How much $$$

[ILOVE2SKI]

On average, between materials and the ski press (not including a compressor or any other tools like saws etc. as I already have them) how much did you guys spend on making the skis?

[Greg]

I kind of lost track, but I think I am at around $1200-$1500 and I have two finished pairs of skis, and two more pairs that just need pressing. I will warn you that it is definitely not cheaper than buying skis, especially when you account for the number of hours you have to put into it, and the learning curve you have to go through. Don't expect your first, second, or even third pair to very pretty looking. That's not to say it isn't worth it though because when you make your own skis, you will really appreciate every turn that much more. Plus, everyone on the lift will want to know about your skis.

[hose-man]

I'm in about $1000. I have materials for 5 pairs. All I have left to buy is some MDF to make the form & I can get to pressing. The problem I've run into is lack of time. I'm a little short for time & have not made any progress for about 2 months. Looking forward to a slow down in buisness so I can press some skis.

-J

[bigKam]

yes, it's definitely not cheap. Kelvin, Little Kam and i lost count awhile back. since skiing is our passion, we don't really think too much about it anymore. overall it has been a worthwhile investment. but do expect to dump about $1000 to get started. you can probably do it for cheaper, but low-budget sometimes means low-quality. keep in mind that once you get the equipment all dialed in, then it's not too much more to keep producing skis, provided you don't pay yourself for the labor. i hope you find it worth your time, and money.

[Alex]

I think it depends very much on how many skis you want to build and if you're willing to invest more labour with simple and inexpensive tools.

I made my first core from preshaped wood strips (two layers in the mid and one layer at tip and tail similar to this construction: http://www.spezialski.de) so that i only had to shape the transitions and tip/tail. This was quite easy with a hand planer for 20EUR - just takes time.

For inexpensive and simple pressing you should really think about vaccum. I use an industrial vaccum pump that is capable to create a vaccum of 0.8 bar (means a pressure of 8000kg/m2). I got it from Ebay for 25EUR! Seems to work very well especially when using foam in the shovel of the ski.

All over all i got started for about 250 EUR!

[ILOVE2SKI]

Are you including the compressor and the tools to cut the skis in the cost? Becasue I already have both of those and was wondering how much more it will set me back. Thanks!

[Greg]

No, I didn't include the power tools or hand tools. My expenses do include new router bits for skis, as well as jigsaw blades. I am not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but when I am cutting out my skis, I pretty much burn through a blade per pair of skis.

[kelvin]

greg-
I've noticed the same thing and after a pair of skis, the blades are toast. I think riding along the edges generates a lot of heat and dulls the blade quick. I just got a bandsaw and am hoping it'll do better than a jigsaw.

-kelvin

[NVirus]

Don't forget its all about who you know, look around scrap yards and things like that for press parts. You know the quote one mans trash is anothers treasure. Im in about $250 with an almost opperational press (waiting on the hose from hose-man and its done!) and enough materials to build one set of skis. Granted the first probably wont come out looking very nice but once all the templates are set up you can really start knocking off copies of the skis in no time. Oh and one other thing is that I am a college student on brake so time is no matter to me unlike the working guys where time is everything...