Ski Builders Forum

I'm just curious why people prefer wood or p-tex sidewalls. I started buying a 1x6 at 6' of hardwood to rip into sidewalls because it seems cheaper, but I don't know if it will screw me in the long run. I have pressed one ski with wood sidewalls so far and it has held up a season so far.

I used UHMW-PE strips for sidewalls back in my early days of ski building. Maybe I didn’t prep it well enough but I always had some delams above the ski edges on the tails. After switching to Ipe hardwood for sidewalls I’ve not experienced delaminations of any kind. I’ve used other species of wood too; Jatoba, Massaranduba, and Tigerwood. Some of my skis have well over 70 days use and the sidewalls look great.
I think exotic hardwood sidewalls add to the flexural properties of the ski core and look amazing. Plastic is just dead weight in my opinion. Perhaps ABS would be better than UHMW, but I’m not inclined to experiment now.
Most of the time I leave the wood bare with no issues. Sometimes I soak it with Watco Danish Oil finish to give it a darker look.
Cheers,
-S

My reasons are the same Shifs. Never have bonding issues or delams. I like the looks also. Minor maintenance.

when started I bought some uhmw sidewall. To minimize risk of delamination process. I decided to use wood..... uhmw still sitting in the corner unopened

one of my skis with IPE sidewall got over 100 days in two seasons without any problems for maintenance

I've built 60 pair with uhmw. It is more work to prep but can be done. Abrade with 80 grit drum sander, flame with propane torch, Test surface tension for binding with a water drop test, looking for a flat water drop with low edge angles. With this method I've had only had a couple small (maybe 3-4) minor delam reports over 6 years of building skis

I feel like uhmw dampens the ski in comparison to wood only and is maintenance free in comparison to wood. You do need to make sure the uhmw is free of dirt and oily contaminants or you could be in for trouble. VDS above and below the uhmw is a must. With wood only you can probably get away with VDS over the edges only.

UHMW is really hard to get good bonding unless it is properly prepared using a flame treating process but you can't let it sit around very long since it starts to oxidize again and then it will delam. I have seen a number of guys using the rubber foil on the bottom and top of the sidewall to help with bonding. A few ski manufacturers have got it figured out but won't tell you how they do it. Wood bonds well but eventually fails due to moisture, damage or fiber breakdown. If the wood is not properly sealed, it will swell from moisture and basically push the ski apart.
The only sidewalls that we use anymore is with ABS and I have not found any companies in the US that build ABS with Urethane like ISOSPORTS. Normal ABS made here is brittle and the Urethane gives it some toughness. Trying to get a decent price in small quantities is next to impossible. ISOSPORTS is a European company and all the major ski companies use the ABS produced by them. K2 has done some Urethane sidewalls if I am not mistaken.

Did cut a sheet of ABS in stripes right now. Like Vinman said. Little bit more prep (clean it with isopropanol alcohol before flaming) but maintenance free. Very tough and i also think it helps with damping. Had no delam problems till now.
Im using the Isosport stuff, never tried other ABS and i do not use VDS on topside.

... btw. you need sharp tools and it likes to clog up the exhaust of my circular saw and it likes to stick everywhere (static)

Ash is my favorite. I like to think it's improving the the grip on ice.
I know it's mental, but anyway...

I've started to look into using plastic as sidewalls. Mainly for design reasons. Getting another color scheme. Immediate problem for me is that if just want regular ABS it only comes in black...like 95%. Calling Isosport = expensive and too much(in terms of minimum quant.). It's always something...

@OAC:

skibaumarkt.de will help you with different abs colors :)

pmg wrote:@OAC:

skibaumarkt.de will help you with different abs colors

Thanks! Will check..

OAC wrote:Ash is my favorite. I like to think it's improving the the grip on ice.
I know it's mental, but anyway...

I've started to look into using plastic as sidewalls. Mainly for design reasons. Getting another color scheme. Immediate problem for me is that if just want regular ABS it only comes in black...like 95%. Calling Isosport = expensive and too much(in terms of minimum quant.). It's always something...

Could always paint the wood sidewall. Not ideal but I've done it. The paint will get scraped off when you sharpen the edges. But when I use IPE (reddish brown color) and paint it black it looks good when the reddish color shows.

I've only used quartered hard maple, steam bent to camber profile. Easy to join with core and excellent grip on ice. It might be hard to convince me to use plastic of any kind.