AndrewZ learned how to make skis!

Damn it... just spent so long writing a reply and then accidentally closed the window... try two I guess.

First off, nice to see this bumped and thanks to everyone for the feedback, I totally forgot I hadn't updated since the skis saw snow. Since they were a gift to my brother I only got a handful of runs on them, but I still got a bit of a feel for how they rode.

They shined in the deep snow like nothing I've ever ridden before, even if you tried you couldn't get them to stop floating. They were bouncy, playful, easy to ski, just an all around fun ski in the deep snow. They actually kind of sucked on groomers and hardpack (they tended to track awkwardly straight when on edge, probably because of the sidewall grabbing or the way the rocker and sidecut worked out), but there's no way I could be upset, they were a purpose built ski and in their element they were awesome! In a nutshell they were worth every dollar and hour spent on them (although I might be a little biased)!

And as long as I'm updating I'll throw up a little bit of an update of my work in progress. Since my brother got skis I'm working on my sister-in-laws splitboard for her half of the gift. It's a long painful process as the board is in MI with my parents and I'm at school in GA. But hopefully I'll be able to finish them up over xmas and then finally get going on a pair for myself!

Now for the fun part, pics:

Mounted and ready to roll:

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My brother putting them to good use:

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Splitboard in layup:

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Pressing the board:

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Started trimming them up, but then I broke countless jigsaw blades in a matter of minutes and decided it was time to head to GA. All thats left is to finish cleaning them up and then installing all the hardware.

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Once again thanks for all the good feedback and feel free to PM me if you have any questions or anything about the process that I might be able to help out with.
 
those look sick!you should try experimenting with new shapes and stuff. if i could build skis the first thing i would build would be a superfat symmetrical ski with a huuuge amount of symmetrical rocker in the tip and tail. like a banana shape. ha that would be fun. or not.
 
Dude. MAJOR props, I would love to be able to make my own skis, as I always like to try many different thing!
 
so sick man, it weird that you posted this, just last night me and my friends were talking about trying to learn how to make skis(for ourselves, not to sell). Probably be sending some questions your way soon
 
I love the raw unfinished top sheet- graphics are great dont get me wrong- but its like a racecar- you can see the components as they move and do their job- making it extra cool
 
And just a question, before you made the ski's did you much experience with the materials and the technology/tools you were using?
 
Hey andrew, good to see this thread again. I still haven't seen the final skis but maybe over xmas if Jesse brings them back to MI.Someday soon when I'm making money I would seriously pay you to make me some, hope things are good in GA

 
That actually sounds like they might be railed or edge high a little. Any ski that is railed will feel like it wants to go straight on you. Solution is to bevel the base. I recommend a 1 degree bevel on the base and a 1 one the side. That is a good stock tune. I would find a shop where they have a precision stone grinder and know what they are doing and tell them to put a 1 and 1 on them.

If you have already done this and they are still tracking like that, my apologies. I made this video last spring that shows how to check your skis to see if they are railed. It could be as simple as just getting the skis tuned and they will do much better on hardpack, although my uderstanding is that rockered skis are great in those conditions. Mad respect for making your own boards.

Courtesy of Newschoolers.com
 
Hey bud, long time no see. My vote if you want to see them is to head out west over MLK weekend. I don't know if Jesse emailed you yet but we're talking about trying to meet up in Salt Lake and ski for the weekend potentially.
 
Honestly... not a whole lot. I guess I had a basic understanding and a little experience with most of the tools, but not much on the level that it took to make the skis. What I did was just pretty much do a test of every piece I had to make before making the actual one. It was an awesome learning experience and I learned a ton, but it is totally doable with little to no experience if you're willing to put in the time that it takes to learn and understand everything.
 
Hmmm, that's a good thought. I stone ground them pretty well and I don't remember any of the specific edge bevels I used but they were pretty typical. But, I know they weren't perfect as I just got scared because I felt like I had already ran them through the grinder too many times and just said screw it they're for deep snow anyways. But you very well might be on to something.
 
Worth a shot. It's the cheapest solution and can make a world of difference in a ski. I demo'd some skis, and absolutely hated them. Just for shits and gigs, I popped them off and held my pole to the base. They were really railed. The guys were sending these skis out of the back of the van railed. Got the same exact ski from a shop where they tuned their demos with a 1 and 1, and it felt like I was skiing a completely different ski. Always amazes me that shops and reps don't take the time to make sure that skis are set up right before they send them out. I can only imagine how many people did not buy skis that they tested just because they had a bad tune on them.
 
Hey guys, theres been a lot of people asking about the cost on a project like this. I honestly don't have any idea how much I actually spent but this is my best attempt at putting together a list of costs.

First off, the price of the actual materials for the skis (keep in mind that these prices can change drastically depending on the specific materials you choose):

Base Material - 2 meters $28.00

Edges - 4 $17.00

VDS - 2 meters $ 4.00

Fiberglass - 4 meters $60.00

Epoxy $55.00

Core Totally depends on what woods you use

Top Sheet - 2 meters $20.00

---------------------------------------

TOTAL $184.00ish

Now this is just a list of other materials that I got, for the mold and vacuum method. I'm not even going to try to price this part out as the methods you use make it vary immensely and it'll just get plain depressing for me to think about.

MDF - 1 or 2 sheets

Masonite - 1 Sheet

Aluminum Flashing - 6-7ft

2x4 - No idea... some

A couple dowels

Vacuum film - 2 meters

butyl tape

Vacuum method (pump or veturi)

Countless blades, bits, tools, and accessories

---------------------------------------------

TOTAL More than you expect...

I know this has been a pretty vague description, but in all reality I have no idea how much I spent, just doing everything over such a long period of time made it so I really didn't keep track. Realistically the first pair with all the one time purchase that it involved as well was probably well over $400-500, I would like to think that I'll be able to finish the splitboard (not including all the special hardware) for under $350 but that might be stretching it. All I can tell you is that no matter how well you think you plan it, you will spend more than you think, by a lot. This is not a project you undertake in hopes of a cheap pair of skis, its a significant investment but if you're willing to put in the time and money, it's totally worth it in the end.

Hope this give you guys at least a little bit of an idea... sorry I really can't be more exact.
 
Helping out in my boyfriend's workshop, I've witnessed faulty vacuum bags and high summer temperatures fuck up sooooo many boards, so I am SUPER impressed that your first pair of skis worked out!!

They're gorgeous too, remind me of boheme skis (http://www.en.boheme.fr/) which will run you about 1400€ for a pair.

...by that logic, even WITH the cost of the whole process, you probably saved loads!!!

Mad props, and good luck getting that marketing job :-)
 
im in a composites class right now at my high school and im making some right now. i just bent the tips up and will be laying them up and finishing them on tuesday. the actual ski materials ran me about $150 and i dont know how much the rest of it is gonna cost. did you go with a tip to tail core?
 
Oh hell yeah, so, so sick dude!!! So rad to see people getting into it on this sort of level!! Keep it up man, and be sure to always have fun with it!!!!
 
Always nice to see this get bumped by someone. So over winter break I had the time to finish up the splitboard. Unfortuantely due to extraneous circumstances (aka an upside down blazer and awful weather) my sister-in-law has yet had the chance to try it out, but hopefully she will in the next couple weeks. Here's a few pics of the finished product:

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How about their quiver? Now it's time to get going on some for myself...

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Also, I've gotten a few question from people who are interested in learning more or figuring out detail, keep em coming, I'm more than happy to share what I've learned and hopefully help some of you guys out. And, thanks for all the kind words, a lot of time and money went into these.
 
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