the ski. Very low swing weight.
You probably would want to do inserts for the bindings though, I personally wouldn't trust the foam to hold binding screws.
Also you would need to compensate the core thickness since the foam doesn't have the inherent stiffness that wood does. I tried my best to make it match my bamboo skis, but my stiffness measuring methods were very crude, so my foam skis actually ended up a little bit stiffer! Thread here if you're curious:
http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4190
Do you mean end grain balsa? I'm guessing you do.
The tips of the ski will be subject to shearing forces ... so I would check the properties of the material on that basis. Sudden impact is going to be another issue - so perhaps you can only taper the tips a little. Whether its a full wrap or not is another issue and will influence whether you taper the tips.
Personally, I wouldn't focus on the tips as the area that will define swing weight.
The tips of the ski will be subject to shearing forces ... so I would check the properties of the material on that basis. Sudden impact is going to be another issue - so perhaps you can only taper the tips a little. Whether its a full wrap or not is another issue and will influence whether you taper the tips.
Personally, I wouldn't focus on the tips as the area that will define swing weight.
