Some doubts, help me please!!!

[chaka]

Hi guys, I hope you help me! . I´ve been around this lovely web and forum for a long time.
I broke my shoulder on April... so ski building is going to help me thru a long summer without mountain biking. Now that a friend of mine who is a real pro cabinet maker (and a ski freak too) has offered me his help and his real pro workshop I have no excuses to start.
Our press is almost done and I have found all the materials here in europe (I´m spanish) but I have a lot of doubts, more and more as the project goes on.
I´d like you to comment some of my ideas. There are some things that i´m not sure after having read almost every topic in the forum

I´m going to build four pairs . Vertical laminated wood core... Poplar, ash, birch, and some stiffer tropical wood like mahogany or whatever....
Two of the pairs with wooden topsheet, and two with clear p tex top.

Here goes my first question. Those of you who use wooden topsheets... what kind of glaze do you use? when do you use it? (before or after liying up, trimming?).

Two of the pairs i´m planning to build are going to be freeride/tour skis and they are going to share the bindings (naxo nx 21) so this two pairs will have inserts so core alignement has to be perfect. Is it so difficult to align the core? In guess that the pairs with the inserts will be the last to be built so I can see it by myself, but is it so difficult?

Any suggetion about how to cut the base?

My last question is about the graphics. One of the options, like many of you do... is to use some kind of fabric and rice paper for the logos (under clear topsheet)... the other using a normal paper with the graphis printed on it (under clear topsheet too), What do you think?

Thanks for your help.
Greetings from spain, happy riding!!!!

[Alex]

I've used a Bamboo veneer as topsheet and simply painted it with a 1K PU varnish after pressing/trimming. The coating is not very strong - get's scratched quite easily. I would recomend to go for a thin layer of transparent glass together with a UV resistant, polishable epoxy or a 2K PU coating.

If you have doubts about the proper alignment with inserts you may put them in after finishing the Ski (using Rampa inserts):

http://www.rampashop.com/cgi-bin/rampae ... ?shid=1100

I used the for two pairs of Skis now and they work extremely well!

[chaka]

Wich one of the rampa inserts do you recommen d mefor the naxos?
good idea this inserts, thanks for your help.

[Alex]

I used Type C 7mm long for mounting.