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Laying Graphics

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:19 am
by Dr. Delam
I sometimes struggled to get the graphics laid down perfectly centered during layup. Once they even touch down a bit, it's a big sticky mess and tough to reposition.

I remembered putting veneers on doors once and I used dowels to get the veneer positioned before dropping it down on the door. The same technique worked perfectly tonight during layup. I had some old all thread that I used for dowels and put a bunch down to keep the graphic off the ski until it was perfectly centered. I should have remembered this technique years ago.

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:04 pm
by skimann20
This really is a great idea. I've done the same technique with counter-tops. when I watch the ski building videos of the big companies they just trow them down and it doesn't seem like they line anything up. even center line. I'm always amazed.

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 2:07 pm
by prospectsnow
At this point I've pressed better than a thousand boards myself. Kind of weird, but the graphic has started to fall into position. I'd imagine people that do it as a factory job get pretty good.
To me it is all about "registration" to automatically line up and I'm pretty sure your idea does that to some effect.

We've used etched lines in our cassettes with registration marks on our graphic template to mark the middle. Then we tug and pull the graphic into position. Even still it is tough because 1mm is noticeable if I'm trying to center a graphic or line it up along edge (I avoid both in all graphics.)

Thinking on dowels a bit more if I am seeing your idea right, I think Mervin uses something like a dowel to line up their base and core/tip fill