Thanks for all the tips. I guess I will make a template from CNC and then use a router as Mike suggested.

B.

Thanks for the offer - I am getting some saples from CDW this week, so I will probably wait for them and then just order some.

I will probably do the same as you have done and send them a template to bend to (do they charge much to bend them?).

B.

Can you tell us what the scale is on the y axis of your graph - I was assuming it is deflection, but what are the values?

Thanks,

B.

I have some cores ready for action and now I want to cut my base shape. I am aware that this process is really going to dictate the final shape of the ski (the cores will be trimmed after pressing). So how do people cut their base material to ensure an accurate representation of the shape that they ...

Do you get the sandblasted ones from CDW?

Also, do you send a pattern to CDW for the bend, or do they supply a generic one...?

B.

When I talked to the guy at (CDW?) about edges, he claimed that the bond between the steel edge and the fiberglass was the common starting point for most delamination. He advised that you should at least use a sandblasted edge in order to create some texture for the bond. He advised (of course!) tha...

I think that your expermental method is the way to go. Knowing the natural damping in each material and trying to do something theoretical will not be very accurate as there will be a lot of damping produced by the various bonds in teh system. The interesting challenge would be to try to work out ho...

If you have some skis that you like then try a point load test to see how much they deflect as a gross measure of stiffness. You can then use the flex predictor spreadsheet to work out a basic core profile that will match your ski deflection. You can then get more specific by deciding that you like ...

I would be happy to add an article and for you to post it - I'll put something together and then send it to you. Regarding frequency - I was interested in looking at this, along with trying to understand damping characteristics a bit more. The frequency thing should be possible from pure theory, but...

I used double sided tape to attache the ski to the wedge in the thickness planer.

Worked like a dream.

Narrow end first definitely - if you go thick end first then the planer is cutting diagonally 'up' through the grain which causes chunks to come off.

B.

Flex Spreadsheet can be found here:

http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=486

B.

P.S. sorry for the proliferation of links, but his subject seemed to come up again and again!

See link to spreadsheet of calcs here:

http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=486

B.

<I am no longer hosting this spreadsheet> PM me if you want a copy - if some kind soul could make it publicly available then that would be great - distribute it freely. To use it you can enter values in any of the yellow highlighted boxes. Key features are: Specify your ski dimms Specify your core p...

The flexibility of the ski should be dominated by the thickess of the ski as the stiffness will be proportional to the thickness to the power 3. This means that a core section that is 12.5mm thick will be twice as stiff as a 10mm section. Given the info above any designer has the ability to tailor t...

I want to router a groove for the core. It seems that I will need to make the groove a bit bigger to accomodate the fibreglass (not cut deeeper into the core, but taken further towards the centerline of the ski). How much 'slop' I should build in? I was guessing 2mm on both edges. Oh yeah and for th...