You can buy 18" wide rolls of contact paper at any of the big box stores. I got some at homedepot and then cut it into 3x 6" wide rolls. I use it on top of the top-sheet and on bottom of the base (after putting edges on). Any resin that gets to the outside of the layup just peels off with ...

How long from the time you pressed them till you cut the flash? Any warm room post cure in that time? My bet on your tip delams would be resolved with some post cure heat. West slow hardener does need a good long time to fully cure. sam Sam, Each ski stayed in the press for 24 hours, then rested ou...

The little bit of delam you're experienced could be from a number of things. An epoxy with a longer pot life is probably a good idea. I imagine by the time the layup is done and the press is assembled, tighten and pressurized a fair bit of time has passed. The epoxy could start to kick-in by then. ...

Are you pressing both skis at once? If you are doing only one at a time why are you so keen on a cat track? Your bladder is heaps wider than a ski For the first pair I pressed one ski at a time - which gave me double the chances to improve my process. I will press both at once from now on, so cat-t...

Dream wrote:From another long time lurker...awesome job!
Is that St. Mary's?

First picture was first ever day on them, which was A-basin.

2nd and 3rd pictures were St. Mary's in early June.

Summary of Prototype: These skis were a blast to ride. Unfortunately that was almost entirely due to my pride in them. The truth is, they need a real core... They are pretty chattery (unsure of technical term). It will take the 2nd iteration to really judge if I can make a quality ski. On the plus ...

Now for the fun part: I never expected my first pair to be usable. I fully expected them to be tested a little and then turned into the worlds most expensive (in hours) set of shot-skis. I was so fortunate that my process worked well enough to warrant mounting these skis and getting some real testi...

Concept to Creation:

How did I do bringing my idea to life?

Concept:


Prototype:

Second Ski: I've tried to make note throughout this journal so far of any thing I learned from the first ski to do differently on the second. Don't cut excess edges off until attaching edges to base Spend more time during layup working out air bubbles. The assumption that these would be worked out ...

One Ski Down! The day after layup was like Christmas for me. I couldn't wait to open the press and see what was inside https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3939/15402601210_8ce5114322_z.jpg What a sweet feeling.... https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3936/15585547041_f627a3793b_z.jpg https://farm4.staticflick...

Layup: As I mentioned, I planned to layup one ski at a time for my first pair, to give me double the chances to improve my process. I got some extra hands to help out, and got started. A note about epoxy: I used West Systems 105/205. I considered using 206 for longer pot life, but was concerned abo...

Graphics: For graphics I used a full layer of rice paper in my layup. I used standard acrylic paint to create the graphics. https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3939/15565731226_c3521f4c1f_z.jpg I will touch on the results of this when I summarize the final product, but I will advise anyone reading this ...

Attaching Edges: My approach here is no different than anyone else's I've found. This section will be quick. Immediately after trimming the base material, I clamp the pre-bent edges on top of it - moving in small sections. I didn't want to allow any opportunity for the base material to deform at al...

Cutting the Base: I first let the base relax in the environment the layup would be completed in until it would lay flat. Then I roughly cut out the ski shape with a box cutter, leaving ~1/2" excess all the way around my template. This shape was left to relax again, the goal being to allow any ...

Edge Bending I set out to bend both edges at once with a washer setup I found on this forum: https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3952/15589073442_1a6f5aab37_z.jpg This seemed to work okay for long sweeping bends, but my desire was always to make full wrap edges and this tool didn't work well for the tig...