Ski Builders Forum

I have made a 4-5 planer jigs in the last few years. They work just fine but they never last. They have been made with plywood, mfd, and maple and each one ends up getting bowed in the middle. Has anyone made one that works for a long time ?

Mine seems to last. How many cores are you making?

Does it matter if they bow? As long as the thickness is staying the same, you'll get the same core profile (assuming its now bowed so much the planer can't push it flat)

yeah mine is a bit bowed lengthwise but the planer pushes it flat and the cors come out OK. It's not bowed side to side - that would mess up your core thickness

Yeah I guess it would have been fine. Ended up making a new one yesterday with teak for the base with a mdf top. I dont see the teak bowing any time soon.

Hello guys, I am kind of having the same concerns about jigs. We got our new planner a few months ago, a really powerfull machine (check it out: http://www.casadasserras.com.br/plaina- ... dgr-4-tr/p), but still trying to figure out the best way to work with it.
I'm sorry I can't help with the post topic, but can you give me any tips on how you do it, problems, or any kind of information will be welcome. I've been searching the forum for posts regarding this subject, but didn't get lucky... any clues?

Thanks in advance!

Agustin wrote:Hello guys, I am kind of having the same concerns about jigs. We got our new planner a few months ago, a really powerfull machine (check it out: http://www.casadasserras.com.br/plaina- ... dgr-4-tr/p), but still trying to figure out the best way to work with it.
I'm sorry I can't help with the post topic, but can you give me any tips on how you do it, problems, or any kind of information will be welcome. I've been searching the forum for posts regarding this subject, but didn't get lucky... any clues?

Thanks in advance!

Some tips I think work, at least for me they do.

spacers the front and back spacers should equal the desired midfoot thickness. On both I have spacers that are 12 mm. For the middle of the jig for the low point I have a spacer that is 2mm thick and that ends up being the thickness of the tips and tails. The rest of the spacers just descend down from 10 mm to about 4 mm evenly spaced. I used hot glue to hold them and finishing nails to lock them in to place.

No grip tape on the top of the jig to hold the core in place. Tired it and it didnt work to well. Just a little line of hot glue on the front and back of the cores holds them down really well. Also leave some access on the core tips and tails just in case of snipe.

And last and I think kind of important can air to blow out all the wood chips that go under the core.

I got so tired off lugging my heavy jigs from one side of my planer to the other that I tried a new simpler approach.
I saw single board jigs being used in a ski factory or ski building video somewhere and was inspired to reverse engineer them.

I bought a standard 8' 1"x10" pine board with few knots.
On the reverse I tacked a profiled core that I wanted more of and ran the entire thing through the thickness planer core side down.
After a number of passes and taking off the tacked on cores I ended up with a light weight non- adjustable planer jig made from one 1"x10"

As long as my core blanks are adequately long I don't experience much snipe.

jono wrote:I got so tired off lugging my heavy jigs from one side of my planer to the other that I tried a new simpler approach.
I saw single board jigs being used in a ski factory or ski building video somewhere and was inspired to reverse engineer them.

I bought a standard 8' 1"x10" pine board with few knots.
On the reverse I tacked a profiled core that I wanted more of and ran the entire thing through the thickness planer core side down.
After a number of passes and taking off the tacked on cores I ended up with a light weight non- adjustable planer jig made from one 1"x10"

As long as my core blanks are adequately long I don't experience much snipe.

Great idea, do you have the links to the videos ?

Here's an adjustable crib I made and have been using for awhile now. I can send updated detailed pics. After adjusting the crib to the correct position I lay another 3mm hardboard over the top to ensure a smooth finish, although not necessary. I use grip tape to hold the 3mm top and cores in place. Also as mentioned here, I use an air compressor to blow out the chips that can gather underneath the wood cores.

Another tip... When I get down to the final few passes through the planer I send in 1 core at a time and take shallow passes. I can get down to 1.5mm with little to no tear out.


http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewt ... laner+crib