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I used a pair of down hill skis, cut them down to six feet. The up rights are 2x6 and the cross pieces are 2x4 x 31 inches wide. as far as the spread goes, line your tub up with the cross pieces so that it's sitting stable and screw it down. Get your hands on some galvanized screws so they don't rust out on you. Start the rear blocks approx 10" in from the the back of the skis and work your way forward. I got the identical sled as Kingphoenix and it pulls like a charm. Hope this helps.
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QUOTE (Furlong @ Dec 10, 2017 - 10:15 pm)
x2 to Newburg.
A person's weight is a factor when selecting the length of ski, and the same can be said with smittys. A longer ski can 'float' more pounds over snow. I tend to pull the whole garage out, so the weight can hit 110lbs (170 if the niece is coming along ) My smitty has xcountry skiis that i cut to 160cm so I could fit them in my car. I wax them often, and find it pulls extremely well.
The space between the front and back supports shouldn't matter, just space them according to the storage platform you want to put on your sled.
Downhill skiis are wider then x-c, so they would float over snow better than x-c skiis of the same length, but are heavier.
If you go with downhill skiis, try to find the old straight ones. Most skiis of the past 20 years are parabolic (fat in front and behind, narrow in middle), they're designed for turning, not speed.
Critical point: When building, make sure the skiis are PERFECTLY parrallel and flat to the ground. A smitty with a 'stanky leg' is no fun
Hope that helps
How do you go about waxing your skis? I had to pull my skis across a few bare roads and it totally chewed up the skis, could really use a waxing!
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QUOTE (troutchaser @ Dec 11, 2017 - 07:35 pm)
QUOTE (Furlong @ Dec 10, 2017 - 10:15 pm)
x2 to Newburg.
A person's weight is a factor when selecting the length of ski, and the same can be said with smittys. A longer ski can 'float' more pounds over snow. I tend to pull the whole garage out, so the weight can hit 110lbs (170 if the niece is coming along ) My smitty has xcountry skiis that i cut to 160cm so I could fit them in my car. I wax them often, and find it pulls extremely well.
The space between the front and back supports shouldn't matter, just space them according to the storage platform you want to put on your sled.
Downhill skiis are wider then x-c, so they would float over snow better than x-c skiis of the same length, but are heavier.
If you go with downhill skiis, try to find the old straight ones. Most skiis of the past 20 years are parabolic (fat in front and behind, narrow in middle), they're designed for turning, not speed.
Critical point: When building, make sure the skiis are PERFECTLY parrallel and flat to the ground. A smitty with a 'stanky leg' is no fun
Hope that helps
How do you go about waxing your skis? I had to pull my skis across a few bare roads and it totally chewed up the skis, could really use a waxing!
I read on the Kawartha board someone uses large candles from the dollar store, and goes front to back.
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QUOTE (troutchaser @ Dec 11, 2017 - 08:35 pm)
How do you go about waxing your skis? I had to pull my skis across a few bare roads and it totally chewed up the skis, could really use a waxing!
Find an old iron and melt candle wax/ ski wax over the skis then pretend you are ironing the ski... scrape off excess and voila.. almost like a professional
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Im looking to make one of these contraptions aswell. Im assuming you screw the blocks into the ski from underneath? If so do you countersink the screw into the ski? Thanks
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QUOTE (Knuguy @ Dec 12, 2017 - 12:18 pm)
QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 10, 2017 - 01:34 am)
[URL=.
KP---those holes look quite big. Much bigger than the bolts? Is slop a prob, or do I need new glasses?
Just drilled out to take the nut, rest of the hole is smaller. Bungees on the eye bolts keep it all together super tight. Gravity and some weight makes it pretty tough for them to lift up even without straps.
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QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 12, 2017 - 08:06 pm)
QUOTE (Knuguy @ Dec 12, 2017 - 12:18 pm)
QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 10, 2017 - 01:34 am)
[URL=.
KP---those holes look quite big. Much bigger than the bolts? Is slop a prob, or do I need new glasses?
Just drilled out to take the nut, rest of the hole is smaller. Bungees on the eye bolts keep it all together super tight. Gravity and some weight makes it pretty tough for them to lift up even without straps.
I made mine the same way and it works just as you say, easy to takedown but solid. If I can offer Some advice. If you make another, move those eyebolts farther from those cuts as they are nearly level with the notch and close to the same grain on the wood. This makes a weak spot, I moved my bolts down a bit lower closer to the centre.
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QUOTE (nsfisher @ Dec 12, 2017 - 08:55 pm)
QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 12, 2017 - 08:06 pm)
QUOTE (Knuguy @ Dec 12, 2017 - 12:18 pm)
QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 10, 2017 - 01:34 am)
[URL=.
KP---those holes look quite big. Much bigger than the bolts? Is slop a prob, or do I need new glasses?
Just drilled out to take the nut, rest of the hole is smaller. Bungees on the eye bolts keep it all together super tight. Gravity and some weight makes it pretty tough for them to lift up even without straps.
I made mine the same way and it works just as you say, easy to takedown but solid. If I can offer Some advice. If you make another, move those eyebolts farther from those cuts as they are nearly level with the notch and close to the same grain on the wood. This makes a weak spot, I moved my bolts down a bit lower closer to the centre.
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QUOTE (nsfisher @ Dec 12, 2017 - 08:55 pm)
QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 12, 2017 - 08:06 pm)
QUOTE (Knuguy @ Dec 12, 2017 - 12:18 pm)
QUOTE (kingphoenix @ Dec 10, 2017 - 01:34 am)
[URL=.
KP---those holes look quite big. Much bigger than the bolts? Is slop a prob, or do I need new glasses?
Just drilled out to take the nut, rest of the hole is smaller. Bungees on the eye bolts keep it all together super tight. Gravity and some weight makes it pretty tough for them to lift up even without straps.
I made mine the same way and it works just as you say, easy to takedown but solid. If I can offer Some advice. If you make another, move those eyebolts farther from those cuts as they are nearly level with the notch and close to the same grain on the wood. This makes a weak spot, I moved my bolts down a bit lower closer to the centre.
Thanks, I don't think its a big deal it's not like I'm pulling it with a sled or something. the sideways pressure it would take to break that 2x6 is not something that I could see happening, carriage bolts go deep to spread the load too. Think I wanted to keep away from the screws coming up from the bottom as well.
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