The layup sequence
Quotes are verbatim and attributed to their original authors.
The layup is the act of stacking the wet materials in the right order and closing the press before the epoxy gels. It is the point of no return in a build, so builders rehearse the order, mix enough resin, and work fast.
The stack, bottom to top
A standard sandwich, read from the mould up, is: base and steel edges, then VDS, then the lower fibreglass, then the core (with its tip and tail spacers), then the upper fibreglass, then the topsheet, with a release film on top. A representative order given on the forum:
Many builders add an extra patch of glass underfoot in the binding zone.
The cassette (metal caul sheets)
The wet sandwich is loaded between two metal sheets — the "cassette" — which spread the press pressure and give the base and topsheet a smooth face. Flat aluminium sheets are far easier to load than pre-bent ones. On thickness:
A thicker bottom sheet (up to ~2 mm) helps prevent waves in the base; 16–18 gauge aluminium returns nearly flat after pressing, while fully-returning spring steel is expensive.
Wet-out and speed
Mix enough epoxy for every layer — running short at the topsheet is a classic cause of delamination — and make sure the resin and hardener are fully combined (unmixed resin never cures, and the topsheet, laid last, tends to get it). Wet each layer thoroughly, then close the press before the pot life runs out.
Learn from the factory
One of the most useful resources on the forum was a large, community-maintained list of ski and snowboard factory-tour videos (compiled by falls in thread #3173) — watching how the pros stack and press is worth an hour of anyone's time.