Ski Builders Forum

Would it be possible to build the press out of 2x8s? I have a ton of it, and was wondering if using them to build the press (NOT THE MOLD) would be feasible. could the withstand the stress? i know that a single board won't do it, but laminating a few together with nails and glue could work.

nothing is impossible.

it just depends on what pressure you want to use and how many 2x8 you have and how you design the press frame....

thank you plywood. i have basically unlimited 2x8's, and a few 2x10s. i plan on making the mold 8'x1'6" and pressing between 50 and 80 psi. i would use 3/4" or 1" threaded rod to hold the whole thing together, and make a similar on on top. any suggestions?

i want unlimited 2x8s!!!

if you do a 90* finger joint between the top and the sides, that would probably work pretty well, depending on how you laminate/screw them all together.

I looked at a lot of the ski presses on this site and most use steel in one way or another. (If I knew how to weld I would have used 2in square steel tubing. There's some good pics in the forum. Check this one viewtopic.php?t=1465, there are others.... Since I can't weld it's on to plan b )

I started making mine in a similar way as you are, but used OSB plywood 3/4in thick by 8in w x 96in L. I bolted 21 togtether to make a 15 3/4 in beam. I used 1/2 steel threaded rod every 12in to bolt the sheets of ply together. It's heavy! I decided to use OSB because the 2x8's at the local big box store (Home Depot) were poor quality, too many twists and warped. So I spent a lot of time ripping ply and drilling holes and bolting it together. So I have 2 massive wood beams at the moment 15 3/4in W x 8in H x 96in L. Wide enough for 2 skis.

I plan on using 4in or 6in steel U channel to fasten the beams together. A friend of mine has plenty of U channel and is willing to part w/ some of it. Basically the U channel will go around the 2 beams as a means to hold them in place when the hose is inflated. Hopefully the U channel is strong enough to keep the beams from flexing.

My mold will fit between the 2 beams, along w/ a cat track and fire hose.... and some day skis

I'll send pics when I complete the entire press. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks. The day job keeps getting in the way.

ok, so here is what i was thinking with the 90* finger joint 2x8 press. sorry, i got really bored.



mind you, i don't know what psi this could sustain, im not an engineer...

but if you used something like steel u-channel like skidesmond is talking about around the middle of the press and maybe around the ends as well, just to be sure, you could probably get some good psi out of it.

btw, skidesmond, good for you for taking the time to search the site. we always like to see people well informed about whats already been done before a thread is posted.

im not saying that benwhiteskis asked a stupid question, because its not at all. think outside the box, thats what we are here to do!

Nice Drawing! My initial design was very similar. I'm not an engineer either but I think there are a few in the forum. I've ready many discussions about psi... how much you need, whether you use heat or not during the pressing process, etc. This site has a ton of info. Take the time to read through it.

After doing the research I felt I needed to have some re-inforcement to keep the beam from flexing. Although honestly I felt a beam that size would not flex. But since I have no experience in the area I decided to modify by adding steel. I thought 40-50 psi wasn't much pressure. There's another series of posts about pressure that was a real eye opener. My bike tires takes 120 psi, so what's 40-50 psi against a solid wood beam? But it's 40 psi for every square inch of the surface area of the ski being pressed which adds up to the 10's of thousands of pounds of pressure over the total surface area. But again I'm no engineer but decided to add re-inforcement.

Keep in mind how you'll be loading the skis into the press. I'm going to have the front braced w/ the U channel but hinge it so it opens downward, in insert the skis for pressing, swing the hinged U channel backup and bolt/pin it in place, similar to this by Kingswood skis. At 3 minutes into the clip you'll see what I mean.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl= ... 4&ct=title#

So if mine flexes a little bit I can live with it, as long as it doesn't blow apart!!

I teach skiing at a small ski area near my house so if I can make a pair of skis for teaching I'd be happy. Heck the little kids ski more on the top of my skis than I do on the bottoms

I'm not trying to put Atomic or Fischer out of buisness. Just want to have some fun.

skidesmond wrote:But it's 40 psi for every square inch of the surface area of the ski being pressed which adds up to the 10's of thousands of pounds of pressure over the total surface area.

yup.

we made the front of our press hinge as well, but we put in a cross bar at the top so they all swing at the same time and we use it as a shelf and use it for laying up the ski.



the drawing was just made with google sketchup. its a great free program and really easy to use once you get used to it. i use it just for figuring out sizes and stuff and get a 3D mock-up of stuff.

Nice ski press! That's what I have in mind too. I've been using SnoCad-x to drawup skis. Easy to use. I'll try the Google sketch for kicks. Thanks.

yeah, snocad is great for coming up with ski dimensions and everything.
sketchup doesn't have any sort of strength tests like solidworks. i leave that kind of stuff to my roommate... hes the "engineer"

KevyWevy wrote:i leave that kind of stuff to my roommate... hes the "engineer"

woah woah, what's with the quotes??? I AM an engineer! business card says so. And yes, solidworks is my CAD of choice.

My entire press is made of plywood and joist hangers. It will take 60 psi easy. It is a rib type press. I used two gallons of titebond 2 glue and my s10 pick up to glue the top and bottom glue lam beams. Joist hangers, 2x4s, strap hangers, 3" deck screws, and 1\2" nuts and bolts for the ribs and supports.

heybulldog wrote:My entire press is made of plywood and joist hangers. It will take 60 psi easy. It is a rib type press. I used two gallons of titebond 2 glue and my s10 pick up to glue the top and bottom glue lam beams. Joist hangers, 2x4s, strap hangers, 3" deck screws, and 1\2" nuts and bolts for the ribs and supports.

Pics?