Sidewall profile (also new)

For discussions related to ski/snowboard construction/design methods and techniques.

Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp

Post Reply
Micky95
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:36 pm

Sidewall profile (also new)

Post by Micky95 »

Hi All,
New to forum. On my second snowboard build right now. First one went good. Obviously a trial and error but glad to see my air pneumatic press I built worked. For my second build I wanted white sidewalls.( I don’t have all the tools and knowledge to pour my own sidewalls so I’m going with uhmw.) I got a sheet of uhmw 1/4” thick x 8” x 55”. I was able to cut strips off of using my band saw and guides which came out perfect. Now the tricky part was trying to profile the side wall to match my core. I had previously traced the side of my core and transferred it to 2 pieces of mdf. Then I made the template out of the 2 pieces. The idea is that I could put the strip of uhmw between the templates and remove the material where needed. I used a router first which didn’t work very well being that it was too aggressive and took out chunks. The next piece I used a flap disk on a grinder and that actually work very well. I was happy to see it work but I didn’t get the exact profile I need. I think my template was slightly off in shape. Has anyone else ran into this issue of making sidewalls. Any help would be appreciated.
TimW
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:56 am

Re: Sidewall profile (also new)

Post by TimW »

Usually I cut the outline of my core first, then glue the sidewalls, and then profile the core + sidewalls in one go. But I have also profiled the core first and the glued the (unprofiled) sidewalls to the core. With a hand planer you can easily plane the plastic down to the core's thickness/profile. I used it on HDPE and ABS sidewalls. Just keep your blade sharpened, plastics dull your blade surprisingly fast.
Micky95
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:36 pm

Re: Sidewall profile (also new)

Post by Micky95 »

I had thought of doing that too, Tim. I just thought a hand planer would be to aggressive and maybe to a big chunk out or even pull the sidewall off of the core. I’ve used hand planers a couple time but know much about them as far as sizes or blades. Is there a specific one you’d recommend as well as other special tools?
Thanks
lilon35690
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat May 06, 2023 12:00 pm

Re: Sidewall profile (also new)

Post by lilon35690 »

It sounds like you've done a lot of great work so far on your snowboard build, but are struggling with getting the sidewalls to match your core profile exactly. This is a common issue when working with different materials and trying to get them to fit together perfectly.

One solution you could try is to create a new template using your existing core as a reference. You could use a piece of cardboard or paper to create a rough outline of your core shape, then transfer this to your MDF and create a new template. This new template may be more accurate than your original one and should help you get a better fit with your UHMW sidewall.
gozaimaas
Posts: 663
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:17 am
Location: Nagano Japan

Re: Sidewall profile (also new)

Post by gozaimaas »

Profile your sidewalls 0.6mm thinner than your core so you don't need to rout a step for the edge tines.
Post Reply