So…finally ready to make a big post about what has been a big part of my life these last few years.
Project has been called ON3P skis. I can almost hear the moans and associated eye rolls of a lot of people who are sick of hearing about more and more ski companies coming out over these past few years. I have been thinking the same thing and it has definitely been compounded by my desire to be building my own skis. But bear with me…..
The idea started right after getting a pair of custom skis that basically turned out to be a big disappointment to me. They were not bad skis, but just not what I expected or asked for. This was in the spring of 2006 when I was finishing up my sophomore year of college at the UPS in Tacoma, WA.
Quick note. It is said O N 3 P. Just say it out. I have some friends who say it One 3 P. It stands for thirteenth and proctor which was the house I lived at when this idea started. But again, really simple. O N 3 P Skis.
As I thought about it more and more, I got it in my head that I should just build my own skis. Low and behold, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Cost wise, this project has cost me over 6 times what I originally expected. Granted, we have made 52 pairs of skis so far, but it took a ton of work to get where I am right now.
One of the biggest difficulties for me was that I was in college the whole time this was going on. Not only did I not have a lot of available funding (there were months were all I could really do one month was buy one tool, then another, and so on until I had everything I need), I did not have a lot of available time. I just graduated last may, and was studying biology with a premedical focus, so I was working pretty hard in school already. This was especially compounded by a 10 month thesis research project running crabs on treadmills (no joke….I ran crabs on treadmills….yup) that basically kept me in the library or lab 24/7 the last semester of my senior year.
At this point, I have graduated and really trying to see if I can get funding to make these skis available next year. With today’s economy, this is being pretty difficult. But I am pretty determined to get it done.
Anyway, basically I will give a photo guide of everything that I had to do to get this done. This involved designing and constructing my own ski press, learning how to use a ton of tools I had never used before, like routers, band, jig, and table saws, dremel, drills, etc. etc, and then learning how to design molds and skis shapes, and FINALLY getting to make some skis.
I didn’t want to half ass it, and while my skis are definitely not perfect, I think they came out pretty damn good and can only get better from here. So far I have made 52 pairs of prototypes and hope to get more out this year, but that all depends on funding.
Anyway, now to all the photos.
Painting the ski for the ski press. Thanks to Gabe (Jumper Bones) for the help getting all the steel to my house.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n3pskis001.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n3pskis003.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n3pskis002.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n3pskis006.jpg
From here, I had to drill the steel. This was…..an interesting process for me. Steel was ½” steel, and all the holes I drilled were ½” wide, so when all was said and done, I had drilled some ridiculous amount like 15 feet of steel.
The hard thing was to make sure everything fit together well. It took me some time to figure out how to get everything drilled correctly, along with the difficult task of moving and drill beams that were almost 300 lbs each, sometimes right next to each other. But when all was said and done (after a lot of drilling), it was all worth it.
I used grade 8 bolts, lock nuts, and at least 2 nuts (sometimes 3) one each of the 148+ bolts that hold the press together. I will be building a new press soon that will be welded, so the time to build it will pale in comparison….anyway, press construction.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis001.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis002.jpg
Legs coming together
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis003.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis009.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis010.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis012.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis011.jpg
From here, we finally had the moment of truth. Will everything fit together? The press was basically 3 parts; a main press cavity and two leg sections. When it was all said and done, I was so stoked that it turned out.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis025.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis022.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis027.jpg
Best toll EVER for getting the legs on
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis032.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis031.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis035.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis036.jpg
Press finally came together, and looked great.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis040.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...N3PSkis041.jpg
So then I moved from the house this idea started out to a new house. Located was great because it was with a few blocks of 10 bars….BUT shop wise, conditions were tight. The shop was 13’ x 17’ and had only 2 110V lines. Ek. But I made due, and had to build it up a lot.
Lots of work to go
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ptemplates.jpg
So now I had to go and make the best of the space I had. So I build up the shop from the ground up.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08007.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08006.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08012.jpg
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http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08019.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08024.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08025.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08032.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08038.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08039.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yFall08042.jpg