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fixing a broken tip
Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2021 4:20 pm
by riel
When I picked up those resued-from-the-dump E99 skis, I noticed the tip protector had fallen off from one of the tips.
Yesterday I noticed it did more than fall. It broke off the tip, and the tip has a big tear in it. However, it is high enough in the tip that it probably should not cause any real issues, as long as I manage to fix it.
My current plan for fixing it:
- Glue the top and bottom back together, with something that will soak into the wood and create a strong, flexible bond. Maybe polyurethane wood glue?
- Encase the tip in a new tip protector, to keep the fibers from separating, hopefully turning the force (when the tip hits something) into more of a longitudinal shear between the glued together fibers. For this I'm thinking a 2" or so heat shrink tube, with adhesive, and a 3:1 shrink ratio so the protection can go most of the way to the front of the tip. Maybe a 1.5" one as well on top of the 2" one, to get the protection further out toward the front?
Does that make sense?
Is there a better/easier way to do this?
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2021 7:29 pm
by Woodserson
riel wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 4:20 pm
When I picked up those resued-from-the-dump E99 skis, I noticed the tip protector had fallen off from one of the tips.
Yesterday I noticed it did more than fall. It broke off the tip, and the tip has a big tear in it. However, it is high enough in the tip that it probably should not cause any real issues, as long as I manage to fix it.
My current plan for fixing it:
- Glue the top and bottom back together, with something that will soak into the wood and create a strong, flexible bond. Maybe polyurethane wood glue?
- Encase the tip in a new tip protector, to keep the fibers from separating, hopefully turning the force (when the tip hits something) into more of a longitudinal shear between the glued together fibers. For this I'm thinking a 2" or so heat shrink tube, with adhesive, and a 3:1 shrink ratio so the protection can go most of the way to the front of the tip. Maybe a 1.5" one as well on top of the 2" one, to get the protection further out toward the front?
Does that make sense?
Is there a better/easier way to do this?
I have plenty of marine epoxy over here. Some of the stuff I have has a little bit of flex to it. By that I mean, it's still hard but it's not brittle. I also have epoxy syringes to really squirt it up there. Let me know.
If you go with a polyurethane I'd go badass on it and sink a couple of rivets into it.
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2021 8:40 pm
by riel
Woodserson wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 7:29 pm
[I have plenty of marine epoxy over here. Some of the stuff I have has a little bit of flex to it. By that I mean, it's still hard but it's not brittle. I also have epoxy syringes to really squirt it up there. Let me know.
If you go with a polyurethane I'd go badass on it and sink a couple of rivets into it.
That would be wonderful! I think a syringe is the answer to my questions...
Let me go order the heat shrink tubing off Amazon, and we can fix the tip with an epoxy syringe whenever you have time.
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:51 pm
by riel
With the snow on Mt Washington, I could not wait any longer. I just had to fix the broken tip on those rescue E99 skis. I used a bent paperclip to jam polyurethane wood glue as far into the cracks as I could.
Then I had the ski tip clamped for a while. First with paper towel, to absorb the squeezed out glue, and later without. I removed the paper towel while the glue was still partially liquid, so it was easy to remove and took excess glue with it.
Finally, I used some heat shrink tubing, with adhesive, to form a new tip protector. This tip protector is a little shorter than the old one, which is probably no big deal. I don't know whether I would need a second piece of heat shrink tubing to get the weight right or add a little more protection, but so far it feels alright...
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:36 am
by fisheater
@riel That is one nice repair! Looks great in the photo. I would have just used some JB Weld, but those Eidleweisse E-99 are classic, at least in my mind. Those skis deserved a good looking repair!
I have an even older pair of Europa 99 badged skis. They are royal blue with red and gray accents. The top sheets aren’t as cool in my mind, but I bought them to be rock skis.
Looking forward to hearing your review, I’ll be piping in with mine. Not that reviews of old skis really mean much.
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 9:37 am
by Woodserson
Oh man! I have syringes! You should have let me know I would've driven them over. I don't know how liquid the glue you are using is though, maybe too thick. Are you going to try to the put the old plastic tip back on?
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 2:45 pm
by riel
Woodserson wrote: ↑Sun Oct 03, 2021 9:37 am
Oh man! I have syringes! You should have let me know I would've driven them over. I don't know how liquid the glue you are using is though, maybe too thick. Are you going to try to the put the old plastic tip back on?
The glue is quite gooey, and fairly easy to smear around with the paperclip. Not something we would have been able to squeeze through any syringe thin enough to reach the bottom of that hole, I'm afraid. Pushing excessive amounts of glue around, and then squeezing it in a little further, has probably done the trick. I don't think there are any places the syringe would have been able to reach that the paperclip couldn't. If anything, it probably was the other way around.
I don't have the old plastic tip. The ski came with about 1/3 of that plastic tip, which must have broken in half when the ski tip was damaged. I suspect the extra length from that plastic tip may have been a factor in the damage that was done to the ski tip. The combination of the wood glue and the adhesive of the heat shrink tubing should keep the ski tip pretty much water proof.
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 4:21 pm
by fgd135
I think the repair looks pretty good, esp. that innovative use of the shrink tubing.
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 9:13 am
by riel
I took out these rescue E99 skis for a 10 mile trip on the Franconia Notch bike trail yesterday.
They feel very different from any other ski I have. Fairly stiff underfoot, but still responsive, stable, and easy to control (at least on mellow terrain). The weather, the views, and hanging out with a friend really rounded out the day. My first day of the 2021/2022 ski season could not have been better.
Re: fixing a broken tip
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:20 pm
by Woodserson
Nice job bringing a ski tossed into the trash back to life! With little effort, I might add. It’s pretty wild how people view so many things as entirely disposable.