Ski Builders Forum

Would bonding thin aluminum sheets to both sides on a sheet of Masonite work well enough to use for casettes? I think the thickness would end up around 3/16 or 7/32ish.

I was thinking this could be a cheap alterative to solid alu sheets while both being flexible and smooth.

Thoughts.... ??

epoxy in a heated press will really stick to Masonite even with a really good release agent i think.

Not bare Masonite. An aluminum and Masonite sandwich

would it really be that much cheaper to justify the trouble?

I dunno. Masonite seams to breakdown.

Are you using some sort of heated setup? One thing to consider is the masonite won't transfer heat as efficiently as a single aluminum layer.

As long as your tip and tail radii aren't too tight I would think it would work. I have used a single layer of masonite without problems other than the heat issue.

Vinman wrote:Would bonding thin aluminum sheets to both sides on a sheet of Masonite work well enough to use for casettes? I think the thickness would end up around 3/16 or 7/32ish.

I was thinking this could be a cheap alterative to solid alu sheets while both being flexible and smooth.

Thoughts.... ??

confused at what youre trying to get at here.

Most "cassettes" are just thin aluminum sheets, why the masonite?

I guess I was trying to come up with a smooth and flexible surface that could be transferred from mold to mold.

you just use the aluminum sheet. You don't need anything like masonite.

We use masonite cassettes for our prototype work. If you get the stuff with the white finish you can wax the heck out of it and nothing will stick. no need for alu if you do want to use alu then visit home depot, they sell it as flashing.

we get a sheet of 18ga steel sheet cut into 3 pieces for like 60bucks.

just switched to 16ga and it was like 75. we use 2 pieces for each "cassette"


After pressing we hit it with a wire brush wheel on a drill where the glue spots are, then hit the whole thing with some 120 sandpaper and its fine. The 18ga after some use gets little tiny lumps in it though, thats why we bumped it up.

We line our sheet metal with parchment paper, so there is no need to worry about waxing anything to prevent epoxy sticking to it. You just throw the parchment paper away, and its cheap!

doesnt the parchment paper stick to the board?

edit: just to make sure i got you right...you're talking about the stuff used to line the baking tray when making a cake?

I like using parchment paper as well. It doesn't stick to your boards and lays nice and flat.

could any of you guys specify the type of paper you're using? "parchment paper" has a couple of translations to german.

This is the stuff I use. www.reynoldsparchment.com. I buy it at the local Wal-Mart. Also, this is not the same as wax paper which some might think.