Press Stage 2

In past years I have created the graphic on cotton cloth or on paper, but this year my sister (Emily) and I decided to create the graphic directly on the wood core.  In order to do this, we wanted to first stain the wood to get a deeper background color.  I wasn't sure if this epoxy would still stick to the stain, so I performed a test.

The test showed that although the epoxy didn't stick as well on the stain as on bare wood, it would be sufficient to keep the top sheet on during use.  Based on the successful test, I stained both skis.

Next, my sister, with a small amount of help from me, painted the ski graphic.  The graphic is based on Revelation 19:11-13:

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
  
The graphic was intentionally made with great detail on the tail of the ski and with much less detail at the tip.

Next the skis were put in the press. A full sheet of fiberglass was not place on the top of the ski, only a narrow strip was placed on each edge of the ski.

The flashing was trimmed off with a jig saw and the edges were finished with a bench top belt sander and hand belt sander.

The final step was to peel off the tape that was protecting the top sheet and base.  This was done relatively easily, but it would have helped if the tape was a little thicker to prevent it from tearing.

 

 

Prior to pressing the skis, I placed a nameplate at boot center on each ski.

 

 The only thing left to do is mount the bindings and tune the skis.

Press Stage 1

This year the base material is transparent so I added a simple graphic to the bottom of the ski with acrylic paint. To prevent the paint from bleeding underneath the stencil, I applied spray glue to the stencil first.  I bought this glue not realizing it was only "general performance"; this just means it's not actually sticky - which was perfect for this application, but not for actually gluing things.

The next step was to layup the ski and press it.  Since it had been a year since I last used the press, I tightened the bolts, perform a pressure test, and verified that there were no cracks in the wood members.  This year I went back to a MAS FLAG epoxy (medium viscosity resin and hardener).  I used this epoxy for my prototype and year 2 skis and it has performed well over the years.  I have used the prototype skis (Goliath) on a nearby fly ash dump several times.  This is kind of an accelerated damage test for the skis.

The image below shows the skis after removal from the press before the flashing was cut off.

I used my jig saw to cut the flashing off; however, someday I plan to have a more powerful band saw to do the work.  I purchased a new belt sander over the winter with a 6" x 48" belt; this made quick work of cleaning up the edges.  I still used my hand belt sander to smooth the edge bevel.

The skis are now ready for graphics and top sheet which will be applied during the final press stage.

 

Tuning and Final Modifications

This year I had a buddy at work, Matt, who happened to work at a local shop, help me tune the skis and mount the bindings.  Once this was done I waxed the skis; I used Swix all temperature universal wax.

Once waxed, I sealed the edges with epoxy; I do this because the sanding and tuning process can remove enough material near the edge to expose wood.  The epoxy prevents any water from entering the base.  I also repaired a few areas on the tails that had pulled up during the process of trimming the flashing.  To do this, I put epoxy under the top sheet using a toothpick and then used packing tape to hold the top sheet in place during the repair.

While I was at it, I patched up the top sheets of a few other pairs of skis that had been nicked during previous use.

The final step I took was to cut a small notch in the back of the ski to allow my climbing skins to hook onto the ski better.  I did this by measuring the hook on my skins and then marked the ski with a permanent marker.

 

I then used a belt sander to grind out the notch; once the notch was cut, I coated the exposed core area with epoxy to seal it.

The skis are now ready for use: