Avg. cost per pair of skis?

[Richard Donovan]

This is my first post here and I am very excited about building skis,
I have many questions about the process and the costs, not to worry i will not ask all of them at once , I'll post in the proper topic sections
her is one that is on my mind,

What is the avg. cost per pair of skis? in general the cost after you are up and running?

Does anny one use thier skis with conventional boots and bindings, (read as non-tellie)?

I ski at a small hill in MN, any others building skis in the mid-west?

Thanks,
Richard

[Idris]

What is the avg. cost per pair of skis? in general the cost after you are up and running?

120-150 Euros a pair for materials

Does anny one use thier skis with conventional boots and bindings, (read as non-tellie)?

Yes I ski them with either Alpine or AT (Alpine touring) bindings.

[Bambi]

~$3500 for the first pair!

:-)

[Richard Donovan]

of that cost how much for just the skis?

I'm not sure I live in an area where I can spend alot of money building skis when my season is late november - march.

Richard

[Bambi]

Seriously if you look at the raw materials for a pair of skis they stack up to somewhere between $100 - $120.

Unfortunately given that you have to buy materials in whatever quantities you can find then you will spend a lot more unless you make a lot of skis.

I have spent close to $2000 on the misc equipment (starting from scratch - I moved to the US with no tools) so this includes everything from screwdrivers to air compressor.

I have then spent about $1500 on materials and figure I have enough to make about 20 pairs (less the wood).

Don't underestimate the cost of the 'odd tube of glue' or plastic sheeting and so forth that you get at the last minute from DIY stores. About 25%-30% of the total that I spent came from these little bits and pieces. I'm sure that a lot of people don't keep track of these bits and they all add up.

B.

[Mongo]

For raw ski materials, I tracked my expenses quite extensively and I built my first 5 pairs at a cost of $62.35/pair. Now this was also by buying overstock Base/Topsheet material from Durasurf, and hustling up discount material for Triax glass and West Systems Epoxy because I was testing them for college research courses. After figuring in all the equipment costs, and the fact that you will be spending money on improving the end product every time, it will get to be a fairly expensive endeavor. As for skiing in MN, where are you at? I grew up racing at Hyland Hills and peppering in Mt. Kato and Frontenac, Welch, Wild, Trollhaugen, Buck, and Powder Ridge. I love skiing in MN, and the looks you get when you show up with a pair of homemade superfats is priceless-Meaning well worth the monetary cost . --Geoff

[Greg]

The best I have done yet was about $30-$40. And, oddly enough, the edges were the most expensive part.

This was accomplished using Durasurf leftover material, fiberglass bought in bulk (I bought a 300' roll), and epoxy purchased at the QCM office near Seattle was "reasonably priced" (I am sure Kelvin and BigKam will agree with this). The core material (pine) was picked up from a "FREE" pile I saw one day when I was running.

And, all of my skis are mounted with standard alpine bindings. These can get expensive unless you scrounge around a bit. And, if you can find Demo bindings, you are really in luck because you can adjust them forward and backward to get just the right balance on the ski.

[hamradio]

Cool to see another person in mn! I'm out at powder ridge all the time.

[Bucky Mullet]

I remember figuring ~ $80 for materials / ski. Of course the initial investment is higher since you'll want to buy materials for multiple skis (it sucks to run out halfway through the build, trust me) and the equipment needed to press / profile / glue up. Vac presses are cheapest, check ebay for "rough pump(s)"