So expensive!

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doughboyshredder
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:37 pm

So expensive!

Post by doughboyshredder »

Everything costs money. I swear each time I go to home depot I am dropping at least a few hundred. Bolts aren't that pricey, until you have to buy a couple hundred of them. 3.00 brackets, ahhh, no big deal, until you buy 60 of them.

Break even point has to be somewhere around 50 boards for the whole investment.

ahhh, but just wait until you guys see my fully adjustable reverse router bridge core profiler and fully adjustable base and core template mount thingamajig. So stoked. Hope they work.
twizzstyle
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:25 pm
Location: Kenmore, Wa USA

Post by twizzstyle »

Ha, sounds like you've been doing some good tool building, can't wait to see what you've done.

As a general rule of thumb, home depot visits are usually around $100, Harbor Freight visits are usually around $60. If you go in to buy $5 worth of plastic chinese tools, gaurunteed you'll come out $60 poorer, and four plastic bags FULL of crap you didn't need.
Idris
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Location: Chamonix, France
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Post by Idris »

Try living in France, I've built skis in the USA, here hardware store costs are 3-5 times on big ticket Items and 5-20 times on small ticket stuff.

And a ski bum here makes 'Smiek' which is minimum wage for the standard working week that after social deductions but pre tax is 1048 Euro's a month!
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Greg
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Location: Sweden but home is NW Washington

Post by Greg »

I figured when I built with a bladder press that my break even was around 6 pairs if they are $500 per pair. It is all in the value you put on your skis :D
Want skis Better, Cheaper, Faster and much much Cooler... build your own.
doughboyshredder
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:37 pm

Post by doughboyshredder »

Another trip to home depot and another 200 dollars.

All told I figure I have around 7500 in to parts and tools, maybe more. At a decent profit per board covering costs of my boards and prototypes as well as expendables I figure about 40 boards have to be sold to cover the cost of building all of the tooling and the material for the other 20 or so personal and prototype boards.

Another new tool / jig designed at home depot tonight. My boards are 32cm wide at the tip, so clamps were going to cost me too much to think about for gluing the sidewalls to the core. Instead I bought the material to build a double nutted screw system for pressing the sidewalls on to the core.
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falls
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Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

I hear you on the costs!
I managed to spend $60 today on threaded rod, nuts, bolts and airline fittings and hose. $60 seems a minium whenever I buy anything!
Hopefully getting a Hitachi router from my family for a birthday gift which will be a nice free change!
sammer
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Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:37 pm
Location: Fernie B.C.
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Post by sammer »

Try being Canadian.
just ordered some kevlar pulp and carbon tow from fibreglast
was $25 (American) freight was $35 it will end up being about $100 cdn
after taxes and the difference in the dollar.
Not sure it's worth it.
I guess I'll find out when it gets here in 2 or 3 weeks :?

sam
You don't even have a legit signature, nothing to reveal who you are and what you do...

Best of luck to you. (uneva)
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Head Monkey
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Post by Head Monkey »

Since 2002, for materials, equipment (including press, CNC, various wood working tools to make cores myself, etc.), shop supplies, and tools, I’m in for $42,791.23. That doesn’t include legal and accounting fees and the like, insurance, utilities, etc. or any pay for me.

Seems like an awful lot when looking at the total, but per year it’s only been $6,113.03, which sounds a lot better.

I won’t tell you how much I’ve made over that time period, except to say that its far less than $40k. Lots of my friends have had multiple nice cars over the same time frame, so I figure I’m ahead of them :)
Everything I know about snowboard building, almost: MonkeyWiki, a guide to snowboard construction
Free open source ski and snowboard CADCAM: MonkeyCAM, snoCAD-X
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falls
Posts: 1458
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:04 pm
Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

i think you win!
Shipping to Australia is pretty bad too. At least there isn't import tax on ski materials or ski gear here unless its over $1000 at a time.
ben_mtl
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Post by ben_mtl »

sammer wrote:Try being Canadian.
just ordered some kevlar pulp and carbon tow from fibreglast
was $25 (American) freight was $35 it will end up being about $100 cdn
after taxes and the difference in the dollar.
Not sure it's worth it.
I guess I'll find out when it gets here in 2 or 3 weeks :?

sam
Sam, you should try to get an address in the US, Fernie is not that far from the boarder and there might be some "freight" companies there where you could have your things shipped (from the US). Actually that's what I found here (http://www.freeportforwarding.com/) I just have my things shipped there at my name when ordered from the US, they charge 3$/package at delivery. I found lots of places with free shipping in the US so it saves the super expensive UPS shipping/brokerage fees which is worth it. You'll still have to pay the taxes at the border though, except if it's under 100$ (or if you don't declare... but that's risky)
A bad day skiing is always better than a good one at work...
sammer
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Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:37 pm
Location: Fernie B.C.
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Post by sammer »

Ben, I took your advise and got an address in Eureka Montana.
probably an hour away from here. Should save me a bundle.
Now to find some money for materials. :?

thanks

sam
You don't even have a legit signature, nothing to reveal who you are and what you do...

Best of luck to you. (uneva)
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