Most commercial skis I have looked at seem to have a tip radius of the order 200mm.
Do I need to make my mold a bit tighter to get that radius, or given that I am heating should I get roughtly the same as the mold?
Also do people make the tail radius tighter than the tip radius? It would seem that with the tail you could get away with a tighter radius because you are less likley to be worried about floatation in powder (my switch tele ain't that good yet).
Thanks again,
B.
Tip & tail radii
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
Hi Bambi,
I really don't think that the actual radius of the tip curve is all that critical. For me, it's more a matter of what is asthetically pleasing to the eye, after, of course, you design in enough curve to be basically funtional as a ski tip. I also don't think that tip curve has much effect on flotation in powder... if the forebody of the ski does not have enough surface area to keep itself afloat, it doesn't matter how much tip curve the ski has, it's gonna dive. As for tail curve and floatation in the powder... I don't ski backwards in powder... upside-down sometimes, but, not backwards. Personally, I think that tip design has more effect in firm or manky backcountry conditions because the tip curve (and the height of the curve) helps the ski to ride over inconsistencies in an undulating snow surface, rather than plowing into them.
I'd recommend that you make the tip and tail radii the same. That way you don't have to futz around with two different template designs for your tip and tail blocks... like I did. I'd maybe just give the tail curve a little less height because a long tail curve can really get in the way when you are not skiing backwards... like when climbing up a steep-ass icy slope and needing to do a kick turn where you have to lift the ski 4 inches higher just to get the thing around... don't ask why I'd have twin tips in the backcountry in the first place.
My press is heated and my tips come out of the press with exactly the same curve as I have built into my molds.
G-man
I really don't think that the actual radius of the tip curve is all that critical. For me, it's more a matter of what is asthetically pleasing to the eye, after, of course, you design in enough curve to be basically funtional as a ski tip. I also don't think that tip curve has much effect on flotation in powder... if the forebody of the ski does not have enough surface area to keep itself afloat, it doesn't matter how much tip curve the ski has, it's gonna dive. As for tail curve and floatation in the powder... I don't ski backwards in powder... upside-down sometimes, but, not backwards. Personally, I think that tip design has more effect in firm or manky backcountry conditions because the tip curve (and the height of the curve) helps the ski to ride over inconsistencies in an undulating snow surface, rather than plowing into them.
I'd recommend that you make the tip and tail radii the same. That way you don't have to futz around with two different template designs for your tip and tail blocks... like I did. I'd maybe just give the tail curve a little less height because a long tail curve can really get in the way when you are not skiing backwards... like when climbing up a steep-ass icy slope and needing to do a kick turn where you have to lift the ski 4 inches higher just to get the thing around... don't ask why I'd have twin tips in the backcountry in the first place.
My press is heated and my tips come out of the press with exactly the same curve as I have built into my molds.
G-man