Ski Builders Forum

Here are the last two skis finished.
One has a teak wood finish while the second is in ash.
We tested the teak one over Easter in LaThuile where we had 40cm of fresh snow saturday night and they rided very well.

I'm really impressed by the finish! I'have alot to work on and learn!...

Wow, very nice and clean! What did you use for the core? Can you provide more details about the ski construction? How about the graphic? It's simple but nice and clean.

I read the earlier posts from page 1 about the graphic... Did you apply the graphic in the same manner this time? I've been looking into doing a simple graphic also but not sure if rice paper is the way to go just yet.

I may try printing a graphic onto transfer paper and them iron it on to cloth or on to wood veneer. My only fear is that if I apply the graphic to the top sheet before pressing and I get any kind of shifting of the top sheet the graphic will not be straight. Guess it's time to experiment.

Great Job!

Thi model is called Woodbones.

The core is made with bamboo panels 10mm thick.
The construction is the following:

• 1,4mm Electra 4000 base
  vds rubber
  750gr fiber
  core
  750gr fiber
  finish veneer

The grahics are now made with screen printing as explained in skibuilders.com.
The process is the following:
After trimming the ski I sand the veneer and then I apply a layer of sealer and one layer of base.
Once is dry I sand again and I obtain a very smooth surface.
At this point I do the screen printing and after this I apply the finish.
In this way the graphics are better protected and the surface remains smooth without major jumps at the border of the graphics.
It is very important to use a very strong finish.
I suggest to use material that is normally used for parquet flooring varnishing where you need a lot of resistance to abrasion.

Thanks for the info. I will review the graphics process in skibuilders. I've been using an exterior polyurethane on my wood veneer skis and it's been holding up very well.

Mmm...what could I say....let me think...

WAOW !!!!!

amazing skis, simple process, nice graphics and awesome finish...
I'm a fan

claps...bis ...bis...bis..

awsome skis dude nice work...

alexisg1 wrote:Mmm...what could I say....let me think...

WAOW !!!!!

amazing skis, simple process, nice graphics and awesome finish...
I'm a fan

Thanks. By the way I always go to ski to LaThuile in Valle d'Aoste.
If by any chance you come to La Rosiere/La Thuile you can try them.

This is a video made last Easter with Leaf Woodbones in action:

lucacasty wrote:

alexisg1 wrote:Mmm...what could I say....let me think...

WAOW !!!!!

amazing skis, simple process, nice graphics and awesome finish...
I'm a fan

Thanks. By the way I always go to ski to LaThuile in Valle d'Aoste.
If by any chance you come to La Rosiere/La Thuile you can try them.

This is a video made last Easter with Leaf Woodbones in action:

Nice video clip. I'm missing winter already . Only 7 more months before the snow flies

Desmond, if you like the bc we have had over 6 feet of snow at the local hill since it closed 4 weeks ago. Skiing is better now than all season long here. Just got a ft+ yesterday. Unbelievable.
over 100" and counting as a base right now.

MontuckyMadman wrote:Desmond, if you like the bc we have had over 6 feet of snow at the local hill since it closed 4 weeks ago. Skiing is better now than all season long here. Just got a ft+ yesterday. Unbelievable.
over 100" and counting as a base right now.

Wow! It's a shame to have all that snow go to waste. Our season was fair at best. The big snow storms missed us and the storms were more coastal storms, dumping 2 feet on Cape Cod.

Here we are back with some big news.
And when I say big I really mean BIG.
Last year we produced our skis using a membrane press with vacuum technology.
This worked pretty well but the pressure you can reach is only one bar.
For this reason we started a new project for building a standard air press.
Even for the cassette wea re thinking of something different and I will soon post the new idea.
Back to the press we considered the use uf steel H and C bars and it is made so that you can press two skis together using differend moulds (two floors press)
These are 1cm thick and this guarantees that it will not bend under any pressure you can possibly reach using air.
Pieces are welded
The only problem is the weight......600 imbarassing kilos.
Here are some picture of the new base structure.

Good luck with the new press - I'm sure we'll see some quality results

Btw, can you recommend a brand of varnish to a fellow european

Richuk wrote:
Btw, can you recommend a brand of varnish to a fellow european

Definitely yes, I use Sayerlack products.
For the base I use TU160 + it's hardener
For the finish TZ 9010/00 + it's hardener

The base is not a big problem if you want you can even use an epoxy base and the cover with the PU finish.
A good point for the TZ finish is that it is very hard and not schrachable.

Not I'm trying even some natural finish like oils or waxes like paraffine.
I'm doing some tresting just to understand how it works in wet environment and I'll report soon.
Ciao

Luca

Hi,

I made it the opposite way, going from a mechanical press with air bladder to some vaccuum system.
Looking at your skis, you were one of those who inspired me. What made you change of system ?
I understand your concerna about pressure, but did you manage to make links between the skis you made and the fact that you were using vaccuum ?

In one word, does vaccuum make worse skis ?

add : one of my friend combined vaccuum and mechanical press, awesome results