AMH-12 Core

As mentioned in my last post, I am making the cores for this years skis out of aspen, poplar, and oak. A core set of wood is shown below.

 Similar to years past, I am using what I call a pre-tensioned core design.  Rather than laminating thin strips of wood into a rectangle and then cutting the shape out of it, I cut two inner core members to a curve which allows for uniform wood strips in the center and on the sides of the core. Uniform strips on the ski edge  allow for even edge pressure.

The first step is to rip the core members to the predifined widths.  The three oak stiffeners are 5 mm wide.

Next, the shaped core members can be cut using the core member template.

Once this is done, the core members are sanded and can be glued together. A single core set is shown below consisting of 11 pieces.

This year I applied glue with a roller which improved the process over past years.

 

Once glued, a planer is used to create a smooth surface on both sides of the ski and to create the maximum thickness of 12 mm (binding platform).

The core template is then used to cut the shape of the tip and tail into the ski.  A jig saw works well for this.

The next step is to set up the ski profiling jig and cut the ski thickness profile with a router.

 Once profiling is complete the core is again sanded.  Once sanded, the core is complete and ready for layup.