A first pair...

[danishstock]

After a year of research and contemplation, and a few months of building equipment, etc., my friend and I each have a new pair of skis. This thread is about the pair for me. I will post about Kevin's skis at a later time.

I wanted a wide, light, turny ski that would float in the fluff but also would make short, carved turns on soft, groomed trails. I am getting into the back country more and more, so a light weight was also needed. I am 158 lb., 5'-10", expert alpine (passed PSIA Level 3 skiing exam twice, but that's another story) and advanced tele (3rd season). At 39 years old, I can be aggressive, but am trying to adopt a stye that will allow me to ski until I'm 80. So I'm not huckin' 30 footers, but I am turning down White Heat at Sunday River and The Chute at Tuckerman Ravine.

Anyway, here are the particulars:
Length: 165 cm
Widths: 140-87-122 (waist is about 3 inches behind RLC)
Turning Radius: 12 m (I think)
Layers: Durasurf 4001, 22 oz triaxial glass/MAS epoxy, vertically laminated core of poplar and African Mahogany, 4 oz biaxial glass/MAS epoxy (cap construction, 4 oz glass wrapped over wood sidewall nicely) (no topsheet)
Camber: 14mm
Core Thickness: 2mm-12mm-2mm
Press Method: unheated Vacuum bag, 24 hours, 12-22 in HG (the control needs refinement to hold a narrower range)
Bindings: Voile Hardwires (mounted ball of foot over RLC)
Weight: 4.0 pounds each, including binding

Pics and more details available at http://picasaweb.google.com/danishstock ... derCarvers

I skied them this past week at Sugarloaf on groomed packed powder and in 10" of moderately heavy powder. After the shock wore off they they actually worked and did not self destruct, I put them through their paces.

On the groomers they turn really tight, which is just what I was looking for. Because they are so soft, I don't get huge rebound, but I didn't expect to. I was able to lay down 2 skinny lines, turn after turn, with no washout on entry or exit. The more I laid them over, the tighter they arced. Very cool.

In the powder, the float was as expected from a 140 mm shovel - terrific. Admittedly, I've got no experience with rockers or even other fat skis, but these were the easiest turning of any I've ever hung off my boots. I thought the light weight might be a problem in the crud, but I didn't notice. Winding through the trees was solid as well, probably because of the float.

Anyway, I'm thinking this must read like a personal horn blowing blah blah blah. My apologies. I'm just shocked and thrilled that these things look decent and ski well. Now if I could only figure out how to get pictures into a post with this Mac...

Thanks to Kelvin and company and all of you for the collective wisdom and experience so freely shared on this site, without which I would have never known making high performance skis at home was possible.

Now I'm going skiing...
Eric

[G-man]

After the shock wore off they they actually worked and did not self destruct, I put them through their paces.

Isn't that just the greatest feeling!

Most excellent job there, Eric. That side-cut looks like a ton of fun, for sure. And skis are very beautiful.

G-man

[plywood]

nice ones! glad to hear this works for you.

your sidecut is pretty radical though they say that a tight radius on a ski is bad for skiing powder because the wide tip makes the ski somehow instable. any thoughts about this? have you experienced such a thing? or maybe your massive pintail design helps stabilize the skis...

edit: just happened to see the other skis you built. beautiful sticks, especially the ones with mahogany risers. and awesome vacuum pump!

[danishstock]

G-man, Thanks. I really wanted a topside that would let the wood show through. The 22 oz glass on my friend's skis topside showed quite a bit of fibers. I can only guess that so many strands are just harder to completely wet out.

your sidecut is pretty radical though they say that a tight radius on a ski is bad for skiing powder because the wide tip makes the ski somehow instable. any thoughts about this? have you experienced such a thing? or maybe your massive pintail design helps stabilize the skis...

edit: just happened to see the other skis you built. beautiful sticks, especially the ones with mahogany risers. and awesome vacuum pump!

Thanks Plywood,
Yeah, I was worried that the sidecut would be a problem in deep snow. The way I understand it, the tip and tail would float in deep snow while the center, with one's feet, would sink lower in the snow. That could set up some weird dynamics. I was only in 10-12" of rather dense powder (New England typical) and did not notice any weirdness. I found quite the opposite. Up until my quads gave up (tele is tough on mine) turn shape was steady and reliable.

As for the vac system, there has been much discussion on this forum with most folks saying they get 12-15 in Hg and little more. I don't know why, but this little dehumidifier compressor went to 25 in Hg with no problem. in fact the first run sucked in the sides of the mold so hard the outermost MDF board cracked around the screw holding it in place!

Anyway, I am bitten by the ski building bug and am cursed to a future of endless possibilities...

Eric

[G-man]

I am bitten by the ski building bug and am cursed to a future of endless possibilities...

It looks and sounds like you're quite to the task.

G-man

[alexisg1]

Very nice work !
I like the wooden llok and I'll probably go in this direction in the future.

Congrats !

[Enduro_Skiin]

Natural and nude. They really look nice.

...they say that a tight radius on a ski is bad for skiing powder because the wide tip makes the ski somehow instable...

Through my travels I've gotten to see a few pair of Zag skis and they see benifit in a simular shape.

Congrats.