Keeping good records during ski building is a must whether it's for your own personal sanity or if you want to run a small business making skis or snowboards.
I was getting tired of scratching numbers on a pieces of paper, punching numbers into a calculator, and making notes only to misplace them later, or realize I made an error and having to start all over again.
There were 3 things I found myself constantly jotting down, scribbling on the work bench or on scraps of paper. First, what is it costing me to make a pair of skis? Second, what are the key ski dimensions and what size is the core vs finished ski? Third, if I was to try to make a buck on a pair of skis, what's it costing me and if I charge $X amount what's my profit margin?
It was time to get organized so I created 3 Excel spreadsheets to help me with these tasks. I'm sure there's software such as Quickbooks to do most of this for you. But the spreadsheets are easy to use, maintain, and simple. Best of all they are free. Feel free to copy the spreadsheet and modify to suit your needs. I'm sure I'll be modifying them as time goes by to capture more information.
Here's the link to the spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AudcfxPSiyTWdHM3SmFmRF92UTAwUnptSUtXTlRJZFE#gid=0
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AudcfxPSiyTWdHM3SmFmRF92UTAwUnptSUtXTlRJZFE#gid=0
The Profit/Loss calculator is pretty straight forward. Enter your values into the YELLOW boxes and the remaining boxes are calculated. If the numbers in the 'Estimated Profit After Tax ' are RED you're losing money. If they are BLACK you're making money. You can make the calculator more sophisticated if you want by adding expenses such as utility expenses for the shop, tool maintenance, taxes, etc.
The Ski Core Calculator is designed for the way I make skis. Some of your default values and calculations may be slightly different. But using the calculator is easy. Enter your numbers
into the YELLOW boxes and the rest of the keys dimensions are calculated for you. So now when I make a ski core I plug in the final ski dimensions and the calculator tells me the dimensions my ski core should be. I print off the spreadsheet, take it down to my shop, post it on the wall and I have my reference sheet at the ready.
This calculator is designed for 2 skis/boards but can easily be changed add all your skis. Enter all of your skis on the sheet, print it off and you have it ready when ever you need it.
Note: All dimensions are in MM. If your are using SnoCAD-X most of the dimensions can be taken from SnoCAD-X.
Tip Width - Finished width of the tip
Waist Width - Finished width of the waist
Tail Width - Finished width of the tail
Tip Length - Finished width of the tip
Tail Length - Finished length of the tail
Ski Ctr Set Back- I use 50mm for set back.
Running Length - (ski length) - (tip length) - (tail length)
Ski/Boot Center - This is the length from the tip of the ski to the center. (Running Length/2)+Tip Length
Boot Center (Ski Center) +50 - (Running Length/2)+Tip Length+50
Toe Mount Area Length - 130mm
Heel Mount Area Length - 230mm
Binding Area (toe mount + heel mount) - The binding area is the thickest part of my wood core. The slope to toward the tip starts in front of the toe and the slope toward the tail starts after the heel mount.
Toe Slope Length - This is the length of the ski from the front of the toe mount to the start of the ski tip.
Tail Slope Length - This is the length of the ski from the end of the heel mount to the start of the tail.
Core w/o sidewalls (dimensions between the edges) - Just as it says, the ski core dimensions minus the sidewalls.
Finished Core Shape dims - This is the ski core with sidewalls. As you can see the dimensions are greater than the true ski dimensions. This allows for trimming to the final dimensions.
The Material Cost is just that. All the costs of the actual material that goes into making a ski. I have a couple of variables depending on if I'm using a wood veneer top sheet or cotton cloth. I also have on there epoxy vs Poly-Urethane glue.
I hope you find these calculators helpful. Feel free to send questions or comment.
