Hand Profiling and HELLPPP!!
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Hand Profiling and HELLPPP!!
Ive never made a pair of skis before but just ordered all the necessary materials online. Some steps of the process I wont be able to complete as necesarry. Hand profiling for example, I will most likely have to grate the wood down by hand. Anyone have any suggestions on that? also, i dont know where to start. I need to still make a mold, should I make the bottom part first? Also, anyone have any good websites that will give me some good dimensions for skis?
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knightsofnii
- Posts: 1148
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:02 am
- Location: NJ USA
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the two methods for "hand profiling" that are most common are the router bridge method, and the planer profile method.
for each you have to build an apparatus to do it.
planer method requires less work but consider spending 300 to 500 dollars if you want a good planer that will cut your wood and sidewall at same time without eating it and making it look like swiss cheese.
router bridge is less $ just cost of router and whatever you build the jigs with, but requires more skills i believe. either way there's a learning curve.
i would practice on plywood or something.
I'm about to put myself through "surfboard shaping school" here in NJ.
after that I MIGHT try to apply those techinques to shape down a woodcore by hand, using hand planers, sanders, etc. it's probably a bit excessive and wont be any better than a bridge or planer, but if it works it could be neat to say i actually hand built the damn thing.
for each you have to build an apparatus to do it.
planer method requires less work but consider spending 300 to 500 dollars if you want a good planer that will cut your wood and sidewall at same time without eating it and making it look like swiss cheese.
router bridge is less $ just cost of router and whatever you build the jigs with, but requires more skills i believe. either way there's a learning curve.
i would practice on plywood or something.
I'm about to put myself through "surfboard shaping school" here in NJ.
after that I MIGHT try to apply those techinques to shape down a woodcore by hand, using hand planers, sanders, etc. it's probably a bit excessive and wont be any better than a bridge or planer, but if it works it could be neat to say i actually hand built the damn thing.
Doug
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danishstock
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 4:13 pm
CTrider,
I have made cores by all three methods: router and bridge; planer and bed; and the old school hand plane. Both power tool methods scared the crap out of me and ruined at least one core each. The router method is prone to having wood chips work their way under the core lifting it off the base. I broke through near the tip and shot splinters all over the place. Using the planer, the variations in the grain of the individual strips of the core ensures that some of them will tear out. Near the tip and tail this is slightly bad because thin wood is prone to vibration from tear out. The vibrations basically make the thin core bounce wildly into the cutters causing disaster and foul language.
But I digress. You are actually fortunate in that you are unencumbered with expensive, electricity hogging, high carbon footprint power tools. You have a real opportunity to ski on new skis with lower environmental impact that the rest of us. (More digression)
If you're up for an arm workout, you certainly can profile with a good hand plane that is tuned properly with razor sharp blade. If you have no experience with a finely tuned plane, find someone who can show you. There are woodworking clubs and guilds all over the country full of baby boomers who would love to show you how a fine plane can glide easily while it peels smooth curls of wood from your core. If you are lucky, one of those folks may even have a well used plane that you could buy (don't ask if you can borrow one, because you both will feel terrible when you nick the blade.
As for what plane to use, for stripping a lot of material fast... size matters. I use a Stanely No. 8, which is huge (almost 3" wide by 22" long). The only reason I have it is because I found it at an antique shop at a stupidly low price. A more realistic size is a Stanley No. 5. Find a used one, the new ones aren't worth it even if they are cheaper. A candle or stick of bees wax is essential to rub on the plane sole. It helps the plane glide over the wood. (Easy everybody... the epoxy will still bond to the wood.) You will want to wipe the cores with a paint thinner and a clean cloth to make sure any slight wax residue is removed.
Anyway, thanks for listening to this teacher with summertime on his hands. Good luck with the project. And don't get bummed out when it takes you twice as long as you planned to get your first skis done. We all lived through that also.
Cheers,
Eric
I have made cores by all three methods: router and bridge; planer and bed; and the old school hand plane. Both power tool methods scared the crap out of me and ruined at least one core each. The router method is prone to having wood chips work their way under the core lifting it off the base. I broke through near the tip and shot splinters all over the place. Using the planer, the variations in the grain of the individual strips of the core ensures that some of them will tear out. Near the tip and tail this is slightly bad because thin wood is prone to vibration from tear out. The vibrations basically make the thin core bounce wildly into the cutters causing disaster and foul language.
But I digress. You are actually fortunate in that you are unencumbered with expensive, electricity hogging, high carbon footprint power tools. You have a real opportunity to ski on new skis with lower environmental impact that the rest of us. (More digression)
If you're up for an arm workout, you certainly can profile with a good hand plane that is tuned properly with razor sharp blade. If you have no experience with a finely tuned plane, find someone who can show you. There are woodworking clubs and guilds all over the country full of baby boomers who would love to show you how a fine plane can glide easily while it peels smooth curls of wood from your core. If you are lucky, one of those folks may even have a well used plane that you could buy (don't ask if you can borrow one, because you both will feel terrible when you nick the blade.
As for what plane to use, for stripping a lot of material fast... size matters. I use a Stanely No. 8, which is huge (almost 3" wide by 22" long). The only reason I have it is because I found it at an antique shop at a stupidly low price. A more realistic size is a Stanley No. 5. Find a used one, the new ones aren't worth it even if they are cheaper. A candle or stick of bees wax is essential to rub on the plane sole. It helps the plane glide over the wood. (Easy everybody... the epoxy will still bond to the wood.) You will want to wipe the cores with a paint thinner and a clean cloth to make sure any slight wax residue is removed.
Anyway, thanks for listening to this teacher with summertime on his hands. Good luck with the project. And don't get bummed out when it takes you twice as long as you planned to get your first skis done. We all lived through that also.
Cheers,
Eric
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knightsofnii
- Posts: 1148
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:02 am
- Location: NJ USA
- Contact:
eric thanks for the help. I am actually creating my ski's out of sustainibly harvested woods and am very interested in reducing the environmental impact in the ski industry. It is important that we can understand how much the ski industry effects the environment because we use the earths resources for our pleasure. Again, thanks for the advice.