FS: Custom Prototypes from a New Builder

I think you could probably start a pretty legit business with this thread.

I know.....


Scares the crap out of me

Carefull what ya' wish for!

Seriously, you should include a stack of business cards for me to hand out to all the people who want to know where I got my awesome custom skis! Also Kyle, it would be really cool to get a few pics of my skis in process!

I had an issue with the original form. Here is the new one:

PM'd.

Replied




I am receiving lots of requests for additional pairs of skis. I could possibly accommodate these if people are willing to pay a bit more for me to make another mold here in Rochester.

List Update:

1. 4cznskier-Deposit placed
2. LeeX- Deposit placed, 2nd pairs
3. telerod-Deposit placed
4. krp8128-I need my own, after all
5. Phil-??

Add me plz .

Estimated delivery date if I ordered a pair now?

Would enjoy some 126 92 110's

Hey I was first

LOL, I dropped down the list too

oops, I kind of screwed up the list when I was re-arranging it.

List Update:

1. 4cznskier-Deposit placed, single pair
2. LeeX- Deposit placed, 2 pairs
3. telerod-Deposit placed, single pair
4. Rise To The Top-Paypal deposit on Monday, single pair, February delivery
5. Phil-Check coming to Roc w/ Ty on Monday

Please understand that this list only reflects the sequence in which I received a confirmed order (deposit). I'll be working on the designs and cores pretty much at the same time for all skis. When the time comes to layup the skis (an overnight process), I will go by the list. When the 2nd pair is in the press, I will be cleaning up the first.

We're first on the list for NEXT year!!

ps. I can't get the customer info form to open. I keep getting a file error message.

hmmmm....

You do have Acrobat reader, right? I just tried it here and it worked fine.

Send me an e-mail and I can send the file right to you

Got it on "my" computer, finally. The reader on the living room PC must be corrupted.

Thanks.

This is a pretty cool thing to do. A few questions:

Do you have a portfolio that shows a list of skis you have made and how they performed?

Define the term slight risk. Are we just paying you costs plus or are we paying a fixed price for a product?

I am curious if you could say a few words about the materials and core sections of your form. What are the differences for each choice?

I'm having graphic designers of all sorts making portfolios for me as I speak. Please do look into the lamination, lol.

Snofan,

I may have a spot opening up for around January delivery. I'll get back to you.

A quick response (I'm @ work):

I've made 2 pairs out of the same design. The first pair had ash and cherry cores and came out stiff, almost as stiff as my metrons. I never skied these because I had a pump failure while pressing the 2nd ski, which caused voids in my layup. I considered a de-lamination a sure thing.

The second pair is shown above. These have a pine and cherry core and are much more what I was looking for, a soft snow/tree ski. They were quite manageable on hardpack with a proper tune as well (I got a base grind and belt tune after my first day out, it absolutely sucked compared to my hand tune). I did feel that they were a little short and light for high speed groomers.


You are essentially paying my materials cost. I've tried to include a little extra for the things that are hard to measure, like shipping costs of materials, bits/blades, tape, gloves, plastic etc. There are always little things that you forget about. If you were to toss in a little extra $$ that would be highly appreciated too, it would cover my gas to the store, tuning supplies and I would like to toss a $50 gift card for a woodworking shop to the person who is letting me use his shop here in Rochester.

My term "slight risk" comes from the fact that you are not buying from Atomic, Volkl etc. You are buying from me, a new independent builder working on new designs. I can't offer a guarantee, but I will work with you if something happens.

The #1 issue that builders like me are faced with is de-lamination. I firmly believe that this is caused by either brittle epoxy (too much hardener was used) or by dirty materials. I use metered dispensing pumps for my epoxy. I buy chemically treated edges that won't rust before the are put in a ski, and everything I use gets cleaned 2x with acetone. Once as I am laying out the materials, and once right before it goes in the layup. I don't touch things with bare hands once I clean them, as skin oil is a contaminate.

The term "form" is throwing me off a bit here. For the core I can easily get: Pine, Poplar, Maple, Aspen, Ash and Cherry. Unless you want a super light ski I wouldn't necessarily recommend pine in a core, it is a softwood and has poor binding retention. I like maple towards the outside edge of the ski, as it is a harder/denser material and really transfers energy well. I use it for my sidewalls, treated with epoxy. Ash is going to be the stiffest material there, and also likely the lightest. I would consider Poplar and Aspen secondary core materials, and use the other choices for the primary material.

I also WILL NOT include any defects (knots, bad grain) in the core, and my wood strips are one continuous piece. Many large companies used finger-jointed wood strips (shorter pieces joined together to make a long piece) to eliminate the defects found in cheaper wood stock. Here is a reflection of what you can expect from my cores: (ash&cherry):



The flex/stiffness of my skis is primarily a function of their profile. I have to taper to 2mm at each end to meet the tip spacers, but I can do anything in the center section. I do this taper as smooth as possible to give a good smooth flex pattern over the skis length. This is a really rough idea of what the taper looks like:



I can also add additional layers of composite to stiffen up the ski. I want to start experimenting with carbon and metal reinforcements.

If you have any other ?'s PM me or post here, this benefits all interested.

I was talking about the pdf form you linked here. It had two sections titles Materials and core that I was asking about. I think you answered most of those questions.

Ah, ok. For some reason I thought you were talking about my mold (used to "form" the skis).

What other ?'s do you have?

New update:

List Update:

Confirmed/pending Orders*

1. LeeX- Confirmed order, Liability release and contract signed!!
2. telerod-Deposit placed, single pair
3. Rise To The Top-Deposit placed, single pair, (February delivery?)
4. Phil-Check coming?

Wait List**

1. Full Focus-Wants a rockered ski,I need to investigate the design. (2008-10-09 18:30)
2. ut_hucker-Wider PE (bought goats, not actively seeking skis). 2008-10-09 21:04
3. Volklgirl-Possibly late season order. 2008-10-09 22:30
4. WhatHaveIGottenMyselfInto-GS race skis to break into the sport. 2008-10-10 11:41
5. TaosMath- Sent e-mail 2 days prior, failed delivery. Wants a Nomad clone. 2008-10-13 21:18

You may noticed that 4cznskier has been dropped from the list. He decided that he needed some time to demo skis in his interest range to better understand what he would like. If someone wants to step up into The #5 spot please contact me ASAP, I will have you send a $125 deposit to 4cznskier in lieu of me issuing him a refund.


*Please understand that this list only reflects the sequence in which I received a confirmed order (deposit). I'll be working on the designs and cores pretty much at the same time for all skis. When the time comes to layup the skis (an overnight process), I will go by the list. When the 2nd pair is in the press, I will be cleaning up the first.

**This list is the order in which I received a PM or e-mail expressing interest. The timestamps are for my convenience. If you feel I forgot you let me know and I will check.

LeeX and Telerod, what epoxy are you guys using?

LeeX is going with West systems. Telerod hasn't told me yet.

EDIT:

E-mail me if you have any questions about the epoxy.

As I understand it, you need to order that kind in bulk, in which case, I'll have what Lee's having.

Does West Systems happen to make 1.5 gallon sales? I will go with that if they do. If not I'll just take Mr fiberglass.

Unless you are going with Mr. Fiberglass, yes I pretty much have to buy in bulk.

West Systems (and System 3) are irritating. I can either buy an amount equal to 1.2Qt (cutting it real tight for a pair) or 1.5 gallons when mixed. Like I said, pricing the epoxy per ski gets weird as I can only buy in specific quantities.


Let's get Phil to chime in here on what he is thinking for his epoxy.

Allow me to expand. I'll have 1.5 gallons for 2 skis, certainly enough for 2, but enough for 3? Not quite sure.

If Phil, Rise To The Top and telerod all decide to go with West Systems, I'll split the cost of 2 1.5 kits evenly through the 5 pairs.

$53.60 per pair.

Update

List Update:

Confirmed/pending Orders*

1. LeeX- Confirmed order, Liability release and contract signed!!
2. telerod-Deposit placed, single pair
3. Rise To The Top-Deposit placed, single pair

Wait List**

1. Full Focus-Wants a rockered ski,I need to investigate the design. (2008-10-09 18:30)
2. ut_hucker-Wider PE (bought goats, not actively seeking skis). 2008-10-09 21:04
3. Volklgirl-Possibly late season order. 2008-10-09 22:30
4. TaosMath- Sent e-mail 2 days prior, failed delivery. Wants a Nomad clone. 2008-10-13 21:18

You may noticed that 4cznskier has been dropped from the list. He decided that he needed some time to demo skis in his interest range to better understand what he would like. If someone wants to step up into The #5 spot please contact me ASAP, I will have you send a $125 deposit to 4cznskier in lieu of me issuing him a refund.


*Please understand that this list only reflects the sequence in which I received a confirmed order (deposit). I'll be working on the designs and cores pretty much at the same time for all skis. When the time comes to layup the skis (an overnight process), I will go by the list. When the 2nd pair is in the press, I will be cleaning up the first.

**This list is the order in which I received a PM or e-mail expressing interest. The timestamps are for my convenience. If you feel I forgot you let me know and I will check. Being on this list does not guarantee that I can work with you. Some designs or requests may be beyond my capabilities at this point.

Phil is waffling.