For the fire hose, how is it set up? I was told there are 2 hoses side by side, How did you go about clamping the ends so that it holds air? how did you insert the air hoses into it, and what kinda hose did you use?
Also, when setting it up, do you just place the bottom mold down, ski materials on it, then the hoses, then the top mold, then just inflate the bags?
Balloon (fire hose) Press Construction
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
depending on how big your hose is, you might need two hoses if you decide to build a press that presses a pair of skis at a time. typically, you'll want to find a 5" diameter fire hose. when it's flat, it's pretty wide and can easy cover an area for one ski during the pressing process.For the fire hose, how is it set up? I was told there are 2 hoses side by side
you can also build a press for just one ski and make one ski at a time. this option is often times easiers, and plus, it makes the layup process straightforward.
in our current press design, we can make a pair of skis at once, but it requires two people to layup and put the bottom mold/ski materials/top mold setup into the press frame. everything weighs so much. so it might be easier to build a press that makes one ski at a time.
what you want to do is take two pieces of angle iron and cut them so that they lay across the fire hose, one on top and one on the bottom. now drill a couple holes through the angle iron and use bolts & nuts to secure them. we'll post up a writeup showing you how to do it soon.How did you go about clamping the ends so that it holds air?
you'll have to punch a hole into the fire hose and use some hardware, like the kind for compressors, to secure an inlet plug so that you can connect the hoses from a compressor. we'll post some instructions soon for this. it's not that difficult. the only crux is making sure it doesn't leak.how did you insert the air hoses into it, and what kinda hose did you use?
yes, that's pretty much how you do it. you might want to put some painters plastic over the molds so that extra epoxy that leaks out doesn't stick to the press.Also, when setting it up, do you just place the bottom mold down, ski materials on it, then the hoses, then the top mold, then just inflate the bags?
Pat: we put up a basic page discussing the bladder. check it out:
http://www.skibuilders.com/howto/equip/bladder.shtml
http://www.skibuilders.com/howto/equip/bladder.shtml
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o2bjedi
hey jedi, i keep my compressor running throughout the entire pressing. this ranges from 10 hours to 12 hours. i think my compressor may be smaller than yours and it works fine. as long as your fire hose doesn't have any major leaks any decent sized compressor will work. it'll just kick in every hour or so to keep your fire hose inflated at the designated pressure. i think if you can manage to make your fire hose completely leak free you could even get away with a bicycle pump. this was my first option (never happened due to a leaky hose) because i like to do things like a cave man.
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
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o2bjedi
i think they're sized by inflated diameter. for example, we used a 5-inch diameter hose and it flattens down to 9-inches:
http://www.skibuilders.com/howto/equip/bladder.shtml
http://www.skibuilders.com/howto/equip/bladder.shtml
it really depends on how leak proof your fire hose is. if your fire hose has holes in it then your compressor will be constantly running for the entire hours, which i don't think is too good for your compressor. but if your fire hose doesn't have any leaks your compressor will turn on or kick in only a few times throughout the 8 hour period, which should be fine. i hope this helps.
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)