Ski Builders Forum

I took my first ride on my homebuilt skis (dubbed Section8) yesterday. I wasn't expecting much from them but I was pleasantly surprised on how they performed. There was a lot of mistakes in them so my expectations were low. I had core shifting problems when I pressed and they seemed fairly stiff, light weight and many cosmetic problems. Not as stiff as the first pair I made that had very little flex. The first pair I made are experimental now. Any time I want to try something new I go back to my first pair. Mounting bindings was a first for me also. I tested the process on my first set of skis. There's lots of details in other forums/topics here about how to mount binding so I won't go into details here. I determined the CC (chord center), BOF (ball of foot) area.

The skis are approx 170cm, 125-70-118. The bindings I used are Tyrolia RFD14. They are a rail flex system. I was able to buy extra mounting plates so I can mount the plates on multiple skis and then swap the bindings as needed. I bought them from http://www.levelninesports.com/ for $129 and 4 mounting plates at $10 each. Installation was pretty easy.

Friday night I spent time conditioning the bases and sharpening the edges. The bases were good and flat, edges nice and sharp for a day of East coast powder I hastily added the Section8 logo... I didn't think the skis were going to be worth naming.....

My first run I was cautious. I worried that the skis might self destruct, delam, or the binding pop lose. Everything held nicely! So I took a few more runs each time building confidence in the skis. They held on the frozen granular really well. I carved up some nice turns and they held pretty good as I picked up speed too. I worried I might get a lot of chatter but they seemed to have adequate damping. I think they were a bit stiff for the average skier. They held nicely under foot, which is key on ice or frozen crud, but think I could have used more taper toward the tip and tail.

The ski layup was typical, p-tex base and edges, VDS rubber, triaxal fiberglass, full ash cores, another layer of triaxial fiberglass, cloth top sheet with epoxy as a sealant on the cloth.

So now I had some confidence in what I built and after a few runs I didn't mind saying " hey look what I built the other day".

I'm not ready to set aside my Fischers AMC79's just yet But the new skis performed way better than I expected and they'll be great for banging around.

I have a list of improvements for the layup process to keep things from moving around. I think the next pair will be really good. I have 2 sets of cores ready to go. They are poplar/maple core and a bit longer and a bit thinner so they'll be a bit softer. I'm going to stick with the same layup or now.

Thanks for all the advice/tips/info in this forum!!

Here's a few pics of my Section8's:

nice job, they look nice. I'm sure that was a sweet feeling to ride those the first time. I know I'm looking forward to that on my first pair, hopefully by the end of this season... but It may end up being next season for me.

Yeah it was a great feeling of accomplishment! Especially since I wasn't even going to mount bindings on them, but I figured what the heck. I will definetly be skiing on them again this weekend. Looking forward to making the another pair in the next few weeks. I have an idea of using some cool looking figured veener wood for a top sheet.

My wife does a lot of quilting and she has some flame fabirc left over from a NASCAR quilt she made so I have that in mind as well. It's always exciting!

Vinman, Good luck with your ski building! Keep us updated w/ your progress.

Sounds like you're hooked. I recommend you sell your mass produced skis while they still have some value

The first ride on a fresh pair of skis is always an adventure... I will never forget riding up the lift strapped to The Bremallows, when the big debate was how many runs they would last. They ended up surviving 5 days! The current pair I am riding is on its 4th season.

Yeah I'm hooked. I have 2 other cores ready. One is cloned from a racing ski 175cm 112-66-96. I'll use the flame material on those. The other is an all mtn ski 174cm 116-76-102. I plan on using a wood veneer topsheet like birds eye maple, curly maple.... not exactly sure yet.

I was riding up the chair w/ a buddy of mine who runs the racing league at our mt. He just bought a pair of Atomic racing skis, $900. It's a great ski and I would have loved to cut a few turns on them but.... I replied
'Wow. I just made these the other night.' He was stunned and impressed. Honestly I can't compare my skis to his,... but maybe the next ones

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

The best thing to do is not try to make better skis than the manufacturers, just make skis that are way cooler.

Strange shapes, funny graphics, specialized characteristics for specific conditions, etc.

The most important thing though is that you shred up the mountain on them, no matter how crazy the skis.

And, then, the harder the skis look to ski, the more 'respect/admiration' you get from fellow skiers. Or they just think you are a lunatic.

Just a quick update on the Section8's... 7 days of skiing on them and they are holding up fine. A few minor scratches/chips on the top edges but that's to be expected.

I let a friend try them out and he thought they were pretty decent. We swapped skis. He was skiing Volkl 5 Star 175cm, a nice ski. He was afraid he'd break mine. He's about 6'2" 225lbs. I told him to ski on them as hard as he wanted,.... give it a good stress test. We took a few hard runs down the hill and he was impressed. Not quite as snappy as the Volkls but he liked the way they carved and held in the turn.

For kicks I raced on them last week. It was a fun race (fund raiser). Again, they held nicely on the course but probably won't race on them again.

They get a few stares in the lift line and people love hearing about the home made skis.

Greg wrote:And, then, the harder the skis look to ski, the more 'respect/admiration' you get from fellow skiers. Or they just think you are a lunatic.

yeah... I've gotten both responses. Kind of like the look a dog has when it's confused.