Ski Builders Forum

has anyone out there used spruce as a core with any success?

yes, K2 has used it in some form; since their beginning---however clear spruce species such as Sitka spruce are generally very expensive--probably since it's used in the Aviation world for things such wing spars and the like

I don't know about US, but in europe spruce is the cheapest wood around, still a pretty good option. I know several manufacturers using spruce, even unlaminated whole wood cores, mostly because of the price.

I'm going to order some up and possibly laminated it with basswood.
It's expensive here, but will probably make for a strong and thin core.

Take care - spruce is quite brittle - not suitable for sidewalls!

I just took it because it's cheap and easy available.

Thanks for the warning. I was thinking of routing a well in the unprofiled core and filling it with a flexible epoxy and mix of pheholic microballoons and microfibers to create sidewalls and tip spacers. Hopefully that won't create i'ts own problems.

This is the way i repaired the sidewall after damages - but it not very strong. I would recommend to use a different wood (like Ash) for the sidewalls.