ON3P Skis - Page 5

that back flip-invert shot looks awesome...looks like it was taken with speed and on the fly!

> j-steezy763 wrote:are you getting it sublimated onto white or clear? and about how much did it run you for your sublimation?

white. Forget exactly what they ran, but quantity helps a TON with price Singles were pretty pricey.

> brewster wrote:Spotted a pair of your boards at Solitude on Sunday. Looked pretty cool. The guy said they were his sons.

Hope he was enjoying them. Wonder who it was....

Since I am in here, I will post a bunch more shots from the season.

Billy, Caylor, David, and Rowen with Jeronimos, Wrenegades, Billy Goats, and Caylors

David testing blue steeles in MT (on left)

Testing jeronimos at vail

Will test wrens at the Hope on the Slope event at Stevens.

David on caylors

Will

David

Josh Anderson got 3rd and the Sickbird at the Silver King freeride on some wrens.

Day 1 - Bobbled landing so didn't score too well on day 1

Day 2 - 80+ foot lincoln loop to get sickbird and take 3rd. If he had stuck the landing on day one, he would have won probably.

Me cat skiing at Mt Bailey

Trevor park testing jeronimos at Park City

David test blue steeles at snoqualmie

that's it for now...

> iggyskier wrote:
Billy, Caylor, David, and Rowen with Jeronimos, Wrenegades, Billy Goats, and Caylors

My god I am so sorry you have to hang out with these kids (except David, for I do not personally know david... the rest however... all hooligans)

rowen needs to stop wearing that stupid wig!

just call him quinn

Ok, first off, I have to say EXCELLENT job on the producing of more than 50 pairs of skis in a couple months, unreal!

here are a couple questions I am going to throw at you:

first, where did you buy your VDS

second, when tapering your core thickness, do you only taper one end at a time to prevent the cutterhead on the planer from chipping the entry? or are you tapering both sides at once with one pass through (obviously more than one pass for the overall thickness) the planer at once?

third, about how much is it running you for your cores, and where are you buying them?

fourth, about how much does it cost for a set of 15 sheets of graphics to be printed?

and lastly, where are you getting your edges from, and again how much$

THANK YOU if you have time to answer all of these!! I really apreciate it.

check out my group on Face book (if you have a face book) to see the progress of my skis... trying to go high quantity like you, only trying to start a profitable business.

the name of my group on facebook is Couture Skis

thanks for the help man!! and great job, you have MUCH to be proud of.

the last question is: how are you cutting out your base material?

router around your template or utility knife?

what type of epoxy are you using, and where did you get it?

I have been using West systems, with a 206 slow hardener it is the 105 resin.

> coutureskis wrote:

first, where did you buy your VDS

Skibuilders.com.

second, when tapering your core thickness, do you only taper one end at a time to prevent the cutterhead on the planer from chipping the entry? or are you tapering both sides at once with one pass through (obviously more than one pass for the overall thickness) the planer at once?

Both at the same time

third, about how much is it running you for your cores, and where are you buying them?

More than you want to be spending.....haha. Any local flooring supplier could help you out.

fourth, about how much does it cost for a set of 15 sheets of graphics to be printed?

Fifteen? Ummm.....I dunno. $450-600 range I would guess

and lastly, where are you getting your edges from, and again how much$

Skibuilders and snowboard materials

the last question is: how are you cutting out your base material?

Router

what type of epoxy are you using, and where did you get it?

QCM

check out my group on Face book (if you have a face book) to see the progress of my skis... trying to go high quantity like you, only trying to start a profitable business.

In the process of trying to release these skis for sale next year, but hard to come by a lot of start up capital in today economy. Good luck.

.[/b]

Thanks for all the help man... I don't know if you have looked int it yet but I have been dealing with a Ski core manufacturer out of Austria who makes cores specifically for skis out of any laminate wood that you want in any mixtures of species (given it is available) and the core price per pair is from 20 to 25 dollars, shipping to be added. these are really high quality and custom made.. the company is SI-CORE (sicore@volja.net) for any inquiries

just thought you would take interest to that.

also, how are you preventing the cores from chipping or "sniping" on the lead edge when routing them? it seems as though it would grab a lot when it hits the planer cutterhead while riding on your profiling jig. and how do you hold the cores to the jig? just the skateboard grip tape?

and, have you been having good luck with QCM and just curious on the price/quantity of what you purchase in with them.

hope everything goes well for you, I will post some more contacts for material directly form the supplier on here for you soon, especially woodcores and edges... I think it could potentially save you some money

thanks for the help again, I really appreciate it.

SI-Cores is in Slovenia

there are a couple of others out there (all in europe). one is hessco from switzerland (http://www.hessco.ch/website.php?id=/in ... dkerne.htm)

and the one i'll buy my snowboard cores at (standard 160cm poplar core 7mm thick for 7 EUR / core!) is tds in austria (http://members.aon.at/tds/eng/mainmenu.html)

@coutureskis: couldn`t find your facebook group and it would be interesting to see some pics, can`t you post a link or something?

> coutureskis wrote:

also, how are you preventing the cores from chipping or "sniping" on the lead edge when routing them? it seems as though it would grab a lot when it hits the planer cutterhead while riding on your profiling jig. and how do you hold the cores to the jig? just the skateboard grip tape?

Bit confused what you are asking with the first part, but I basically cut the cores width wise, then length wise. Then I precut them on a band saw and then route them out. Only parts that are getting routed are the sidecut.

For the profiler I just use skateboarding grip tape. No issues at all. Never really had sniping issues.

> coutureskis wrote:

and, have you been having good luck with QCM and just curious on the price/quantity of what you purchase in with them.

I have been having pretty good luck with them. I suspect I will try out some other epoxy just to see. For me, I could drive and pick it up from QCM so no shipping costs and availability was easy. So far so good.

I would usually purchase 5 gallon things of epoxy and 1 gallon of hardener. I don't remember the exact prices, but I think both were about $25/gallon.......I would call to find out current pricing.

> coutureskis wrote:
hope everything goes well for you, I will post some more contacts for material directly form the supplier on here for you soon, especially woodcores and edges... I think it could potentially save you some money

Thanks for the info. The more suppliers I have to choose from the better.

Once we ramp up our volume, our suppliers will obviously change a lot. CDW for edges, Crown for base material, ISO for topsheets, QCM for epoxy, and for the time being I had sourced cores for us directly from China. Minimums are high, but that is the volume I am looking to do so it works out.

I will maybe shoot some emails off to those core mfg to see what they can do. Bamboo is definitely pricey and not sure how available it is for them, but something to look into. Thanks.

the facebook group is called Couture Alpine Technologies, and it shows pictures of the entire process I have gone through... from building my press, to building the first pair of skis. so far, I have only built one pair, but at the current time, I am still working on finalizing the small details of my molding system. I am trying to develop an adjustable cassette system that can be used to make many different sizes and sidecuts on the same cassette. so, this is a work in progress, also the press is shown without the cat track installed.

I would upload pics to here, but I just dont have the time, and my facebook page is already established.

so, if you want... check it out! I would love to get some feedback.

just let me know that you are from skibuilders.com forum when you write to me on FaceBook.

here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group ... 712&ref=ts

Hope to hear from you guys on there!!!

and I am working on some contacts for you... I have to get them together, just havent had time!

good luck again!

You will have to look under the "photos" section of the group.... I am not sure if you can view it if you are not a member, so let me know if it works or not!

Thanks,

Griffin Couture

facebook is teh gayness.

So this idea started a few years ago. I had a plethora of custom skis (multiple pairs of Iggies, Kingswood) and ended up getting another pair that just didn't turn out how I felt I wanted (not iggy or Kwood, BTW). I had visited the site before but never really thought about doing it.

And one day is sort of hit me that this would be a fun project to do. Talked with some friends and started developing it.

And it has taken along time to get really underway. Mostly financial reasons. I am in the middle of college (graduating in may) and every single tool I have, every single piece of material, all of it I paid for out of pocket. So it took along time to get everything I needed together.

Plus, it has been hard to balance out my major (Pre-med) with finding time to do this right. Other delays have included moving, breaking my hand, etc. etc.

So I will just go through it from the start.

Started off first trying to get the funds together for a press. I wanted something pretty substantial, lifted off the ground so I could store stuff under it, and able to taken apart for transport. What unfolded could be described only as a huge pain in the ass. I think today, knowing what I know, I could build a double wide, double bay press in a few weeks.

The drilling for my press was substantial. It is held together by 148 1/2" grade 8 bolts, between 2" and 7" in size. Some of the bolts go through 3 layers of steel, so drilling everything so it fit together was quite the task and took a long time.

I also suspect I went though at least 20 cobalt drill bits. We figures it out once and I drilled through about 12 feet of steel (all 1/2" holes).

Steel for the beams is 5"x5"x 3/8".

Painting beams

Legs

Charlie Murphy is here for moral support

Bolts and steel

More

Drying

Drilling

Legs coming together

Cutting cat track

Cat Track

Drilling base

Coming together

Everything has lock tight and 2-3 nuts

Coming together

Best. Tool. Ever.

Drilling last few holes with this beast

Mostly done with the frame

Cutting fiberglass is awful. double up mechanics gloves ruined

Two cores

Well then I moved to a new shop, pretty small. Was originally going to get a large double garage, and that fell through, so now I am in a shop that is about 250 sf.

Had to build up the shop

Base of mold in press

Ski templates

Great for router bits

First hose. There was a leak in the middle of it

First ski. First two skis were just singles to get flex and process down.

In the press

WAY WAY too much epoxy

2 hours later...

Next to 190cm iggy FFF

Mini tip rocker (FFF on the right)

Second ski

Again, mini tip rocker

Originally used a router bridge, but really didn't like it, so just built this new planer crib. I need to modify it in the center and remove a few of the sections I think, but seems to be great so far.

So yeah. That is it for now. Hoping to have a bunch more pictures of a bunch of pairs soon, but figured I may as well get this started.

Great photo essay, iggyskier. From the looks of that press, maybe we should call you 'steelman'. When I saw the pick of that big ole' hand drill, I couldn't help but wonder if it was the source of your broken hand. I've had the crap beat out me one more than once by one of those.

Great work throughout. Kudos for hanging in there. The skis look very nice.

G-man

> G-man wrote:Great photo essay, iggyskier. From the looks of that press, maybe we should call you 'steelman'. When I saw the pick of that big ole' hand drill, I couldn't help but wonder if it was the source of your broken hand. I've had the crap beat out me one more than once by one of those.

Great work throughout. Kudos for hanging in there. The skis look very nice.

G-man

I think I actually have a ton of photos on my computer that are not uploaded on-line, so I will do that.

When I have more skis to shop I will post more about lengths, shapes, rocker, etc.

Great... looking forward to more pics.

G-man

More photos up soon.

By what process did you get those graphics on there? Looks great!

> Powforbreakfast. wrote:By what process did you get those graphics on there? Looks great!

Craig Schneider @ Creative Edge Graphics in Auburn, WA

(253) 735-5111.

Great guy who has been very helpful. Pretty sure Lindsey @ sbmaterials has the same capabilities now more suited for smaller amounts of topsheets.

The creative edge guys basically do the graphics for almost all of the ski/snowboard manufactures still building in the US that do not have access to their own printing equipment (Prior, PMgear, Icelandic, etc).

I would say that I am pretty sure he would prefer orders with some quantity (at least 5-10). Orders below that in number of pretty costly. He does orders of up to 1,000 topsheets for some companies. I order 15 topsheets from them and obviously they do a great job.

I am no artist either. My topsheet were done by a friend Matty Jeronimo and IMO they kick ass. Some more pictures. This is 2 of 5 that I have right now, with more soon I suspect.

this is how i like it - with lots of pictures!

you`re going pretty big! grafics truly kick ass. all in all you make me wanna build some skis again

dude, you have come a long way. things are looking great. can't believe

you have done this while going to school, moving, etc.... skis, press, topsheets look sweet. i'll get back to your pm soon.

jason

> iggyskier wrote:
> Powforbreakfast. wrote:By what process did you get those graphics on there? Looks great!

Craig Schneider @ Creative Edge Graphics in Auburn, WA

(253) 735-5111.

Great guy who has been very helpful. Pretty sure Lindsey @ sbmaterials has the same capabilities now more suited for smaller amounts of topsheets.

The creative edge guys basically do the graphics for almost all of the ski/snowboard manufactures still building in the US that do not have access to their own printing equipment (Prior, PMgear, Icelandic, etc).

I would say that I am pretty sure he would prefer orders with some quantity (at least 5-10). Orders below that in number of pretty costly. He does orders of up to 1,000 topsheets for some companies. I order 15 topsheets from them and obviously they do a great job.

I am no artist either. My topsheet were done by a friend Matty Jeronimo and IMO they kick ass. Some more pictures. This is 2 of 5 that I have right now, with more soon I suspect.

that's really sweet. REALLY sweet. how do you feel the quality is of the topsheets? Do you think you'll have any problems with chipping, or is it really durable? I think i may go this route as opposed to the rice paper and laserjet printer. seems a little more high quality, eh?

your enitre post has been super helpful, by the way. I, along with i'm sure many others, appreciate the visual aids..

> Powforbreakfast. wrote:

that's really sweet. REALLY sweet. how do you feel the quality is of the topsheets? Do you think you'll have any problems with chipping, or is it really durable? I think i may go this route as opposed to the rice paper and laserjet printer. seems a little more high quality, eh?

your enitre post has been super helpful, by the way. I, along with i'm sure many others, appreciate the visual aids..

Topsheet quality is very good, visually.

I would say, though, that it is just PBT and am sure that they will have chipping issues, just like every other PBT topsheet out there. You can minimize it to some extent, but they will always have chipping problems.

I have really wanted to get a polymide plastic for topsheets, but it is hard to track down (at least for me).

and thanks. There has been a lot of guys who have been super helpful on here, figure I can do my best to do the same.

I have one tip for you when cutting fiberglass. Use 1/2" masking tape to outline your desired shape then cut along the tape with a carpet knife. This allows for easier and cleaner cutting and holds the fibers together.

> BerkshireSki wrote:I have one tip for you when cutting fiberglass. Use 1/2" masking tape to outline your desired shape then cut along the tape with a carpet knife. This allows for easier and cleaner cutting and holds the fibers together.

Yeah. The way I cut all the glass the first time was pretty awful.

Actually, the way I do it now is pretty different. I bought one of the huge 220lbs rolls of 22oz. We put it on a saw horse, cut straight through the whole roll with a hand saw. Make a cut every 6" or so. Then we just unrolled it and cut strips with a rotary cutter. I would highly suggest the rotary cutter. Works very well.

Hey Iggyskier,

I'm trying to imagine how you were able to maneuver and accurately cut a 160 yard roll of fiberglass. What was the diameter of he roll? What kind of hand saw did you use? It must be great to have so much fiberglass ready to use. What kind of deal did you get on such a huge quantity?

> jono wrote:Hey Iggyskier,

I'm trying to imagine how you were able to maneuver and accurately cut a 160 yard roll of fiberglass. What was the diameter of he roll? What kind of hand saw did you use? It must be great to have so much fiberglass ready to use. What kind of deal did you get on such a huge quantity?

It was surprisingly easy to do. The roll is 50" wide, 100 yards long I believe.

We put it up on some saw horses. This can give you an idea of the diameter. Only pic I have is a camera phone one. Sorry.

And we marked a bunch of spots every 6.25" inches, used a sharpy to connect them, and just sawed through it with a normal hand saw. We would cut for awhile, the roll it.

And you get these nice long sections, 6.25" wide, and it is super easy to just unroll them and cut. Also nice because it is much easy to store and transport these smaller, ~30lbs sections than the 220lbs roll.

You would think it would pull out a lot of the fibers, but the glass came out pretty good if you ask me. Just be very careful to ensure that you are cutting straight.

And to add to that, I had help for the first 5 cuts from my buddy david. I held the glass while he did the sawing because my hand was broken and wrist sprained. But he had to run, and I was able to (with my broken hand and sprained wrist) finish the last two cuts by myself with not too much effort and only a bit of pain.

O. And the roll was about $800. When I figured it out, I thought the minimum number of skis I could get from this roll was 60 pairs, and my skis are all longer, 186cm-191cm, and pretty fat too (104-130 underfoot). So if you need a lot of glass, then it is great. But it is certainly a ton of glass to have around.