Ski Builders Forum

I found some decking material called Red Balau or sometimes known as Batu that I have used successfully for sidewalls. It has a decent janka hardness at 2100 lbs., has a straight and tight grain, and looks purty. I made 2 pair of skis last year with it and the sidewalls still look as they day I built them.

For any Reno-Tahoe builders that are interested I found it at Mastercraft Hardwoods in Reno. They have it in stock and you can pick your pieces.

I wasted a lot of time trying to find some Massaranduba or Ipe but couldn't find anyone who would actually return a phone call, email, or give me a quote for shipping for just 3 sticks of lumber. Unless you are ordering at least 1000 square feet of the stuff they won't give you the time of day.

worthless without pics! ; )

If you want ipe, you probably want to talk to people who install decking professionally, rather than wood merchants. I scored a few planks from a friend who was installing some at work...

tufty wrote:If you want ipe, you probably want to talk to people who install decking professionally, rather than wood merchants. I scored a few planks from a friend who was installing some at work...

I agree. Contractors are a good source of scoring free wood. Often what is garbage to them is useful to us as many of us are doing single core laminations with skinny rips. The pieces of Batu that I used in some skis last season were all free leftovers from a job site that I was working at.

I meant the skis....

Alright, two pair that are done and one core for a pair of skis ready to go except for the graphics that I have been slacking on all summer.

I lost my Ipe supplier, retired. I should have enough for this season. But I guess I should shop for another supplier or different hardwood for sidewalls.

Nice skis!

skidesmond wrote:I lost my Ipe supplier, retired. I should have enough for this season. But I guess I should shop for another supplier or different hardwood for sidewalls.

Nice skis!

Plenty of places in Boston. Let me know if you want some. I'd at least save you the drive into the city... Is the woodery closer for you, they have it?

skimann20 wrote:

skidesmond wrote:I lost my Ipe supplier, retired. I should have enough for this season. But I guess I should shop for another supplier or different hardwood for sidewalls.

Nice skis!

Plenty of places in Boston. Let me know if you want some. I'd at least save you the drive into the city... Is the woodery closer for you, they have it?

Thanks! I'll check out The Woodery. I've been very lazy this spring/summer about ski building,research, etc. I need to inventory the materials, figure what I need for the season. The owner of Amherst Wood Working announced he's retiring. The last 4-5 yrs of the slumping housing market hurt their business. They specialized in architectural moldings but also carried high quality hardwoods/plywood/deck material that the big box stores don't have. For grins I checked their website and it's still up. Maybe there's hope.

skimann20 wrote:
Plenty of places in Boston. Let me know if you want some. I'd at least save you the drive into the city... Is the woodery closer for you, they have it?

what is the going price for IPE? for now I have enough "scrap" from construction site had to dumpster dive for it lol but don't know any actual suppliers of the wood

What about other options for wood sidewalls? I read somewhere Garapa and tigerwood have similar characteristics as IPE. How about mahogany? It's also used on outdoor decking

how is this stuff holding up to impacts? Is it an actual hardwood or is it a composite?

(reviewing some past posts...)

Doug are you asking about Ipe? If so, the wood is nearly indestructible and it's a hardwood not composite. It's almost 3 times harder than maple of oak. It's also heavy.

skidesmond wrote:(reviewing some past posts...)

Doug are you asking about Ipe? If so, the wood is nearly indestructible and it's a hardwood not composite. It's almost 3 times harder than maple of oak. It's also heavy.

ummm ridiculously heavy! ;-) what saw blade do you use to cut the flash? this stuff is crazy dense, can you make it through a side without changing a blade out?

Check out the hitachi ja10 blades, carbide tipped jig saw blades. I made 11 pair this season, only used 1 jigsaw blade all season.

I build with IPE sidewalls. Didn't find it particularly hard to cut by tablesaw bandsaw or router.
Don't know if making any difference.... mine has been set for at least two years