Ski Builders Forum

Hey I really enjoy reading on and learning from this sight.

Ive been reading on differnt construction techniques, have built a press and bladder, and amassed all the materials I need for a few sets of skiis.

I wanted to boaunce an idea I had to make a cool looking ski, and wondering if anybody has tried it... here is what I plan on doing....

I have preparred the bases and edges, plan on laying them up with rubber, followed by 22 oz glass like most construction, but I have taken my cores, bevelled down the edges until they are only about 1.5 mm high at the edges (rolled over, or curved on top) and about 2mm inside the ski edge. I plan on laying a thick piece of fiberglass edge to reinforce the wall, then covering the top with22oz glass... then I want to cover this with plastic treated with a release agent, and press it with the bladder forming an essentially capped ski with a top mold consisting of the bladder only...

Next I plan to do lots of sanding on top to get rid of the major irregularities I expect to achieve a translucent covering, and the cores, which have been lightly stained and had graphics applied directly will be visible... hpefully making a functional, waterproof ski that looks cool and requires less materials (no sidewalls or topsheet)

Just like when looking through a surfboard and seeing the graphics on the foam core of the board...

Anyway, just wondering if anybody has tried it,or if anybody had any reason they thought it would not work before I wast the materials in attempting this layup. Any feedback would be appreciated.

did i get you right? you want to apply some fibreglass to the sides of your ski during layup, which you`re going to sand into a cap like form?

the idea of the bladder acting as a counterpart over the whole ski is a good idea - if your hose is wide enough. i recommend you to check if the hose is capable to fold around such a tight radius over the edges.

i tried to do some fibreglass sidewalls once, also during layup. the problem is to apply the sideway pressure to press the fibreglass against the sidewalls without getting some bubbles. second problem is to avoid the epoxy from flowing all around your mold...and it needed quite some epoxy.

so i never did it again, just too much waste of material. just be sure to have a good solution for these points. maybe your idea with the hose is a good thing to start, but you`ll need a lot of epoxy anyway. and i personally don`t like the idea of grinding down loads of irregularities after pressing.

if i`d do it again i`d probabely do it like described on this site for epoxy sidewalls. just pour in some epoxy mixed with fibreglass flakes. but i think this is not what you plan to do...

Dont you worry, my hose is plenty wide eough

I checked, and I think the bladder will "wrap" around the edges plenty. I do worry about the extra epoxy messing things up, and about bubble forming around the edge, but I want a good functional out come as well as asthetic, and I think a fully visible and decorated natural wood core with rounded edges would look really cool. Another concern would be sidewall strength, being just supported by the glass, and not the wood core... hopefully the edges wont tear out.

if you manage to do it properly you don`t have to worry about sidewall strenght. if there is a way to do the fibreglass sidewally before layup i`d do it before. i needed 1kg of epoxy just for the sidewalls on my first attempt - i don`t have to mention that this sucks extremely

on more thing: if you plan to grind the skis in shape after pressing them: don`t expect too much regarding the transparency. if you just grind down some excess epoxy there won`t be big troubles, but if you catch on some fibres it will get difficult to get them transparent again after grinding. the fibres will be visible if you look close at the skis, even if you coated them with some varnish/epoxy afterwards.

furthermore you have to keep in mind that grafics darken a lot when wetted with epoxy. the best is to have some bright, light wood to paint on.