Is recessing the edges into the core important.

[hadley]

I would use cherry too if I could get something resembling a cap construction. I feel like I have to put the hdpe sidewalls in to keep the system sealed. I was thinking of using the fiberglass that looks like metal for a top sheet so It would conform to the core top profile using a vacuum bag. I would love to get away from the hdpe sidewall details.

Am I missing something. Fish Phish ker plunk
Thanx

[rockaukum]

Hadley,
I have four sets of skis and one board. All are wood sidewalls except the first ski which is half wood and half HDPE (the core shifted durring pressing). Anyway only one of the skis have the wood sidewalls protected and the others don't. There have been no problems either way. So don't shy away from the wood sidewalls unless of course you are only using a vacume press...
ra

[hadley]

How long have your skis been going. I am afraid to put all that work into the skis and have them take on water and go bad. I have pretty careful technique and so far have not had side walls get caught by the profile router, but my students have and it is discoruaging. Have you done or heard anything about rounding over the top core edge and using a pliable top sheet like metalic fiberglass. It might greatly decrease the exposure of the side walls. Do you use maple or some more closed cell wood for the outer laminate. I have a core layed up right now with popler edges. Here soon I will cut out the outline, but I have to have my plans down before I give it a swirl.
Hadley

[APS]

I know igneous uses wood sidewalls and they are some of the most durable skis around. I also think there is a model year of the gotama with wood sidewalls, although mine have plastic sidewalls (which are falling apart).

my experience is limited, but I would say that plastic sidewalls aren't necessary, and for most home builders, a bigger pain than they are worth.

If you are really worried about damage to the wood, maybe a few coats of thinned down epoxy?

I guess it would be nice if some home builder could dial in a protocol for sidewalls, but from what I can tell it would require lots of specific heat treating to get a reliable bond. I know there is a ton of information on this floating around in old threads.

[thetradwoodboat]

i'm working on my tenth pair of skis and have only used wood for side walls. i simply put one coat of epoxy on them, and go skiing. there is no "going bad". the wood does get some wear from edges at the top of the ski, but if you use a hardwood the ski should last many years. i say skip the plastic for simplicity

nate

[rockaukum]

Hadley,
My original skis were the ones that the core shifted and esposed the Poplar core material. I'm in the second season and still use them on the groomed days. They are just fine. I have used regular old doug fir 2 x 4's for the core and that ski I did put epoxy on the exposed portion of the sidewall to protect it. I do however perfer the untreated sidewall as far as looks go. This might be due to the PITA it was applying the epoxy (no brushes to apply it with!).
ra

[hadley]

Okay..... Woodd sidewalls, here we come. I am really stoked. this simplifies it a great deal for the kids. It has been a bit of a stumbling block. I think I will bevel the side walls down to a near knife edge and use the funky silver fiberglass on the top. It should work well. I checked with fiberglass supply about if he though it would work using vacuum bagging. He said yes with the green top vacuum layer, not the pink. Leave lots of spare bag and use pleats.

[G-man]

I guess I'm going to have to do a test and leave the plastic out of a ski that uses pine for the core material. I use pine for all kinds of wood projects and I've always noticed that it swells like a muth'a when it gets wet, so I've been reluctant to leave the core exposed on my skis. I'm thinkin' that wood sidewalls are at least 50% easier than using plastic, so the experiment is worthwhile. As ya'll know, I love my pine, but it's downside may be it's attraction for water. Yes, I know I could always put a sealer on the bare wood sidewalls, but if I'm going to experiment, I think I'll keep them untreated and ski 'em in sloppy spring snow. Now, that'll be a good test!

G-man

[thetradwoodboat]

hadley, i may be shifting away from the topic a bit , but i'm curious to see how your cap ski vacuum experiment goes. i've thought about it a lot, but my bag is a bit thick and the way the vacuum clamps down has made it impossible to really get the glass stuck to the ski all the way down the side wall to the edge. it leaves a gap there which either has air in it or epoxy, but no glass, not quite good enough. i would suggest a test run in the bag with the core and dry glass. there is also the issue of aligning the core over the base...
please let us know how it works out!

[hadley]

Check out this Vacuum bagging material. It is on
http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product ... gging.html

Stretchlon 200 .0015" X 60" Stretch Film

They have a picture of the boat model. Its weakness is temperature and leaks easier then the pink stuff. The pink stuff can handle 400 degrees and is tough.

Why lift up your skirts and get your pine wet when you can use stretch lon panty hoes. Keep your pine hinterparts dry. Dry pine is happy pine. Blue fungus stains are nice on the wall, but inevitable in skis.

Just kidding. Do as you please. Thanks for the feedback.

Just an aside: I will be in Linnwood near seatle Wednesday the 27th demonstrating vacuum infusion with the owner of fiberglass supply. We will be laying up a long skateboard for a conference demonstration. We will be using Stretchlon to deal with the concave of that mold. On Graff Snowboards the top guy on the forum under show your ride is touting that he has worked out a process to vacuum infuse snowboards. It looks pretty nice. It will be from 1:45 to 3:30. Please contact me if you want a peak. I may be able to sneak you in. I also have pictures of the process.