Leaf Skis
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Leaf Skis
First of all I would like to thank skibuilders.com and this forum for all the infos and help without which I would have never been able to make a pair of skis.
This adventure started this summer on the italian alps just under Mont Blanc discussing with some friends in front of a bottle of good Barbera red wine about the possibility of making a pair of freeride skis.
Yesterday we finished the first pair and we where really pleased with the result.
Leaf Skis Mk1 is a powder ski lenght 190 150-125-140 40 meters radius reverse camber.
Here are some pictures and links to Youtube videos with all the steps we went through.
Base cutting out on cnc
Core cutting out and shaping on cnc.
First we started with birch plywood but we ended up a little bit too soft to we changed for a bamboo core 10mm thick
For the edges bending we made a couple of tools
Edges gluing on base sheet with super glue
Laying up
Bagging and pressing
For the first pair we used a vacuum press but for the future we would like to build a pneumatic press
For shaping the camber we used a system similar to 333 one and it worked really well
Out of the press
Cutting out excess material
Sanding the veneer and grooving
Finishing with sealer/base/high resistence pu finish 10 gloss with uv absorber additive
Drying
The final product
LEAF SKIS Mk1
Leaf skis vs Volkl Kuro
This adventure started this summer on the italian alps just under Mont Blanc discussing with some friends in front of a bottle of good Barbera red wine about the possibility of making a pair of freeride skis.
Yesterday we finished the first pair and we where really pleased with the result.
Leaf Skis Mk1 is a powder ski lenght 190 150-125-140 40 meters radius reverse camber.
Here are some pictures and links to Youtube videos with all the steps we went through.
Base cutting out on cnc
Core cutting out and shaping on cnc.
First we started with birch plywood but we ended up a little bit too soft to we changed for a bamboo core 10mm thick
For the edges bending we made a couple of tools
Edges gluing on base sheet with super glue
Laying up
Bagging and pressing
For the first pair we used a vacuum press but for the future we would like to build a pneumatic press
For shaping the camber we used a system similar to 333 one and it worked really well
Out of the press
Cutting out excess material
Sanding the veneer and grooving
Finishing with sealer/base/high resistence pu finish 10 gloss with uv absorber additive
Drying
The final product
LEAF SKIS Mk1
Leaf skis vs Volkl Kuro
Actually you are right.rockaukum wrote:Skis look like they turned out great.
I have a question on the graphics. It looks like you added them after the pressing. And then there is the pic where you are spraying the PU yet no graphics yet. How did you apply them?
Again, skis look great.
ra
For this first pair I placed some pre-spaced stickers after spraying the base and after that I sprayed the PU finish in order to protect the stickers.
For the future I would like to improve the process.
The idea is to cut out the graphics in the venner using laser and then put inserts made with a thin layer of aluminium supported with paper or TNT (tissue-not-tissue).
In the area where I live there are different veneer suppliers that can do the job.
The skis look great but I hope they will ride great as well
The solution is much easier and more environmental friendly.Steevner wrote:I LOVE the look of the veneer topsheets. What kind of wood is it? It reminds me of a wood called ebony black and white.
Don't think you can get ^ that stuff in veneer form tho. If only...
I used multilaminar wood veneer.
In my case is a poplar veneer, stained in dark brown and white, re-pressed together and then sliced again.
Here's the link to the company that makes this sort of material:
http://www.alpi.it/uk/ListaProdotti.asp?IDSC=14
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For bending tip and tail of the aluminium plates I used an old metal plate bender.thomasberg wrote:How did you go about making those nifty molds? I need something that thin so that I can just pop it into my vacuum bag. I can't figure out how you managed such precise bends on an aluminum? sheet. I searched the forum for another mention of this type of mold but had no luck.
It is made of 3 drums and an handle and according to the distance of the 3 drums you obtain different radius.
The aluminium is inside the vacuum bag and for the final camber setting I placed a piece of wood od 5 cm under the tip and 3cm for the tail while at the center I pushed the plates to the table using the "squeezer" you can see in the pictures (sorry I don't know how translate)
Thanks Davide you are right, the steel edges producer I contacted in Austria can give both the sanding and bending services.davide wrote:At the first look, I tought the topsheet was made with carbon fiber yarns...
You may buy pre-bent, sanded edges if you want to build many pairs, you will save a lot of time.
At this stage I prefer the non bended ones because we are trying different side cut.
For example yesterday we came out with a new ski slimmer than Mk1.
We even tested a new press mould (still using vacuum) with better performance but that is still very fast to set up.
WE cut out with a CNC a base mould and a top one from the same sheet of 25mm mdf.
The aluminium plate with the plastic bag remains between the two moulds that are squeezed together.
Here are a couple of picture to explain.
And here it is the final result:
130-105-120 35 meters radius 1900mm lenght
Very small regular camber + rocker for the first 70cm