This whole idea to build our own skis was born while slogging in the skintrack this past spring, we thought that it would be feasible to make lighter skis that skied better than what was offered. A group of four of us all joked about it for a few months, saying things like 'I wish these were a little wider underfoot' or 'I wish they made a ski that had the tip of ski X, the turn radius of ski Y and the profile ski Z'. It started becoming a serious discussion and COOP Ski Works was born.
Between the four of us, we have a varied amount of experience with woodworking and composites ranging from zero to a tad more than zero. Just enough to be dangerous.
We started seriously talking about the idea one night and I mentioned that I had a friend in college that was pressing his own skis and how cool the whole process was. I called my buddy up and started picking his brain about how he built his press, what tools we needed and whether or not we were going to get in over our heads. My friend then proceeded to offer selling us his press with some other stuff we would need to get started since he had not been pressing skis in a handful of years. We met up halfway between Bozeman and Wenatchee and I traded off some cash for his prized press.
Here is where it all started
Here is a link to a build log from my friend we bought the press from. Thanks Josh!
http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1766
One of the guys in our group offered up some of his shop space, more specifically, a converted chicken coop on the backside of his garage. Thus COOP Ski Works. Between the four of us, we had most of the tools required to get rolling, but lacked a large bit a know-how. There was many late nights spent lurking through this forum for info. We all joked about having 'analysis paralysis'. What wood, what resin, how to align cores, core thickness, bending edges, what kind of composites, etc. It has been a super fun process learning about the intricacies of wood and wood working, learning to use new tools, and finding solutions to little problems that come up at most stages during the process. We all have different ideas and it's been a huge bonus having all four brains at work rather than rolling solo in this journey.
We are using a planer sled for our cores and vacuum molds for cutting out bases. We are currently limited to the profile that our sled is set up for, 2.5x10.5x2, for a 185 cm core. This part has been the toughest for us so far, hopefully we will have an adjustable sled before too long so we can customize core profiles for different length skis.
Eventually one of us had to pull the trigger and get going on it. I decided to take on the role of guinea pig.
Luckily we had all the required molds and jigs included with the purchase of the press to make a pair of skis. The mold is fully rockered and the shape is a 125mm underfoot powder ski. I decided it would be wise to use this and get a feel for all the other variables before proceeding with a new shape. We are pressing without heat, one ski at a time at 45 psi for 24 hours.
First Pair:
Tuk-Tuk 185
Base
19 oz. Triax FG
2 stringers of 12K carbon tow
Core: Poplar, Maple, Poplar (2.5x10.5x2.5), maple sidewalls, UMHW tip/tail spacers
19 oz. Triax FG
Topsheet: Coda
Laminating cores
Gluing edges
Ready to go in the press
Finished skis in the chicken coop
Being the industrious bastard he is, Mike decided he wanted to make his own mold for an all-mountian ski he had been dreaming of in his head. Based on the shape of his all time favorite ski, the Sickbird, he designed a ski with the camber and sidecut of the Sickbird, tip rocker of the Voile Vector, and tip shape of the Solomon Rocker2.
Workday Platform
Base
19 oz. FG
3 stringers, 12 k carbon tow
Core: cheap wood off the lumber rack (2x9x4), UMHW tip/tail spacers
19 oz. Triaxial FG
Topsheet: Coda
Cutting bases
laying up
In the press
Flashing
Sidewall Bevel
Finished product
Being the master of all things composites, Dave decided he wanted to use the mold that came with the press, but ran some calculations on using a different composite schedule. Named after one of the resident chickens in his coop, Beyonce was hatched.
Beyonce:
Base
17 oz. Biaxial FG
8.7 oz. uni FG
Core: Poplar, Maple, Poplar (3x11x3), maple sidewalls, FG tip/tail spacers
8.7 oz. uni FG
8.7 oz. uni FG
no topsheet.
Laying up
Both skis pressed and ready to flash
Jamie decided he wanted a slimmer version of the Voile V8, thus a new mold was born. He wanted to use spruce for his cores and since it was unavailable at the lumberyard he decided to mill his own from locally harvested trees. The Gulo is 185 cm, 125x95x105, with an early rise tip and 5mm camber underfoot. This was meant to be an everyday driver for our local area, which in reality doesn't get the amount of fresh we all dream of.
Gulo
Base
22 oz. Triax FG
Core: Spruce, maple, spruce (2x12x2), maple sidewalls, UMHW tip/tail spacer
22 oz. Triax FG
Clear Topsheet
Milling wood
Making molds
Planning cores
I decided I wanted to piggy back on Jamie's mold and build a pair of Gulos for myself. I wanted mine to be stiffer and reinforced the core with more maple underfoot, along with adding a full length strip of 6 oz. 2 inch CF tape.
Gulo Version 2
Base
19 oz. Triax FG
6 oz. X 2” CF tape
Core: Poplar, maple, poplar (2.5x10.5x2.5), maple reinforced underfoot, maple sidewalls, UMHW tip/tail specer
19 oz. Triax FG
Coda topsheet
Core with rabbit
Layup
Finished skis
Jamie and I with our Gulos
Mike wanted to make a stiffer version of his first ski. He added CF into his composite schedule in the form of 2” 6oz. CF tape and a sheet of aluminum under the topsheet (I don't remember the thickness of this). This was our first attempt at UMHW sidewalls and we encountered some issues familiar to most when planning the cores. I never got to flex these skis, but according to Mike, they came out as stiff as a 2x4 and didn't ski that well. The aluminum eventually delamed and the skis softened up immensely after it was peeled. He has been ripping around on these sans aluminum and loving them!
Workday Platform Version 2
Base
19oz. Triax FG
Core: Poplar, spruce, maple (3x11x4), UMHW tip/tail spacers
19oz. Triax FG
Aluminum
Coda topsheet
Gluing sidewalls
Another pair of Gulos for one of Mike's relatives
This hobby has been a wallet emptying experience, but we are having so much fun and there is nothing more gratifying than dreaming up a design, turning that into a ski, and then having it perform on snow. We are getting shunned by friends because all we talk about is ski building and ski design when we are around each other. Every ski we make is getting better than the last. There have been plenty of struggles and mistakes made, some critical and some not, but it's all part of the process. We still have a lot to learn and are developing a more streamlined system with each build. We all owe a huge thank you to everyone in this crowd.
Sorry for the lack of pics showing our process...I was trying to document everything really good, but the camera definitely didn't get used enough.
