Ski Builders Forum

I'm just going to say NEVER attach your edges with epoxy. I build a lot of stuff and that's something I would never do.

Brazen wrote:I'm just going to say NEVER attach your edges with epoxy. I build a lot of stuff and that's something I would never do.

Guys! Use super glue to attach the edges on the base before layup..

Sv... Hur har det gått, blev det bra?

Ok, we DID attach our edges with epoxy. Seems maybe that might have been stupid We'll soon find out. In a couple of hous I'll post pictures. We have not yet opened the press. We had to celebrate our potential sucess yesterday so today is a bit slow..

Swe: vad för slags lim använder du För att fästa kanterna"deepskis"? Och vilken epoxy kör du med?

Okay, so the first board is out of the press.



Actually came out better then we expected! The top sheet is clear and the only graphic is a rock band sticker underneath. The finishing will probably be done tomorrow after the epoxy have cured a bit more, and we gotten our hands on the right router cutter-piece-thingie (whats it called?).

One unexpected thing was the loss of rocker. We expected the board to loose about 10-15mm of negative chamber but when we put it back in to the mold the difference was around 30mm. Why is that? Anyhow, thats not all bad. He might have been a little to excited when choosing the rocker measurements, this version might be a little more useful

This picture is all i got for now but tomorrow i'll bring my DSLR and take some real pictures. Another question, how does your snowboards and skis compare to commercial ones when it comes to weight? We haven't measured the weight yet but I'm very curious.

All in all a very successful first press, no idea when we get to try it on snow but when my skis are finished in a couple of days we sure are going to look for some snow..

Sonny wrote:Ok, we DID attach our edges with epoxy. Seems maybe that might have been stupid We'll soon find out. In a couple of hous I'll post pictures. We have not yet opened the press. We had to celebrate our potential sucess yesterday so today is a bit slow..

Swe: vad för slags lim använder du För att fästa kanterna"deepskis"? Och vilken epoxy kör du med?

Use loctite super glue, works perfect West system works ok for your first boards/skis. Easy to find and works fine without heat.

Nice work!

Nice job!! Looks great for a first pressing. How is the base flatness?

It's called a router bit.

As for weight, the skis I have made are a bit lighter than something similar from the commercial world, but not by much. mine are very basic and with bamboo cores, so not a lot of gimmicky stuff to add weight.

So my skis are in the press right now, I'm really excited to see them come out of the press tomorrow... I'll definitely post some more and better pictures then.

Fresh out of the press!


Cutting my beasts loose!


Proud ski builder!


Pretty nice rocker profile, as mentioned before these skies are for powder only.


My new skis compares to my Völkl Gotama 186cm.


Ok, so the skis turned out really good actually. I'm very impressed with the flatness of our bases. They are pretty near perfect. I just can't wait to finish them up and removing the protection sheet on the top layer! I'll def post more pictures then. First i need to get my hands on the right kind of router bit..

I'm soooo happy right now, and looking forward to making my next pair. I'm also shocked that they actually weigh less then comparable commercial skis.

I took one and read 2480g, and still there are stuff to be trimmed away.
Compared to k2 hellbent 189cm @ 2780g thats good in my book.
The final measurements are something like 164-140-151 I think

Pretty massive but the idea for the skis are to be optimal for our planned return journey to Japan next winter. Me and my friend went there last winter and my god they get A LOT of snow.

Now we're talking! Good work!

Wait til after the post cure! One week in room temp.

Good work! they look great!

Those look fantastic! Great example of how doing your research and planning things well pays off. Nice work! Those will be a blast on the mountain!

Okay so the honeymoon is over, my unconditional love for my first skis are already transitioning into me looking at them with critic eyes and searching for faults and ways to improve them. (theres a lot to be learned..)

First thing I notice is the air bubbles and the white fiberglass in the epoxy, why is it there?! Was there not enough epoxy? Were there not enough pressure, or even maybe to much?

Help me guys what did I do wrong..?

that first picture, the white line going diagonal on it is deff from the cat track. The edge of the aluminum put to much pressure in one place. You may want to add a couple sheets of metal under the cattrack to smooth that out.

What pressure did you squish at?

Lots of fiberglass showing means there is not enough resin - that could either mean you didn't use enough, or too much got squeezed out (too much pressure). I'd also be curious to know what pressure you guys used?

The bubbles are a bummer... I'd say more pressure would help squeeze those out, but you've already got dry-ish fiberglass, so you don't necessarily want more pressure. I can't remember, are you guys using heat? The less viscous the epoxy is (warmer), the easier it'll let bubbles out.

Hi!
Looks like not enough resin to me..

The router bit is on its way