Goat-Ham-Ah project

[knightsofnii]

goat hamma's mold was designed for vac bagging.

if you can get the surface of your mold nice and smooth you can probably vac bag with it no problem.

for increased pressure airbag style pressing, you want your molds to be as solid as possible. Anything that has the potential to move has the potential to blow up under pressure.

We know you're not done, but one can make assumptions of the path its taking. Not suggesting you abandon what you're doing, but going forward you might want to steer it more in line with molds you see in some of these airbag presses. And to do so might require going back to square one. Either way I hope you get it going because building this shit is awesome.

[ben_mtl]

YEAH ! Finally tested those skis !

Today was the opening day at Whitewater (BC) so as it's down the road I was there. Unfortunately there was a problem at the resort and there was no power the first couple hours... No big deal I put some Marker Duke on those and I have my skins in the car ! So here I am, hiking on the closed trails, heading to the chairlift arrival to enjoy the few open trails while people are waiting in line for the lift to open.
While going up I saw no problems with the skis, the weight is pretty good (less than 2kg / ski w\o binding) so it makes the hiking a pleasure, ways more enjoyable than my last year setup : skis on the backpack, snowshoeing with alpine boots !!!
Going down ? what can i say ? It was so great ! great snow, really great reactions of the skis, I'm not used to skis that wide so it took me some time to get used but after it was just pleasure : just enough pop, no weird vibrations, floaty in powder, good grip on hard snow, pretty nice carving and sweet turns. What a dream ! I'm skiing the skis I made ! Can't believe it ! It was the same moment of happiness and proud mixed together as when I first paddled my homemade freestyle kayak !
After one day of skiing those skis in the resort I can't wait to use them for light touring and I'm definitively addicted to them ! As soon as I can I'll make a more "resort oriented" pair but it's a great success !
Sorry the weather was not with us today so no pics... next time !

Thanks Skibuilders for making this dream come true ! Thanks everyone for all the advices !
See you on the slopes !

[sammer]

Awesome Ben

Fernie opened today but was cold with scant snow.
we got 15 cm's overnight with nothing underneath, I skipped the day.

glad to hear your getting out there

sam

[windego]

Hey
Who is the builder in Quebec who does the topsheet graphic for you? I am in Kingston and it would be nice to use a local guy.

Cheers
Stan

[ben_mtl]

His name is Jean-Francois BOUCHARD from Utopie Snowboard, he is located in Rimouski, here is his e-mail : jfbouchard@utopiesnow.com
He's very nice and helpful. I only deal with him for small orders, don't know if he has time to print lots of topsheets.

[windego]

Thanks for the info!
S

[knightsofnii]

I got some materials from JF Bouchard, great guy!!

[ben_mtl]

Alright, the 2010 pressing season just started !
After a first failure with the new press (core shifting, VDS moving out of the layup...) I had a new pair pressed yesterday and it's great success !
The new skis are 176cm long, 134-105-125.

Pretty standard layup (from top to bottom):
Sublimated topsheet
22Oz triax
core (2-11.5-2 _ maple/poplar)
22Oz triax
VDS
Base Durasurf 4001 + edges

MIApoxy resin.


Time for some pics :




Let's go ! (just wish there were snow !!!)


I just had minor cosmetic problems on the base : I cover the base with packaging tape but where the tape overlaps it leaves marks on the base (pretty sure they'll disappear while sanding). What are you guys doing to make sure no resin goes on the base ? Seems to me there should be a better option than packaging tape : it leaves marks when overlapped, even slightly, and it's a real pain to remove after the skis are cured... actually it took me more time to remove all the tape than flashing, bevelling the sidewalls, find the inserts and stick some bindings !

[hugocacola]

go to a shop...and say to them that you build the skis and you must remove the excess material...is th only way...

[shopvac]

Awesome topsheets. The skis look very professional. As for epoxy on the bases... We don't use anything to protect the bases. We just let the epoxy get on them and have a shop do a base grind to get it off. No problem. I saw on one of the 333 skis videos that he just "base grinds" his skis with a belt sander to get the unwanted epoxy off the bases. I think you could do that if you don't want to take them in to get tuned. How do you find the inserts to work with? Easy, hard, ...? Where do you get them and where did you get your sublimated topsheets done?

[nate]

My opinion isn't valid since I haven't tested it yet, but I'm going to use contact paper to protect the bases of my skis.
Ie this
It's like tape, but it's 18" wide and not quite as sticky as packing tape.

[ben_mtl]

Thanks Nate, I was searching for something like that to avoid overlaps ! I'm also in search of some static protective paper to put on my topsheets to prevent scratches but I have just no idea where to find it or what's the name of such a thing in english...
For the bases I was maybe thinking mold release wax... but letting the epoxy go might just be ok, anyway there is not much epoxy under the base @40PSI, or it's super slim !

Thanks for your comments !

Shopvac -> The inserts are super easy to deal with, I put inserts on all my personal skis. I have just a pair of Dukes so I had the binding pattern drilled on my core templates... when I cut a core, I just drill some pilot holes for the inserts so they are well positioned. And then I can switch my bindings from a ski to another.
The topsheets have been sublimated by JF @ Utopie Snowboards in Rimouski, Quebec, I'm pretty happy with this design, it's from a friend of mine who's an artist and never skied in her life, I just asked her to design something she would see on a pair of skis and that's what she came up with !

[sammer]

ben... nice work, your skis are looking good.

"static protective paper"?
Do you need to protect your topsheet from scratches while your skiing or when your cleaning up the flash etc?
As soon as I pull my ski out of the mold (after the pictures and inspection of course )
I cover the top sheet with painters tape (the wide blue or green stuff).
No scratches when I clamp it to the saw horse to cut off the flash. Don't take it off until its all cleaned up and ready to go out to the shop.

I also use painters tape on my bases, it's still a bear to remove but being careful with the seams only leaves a bit of epoxy along the running length
(also gives a nice bright color change to follow with the jig saw)
the stuff that accumulates around the tip and tail get taken off with a file or the belt sander.
(my ski tech doesn't like all the epoxy going thru the machinery)

I'd be careful waxing your bases before layup it would be way too easy for that stuff to migrate every and anywhere.

sam

[twizzstyle]

For the bases you want to use contact paper



Its cheap, wide, takes the heat, sticks on nicely, and peels right off in one piece.

[ben_mtl]

Thanks Sam !
The cling film (I finally found the name for this no-adhesive sticky paper) would be used on the topsheets even prior to layup so I'm sure I don't put any resin on the finished surface of the skis, Last time, my topsheets came sublimated with this protective film and it was nice : you just remove the film after everything's done and you can admire the shinny / no scratch / brand new look... Don't know why they were just "naked" this time...
I'll give it a try with the painters tape to protect the base but it's pretty thick and I'm afraid it will leave some marks... would love to find it in 6" wide rolls !
At 40PSI my bladder is still almost flat (very small cavity) so even if the pressure in the bladder is not huge, it's a lot of pressure on the skis! I can almost see the triax pattern through the base !