It's so very quiet on here, but thought I'd share a success story. Experimented with vacuum bagging for a while. Which I found to be quite ineffective, and promptly switched to a rigid compression mold. Skis are entirely carbon composite, with a paulownia core, and damping is achieved with VDS inserts. After a little testing I've been pleasantly surprised by their skiability despite the low weight
Anyone else out in Western Washington successfully building skis?
Success in W. Washington
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
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- Posts: 45
- Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:53 am
- Location: Washington
Success in W. Washington
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Re: Success in W. Washington
Nice one! Love the "steil ist geil" graphics...made me laugh!
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Re: Success in W. Washington
These are super cool skis! Very curious about what layup you used (triax CF? what weight?) and where you managed to find paulownia for your cores.
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- Posts: 45
- Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:53 am
- Location: Washington
Re: Success in W. Washington
I know that you can order paulownia directly from paulownia world (though it is a bit pricey). It was amazingly available locally for me from a boat building supplier.
As far as layup: in my experience triaxial carbon fabrics aren't the best way to go. They result in skis that are much too stiff torsionally, and too soft/breakable longitudinally. So I use a biaxial layer and a uniaxial layer, that allows me to modify the weights of the fabrics separately for different width skis. I use ~ 9oz/yd2 uniaxial fabric and 5oz/yd2 biaxial fabric, for most ski widths and lengths, which has resulted in a nice slightly stiff flex.
As far as layup: in my experience triaxial carbon fabrics aren't the best way to go. They result in skis that are much too stiff torsionally, and too soft/breakable longitudinally. So I use a biaxial layer and a uniaxial layer, that allows me to modify the weights of the fabrics separately for different width skis. I use ~ 9oz/yd2 uniaxial fabric and 5oz/yd2 biaxial fabric, for most ski widths and lengths, which has resulted in a nice slightly stiff flex.
Re: Success in W. Washington
I am doing something similar with a snowboard right now. I am planning on using bamboo stringers and Sitka spruce as the core and biaxial 6oz carbon fiber instead of glass, and I'm thinking about adding carbon fiber A-frames on the nose and tail, also with VDS rubber on sides and a p-tex sidewall and full steel edge. I would appreciate any suggestions for getting a good stiff medium flex as this is my first time making a snowboard.
Re: Success in W. Washington
Yes, the "Steil ist geil" Ski really looks nice, especially when understanding german ![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)