type of core

[ChillinVillain]

I need to know what type of core to use.
I was thinking of copying Kingswood for core stiffness (maybe a little flexier) but bamboo is tought to get.
What good materials would get a little stiffness in a ski that are cheapish and easy to find?
If you know where to find bamboo that would be good for cores of a ski, then it would be great if I could get the link.

Another question: What would be a good camber height for my ski that would allow enough pop for some BC air/newschoolin' but can still rip it in pow? I know some companies have come out with a reverse camber (K2 Pontoons? I don't know...), which is good for powder I hear, but I wouldn't mind taking some newschoolin' out into the BC too.

[collin]

As for bamboo, I was looking at the flooring planks from http://www.teragren.com/ .

They have vertically laminated ones http://www.teragren.com/tera_flooring/un_signature.asp . Davide has had good luck using high quality plywood for cores, so maybe these would work well as is for a core. I was thinking of ripping strips off for sidewalls. They give an impact strength ~75% higher than hard rock maple, if I'm reading it right.

Here's some specs [I think they're the right ones]:
http://www.teragren.com/tera_flooring/test_results.asp

The WA distributor for unfinished flooring...

Unfinished flooring sales only
HFD/Goodfellow
800.858.0858

[ChillinVillain]

As for bamboo, I was looking at the flooring planks from http://www.teragren.com/ .

They have vertically laminated ones http://www.teragren.com/tera_flooring/un_signature.asp . Davide has had good luck using high quality plywood for cores, so maybe these would work well as is for a core. I was thinking of ripping strips off for sidewalls. They give an impact strength ~75% higher than hard rock maple, if I'm reading it right.

Here's some specs [I think they're the right ones]:
http://www.teragren.com/tera_flooring/test_results.asp

The WA distributor for unfinished flooring...

Unfinished flooring sales only
HFD/Goodfellow
800.858.0858

Thanks, I'm probably going to buy some of those this summer.

[kelvin]

Maple and birch are readily available. Nice hard and stiff woods. (huh huh..I said hard and stiff woods )

Thanks for the bamboo links. Might have to try that someday.

-k

[Skierguy]

Has any one tried building a ski with a bamboo core? With the popularity of Kingswood skis, it looks like a great option. I have a call in to a few hardwood and bamboo suppliers for pricing but I was hoping there were others that could share their experiences of working with bamboo before a commitment was made to bamboo cores.

Thanks

Ben

[plywood]

well, the thing with the bamboo-core:
i have seen once a layup video from indigo snowboards. the also use a "bamboo woodcore"
this "bamboo-core" was built, like the other cores with poplar wood, vertically laminated and had 10 strings of i think 3mm thick bamboo in it...

[endre]

I think kingswood use solid bamboo. I have got some bamboo blanks- and they feel HEAVY! so I guess it's a smart move to put poplar in there.

[Skierguy]

The Kingswood use vertically laminated cores, however the thinnest vertically laminated blank that I can find is 3/4" thick or if my conversion is right ~19mm thick. That equals a lot of wasted material. It appears that this is not an inexpensive alternative to maple but may offer different performance.

[endre]

by solid bamboo, i ment vertically laminated
The bamboo I got is 12mm thick, so it's perfect for the use. Don,t know where it comes from though.

[PB]

I had the good fortune to be able to have a look round the Kingswood 'factory' while I was in NZ - very interesting, Alex is very friendly, offered me a free tour and answered a lot of my stupid questions. Hope he does well.