Ski Building

 On my final day of making my skis I woke up early to ensure that I finished them on time. I spent most of the day working on my final pair of skis, my brothers. He has a very basic top sheet which I think looks really good. I had to make sure that they were done perfectly. the process was significantly smoother because I already had a lot of experience working on my other two. I got the tips and tails smoothed out to a perfect curve that I know my brother would approve of. 

  I was finally able to start working on my skis and complete everything that would finally shape them. This was by far my favorite part. I was able to see the skis that I have been dreaming of making for the past year finally take form. I got to cut them out into the perfect form. The instant that all of the sanding was done I was finally able to take a step back and respect the skis that I had just made. They were perfect on every level. I did not make a single mistake on my skis which I was very happy about. The instant that I was able to paint the wood polish onto my sidewalls I was extremely happy.

  I started out my senior project by. designing my top sheets. The top sheets are designs that you see on the top of a ski. I wanted them to be memorable so I created roughly ten designs that me and my brother would be able to pick from. I found photos that I had taken on vacations of mountains and fields and decided to give them a shot. They did not come out how I wanted, so I decided to take a photos off the internet that reminded me of things that I have experienced. I sent the designs to a company that prints out top sheets and they are currently in the process of printing them.  Once I had everything set with my top sheets I was finally ready to start designing and building the ski. I started out by learning how to cut bases using the cnc machine. The cnc machine has a replaceable bit and while cutting the bases I used a razor bit. Once the bases are fully cut they need to have edges glued onto them. I have a roll of ski edge that I cut sections out of to perfectly fit the length

 Today I started cutting and shaping the skis that I am making for myself. I took them out of the ski press last night and let them sit overnight. When they came out of the press they were in one single piece and I have to cut each ski out separately. I used a jig saw to cut each ski out.  I had to be extremely safe not to cut into my skis while shaping them with the saw. The saw will cut right through the metal edge. Once I have the edge, tips, and tail completely cut I am finally able to start sanding the sidewall away. I was able to get the majority of my ski sanded and ready to have an angle cut in the sidewall. I also prepared my brothers skis to be put in the press. I put them in the ski press once everything was completed and left them there for 8 hors. Hours-10

I started out the week by designing my top sheets. The topsheets are designs that you see on the top of a ski. I wanted them to be memorable so I created roughly ten designs that me and my brother would be able to pick from. I found photos that I had taken on vacations of mountains and fields and decided to give them a shot. They did not come out how I wanted, so I decided to take a photos off the internet that reminded me of things that I have experienced. I sent the designs to a company that prints out topsheets and they are currently in the process of printing them.  Once I had everything set with my topsheets I was finally ready to start designing and building the ski. I started out by learning how to cut bases using the cnc machine. The cnc machine has a replaceable bit and while cutting the bases I used a razor bit. Once the bases are fully cut they need to have edges glued onto them. I have a roll of ski edge that I cut sections out of to perfectly fit the length of my skis. Onc

  I continued to carve out ski cores this week. I had roughly 7 finished going into the week and I will eventually need to create 12. The process of cutting the cores using the cnc machine is extremely difficult and it was never exactly planned. I have cut four different cores and every single time I have had something go wrong. My most recent complication was that the drill bit was overused and dull. It was not able to cut properly so it jumped around whenever forced to cut something. Using the cnc machine is by far my least favorite part of the project but it is extremely important because it basically creates most of the ski.  I have had issues with getting the top sheets that I made at the very beginning of my project. The order keeps on getting delayed because the company that I bought them through ran out of materials. They arrive this friday but this means that I am going to be forced to work through the weekend. I was able to create my dads ski because we are using wood veneer

  I have had issues with getting the top sheets that I made at the very beginning of my project. The order keeps on getting delayed because the company that I bought them through ran out of materials. They arrive this Friday but this means that I am going to be forced to work through the weekend. I was able to create my dads ski because we are using wood veneer to design the top. This allowed me to learn how to layer and mold a ski before I have to do my own. I learned how to cut the fiberglass, combine the core with the nose and tail piece, and layer everything together with epoxy. Once everything is layered I am able to put it in the press. The skis stay in the press for roughly 12 hours to ensure that the epoxy dries properly. I also started to create the skis that i am making for myself Hours-10 Total Hours-61

 Today I spent the morning cutting out another core for one of the pairs of skis that i am going to be making this weekend. This was by far the most complicated project that have had with the cnc machine. Everything failed at the last minute and nearly destroyed the entire thing. In the afternoon I took the skis out of the ski press and mold. When they come out they are in one combined piece that I need to cut in half. I then cut any extra fiber glass and epoxy off the edge that was left over from the molding process. I used a drill to cut everything away. I had to be extremely careful because if i slipped I would cut right through the edge. I spent the day working on my dads skis. i will start working on mine and my brothers tomorrow.  Hours-6

 Today was another day that I spent running the cnc machine. I cut a core out in the morning which had multiple problems while cutting. The drill bit was not properly centered so part of the core was not properly cut. It is difficult to restart the program so I had to correct my mistake using a hand planer. Once the core was completely planed out I was able to cut the n]ends of it to fit in the nose and tail pieces. I cut a half circle out of each end of the core. Once the cores were properly cut I was able to combine them with the nose and tail pieces as seen in the photo below. I used glue to hold them together. I then started the process of layering and pressing my first ski. I layered the epoxy, fiber glass, wood core, and base to create the ski. I then placed it in the mold for 12 hours so that the epoxy can completely dry and stay in the proper shape.  Hours- 6

 Today I worked on creating more cores for my skis. I am also helping my dad make ski cores for the skis that he is going to be using in his class. It was the first time that I hade created the core on my own. I have had my father by my side for every other day and carving accept for this one. It did not help that the board was completely lop sided. I had to add roughly ten pieces of carpet tape to ensure that every corner was secure and not lifted off the table. Once the piece was completely secure I was finally able to run the program. Although I had taped everything down properly a corner of the wood managed to become unsecured. This cause the entire board to shift in the middle of the process causing one of the sides to be significantly thinner than the other. I am still going to be able to use this core it just me be slightly softer than the other core used in the other ski. Hours-6 Total Hours- 39

 For the final day of the week I glued most of the sidewalls onto the core. The core is a combination of maple and poplar. I had to glue special cut pieces of maple sidewall onto the cores. The sidewall is the side of the ski above the edge. I glued the sidewall using wood glue and I clamped it to the core for 30 minutes before it dried. Once the the glue on the core and sidewall is dried it is ready to be cut by the cnc machine. I also examined one of the bases and edges that I had created earlier and I did not do it properly. I had to re cut an edge so that it was long enough to fit into the slot. In the afternoon my dad continued to help me with the cnc machine. I learned how to cut the cores out. It is an extremely complicated process that can have a-lot go wrong.  Total Hours-33 Todays hours- 6

 Today I spent most of the day preparing most of my bases and edges. I have to do all of the background work before I can start layering and pressing the skis. I started off the day by putting the edges on one of the skis that i started yesterday. Today was the first day that I spent on the cnc machine alone. I usually have my fathers help but today I cut out two pairs of bases on my own. It was a very complicated process and one of bases came out the wrong way. Because it was my first time I had multiple mistakes but those mistakes gave me a better understanding of the machine. Once I had the bases cut I had to put edges on them. I glued edges onto a pair of bases. I combine the edge to the base by clamping the edge down then gluing it with super glue.  Hours Today- 7 Total hours- 26

 Today was the third day of our senior project and I spend most of my day creating the base layer of my skis. the base layer is the plastic layer that glides along the snow. I had to cut them out using a cnc machine. The cnc machine had a razor blade attached to it which cit the base out of a larger piece of plastic. The cnc machine that I have is not big enough to make out 182 cm base so I had to improvise. I cut out the maximum amount that the cnc would cut and then I cut the rest by hand.  After I had the base cut I needed to attach the edges. The edges are what allow the ski to carve through the snow. I attached them using super glue and clamps. 

 I started off the morning by finishing the designs for my top sheets. I created a top sheet for myself and one for my brother. I then went to another one of my fathers ski building classes. Him and his class were layering a ski and placing it into the press. a ski ha s multiple layers of fiber glass, a wood core, the base layer, and the top sheet. The top sheet is the fancy design that you see on ever ski. all of these layers are held together by epoxy. After his class we came back to my house where were are currently running the cnc machine. The machine cuts the wood cores. It takes roughly an hour to cut each core. The machine takes an extremely large amount of programing and attention to run properly.

 I spent almost my entire day designing the top sheets that are going to be placed on the top of my skis. I used a design website called VistaCreate. I had to finish all of the designs by tonight because I need enough time for them to be printed. I created roughly eight designs that I will be able to pick from when creating my skis. They are a mix between creative mountain designs and funny designs. I also went to my dads ski building class. I learned how to layer the skis in a special way that I had not seen before. The proses that he uses is slightly different from the process that i learned at Parlor.