Ski Builders Forum

We use wood sidewalls. They have been working great so far (15-25 days on each of the skis with just minor chips on one that we filled with some epoxy). We also wet out the fg on a separate piece of uhmw before layup after our first build. We did this after watching the kingswood video as well as some others that do it this way. I think it is easier.

Do you have any closeup photos of your vacuum hold down table for cutting out the base material? I would like to see how that works in detail. Awesome work on all fronts. I like the name too.

Got some shots of the edge bender. Just so you get an idea for size, the rollers were made from 2" stock.




Don't have any photos of the vacuum base template and the foam tape is not on there right now. Basically, the foam tape goes around the perimeter and just inside the tape are holes spaced every few inches connected by channels to the vacuum.

i do separate...

Nice work.
Looks like you've got it dialed.
Thanks for the edge bender pics, Ive been looking for something like that.
I'm still curious about the software for epoxy amounts? Whats the deal?
Great quality video, thanks.

I layup on my one and only table. My work area is only about 5' by 9', so everything gets done there.

sam

Thanks for the bender pictures, building it on a small vice is genius! I've got another project now

How do you know exactly how much of an angle to put on the bend? I want to make one but for snowboards. I know I would probably have to make the wheels bigger and further apart, correct? I just don't even know how I would start to build something like that.

Nice work guys!!! Thanks again for your contribution.

nick wrote:How do you know exactly how much of an angle to put on the bend? I want to make one but for snowboards. I know I would probably have to make the wheels bigger and further apart, correct? I just don't even know how I would start to build something like that.

No you could use the exact same rollers. Adjusting the vice adjusts the radius of the bend bigger/smaller. You'd have to experiment to figure out what adjustment gives you what bend radius.

sammer: The "software" is just an excel spreadsheet. It's just a quick way to mix the epoxy. Pour the resin and enter the weight, which gives you the correct amount of hardener to pour. Then depending on how much epoxy you want to use for the whole layup, it will tell you how much to pour for the second batch of mixing.

nick: Ya, twizzlestyle is right. Anybody could use the same setup as in the pictures.

Also, found an old picture of our vacuum base template:

... update of the last few months.

We were trying to get a screen made in the summer for printing graphics. Long story short, we received the screen three months later as the people making it made mistake after mistake. As I was then back at school, we just managed to print a few graphics and press a few pairs of skis for this season.

We used Nazdar ADE Series Epoxy Screen Ink to print the graphic on the bonding side of our UHMW clear topsheet. This was our first time screen-printing and the people making the screen for us thought we were nuts to take on such a big screen for the first time... who doesn't think ski builders are crazy to take on such a project? We made a vacuum table surface with the intention to hold the topsheet flat while lowering and lifting the screen, but there was not enough suction to hold the topsheet down. With time running out, we said screw it and used tape on the corners and hoped the the ink wouldn't smudge as the topsheet was removed from the "screen-printing station." Overall, I was pretty happy with the results for our first time. Suggestions for other first timers, don't put too much detail in your graphics as it may not come out as clear as your design.


Printing some graphics.


The mirrored graphics drying. Some of the detailed portions of the graphic came out a little blurry in some prints.


The final product. The right two pairs of skis are reverse camber / reverse sidecut with just rice paper used for the graphics.



I enjoyed learning the screen-printing process, but would like to figure out a different method, such as sublimation. Screen-printing is limited in what you can do (colours) and costs too much for the quantity we're doing. Then again, I don't have much info on sublimation as I can't seem to find anyone to do it.

Looks very nice, that is a large screen for a first-time attempt. I took serography (screen-printing) along with a bunch of other printmaking in University, so I know it can be a challenge. However, silk-screen can have many colors and details, just look at a t-shirt.

Do like the graphics though combined with the wood. Is the close up shot Cat skiing?

those grafics are really nice! keep on the good work!

redbull wrote:... ... who doesn't think ski builders are crazy to take on such a project?

So true! I've heard the same comment a few times too. That's why my skis are called "SECTION8", a term referring to some body who is crazy, nuts, mentally unstable...... Remember Clinger from the TV show MASH or the movie Kelly's Heroes (from the 70's)?

Anyway.... Graphics are like the icing on the cake. Excellent job on the graphics!!

Skis look amazing. I really like the graphics where you can see the wood cores below the skis. What fg are you using? It looks like you have another piece in the binding area. What weight do you use there?

I agree the skis look great.
With the screen printing did you just print with that specific ink onto the abraded side of the topsheet? What type of plastic did you use for the topsheet and did you have to do anything after you had printed it to help with bonding?
thanks