Ski Builders Forum

so we are going to be pressing both pairs of skis this weekend.. and was just wondering if there are any tips out there for keeping the layers in line, like not slipping off to the side? or does that not happen? (we dont have sidewalls to nail into)

are you making a pair of capped skis? if not your layers should not be precut to shape unless you have some kind of cassette or other mechanism to keep them aligned.

I use two side tape to keep the bases in postition and you can eventually screw the cores at tips and tails into the mold.

we are making kinda capped i guess.. just wood straight sidewalls.. the only thing that is critical to keep in line is the core and the base..

we are either goign to have to make a casset. or how do you screw them down? wouldnt the screw be under the top sheet and stuff?

I use a pair of wood dowels to position the core on the base as follows:

Drill the base about 12" either side of the boot center, the location is not critical.

Press dowels through the core so that they will just contact the base without the core being in full contact (just enough to align it properly on the base)

Using a small amount of crazy glue on the bottom of the dowel position the core on the base and then clamp the base with a small spacer to keep the core off the base, all you are trying to do is keep from gluing the core to the base with the crazy glue. Once the glue sets lift the core off the base leaving the dowels glued to the base.

You will find this works best if the dowels are tapered on top to help slide the core over them once you have the bottom lay up done. You probably need to cut the glass to slip over the dowels during the layup and you will need to cut the dowels off flush with the top of the core before the top layup is done.

It is a bit of a pain but if you are trying to do a cap type construction without a cassette it will work OK.

Tony

i wonder if the dowel method works with inserts?

littleKam wrote:i wonder if the dowel method works with inserts?

Yes it does (but I don't have any) A while ago I read an article by someone who was a semi pro board builder who used some or all of the inserts preglued to the base to position the core. I had cut my first cores so close to the base I could not use the nail system but now I position this way always so I don't have to worry about slippage.
Tony