Building skis

I'm planning to go to college for mechanical engineering and hopefully going into R&D for a ski company or starting my own (not likely). I'm trying to find information on how to build skis. I have some knowledge, but I'm trying to find a way that i could design and build my own skis that would be a bit easier and cheaper than using a heat press and without using a shit load of expensive tools/machines.
 
yeah, i've been through the whole ski builders site and there was a lot of information, but the process would be very very expensive for someone still in high school.
 
sorry to burst your bubble but that is the only way to build skis. a press, a bunch of tools, and a bunch of spare time.
 
yeah building skis is not a cheap process, especially because the first few batchs will turn out like shit, i would look into seeing how atomic and such mass produce their skis, if they do it the same way, or if they crank them out in more of a machine like fasion
 
i know i need a press, and i'm going to make one, not sure if i'm going to dole out the cash for the pneumatic on or heat press, but i'll have something. the only thing that would keep me back would be the planer... those things are mad cash. but if anyone has any idea that could replace it, that would be cool.

and can someone give me a invite to the ski builders cult?
 
You get what you pay for. If you make a shitty press you're going to get shitty skis, so just spend the money to begin with and build a good one instead of having to buy two.
 
I'm a senior in High school and I'm building skis for an independent R&D class. I welded up 14 guage 2x2 square tubing for a frame, call the local FD fro the phone number for their supplier, ordered materials from, us plastics and snowboard materials, and are just about ready to press our first pair. I've spent about 400 bones.
 
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