So here goes...
Long time lurker, I must have read close to every thread on this site and I still have questions about this whole process. I understand that this is a huge learning process, but I think I have put myself on the right path by absorbing all the info of this site that I could. That being said, I would like to thank all the pioneers that came before me to help show me the light and keep my project on the right track.
Lets first start off with what I ride and hope to build. I have been a long time snowboarder. In the past 5 years I have made the switch to alpine snowboarding and that led me into Skwals. They range from a Thias Easy Jungle 165cm, 8m sidecut, 12cm waist; to a Virus Executor 203cm, 15.3cm waist, ~40mm of camber! Truly a beast of a board. The second board in from the right is a board that I designed myself that Virus built for me. Here is a pic...
So now that you know what I ride, you can probably guess what I am aiming to build. I am going to be sticking to the long and the narrow stuff, strictly alpine and Skwal type shapes. I aim to build a few POW specific shapes, but designed for the hardboot snowboarder that prefers to run the higher directional angles.
All that said, lets get on with the good stuff! The press!
This has truly been a labor of love. Lots of hours of work have gone into already, and its going to need a lot more before I turn out my first board. Here are some pics...
Scrap I-Beams laying around the industrial building we own, lets put them to work!
Sitting on top of a stand I made from an old industrial storage rack.
Fresh paint!
All assembled. Rough dimensions of press interior are 12" x 90"!
Basic shop setup.
Fire hose and cat track. I am not sure if I made a mistake by going with a 1" x 1" for my track, I have since found out most people run 3/4" x 3/4". I also need some more track to fill out the cavity length. Did I make a big mistake going with the 1" x 1"? I also leveled out the inside of my press cavity with leveling cement.
I bought used hose off Ebay, 4.5in layflat hose. Pressure test @ ~20psi.
This is what you get when you buy USED stuff...F*$K!
Brand new hose this time...I have to fix my bladder connections, very small air leak...
Right now I am debating about heat blankets. I
just(as I type) got my quote back from MEI and it looks like the blankets are going to be like $335 EACH! Ouch, I didn't expect that. I am really debating about doing my first batch of boards on a cold set press, but checking the entropy site and it looks like their room temp resin takes 7 days to cure! Compared to 30min with heat there is really no comparison...
Its also time to start making my first core. I have been debating about the right method. I have some poplar, aspen, and oak boards I plan on vertical laminating in 20mm strips. I'd also like to try the 333 Skiis method of using Baltic/Birch plywood for the core. Anyone try this method yet?
As far as planing, the planer crib method looks really nice, so does the bridge...hmmmmm. Does anyone have suggestions for the core profile? I have nightmares about making my first board way too soft or way too stiff. My first board will be all glass, then I will move into the carbon fiber arena, and hopefully titanal after that.
Time to start thinking about ordering board materials too. If anyone has any surplus they are looking to liquidate please let me know ASAP! I plan on calling all the suppliers tomorrow...
So thats it in a nutshell for now. I'll try my best to keep this up to date. Any suggestions will be a great help to me. I need some encouragement to get this thing moving! I desperately want to be riding my own boards by the time winter comes. Thanks in advance!