They both work fine. The method you go with depends upon what kind of equipment you have access to, and how fast you want to produce the final product. If you are building for yourself and have the access or money to buy the CNC, that would be a good way to go. But, if you don't have alot of money, ...

Carty, I've used fiberglass and clear plastic. They both work. Fiberglass can telegraph, so I would suggest looking for a clear plastic film that will bond with your resin system. Some types of film will allow you to paint graphics (in the reverse) on the backside, if you would like to sign your wor...

Just to throw another monkey into the works, If you try everything you can think of and still can't cure a delam problem, look at your materials.(a good practice is to keep a journal of what you are currently using on your current ski, which products and companies made them and how they came to you)...

Hi, I saw no answers on your post, so I thought I should chime in. I'm not buying at the moment, but most composites supply houses will have some type of pre-preg available. From experience I can say that it is nice to work with (cleaner than wet), but from a materials vantage point it can be a bene...

Gman, I've seen the results of VDS over time. I have never been very satisfied wtih the data I've seen. I think the safest thing I can say is if you see delamination and are not using, try using it. If you aren't using it and have no delamations, then don't use it. I ran a few production runs over 1...

Hi, I think G-Man has it right with starting to look at your expoxy first. Before that, just check that your parts area is clean and that nothing could have been contaminated. The final thing I'd check is parts placement or design, as it is always a pain to have to rethink templates. I don't know if...

zachjowi, if you buy your steel new and from a steel supplier they will price according to the marked. Buying from a retailer will contain its markup. In most metropolitan areas with a thriving steel market, new steel is around 58 cents per pound. Scrap is down around 30 cents per pound--prices can ...

matthew, You can always work with what you got though. One caveat about structrual steel. Not all shapes handle deflection on the same axis. Although it is true that an I-beam is the strongset shape for up and down deflection, it is not for side to side (relationship of mass to neutral axis). So goi...

Head Monkey,

Wow! Good job!

One thing you can try is building a jig for cutting the scale pattern. You might want to look at a pair of production skis that have the pattern you want. A few simple measurements should show you what you need to do. It is one of those problems that appears to be difficult but actually is simply a ...

mattman, I can appreciate the need to extend an investment. I have been involved in the same dilema, however we found a way to use the same casettes as we used in a vaccum press in a pnuematic one. Also, one can always look into a freer and more adaptable mold system. I've built some that were expan...

Thank you for the compliment G-man. I usually am sounded off as a windbag. I think sometimes I come across a little jadded about the snowsports industry. Geoff, I am building a pnuematic press using the track system, currently. I am also trying a new mold system. In the past I have build both pnuema...

By all means use it!!!! It will be a great opportunity for you to see how they work. If you have access to different epoxies, you might want to try to make several different pressings. Or, you can try pressing with different weights and amounts of one type of epoxy. If you take notes you can always ...

One thing that is often missed in cap construction is the effect of the top sheet. One should be able to build a good flexing ski without one--it just won't look pretty. But, it illustrates the point that the top sheet is usually only in builders minds as a means to cover or "pretty up" th...

Geoff, It depends upon the autoclave system. Some use vacuum to actually pull the resin through the object--but this requires a very good understanding of the medium(expoxy) used otherwise its a hit into the dark. To tell you the truth, most ski companies are not experts in this area--so they rely u...