ON3P Skis

[iggyskier]

So this idea started a few years ago. I had a plethora of custom skis (multiple pairs of Iggies, Kingswood) and ended up getting another pair that just didn't turn out how I felt I wanted (not iggy or Kwood, BTW). I had visited the site before but never really thought about doing it.

And one day is sort of hit me that this would be a fun project to do. Talked with some friends and started developing it.

And it has taken along time to get really underway. Mostly financial reasons. I am in the middle of college (graduating in may) and every single tool I have, every single piece of material, all of it I paid for out of pocket. So it took along time to get everything I needed together.

Plus, it has been hard to balance out my major (Pre-med) with finding time to do this right. Other delays have included moving, breaking my hand, etc. etc.

So I will just go through it from the start.

Started off first trying to get the funds together for a press. I wanted something pretty substantial, lifted off the ground so I could store stuff under it, and able to taken apart for transport. What unfolded could be described only as a huge pain in the ass. I think today, knowing what I know, I could build a double wide, double bay press in a few weeks.

The drilling for my press was substantial. It is held together by 148 1/2" grade 8 bolts, between 2" and 7" in size. Some of the bolts go through 3 layers of steel, so drilling everything so it fit together was quite the task and took a long time.

I also suspect I went though at least 20 cobalt drill bits. We figures it out once and I drilled through about 12 feet of steel (all 1/2" holes).

Steel for the beams is 5"x5"x 3/8".

Painting beams


Legs


Charlie Murphy is here for moral support


Bolts and steel


More


Drying


Drilling




Legs coming together


Cutting cat track


Cat Track


Drilling base






Coming together




Everything has lock tight and 2-3 nuts


Coming together


Best. Tool. Ever.


Drilling last few holes with this beast


Mostly done with the frame




Cutting fiberglass is awful. double up mechanics gloves ruined




Two cores


Well then I moved to a new shop, pretty small. Was originally going to get a large double garage, and that fell through, so now I am in a shop that is about 250 sf.


Had to build up the shop


























Base of mold in press


Ski templates














Great for router bits




First hose. There was a leak in the middle of it


First ski. First two skis were just singles to get flex and process down.








In the press


WAY WAY too much epoxy




2 hours later...


Next to 190cm iggy FFF


Mini tip rocker (FFF on the right)


Second ski


Again, mini tip rocker


Originally used a router bridge, but really didn't like it, so just built this new planer crib. I need to modify it in the center and remove a few of the sections I think, but seems to be great so far.








So yeah. That is it for now. Hoping to have a bunch more pictures of a bunch of pairs soon, but figured I may as well get this started.

[G-man]

Great photo essay, iggyskier. From the looks of that press, maybe we should call you 'steelman'. When I saw the pick of that big ole' hand drill, I couldn't help but wonder if it was the source of your broken hand. I've had the crap beat out me one more than once by one of those.

Great work throughout. Kudos for hanging in there. The skis look very nice.

G-man

[iggyskier]

Great photo essay, iggyskier. From the looks of that press, maybe we should call you 'steelman'. When I saw the pick of that big ole' hand drill, I couldn't help but wonder if it was the source of your broken hand. I've had the crap beat out me one more than once by one of those.

Great work throughout. Kudos for hanging in there. The skis look very nice.

G-man

I think I actually have a ton of photos on my computer that are not uploaded on-line, so I will do that.

When I have more skis to shop I will post more about lengths, shapes, rocker, etc.

[G-man]

Great... looking forward to more pics.

G-man

[iggyskier]

More photos up soon.

[Powforbreakfast.]

By what process did you get those graphics on there? Looks great!

[iggyskier]

By what process did you get those graphics on there? Looks great!

Craig Schneider @ Creative Edge Graphics in Auburn, WA
(253) 735-5111.

Great guy who has been very helpful. Pretty sure Lindsey @ sbmaterials has the same capabilities now more suited for smaller amounts of topsheets.

The creative edge guys basically do the graphics for almost all of the ski/snowboard manufactures still building in the US that do not have access to their own printing equipment (Prior, PMgear, Icelandic, etc).

I would say that I am pretty sure he would prefer orders with some quantity (at least 5-10). Orders below that in number of pretty costly. He does orders of up to 1,000 topsheets for some companies. I order 15 topsheets from them and obviously they do a great job.

I am no artist either. My topsheet were done by a friend Matty Jeronimo and IMO they kick ass. Some more pictures. This is 2 of 5 that I have right now, with more soon I suspect.

[plywood]

this is how i like it - with lots of pictures!

you`re going pretty big! grafics truly kick ass. all in all you make me wanna build some skis again

[hydrant71]

dude, you have come a long way. things are looking great. can't believe
you have done this while going to school, moving, etc.... skis, press, topsheets look sweet. i'll get back to your pm soon.

jason

[Powforbreakfast.]

By what process did you get those graphics on there? Looks great!

Craig Schneider @ Creative Edge Graphics in Auburn, WA
(253) 735-5111.

Great guy who has been very helpful. Pretty sure Lindsey @ sbmaterials has the same capabilities now more suited for smaller amounts of topsheets.

The creative edge guys basically do the graphics for almost all of the ski/snowboard manufactures still building in the US that do not have access to their own printing equipment (Prior, PMgear, Icelandic, etc).

I would say that I am pretty sure he would prefer orders with some quantity (at least 5-10). Orders below that in number of pretty costly. He does orders of up to 1,000 topsheets for some companies. I order 15 topsheets from them and obviously they do a great job.

I am no artist either. My topsheet were done by a friend Matty Jeronimo and IMO they kick ass. Some more pictures. This is 2 of 5 that I have right now, with more soon I suspect.

that's really sweet. REALLY sweet. how do you feel the quality is of the topsheets? Do you think you'll have any problems with chipping, or is it really durable? I think i may go this route as opposed to the rice paper and laserjet printer. seems a little more high quality, eh?
your enitre post has been super helpful, by the way. I, along with i'm sure many others, appreciate the visual aids..

[iggyskier]

that's really sweet. REALLY sweet. how do you feel the quality is of the topsheets? Do you think you'll have any problems with chipping, or is it really durable? I think i may go this route as opposed to the rice paper and laserjet printer. seems a little more high quality, eh?
your enitre post has been super helpful, by the way. I, along with i'm sure many others, appreciate the visual aids..

Topsheet quality is very good, visually.

I would say, though, that it is just PBT and am sure that they will have chipping issues, just like every other PBT topsheet out there. You can minimize it to some extent, but they will always have chipping problems.

I have really wanted to get a polymide plastic for topsheets, but it is hard to track down (at least for me).

and thanks. There has been a lot of guys who have been super helpful on here, figure I can do my best to do the same.

[BerkshireSki]

I have one tip for you when cutting fiberglass. Use 1/2" masking tape to outline your desired shape then cut along the tape with a carpet knife. This allows for easier and cleaner cutting and holds the fibers together.

[iggyskier]

I have one tip for you when cutting fiberglass. Use 1/2" masking tape to outline your desired shape then cut along the tape with a carpet knife. This allows for easier and cleaner cutting and holds the fibers together.

Yeah. The way I cut all the glass the first time was pretty awful.

Actually, the way I do it now is pretty different. I bought one of the huge 220lbs rolls of 22oz. We put it on a saw horse, cut straight through the whole roll with a hand saw. Make a cut every 6" or so. Then we just unrolled it and cut strips with a rotary cutter. I would highly suggest the rotary cutter. Works very well.

[jono]

Hey Iggyskier,
I'm trying to imagine how you were able to maneuver and accurately cut a 160 yard roll of fiberglass. What was the diameter of he roll? What kind of hand saw did you use? It must be great to have so much fiberglass ready to use. What kind of deal did you get on such a huge quantity?

[iggyskier]

Hey Iggyskier,
I'm trying to imagine how you were able to maneuver and accurately cut a 160 yard roll of fiberglass. What was the diameter of he roll? What kind of hand saw did you use? It must be great to have so much fiberglass ready to use. What kind of deal did you get on such a huge quantity?

It was surprisingly easy to do. The roll is 50" wide, 100 yards long I believe.

We put it up on some saw horses. This can give you an idea of the diameter. Only pic I have is a camera phone one. Sorry.


And we marked a bunch of spots every 6.25" inches, used a sharpy to connect them, and just sawed through it with a normal hand saw. We would cut for awhile, the roll it.


And you get these nice long sections, 6.25" wide, and it is super easy to just unroll them and cut. Also nice because it is much easy to store and transport these smaller, ~30lbs sections than the 220lbs roll.

You would think it would pull out a lot of the fibers, but the glass came out pretty good if you ask me. Just be very careful to ensure that you are cutting straight.

And to add to that, I had help for the first 5 cuts from my buddy david. I held the glass while he did the sawing because my hand was broken and wrist sprained. But he had to run, and I was able to (with my broken hand and sprained wrist) finish the last two cuts by myself with not too much effort and only a bit of pain.

O. And the roll was about $800. When I figured it out, I thought the minimum number of skis I could get from this roll was 60 pairs, and my skis are all longer, 186cm-191cm, and pretty fat too (104-130 underfoot). So if you need a lot of glass, then it is great. But it is certainly a ton of glass to have around.