How to Make Skis At Home - Build Skis at Home NO Press NO CNC Machine - Make Your Own Skis

How to make skis at home. this is a how to video for kids skis, but the process is exactly the same for adult skis.
Want truly custom skis? Build skis at home no press no cnc machine! Other guys will show you how to make skis, but unless you have some seriously expensive equipment, you can't make skis at home their way! I will show you how to DIY skis, how to make skis at home! You can make your own skis!
Make skis out of wood and some other materials.
Materials:
Fiberglass
Resin
Base Material
Edge Material
Rice Paper (for graphics, can be printed on bubble jet printer)
Baltic Birch Plywood (comes in 60inch square sheets)
Super Glue
MDF (for Mold)
Long Bolts, Washers and Nuts
Tools:
Router
Circular Saw
Table Saw
Power Planer (beltsander)
Ratchet Straps
Drill
Shop Vac (vacuum pump)

[@TheHowtoDad]

This project was a lot of fun, and a decent amount of work! But it's great to see my little guy on a pair of skis that I made

[@ryanhorn2239]

TheHowtoDad how do you know how stiff/ thick to make the core? And if you are making longer skis, would driving a truck onto the mold still work as a clamp or would it not disperse the weight enough?

[@eggyboi1217]

I want to learn how to ski but I think I'd have way more fun building my own rather than buying. Thank you for the video!

[@TheHowtoDad]

Trust me, using em is way more fun than maken em

[@andy92drew0019]

This project is so damn cool what an awesome thing to do for your kid.

[@AmplifyDIY]

What a fantastic project! Hank looks right at home on his planks.

[@nateb4543]

I was worried this was gonna be one of those "diy" vids where "i designed this in cad, 3d printed the mold, milled this part, plasma cut that part, then finished it out on the lathe" For someone looking to go simpler, uhmwpe tape works great for a durable, slick bottom. Thats more for a sled, where edges aren't as important. Impressive build though! I may do this for front skis on the powerwheels

[@TheHowtoDad]

those videos are honestly the worst. I hate those too. I try to think of the average person when I do my builds. glad you appreciate that.

[@JamesTorrey]

Love Leo! Thanks for this, I have a professional woodshop, but want to try to make skis. I'll definitely take what I learned here!

[@TheHowtoDad]

If you've got a pro shop, this iwill be easy peezy for you! have fun@

[@JamesTorrey]

@@TheHowtoDad awesome, I'm definitely going to give it a try. Have you made skis for yourself? How did you apply heat?

[@TheHowtoDad]

@@JamesTorrey I think you're asking about heat for the curing process. Unless you are pressing a lot of skis and need them to cure fast, you don't need to apply heat to the skis while they are in the press, you just have to leave them in there longer. The big boys do that so they can press more skis in a shorter period. I made my own skis about 8 years ago, it was fun, but I had to make them twice because the first pair failed. In fact, I would suggest ordering enough material to make 2 pairs...

[@JackmanWorks]

Honda Element as a clamp?! Instant subscribe ;)

[@TheHowtoDad]

thanks!

[@JamesTorrey]

Lol lol

[@GARDNSOUND]

Really enjoyed watching this! Greetings from /r/DIY!

[@TheHowtoDad]

Thanks

[@gracecureton5468]

This is awesome! Im totally going to make my next pair of skies.

[@TheHowtoDad]

If you do I would LOVE to see them! post pics

[@ryanfitzpatrick1054]

Found the carpenter

[@TheHowtoDad]

Parker Davis just commented: Hanks planks held up well, but they are on the wall now since he out grew them. As for the topsheet, I used rice paper for the graphix, but no topsheet. The topsheet is mostly decorative, if you want to use one, go for it. hope this comment finds you!

[@TheHowtoDad]

@parkerdavis

[@dslee6523]

Car press.. impressive...

[@ninjaarcades7356]

Great project/ video

[@adsa973]

Very cool!

[@jimmymana3626]

Cool, Thank you for this Tipps :-)

[@livingscared509]

Thanks man

[@TheHowtoDad]

you gotter!

[@paulwolfram7774]

Wow, lucky kid!

[@lindseycomeau6535]

Do you have the website you got the base material from?

[@joneinarmattiasvisser6113]

Love this! Edit: 69th comment yeah!

[@TheHowtoDad]

Boom!

[@daisykiller6]

First of all: Nice video man, well built and simple, that's very important in a process complicated like ski making! Second of all: I'm trying to make my own vacuum bag right now, but I don't know if I'm using the right type of plastic. You are using polyethylene right? And what's the thickness of the plastic? Also, what are the white pipes you are using with your vacuum? Thanks for the heads up, keep skiing with your little guy!

[@TheHowtoDad]

Thanks! I used 6mil poly (vapour barrier). Make sure whatever you use, if there is writing on the plastic, the writing is on the outside. It will print Ont your skis! Also, remember to tape the base material with packing tape. Keeps the resin off them. The white pipes are just 3/4 Pex. Good luck!

[@daisykiller6]

@@TheHowtoDad Thanks for the quick answer! So you applied the red tape that we see on your vacuum on the base of your skis?

[@TheHowtoDad]

@@daisykiller6 no! Don't use the red tape in your base! Just regular clear packing tape. Thst red stuff is very sticky stuff and will leave residue behind. Another great resource for this kind is stuff is skibuilders.com

[@daisykiller6]

@@TheHowtoDad My skis are in the press but my vacuum bag fucked up pretty badly lol

[@remcovanwoerkom2016]

Really cool, id like to build my own skis! One question, how did you put the bindings on the skis? Ive seen inserts and bindings for sale but ive not seen anyone cover that specific part of the process

[@TheHowtoDad]

I think the inserts you are referring too are Quiver Killers, they are used to mount one pair of bindings to multiple skis. Typically bindings are screwed directly into the ski's core, no inserts.

[@codyccornwell]

@howtodad - this is an awesome guide, love the idea with your car as the press I was thinking the same thing. Could you share a link or some info on that vacuum bag and valve construction, thinking I’d like to take the same approach with my build.

[@TheHowtoDad]

hey Cody, I'm away from my regular shop for a while, also my harddrive with all my footage crashed last week (major bummer) I'll see whay I can do about puting a video together about the valve, but it's really very simple: the bag is just vapour barier (writing out, it will stain your skis if in) the bag is sealed with butyl calk (easy to find) and the valve is simply pex pipe with a ball valve, that's it! I wrapped the end of one of the pex lines with tape so I could attack the shop vac and pull down the vacuum. I't pretty janky, but it worked!

[@codyccornwell]

@@TheHowtoDad sorry to hear about your hard drive, damn technology lol. But thanks a ton for the response and a bit more detail, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing any big steps. Have a great day!

[@shakdidagalimal]

Wow. Here we use a small maple log, cut slices with a chainsaw, cut ski shape with bandsaw, flatten with electric hand plane, sand n seal with linseed oil,then car wax the bottom.

[@TheHowtoDad]

whatever gets you out! sounds like that would work. where are you?

[@hartzejr]

Wow that's awesome. How long did this project take you overall. I'd love to try this but doubt I can find the time.

[@TheHowtoDad]

It's hard to say... I've got 2 young kids, so I did what I could, when I could. I broke it up into projects, the blank, the cores, the form, and the layup were all separate projects. The layup and press for sure took the most time, probably 3 or 4 hours.

[@TheHowtoDad]

Hard to say, I was working on it in pieces when I had time. Each stage was like a project; the blank, the cores, the mold etc. maybe 30hrs?

[@alexm594]

hi great video. question about your lay up. what did you use to keep the skis from sticking to the vacuum film? looks like a cloth or towel . Is this a peel and ply material ? Can you give the lay up in order of operation from base to top ? it would be greatly appreciated. you did great job on this.

[@TheHowtoDad]

5:12 you will see peel ply applied between the towel and vacuum bag. The layup is exactly as shown/described in the video from 4:26 to 5:20.

[@alexm594]

@@TheHowtoDad great thanks. i really like your video you did great job

[@TheHowtoDad]

@@alexm594 Thanks a bunch! I appreciate the feed back...good to know I'm not blasting my videos out in total vain

[@treyw1023]

Did you use a regular household printer with the rice paper for the graphics?

[@TheHowtoDad]

yup!

[@lindseycomeau6535]

I was wondering how you made the wood fit to the mold to make the twin tips?

[@TheHowtoDad]

I shaped the wood to make it more pliable. placed it in the mold and when the fibreglass and resin cures the shape remains

[@anthonyaudi4620]

Is there any way to do this without using the vacuum bag? My only concern is properly making my own bag and using my crappy shop vac to draw the vacuum. Could a carbon fiber layup be done instead?

[@TheHowtoDad]

The reason for the vacuum is so the wood core, the fibreglass sheet and the resin are forced together to create a semi-monolithic unit. A CF layup would likely not work, but I am not an expert on these matters.

[@ethanbeck1444]

Do you know where to get the metal edges?

[@TheHowtoDad]

Skibuilders.com

[@neustkg]

I really like your info. Have you ever made a big boy set of skis? 180cm or more?

[@TheHowtoDad]

yes. I have made a couple pairs of skis. the process is very similar

[@rickden8362]

@@TheHowtoDad Did you use the car as a press for the big boy skies?

[@TheHowtoDad]

@@rickden8362 no. for the longer skis we used a vacuum bag and a mild to shape then skis. no press

[@rickden8362]

@@TheHowtoDad Thanks for the reply. Could you expand on the ''a mild to shape then skis'' I don't quite understand.

[@TheHowtoDad]

@@rickden8362 mold...not mild.

[@toneloc415]

how do you determine the thickness of the boards with your hand planer?

[@TheHowtoDad]

when using a hand planer you kind of have to eyeball it. You can use calipers to help. If you're going to making more than one pair, a jig is a good idea.

[@landinzimmerer5323]

What did you use as a base material?

[@TheHowtoDad]

I used base material. You can find it easily online

[@jeremyfoote8638]

What is the base material??

[@TheHowtoDad]

It's ski base material. You can get it from skibuilders.com

[@arian.mohajer]

you have a dopelganger in utah

[@TheHowtoDad]

there are some really good looking people in Utah

[@bowermanwinburn6723]

Mine works too. I used the Stodoys plans and performed it without any problems.

[@m____w____6981]

The project could be titled "Here's why you'll never be able to make skis at home"

[@TheHowtoDad]

ok...but I made these skis at home, and many others have made skis at home after watching this video...But if you're looking for excuses not to do something, you'll find them.

[@m____w____6981]

@@TheHowtoDad Hi, it's more of a joke comment. I have few of those tools and none of the skill. I admire your skill in making these, but it is not a trivial endeavor.

[@MrPhilodoxical]

Why do you have to edit the shit out of the intro?

[@TheHowtoDad]

what do you mean? the intro is super short and basic...at least I thought so.

[@robertgalen1123]

I think he means the overuse of jump cuts