Thickness Profiling Jig

The thickness profiling jig is used to plane the thickness of the ski to size; in other words, it is what allows the core to be machined thicker in the center and taper toward the tip and tail. The jig is then used with a router to profile the thickness.

To make the jig, I first cut the base of the to size and then routed grooves in each side so that the rails would fit snugly in place.

During this process I realized that the bit that I was using was worn out and when I tried to replace it, I was stuck. After torquing, lubricating, and pounding on the bit, it finally came out.

The next step in the process was to create the rails. To do this, I cut two rectangular rails of equal size and then glued the thickness template to the side of one of them. Next, I screwed the rails together so that when I cut out the profile, each rail would be identical. I cut the rails to shape with a combination of my table saw and jig saw.

Once this was complete I sanded out the rough spots with a belt sander and screwed and glued the rails in place.

The finished jigs:

Templates

Templates are critical for replication of each ski; they ensure that each ski in the pair are identical. Additionally, once I have the templates I can make any number of skis of the same type. To build my skis I make three templates for each ski. The Core, Core Member, and Base template. The Base Template will be used to cut the base to shape and is critical to the end shape of the ski. The Core and Core Member templates are less critical as the core has several other material removal operations completed after the templates are used. The core template is used to trim the tip and tail of the core prior to pressing. The Core Member template is used to cut the members of the core that are not symmetric. The cores I design are made of 5 members, three of uniform thickness and two of variable thickness. More information on the core design will follow.

To make the templates, I first designed them in Autodesk Inventor. I printed my designs to a pdf. file and took them to a FedEx Office store and had them printed full size. In past years I printed them from my computer and taped them together, but this was far easier, though a bit more costly (~$5 a piece).

I then traced the base template to make the core and core member templates. I used a spray glue to paste them onto the tempered hardboard I had bought.

I then used my jig saw to cut them out.

Materials

I ordered materials for the skis I am building from the SkiBuilders.Com shop which is located at www.skibuilders.com. I have tried other supply companies in the past, such as Action Sports Technology (www.snowboardmaterials.com), but have found them to be terribly unreliable. I had to call the company several times just to get them to ship the order.

SkiBuilders.Com ships fast an always has a good selection. The materials I ordered for this years skis were:

• Base Material - Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) in yellow, red, and black.
• Edges - Hardened Steel with edges treated for bonding
• Composite Fiber - 19 Oz. tri-axial fiberglass
• Top Sheet - Clear P-tex
• Rubber - Thin rubber strips to be placed between the edge and the composite layer to prevent de-lamination.

I also purchased wood for the skis at the local Home Depot store. Both maple and aspen will be used in the core. I purchased 3 sheets of 1/2" thick, 4' x 8' MDF to create the profiling jig and the molds and purchased 2 sheets of 1/8" thick, 4' x 8' tempered hardboard for the ski templates and the top of the molds.

I have yet to purchase Epoxy for the skis.

Year Three

HISTORY

The idea entered my head two years ago when I was skiing at White Face in NY with my wife, brother, and sister-in-law. I got off the chairlift and noticed that the tips of my Blizzard Titans were cracked. Having recently graduated from Grove City College with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, i quickly analyzed the situation and decided that it was an obvious design flaw. These happened to be my favorite skis of all time and I decided that the only way I could get a better ski was to build it myself. My Uncle Andrew further taunted my by telling me that I could not make skis, that would be functional at least.

It all started with the Goliath, which was renamed the version one (V1) when I modified the design for year two. The Goliath V1 would be best described as a light, "noodley", powder ski.

They were very light weight, made from a poplar and aspen mix, but with only a single layer of fiberglass they flexed like spaghetti. They were designed with an ABS (plastic) vertical sidewall which turned out to be very difficult to work with. The end look was pretty nice, but the sidewall design would be changed in year two. The Goliath V1 was a perfect powder ski, but couldn't handle the crud.

Year one had many trials, including, but not limited to:

• Wavy/ convex base shape due to poor mold design.
• Exploding ski press due to engineering miscalculation (this led to a trip to the ER and two stitches inside my mouth)
• Peel off top sheets
• ABS sidewalls
• Edge tearout

In year two I created the Goliath V2. The Goliath V1 and V2 were similar, but V2 was much more technical and designed to correct all the flaws of year one. The V2 was a cap design (vs sidewall) built with two 3ft stainless steel rods and two 5ft aluminum rods in each core. I wanted to bring my brothers dream to life, which was to build metal into the skis. The V2 incorporated a rubber strip between the edge and the reinforcing fiber in order to prevent edge tearout. Additionally, I used a carbon/Kevlar fiber weave in place of fiberglass. The core was composed of maple and aspen and the core was thicker than year one. In short, this ski overcompensated for the "noodle" Goliath and the skiing experience was described as, "...It's like skiing a pair of barn doors." Needless to say, they crushed any crud in their path and provided an ultra-stable ride. They would be much better suited to a 240 lb man, not my 165 lb brother.

In year two I also created the Tomahawk, which had many of the design features as the Goliath V2, but was narrower and was designed to be an eastern mountain ski rather than a powder ski. I used the Tomahawk every time I went skiing and did my best to break them, but they were resilient. This ski, although stiff, worked well in all conditions and handled impact well.

YEAR THREE

This year I am creating a brand new ski, the Arlia, which has a length of 161cm and a maximium withd of 129mm; this ski is designed as a woman's ski with a hybrid rocker/camber design. I am sticking with the cap design, but will be using fiberglass in the core and won't be placing any metal inside the core. I am attempting to keep it simple.

In addition to the Arlia, I am overhauling the Goliath V1 and V2 designs with the Goliath Extreme Rocker (GXR), for lack of a better name. The ski is a full rocker design with a length of 181 cm, maximum width of 137mm, and the ability to crush powder.