Ski Builders Forum

actually the way I layer my press is ribbed mold on bottom then 1 peice of hardboard, then my homemade heatblanket, then a thin piece of aluminum flashing and then my ski materials. so could it be my heat blanket that is causing the wavyness, because it is homemade and defenitly not flat. also how do i fix this ?? I would like to keep the heat on the bottom so should I get some thicker metal for the cassete??

Lay you heat blanket down on something flat like a sheet of mdf. Then use a straight edge of some sort to see just how flat or unflat the blanket is. If it isn't flat then you either need a new blanket or you need to put another layer on it and make it flat.

infinityskis wrote:actually the way I layer my press is ribbed mold on bottom then 1 peice of hardboard, then my homemade heatblanket, then a thin piece of aluminum flashing and then my ski materials. so could it be my heat blanket that is causing the wavyness, because it is homemade and defenitly not flat. also how do i fix this ?? I would like to keep the heat on the bottom so should I get some thicker metal for the cassete??

One piece of hardboard and flashing is not enough to make the mold smooth. You need more layers.

Why is your heat blanket not flat?

because it is homemade and a bit lumpy from all the uneven silicon caulking.

Yes if the blanket is not flat you will see it. get one in china 120 bucks for whatever you want.

You got a link to that Chinese heat blanket supplier MM?
I'd buy a spare for that price.

could i top heat my skis instead and then let then cool in the mold so they get the camber from the mold?? or is that not how it works??

Cooling in the mold will help, but you'll still lose some camber.

Best solution is probably to heat from the top (you still may get unevenness in your topsheet, but that's better than the base), run your blanket at a lower temperature and cure for a longer time. The difference between room temp and your blanket temp is what is causing camber changes from heat, so minimizing that difference will minimize camber difference. There's no easy way to figure out how much longer it will need to cure, you just need to check it while it's going. I use popsicle sticks and stick then in the overflowing epoxy on the sidewalls while it's in the press. Once that's no longer tacky, I pull the skis out.

(best best solution is to buy a new blanket that's actually flat, but I'm guessing that's out of the budget).

and use thicker gage steel/aluminum

and/or less pressure, what psi you pressing at?

Ok so I think you guys will be happy because i did what u said to do and made a new core. I improved my router bridge and took many small passes and got a core identical to the other(good one). . I also went ahead and built a branding iron for our infinity ski logo. It turned out pretty good and i am going to brand the cores as the graphic. Almost time to lay this pair up !

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Awesome, nice work on the core. That branding iron is pretty badass too! Now don't f up the layup!

OK, so last night I pressed my skis and it went well for the most part. No issues found so far, but it is looking good. Also the plastic wrap did not melt at 180 degrees.

However, I goofed big time and pressed straight on top of masonite. All of the masonite stuck to my bases and now how do I get this off. How do I fix this??

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You gotta slow down dude, you're getting complacent!

I'd probably start with a metal putty knife and try to chip as much of it off as you can, without gouging the base. If you're lucky, the epoxy won't have bonded very well to the bottom of the bases and will chip off without too much effort. Otherwise you're probably looking at a ton of sanding.

You really ought to get some aluminum to use as a cassette. I use aluminum, that I wax like crazy with mold release wax, and then I still use a layer of parchment paper on top of that. The parchment paper keeps most of the epoxy off the aluminum, but I almost always get a few tears and a tiny bit of epoxy that leaks through, but it pops right off the waxed aluminum.

Good luck.