i'm interested in building snowboards and skis, just kind of doing the "info gathering" process right now. i'm starting w/ a vacuum press for cost and ease and saw this one:
http://www.joewoodworker.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=60_64&products_id=1688
is it acceptable for snowboards and skis up to 185 cm?
great info on this site, thanks.
It is probably overkill, even the smallest unit will be acceptable. The only advantage of the big units is the time it takes to draw the vacuum. With the smallest pump this might take 1 minute which gives you lots of time to smooth out wrinkles and be certain that everything is OK. There is no difference in clamping pressure. Did you realize that the one you are looking at is a venturi system which requires a 30 gallon compressor to operate it and requires 8cfm? I think you are better off with the GAST continous pump for considerably less money and you just plug it in. You will save money anyway by not having to build a press frame or a top mold or find the hose. I have lots of friends here with vacuum pumps made from refrigerator compressors that work perfectly.
Tony
thanks for the help, i think i'll go dig through some old fridge instead then. sounds like a better way to go, and way cheaper!
Tonyt: Could you help me to determine if this kind of pump will work??
What do I need to know to choose the pump??
thanks
I think almost any fridge compressor will work but here is a link to show how to make a vacuum pump out of a fridge compressor and they talk a bit about the requirements. Mine is just an old piston compressor that I replumbed to get to the intake(vacuum) side and it works great but it is a bit noisy and needs to run continously.
http://www.dream-models.com/eco/vacuumpump.html
I hope the above link helps, quite often I see the continous run pumps available on ebay made by GAST. You have to check their website to see if it is a high vacuum pump rather than a high volume pump.
Hi people! Im close to buy the reinforcement sheets but I dont know how density is the best for the ski.I know that there are a lot of things that change the stiffness but could a medium stiff ski be made with two sheets of about 250 gr/m on top and botton of the ski?
A shop near my house sells very cheap sheets of about 160 gr but I think this is not enough. Could I use more layers to get enough density?
sheets.. what kind of sheets are you talking about?
reinforcement sheets as in composites? 'fibreglass, carbon fibre, kevlar'
or plastics? wood? metal?
cheers
Usually with a core thickness of 10-12mm, triaxial fiberglass (700-900g/m2) is used: two layers, one under and the other over the woodcore.
With thicker core the density can be lower.
If you buy 160g/m2 glass (is it UD?), you can add several layers to match the right overall weight.
Im talking about fiberglass because is the cheappest way to build them. Im planning to build a wood core of 10 mm thick. Last week I found a shop which sells 400 gr/m and 200 gr/m. I want to use two fabrics of 400 under the wood core (because its mainly traction forces) and two layers, one of 400 and the upper one of 200 over the core.
Do you think this construction will work??
P.D. Davide did you see my last message about steel edges?? Give me an answer please!
