Ski Press Drawing as of 08 31 2010

The Pulaski press has come a long way. We think it will have a very low deflection, easy to get the mold in and out and it is stack able. As we move forward we will post the molds, bladders and cat tracks. If anyone wants a scaled drawing we are happy to email a PDF or DWG at any stage in this process. Any feedback is more then appreciated.

History in the making

Tavi Tru-Trak Anyflex ($100 in 1957) has adjustable wire running through both sides of ski. By turning screw at end of wire, racer can adjust stiffness to suit snow conditions. Easily replaced one-piece edges fasten by screws set in from top. Ironically this is what Shane McConkey did with the first Volant Spachela design. He applied the 1957 technology to the outside of the ski, made it so tight that the ski went into reverse camber..History is important.

Ski Quote

"It is better to go skiing and think of God, than go to church and think of sport".

Fridtjof Nansen

Once A Day Improvement Thought

The Primary purpose of Grace is to serve our lives. We will go to work ON the business and not IN it. There is a huge difference there and a great distinction. We move ahead thinking and working toward a goal; That Grace is a prototype for 5,000 other small ski makers just like it. Here are the rules to follow:

1. Grace will provide consistent value** to our customers, employees, suppliers and lenders...BEYOND what they expect.
2. Grace will be operated (or could be) by people with the lowest possible level of skill
3. Grace will stand out as a place of impeccable order.
4. Grace work will be documented in "Operational manuals"
5. Grace will provide a uniformly predictable product/service to the customer
6. Grace will utilize uniform color, dress and facility code. (brand)

We found this list in The E Myth by Micheal Gerber...we like it. (Thanks to Stove Pipe Leg) it doesn't seem to fit the ski industry or our perception of it. Why would we want the lowest level of skilled work? Seems contradictory, but it isn't. What we need to devise is a system that employs the simplest process. This way the value is delivered through the creation of the best and most efficient system. "The grace way of doing things"

val·ue 
–noun
1.relative worth, merit, or importance

Hand Made ski article....

Nice little read about hand made skis. Mike hatrip thinks the little guy cant hang...

Resources and Community Help

The crew at Ski Builders.com are helping us out with the ski press design. We posted the "Pulaski Press" and they found their way to it. The concern is deflection. deflection is a term that is used to describe the degree to which a structural element is displaced under a load. We noted some other presses and their respective deflection in designs similiar to this one. We wanted to post the "final" updated version for everyone to check out. The most important improvement is the 1/2" plate at the top and bottom of the volume. This is implemented to help with deflection of the 4x4 beams. We figure these plates will be bolted with 1/2" Dia. bolts as well as welded to keep the beams from twisting under the 90 psi possible during pressing. I hope the ski builder crew can find their way again and offer their input!

ODIT (Once a Day Improvement Thought)

I was "lucky" enough to be let go from my landscape Architecture position 8 weeks ago. I wasn't just let go, I was furloughed. This was an 8 week furlough and it ends Friday. I was to be notified as to my shelve life a week before the end of the "temporary lay-off". As you can probably tell this blog and this process started 8 weeks ago. Thus the term "lucky" is employed instead of unfortunate.

To my point of ODIT (once a day improvement thought)

Keep doing what drives you. If you are not doing what drives you what is the point? Money isn't the point, time isn't the point, respect isn't the point, doing what drives you is the point. life and life's work has to be one in the same. When life and work overlap to the point of the pixels blurring, you are there. So:

Keep doing what drives you, keep the pixels blurred! Always.

Second step closer to a Ski press

Here is The Grace Designed frame for the ski press. This will go into fabrication in the next 7-10 days. Of course money and time factor into everything, but the goal of having the bladder and frame ready in 10 days from this post is an achievable goal. We also thought ahead to being more production oriented, this design lends itself to stacking, so to press 4 skis at a time. Two on top and two on the bottom. We rummaged suppliers for leftover stock steel to avoid the implementation of new steel. We figure the re-use of some one's waist is better management of "our" resources. We use the term "our" because we like to think in terms of everyone on this earth not just Grace employees, not just skiers, but everyone involved in keeping this earth copacetic ally rotating at 23.5 degrees. If any one wants to build a press like this, the cost from beginning to end is around 1000.00$. We are talking wood mold, steel, square tube steel or aluminium,(for cat track) bolts, nuts, air fittings, bladder(recycled fire hose), silicone, Masonite and MDF. The 1000 bucks does not include craft time!

As for the name...one guy gets it...

Here are the steel material costs and contact info for Mountain steel:

total price: $674.00

2 @ W 24 x 55 x 2-0 w/ Holes (wide flanges)

6 @ HSS 4 x 4 x .250 x 8-0 w/ holes

Contact info:

Dave Fowler, Project ManagerMountain Steel & Supply Co.

3810 Race Street Denver Colorado 80205

Phone (303) 296-1631 Fax (303) 296-2427

If you want the DWG of the press with dimensions etc shoot me an email!

Once a day improvement thought #1

We thought it would be a quality and adventurous campaign to register a way Grace could improve once a day. it is an adventure because we have not sold a ski, for that matter even finished the press, but here it goes...

We will blog one thought a day as to how Grace can improve the product (ski) and or improve on developing a community. So here it goes...

1. Always be subtle. (ironic it is in bold?) We think being subtle is the character we should exude moving forward. Don't spell everything out, all the time. let the ski, graphics, representatives, Eco sensitivity and marketing be baked into the product and community. The quality, passion and ability to deliver will speak for itself and in the end be a resounding call.

New Powderwhore trailer

The guys at Powderwhore have put together some quality movies for a few years now. Their films give true insight into the feeling of telemark skiing. Anyone who has dropped a knee in a few inches-or a few feet-of powder can practically feel it in these movies. And the crew over at FLYLOW are on board as well. Go see the movie and try to win some free Gear from FLYLOW...nice way to start off fall with a heart pumping viewing of TELEVISION...

OUT

click the pic you might like where it takes you

Enough said

My Grandmothers name

Grace:

 
1. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. a favor or good will.
4. a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior:

5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
6. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.
7. an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable
8. My Grandmothers name....

Mythology

The goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae.

Synonyms

1. attractiveness, charm, comeliness, ease. 4. kindness, kindliness, love, benignity; condescension. 5. lenity, leniency. 14. embellish, beautify, deck, decorate, ornament; enhance, honor.

people you should know

http://thewinterlife.com/

Grace-full ideas moving forward

As we think about this business so many ideas flood our gates. We continually look to Seth Godin and his thoughts as a leader in marketing. The guy hits the right cords and we enjoy his insights. We hope to capitalize on his thoughts as we read them everyday. We took in his words and RE-created the list below. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/foundation-elements-for-modern-businesses.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

1. Build in virality. Or a viral phenomenon, that is, an object or pattern that is able to induce some agents to replicate it, (rep program) resulting in many copies being produced and spread around.
2. Don't sell skis that can be purchased cheaper at Amazon. Sell more then a ski, sell the Tribe.

3. Subscriptions beat one-off sales. (build community)The asset of the future is the embrace of a tribe, not a cheaper ski.
4.Try to create an environment where your customers are happier when there are other customers doing business with you (see #1).(team with respectful partners, Marker,Flylow etc)
5. Treat different customers differently. Gracefully listen to people, everyone.
6. Generate joy, don't just satisfy a need for a commodity.
7. Rely on unique individuals, not an easily copyable system.
8. Plan on remarkable experiences, not remarkable ads.
9. Don't build a fortress of secrets, bet on open. Invite everyone in, have a party.
10. Match expenses and time frame to cash flow--don't run out of money. Be patient
11. Create scarcity but act with abundance. (the line theory at the Rio) Free samples create demand for the valuable (but not unlimited) Respectfully offer. Give more take less.
12. Tell a story, erect a mythology, walk the walk, be real. (community)
13. Plan on obsolescence of our product don't expect home runs every at bat, but keep swinging. Never let your customers become obsolete
14. The best people to fund our growth are the customers.(no investors unless we need a major upgrade in production due to a solid demand)
13. When the marginal cost of an interaction approaches zero, we benefit by creating plenty of them. (community)

The concept that keeps coming to the front of our thoughts is the building of a Community or Tribe. The agents involved in building this Community will be vast and diverse. Nothing can exist without Community.

How many skiers are touring to powder jib?

"don't put a twin tip on a touring ski. if you do, make it really subtle. they suck for skins and making snow anchors, carrying, and gondola style lifts. (I saw Plake at the end of the season with a pair of Elans- he ground off the tail shovel on 'em) How many skiers are touring to powder jib? A little notch in the tail to accept a tail hook is a good thing, plus holes in the tip and tail help for making a rescue sled. not sexy, but nonetheless practical..."

~Peter Mason http://www.chamonix-heights.com/

This is an interesting take and a wonderful perspective from a Chamonix mountain guide. I toured with Mr. Glen Plake and Peter in March 2010. Peter and Glen embody the Alps. Their attitudes are so far removed from the North American Style of skiing and living. My 200cm carbon wrapped skis with a waist of 120mm were pounded on by Plakes notorious laugh. If you have heard it you know what I mean. Plake's cynical laugh says, "No matter what, if you are skiing you are cool, but you don't know what you are doing." He laughs at North America and he laughed at my skis and touring bindings. For good reason. Going up is as cool as going down. I will heed Peters advice in the development of the touring ski aka Jake. I know full well that only .001% of the skiing public in North America could give a hoot about a rescue sled but doing what is right for the industry is better then selling a "laughable" product for the .001% that know.

Creating our community

Choosing your customers
"Yes, you get to choose them, not the other way around. You choose them with your pricing, your content, your promotion, your outreach and your product line.When choosing, consider:How much does this type of customer need you.How difficult is this sort of person to find...and how difficult to reach. How valuable is a customer like this one...and how demanding? It's not a matter of who can benefit from what you sell. It's about choosing the customers you'd like to have".

These are Seth Godin's thoughts and what we think is a viable strategy. Moving forward the community we build is as important as the product.

One small step to a press

We managed to score two 24' fire hoses today. Good old Craigslist. One search, yielded two hoses at 30 U.S.D. for the pair. We move in the direction of a two volume pneumatic press, each volume pressing two skis. If my abacus doesn't fail me, we will be able to press 4 skis at one time.

More news:

We received a thoughtful email from Desi at Entropy Resins today. Looks like we will heat our press to support their Super Sap 100/1300. This has the highest Bio content of any of their epoxy/hardener. We all hope it holds up underfoot!

Entropy Resins http://www.entropyresins.com O: (415) 839-7309 C: (650) 430-9803

We move ever closer to.............