what did they print those graphics on? directly on the topsheet? if not did you add a topsheet?
btw, doesn't look like you're all that bad with photoshop
Soul Skis
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
wow, those are awesome! congrats!
what did they print those graphics on? directly on the topsheet? if not did you add a topsheet?
btw, doesn't look like you're all that bad with photoshop
what did they print those graphics on? directly on the topsheet? if not did you add a topsheet?
btw, doesn't look like you're all that bad with photoshop
Last edited by chrismp on Thu Oct 21, 2010 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Coda dye subs on glossy white PBT and it comes with masking on it. It cost $40 plus shipping and the turnaround time was very quick. Chad was also very good with communication to make sure everything was the way I needed it.
Before I was spending $10 on fabric, $20 on topsheet, and a couple bucks added to that for masking and printing logos. For a few bucks more you get any design your mind can dream up and a professional looking product that comes premasked and ready to bond.
SnowboardMaterials prints topsheets too but they never replied to my emails so I automatically nixed them. Plus they charge more.
Before I was spending $10 on fabric, $20 on topsheet, and a couple bucks added to that for masking and printing logos. For a few bucks more you get any design your mind can dream up and a professional looking product that comes premasked and ready to bond.
SnowboardMaterials prints topsheets too but they never replied to my emails so I automatically nixed them. Plus they charge more.
Awesome looking skis Dr. D! You will love that tip/tail rise. Looks a lot like mine. They usually have around 75mm of tip rise and 45mm in the tail. I like a constantly rising tip like yours compared to the "bent-ski" rocker that most companies have out there.
I have a steel cattrack like you used to have and you're right, it takes for ever to heat it up. On the flip-side, once it's heated up, it stays hot for a long time. I only have heat on the bottom, but by preheating my cattrack, I essentially have heat on both sides. I don't get the luxury of controlling my heat cycle all that well, but it works way better. My cattrack is usually around 135 degrees when I load the press. It will heat up to around 145 with the bottom pad set to 175 in about 15 minutes. Before I started doing this I was getting around 12mm of camber out of a flat mold. It sucked because I lost a lot of tip and tail rise. I now get about 3-4mm of camber out of a flat mold. Perfect for me. They are essentially flat with a bit of a positive camber tendency.
After taking a second look at your boards......they do have bit of the "bent-ski" rocker going on in the tail. I'm sure they will still be totally bad ass though.
I have a steel cattrack like you used to have and you're right, it takes for ever to heat it up. On the flip-side, once it's heated up, it stays hot for a long time. I only have heat on the bottom, but by preheating my cattrack, I essentially have heat on both sides. I don't get the luxury of controlling my heat cycle all that well, but it works way better. My cattrack is usually around 135 degrees when I load the press. It will heat up to around 145 with the bottom pad set to 175 in about 15 minutes. Before I started doing this I was getting around 12mm of camber out of a flat mold. It sucked because I lost a lot of tip and tail rise. I now get about 3-4mm of camber out of a flat mold. Perfect for me. They are essentially flat with a bit of a positive camber tendency.
After taking a second look at your boards......they do have bit of the "bent-ski" rocker going on in the tail. I'm sure they will still be totally bad ass though.
Thanks for all the compliments on the skis. All the hard work and planning has paid off.
Powderho, I used to preheat my cattrack in the kitchen oven before I got a second heat blanket. That thing is so damn heavy I thought it would break the oven rack. I have never had mine suspended since I seem to change my top mold with every pressing. I was able to get much less camber this way as well. But I figured in the long run, two blankets would give me more consistency, especially pressing one ski at a time, so I got a second one up and running. Sometimes I press in the warm summer and in the cold garage in the winter. Too many variables in temp to try and account for.
On some of my skis I have been shooting for zero camber on the sidecut portion of the ski. This can be pretty tricky to achieve. On my setup, for the last two pair of skis I set the top blanket at 180 and the bottom at 160 to get a flat ski. There are a lot of variables that can affect this such as thermocouple accuracy and placement, ski components such as an aluminum layer or different topsheets, and thermal conductivity of the cattrack. Some of it is just trial and error. Then you just need to reproduce all of the variables to obtain the desired results. Since I just press one ski at a time, I also have to let my molds totally cool before putting in the next ski.
To make matters even more complicated, the camber on my skis after pressing changes according to temperature. I put some skis in the cooler at work at 35 degrees and what was once totally flat now had a few mm of camber. Sitting in the car on a hot summer day they rockered out a lot. I am thinking the metal edges probably have the most effect on thermal expansion and contraction. I can get pretty picky about my camber because a ski with just a few mm of reverse camber feels totally different than a ski with a few mm of positive camber.
I am not sure what you mean by "bent ski" rocker. I keep thinking of Surface skis but they are the only ones that I see like that. My tip mold has a constant 104 cm radius, my sidecut portion of the ski has a flat mold, and the tail mold radius is 147 cm. I think what you are seeing is the slight constant reverse camber throughout the whole ski that is the result of top heat pressing. It seems more obvious in the tail picture since I have the tips pushed together more than the tails. I like my pow skis to have a little reverse camber under foot for easy slarvability.
Speaking of rocker, I think the term is often misused, especially from all the marketing people. To me, rocker means full reverse camber. No flat spot, no camber under foot, just continuous reverse camber like the Spatula or Praxis Powder board. Have you ever seen a rocking chair, or rocker as my grandma called it, with a flat spot or recurve? What makes more sense to me is an early rise tip or tail and every company seems to have different variations as to where the contact points are. I just call them longer than old school tips and tails because I vary my contact points also.
The big companies just start throwing around the term rocker because it sounds cooler than early rise. So now everyone wants rocker skis just like they used to want parabolics. You might have guessed that I sold skis for a long time too.
Sorry about the long, babbling post.
Powderho, I used to preheat my cattrack in the kitchen oven before I got a second heat blanket. That thing is so damn heavy I thought it would break the oven rack. I have never had mine suspended since I seem to change my top mold with every pressing. I was able to get much less camber this way as well. But I figured in the long run, two blankets would give me more consistency, especially pressing one ski at a time, so I got a second one up and running. Sometimes I press in the warm summer and in the cold garage in the winter. Too many variables in temp to try and account for.
On some of my skis I have been shooting for zero camber on the sidecut portion of the ski. This can be pretty tricky to achieve. On my setup, for the last two pair of skis I set the top blanket at 180 and the bottom at 160 to get a flat ski. There are a lot of variables that can affect this such as thermocouple accuracy and placement, ski components such as an aluminum layer or different topsheets, and thermal conductivity of the cattrack. Some of it is just trial and error. Then you just need to reproduce all of the variables to obtain the desired results. Since I just press one ski at a time, I also have to let my molds totally cool before putting in the next ski.
To make matters even more complicated, the camber on my skis after pressing changes according to temperature. I put some skis in the cooler at work at 35 degrees and what was once totally flat now had a few mm of camber. Sitting in the car on a hot summer day they rockered out a lot. I am thinking the metal edges probably have the most effect on thermal expansion and contraction. I can get pretty picky about my camber because a ski with just a few mm of reverse camber feels totally different than a ski with a few mm of positive camber.
I am not sure what you mean by "bent ski" rocker. I keep thinking of Surface skis but they are the only ones that I see like that. My tip mold has a constant 104 cm radius, my sidecut portion of the ski has a flat mold, and the tail mold radius is 147 cm. I think what you are seeing is the slight constant reverse camber throughout the whole ski that is the result of top heat pressing. It seems more obvious in the tail picture since I have the tips pushed together more than the tails. I like my pow skis to have a little reverse camber under foot for easy slarvability.
Speaking of rocker, I think the term is often misused, especially from all the marketing people. To me, rocker means full reverse camber. No flat spot, no camber under foot, just continuous reverse camber like the Spatula or Praxis Powder board. Have you ever seen a rocking chair, or rocker as my grandma called it, with a flat spot or recurve? What makes more sense to me is an early rise tip or tail and every company seems to have different variations as to where the contact points are. I just call them longer than old school tips and tails because I vary my contact points also.
The big companies just start throwing around the term rocker because it sounds cooler than early rise. So now everyone wants rocker skis just like they used to want parabolics. You might have guessed that I sold skis for a long time too.
Sorry about the long, babbling post.
Great skis Delam - rocking
Thks for posting your method for cleaning up the tips - will give it a go.
'I am thinking the metal edges probably have the most effect on thermal expansion and contraction' because they are more conductive of heat and cold than other materials? What about all the movement that arises when exposing base material to the sun - it warps quickly right? Now one side of this material is bonded to the core ... I wonder whether reducing the thickness of the base material would reduce the camber/de-camber effect?
Loving the graphic stylings!
Thks for posting your method for cleaning up the tips - will give it a go.
'I am thinking the metal edges probably have the most effect on thermal expansion and contraction' because they are more conductive of heat and cold than other materials? What about all the movement that arises when exposing base material to the sun - it warps quickly right? Now one side of this material is bonded to the core ... I wonder whether reducing the thickness of the base material would reduce the camber/de-camber effect?
Loving the graphic stylings!
I realize everyone has their own definition of what they think "rocker" is, and to not start that conversation over again.......I my view almost all powder skis on the market use "bent-ski" rocker. K2 and Volkl come to mind right off the bat. They basically start with a ski with normal tip rise and bend the ski up someplace between the binding toe piece and the tip. I've seen so many normal skis end up looking like that after they get skied hard. I think that's why most freeriders don't want metal in their skis. Your design on the other hand (and mine) uses a constant radius for the tip. I've felt all along this makes a huge difference on how the ski performs. It provides a much more consistent feel.Dr. Delam wrote: I am not sure what you mean by "bent ski" rocker. I keep thinking of Surface skis but they are the only ones that I see like that. My tip mold has a constant 104 cm radius, my sidecut portion of the ski has a flat mold, and the tail mold radius is 147 cm. I think what you are seeing is the slight constant reverse camber throughout the whole ski that is the result of top heat pressing. It seems more obvious in the tail picture since I have the tips pushed together more than the tails. I like my pow skis to have a little reverse camber under foot for easy slarvability.
I finally got the wife's Christmas present skis done. Better late than never!
Everything was ready a month ago except for the graphics. She wanted her friend to design them while I wanted to do them myself. In the end she chose mine so I am glad that I put all the effort into learning Photoshop and Illustrator.
A big thanks to Chad from CODA for getting the graphics done. At first they didn't upload properly for some reason and only half of the graphic was printing. He stayed up late and got it figured out and rushed them out to me.
I almost had big problems come press time. Before mixing my epoxy, I did a dry layup to make sure everything was in order including my compressor, heat controllers, cattrack, bladder, etc. All systems go. When it came time to turn on the top blanket, I was getting an error message like my thermocouple was miswired. WTF, it worked fine a half hour ago. I turned on and off the power a couple of times and still error. I then let out a big f-bomb and tried it again. Presto! It worked.
After pressing the first ski I rewired the thermocouple at the controller as I thought it might have been loose. I turned it on and no problems. That is until I had the next ski all ready for pressing. The same thing happened again! Error message. I turned the main power on and off a few times and it finally worked. Damn gremlins! I need to troubleshoot this thing for sure before the next pressing.
Ski specs:
172 length, 19 meter radius, 143-125-135.
Tip length 37 cm with 9 cm rise, Tail length 35 cm with 6 cm rise.
Aspen and Pine Core 2.8-11.5-2.8, bamboo sidewalls, 7 degree bevel
Black base, VDS, 22 oz glass top and bottom, 2.2 tip spacer with an extra layer of glass tip and tail.
I am really digging using my drum sander/router setup for doing final finishing of the sidewalls and tip and tail areas. It leaves a perfect finish all the way around.
Now we just need some more snow for her to try these out. If feels like May here.
Everything was ready a month ago except for the graphics. She wanted her friend to design them while I wanted to do them myself. In the end she chose mine so I am glad that I put all the effort into learning Photoshop and Illustrator.
A big thanks to Chad from CODA for getting the graphics done. At first they didn't upload properly for some reason and only half of the graphic was printing. He stayed up late and got it figured out and rushed them out to me.
I almost had big problems come press time. Before mixing my epoxy, I did a dry layup to make sure everything was in order including my compressor, heat controllers, cattrack, bladder, etc. All systems go. When it came time to turn on the top blanket, I was getting an error message like my thermocouple was miswired. WTF, it worked fine a half hour ago. I turned on and off the power a couple of times and still error. I then let out a big f-bomb and tried it again. Presto! It worked.
After pressing the first ski I rewired the thermocouple at the controller as I thought it might have been loose. I turned it on and no problems. That is until I had the next ski all ready for pressing. The same thing happened again! Error message. I turned the main power on and off a few times and it finally worked. Damn gremlins! I need to troubleshoot this thing for sure before the next pressing.
Ski specs:
172 length, 19 meter radius, 143-125-135.
Tip length 37 cm with 9 cm rise, Tail length 35 cm with 6 cm rise.
Aspen and Pine Core 2.8-11.5-2.8, bamboo sidewalls, 7 degree bevel
Black base, VDS, 22 oz glass top and bottom, 2.2 tip spacer with an extra layer of glass tip and tail.
I am really digging using my drum sander/router setup for doing final finishing of the sidewalls and tip and tail areas. It leaves a perfect finish all the way around.
Now we just need some more snow for her to try these out. If feels like May here.
very nice Dr.
What type of PID are you using?
What type of PID are you using?
Fighting gravity on a daily basis
www.Whiteroomcustomskis.com
www.Whiteroomcustomskis.com
Could you post some pictures of your drum sander/router set up?Dr. Delam wrote:
I am really digging using my drum sander/router setup for doing final finishing of the sidewalls and tip and tail areas. It leaves a perfect finish all the way around.
Now we just need some more snow for her to try these out. If feels like May here.
Thanks,
Kevin
So you let her choose?Dr. Delam wrote:Everything was ready a month ago except for the graphics. She wanted her friend to design them while I wanted to do them myself. In the end she chose mine so I am glad that I put all the effort into learning Photoshop and Illustrator.
You're an artist! In all aspects!
Great work!
Vinman, here is the PID that I have been using.
www.cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI ... TQ:US:1123
I have not had any problems in the past 5 pair of skis while using it. I have a quick disconnect on the thermocouple wire which I need to double check. I am tending to think that there is something wrong with the controller though.
kfarrar, here a some pics of my sanding setup:
I got the sanding kit to use with my router from Harbor Freight. www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-sanding- ... 42006.html
After cutting the flash and removing any wavy spots with a panzer file, I'll hit the full perimeter of the ski with a square base attached to my router and the sanding drum. I turn the speed down all the way on the router and dull the sanding drum a little with a stone so as not to take off too much. As long as you keep the router moving steadily you will maintain a consistent finish. Then I use my router pattern bit with a 7 degree or 4 degree shim under the router to profile the sidewall. I follow that up with the same shim using the drum sander to give it a final polish.
OAC, I always let her have most of the input on her graphics or else I'd be building skis in the doghouse. They are a little risque but the good parts will be covered by the bindings.
Thanks for the compliments.
www.cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI ... TQ:US:1123
I have not had any problems in the past 5 pair of skis while using it. I have a quick disconnect on the thermocouple wire which I need to double check. I am tending to think that there is something wrong with the controller though.
kfarrar, here a some pics of my sanding setup:
I got the sanding kit to use with my router from Harbor Freight. www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-sanding- ... 42006.html
After cutting the flash and removing any wavy spots with a panzer file, I'll hit the full perimeter of the ski with a square base attached to my router and the sanding drum. I turn the speed down all the way on the router and dull the sanding drum a little with a stone so as not to take off too much. As long as you keep the router moving steadily you will maintain a consistent finish. Then I use my router pattern bit with a 7 degree or 4 degree shim under the router to profile the sidewall. I follow that up with the same shim using the drum sander to give it a final polish.
OAC, I always let her have most of the input on her graphics or else I'd be building skis in the doghouse. They are a little risque but the good parts will be covered by the bindings.
Thanks for the compliments.