The detail of a painting above is from Knud Bergslien's famous 1869 painting of the brave and dramatic rescue of a royal child by Norse skiers.  ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Bergslien

Building a Pair of Traditional Scandinavian Wooden Skis

Living in Wisconsin provides cold winter months in which one can hibernate indoors, or accept the reality, and go appreciate, and enjoy, the snow and ice.  I enjoy downhill skiing, and at one point also enjoyed the fresh air and exercise of cross country skiing.  This, combined with my interest in ye olde craftsmanship has led me to build a pair of traditional Scandinavian wooden skis which I hope to use for backcountry skiing here in Wisconsin.  The build-log of the making of these wooden skis may be found below.

Bergslien's "The Birkebeiner" Painting.

First some links to sites that helped me with research for my design and construction:

http://www.woodenskis.com/birchskimaking.htm

another Norwegian ski making video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbPVqUbcjDY

vimeo.com/122003289 Norwegian traditional ski making video

http://www.rannveigaamodt.com/ski-making-blowing-life-ancient-art/

www.dowe-ski.com

Now to the detail: Drawings for Traditional Wooden Skis

Based on information I could find, this is the traditional wooden ski that I will build.

Again, based on what information I could find, this is how I will size my traditional cross country skis and poles.

This is the design I have settled on for the mould that I will set the skis in after I have steamed them.

Step 1: Building the Form for Steam Bending Traditional Wooden Skis

First, I built the formwork that I will use to bend the skis to the curved final shape.  I designed the frame to be adjustable so that I can build longer skis and skis of different camber and front-point-curve with this same mold.

Raw materials: (2) 1x8x8' pine boards and (2) 2x4x6' pine boards for the form. The other two boards are the 4/4 rough sawn ash which I will use for the skis.

Gluing and screwing together the permanent support cross-braces. The cross braces are 12" long, so the inside width of the box is 12" which will be ample space to fit two skis at once.

Next I hand drew the curve at the front tip of the ski. I drew it a bit steeper than what I want the finished ski to be, as there will likely be some bounce-back after the skis are removed from the mold. In this photo, the cross brace farthest to the right is the key brace to keep the ski tip from popping up out of the mold.

Here the tip curve pieces have been screwed in place. If I want to modify the shape later, I can unscrew and relocate these cross-braces.

Completed form / mold for steam bending traditional wooden skis.

Step 2: Making a Template for the Shape of the Ski

I made a template using 1/4" (6.4mm) thick plywood.  I think that by using a template I will have better consistency in shape of both skis.  Also, I can reuse it in the future.

• I marked the length, and the width at the tip, tail and waist (middle).
  
• Drew the shape of the tip by hand
  
• Used a thin flexible wooden strip, that I would call a batten, to trace out the long curve on the sides of the ski.
  

Hand drawn shape at the tip of the ski.

With the widths marked at both ends and in the middle, I clamped a flexible wooden batten in place at the ends and bent it to meet the correct width in the middle, then traced along the edge of the bent wooden batten.

Here's a video on using a batten to trace the long curve:

Step 3: Cut the shape of the ski from a square correctly sized piece of wood

Traditional skis in Norway were made from Ash, Elm, or Birch.  Interestingly, in Norse Mythology Ash and Elm were the names of the first man and woman, as Adam and Eve are in Christianity.  I will build my skis from Ash.  I wanted quartersawn Ash, but I couldn't find any.  The ski design and materials will be quite traditional, but I will use a semi-modern binding, and I will use modern tools to make the skis.  I nice Swedish carving axe is a couple hundred bucks (carving axe is different than the typical hatchets/axes that we have), and I got this ash for $28, and I admit it will be quicker to use power tools for some tasks, so I am just going to use the tools I own (which will be a blend of power and hand tools) to make the skis.  I may make another set using a carving axe in the future...

• I started with two pieces of rough-sawn ash 1.2" thick x 6" wide x 100" long.  Rough sawn lumber is not uniform thickness, and is not straight, so it must be planed and trued up.
• First I used my power surface planer to create a uniform thickness with smooth top and bottom of the plank.  The pieces are 1 1/16" thick (27mm)
• Then I used a long straight edge to draw a straight line along the edge of the boards.  I used a circular saw to cut along this line, thereby creating a straight edge on one edge of the board.

Here I am drawing a straight line along the edge of the plank. You can see the variation in straightness in the rough sawn plank. It is well dried and stable clear Ash lumber.

• Next, I used a table saw and cut the board to 4.5" wide, with the newly cut straight edge along the fence of the table saw.  Then I flipped it over and made one final cut at 4" wide so that both edges were finish cut on the table saw.
• Then I cut it to length at 80".  So I had two straight, square, pieces of Ash 1-1/16" x 4" x 80".
  

Finished Ash blanks for making traditional wooden skis.

Then I used the template to trace the shape onto the Ash blanks.

Here is the first ski, cut to shape, but not with the tapers planed down yet.

I cut the shape using a saber saw with sharp new stout blade. Even with that, the blade was not able to hold vertical and it drifted at the bottom of the board vs the top of the board, so I cut a bit outside the line, and then used hand tools to square the edge and bring the shape up to the finished line. It would be best to use a band saw (or even better use a carving axe!)

Step 4: Sand Bottom and Cut Groove in the Bottom of the Skis

• Sanded bottoms with fine sandpaper on the belt sander; be careful as belt sanders are aggressive and can remove more than you want of you're not careful.
• I decided on a 3/8" wide x 1/16" deep groove for the skis.  I chucked a 3/8" diameter, flat-bottom, router bit into my router, marked the centerline of the ski, set up a fence using a straight board, and cut in the groove.  It starts 12" from the tip and finished 12" from the tail.

Here is a ski, bottom up, clamped down, with a straight fence clamped in position so that the router bit cuts right down the middle of the bottom of the ski.

3/8" wide x 1/16" deep grooves cut in the bottom of solid ash back country skis.

I used a 3/8" chisel to carve a tapered end the groove that I had cut with a router into the bottom of the ski.

Step 5: Taper the Skis Down to 5/16" at the Tip and Tail

• First sketch out the taper on the side of the skis.
• Taper the ski with a plane on each edge, on a bevel, leaving a big ridge down the middle, then plan off the middle to achieve a flat top.
  
• It should be noted that the traditional method is to use a carving axe, which I do not own.  A carving axe is beveled on one side only and would work great for shaping skis.....maybe I'll do it someday.

Taper, sketched onto side of ski.

First, I recommend making sure all your chisels and planes are razor sharp. I use a sharpening stone, and a fine sharpening stone, with oil, to sharpen my cutting blades. I sharpen them frequently and thereby avoid having to completely restore them from a blunt condition.

To plane the taper into the ski, I found it easiest to plane the corners off first, down to the finished thickness at the edge, and then next to plane the peak down to level.

Here is the planing in process. For planing off the peak, I found it useful at times to plan across the wood at 45deg, and at time right perpendicular across. Finish planing done parallel to the grain.

My skis will feature the traditional carved tip, called "the Ocean". This presents a challenge when tapering the front end of the ski, as one cant just plane right through the end of the ski. I reached a point where the tip was getting in the way of further planing, so I saw down just behind the tip and used a chisel to clear that area out.

Here is the area just behind the carved tip, with wood removed with a chisel. Now I will go back at it with the plane.

A nice curl of ash from the plane

Step 6: Carving the Decorative Tip of the Ski  (the Ocean)

The carved tip of the ski, called "the Ocean" of the ski by the Norse, can be personalized to extent of the imagination of the carver.  I chose to go with a simple circular design like that shown in the painting above.  With the ski planed down to thickness, I drew out the shape I wanted to carve and then sawed and carved it to shape.

Tip shape sketched onto the wood.

Video of carving the ski tip:

Looking at pictures of old skis, it seemed that the carved ocean at the tip was more elegant and narrower (side to side thickness) to a narrowed mine up a bit, and I am happy with the result.

Finished carved ski tip.

Step 7: Using a Scraper to Finish Smooth the Skis

I used a scraper to scrape the ski tops and bottoms smooth.

Mine is a BAHCO scraper from Sweden.

Here is the finish carved ski ready for steam bending. (this photo was from before I carved the ocean narrower)

Step 8: Building a Steam Box For Steam Bending the Skis

Here is a sketch of the steam box that I built.  I tried to use the PVC steam tube that I used when building my boat, but the skis were to wide to fit in it, so I built this box.

I nailed the top and bottom on with nails spaced at 6". Here you can see the hole at the end that my steam fitting will fit into. This end is removable with 4 screws. The steam enters the box through this end.

The steam leaves through this end. Three holes are drilled for the stream to exit from. The bottom hole is drilled right at the floor level of the box in order to allow any water that condenses in the box to drain out.

• SAFETY NOTE: You follow my actions and plans at your own risk! I am not a professional wood steamer, and am not a professional steam box designer. Steam is dangerous; it can build up extreme pressures at burning temperatures, and an improperly built steambox could build too much pressure and a component of it could explode under pressure. Do not force steam into an enclosure without a way for the steam to safely exit the enclosure. Do not use materials in areas where they could start on fire or melt. If you are using fire to heat the water, do it in a safe place where you wont start other nearby things on fire; probably best to do this outside. Have a hose or fire extinguisher handy. Use materials that can withstand the pressure and temperature. Do not open up pots, containers, or boxes that are under steam pressure.

Step 9:  Steam Bending Traditional Wooden Skis

In the steam box, the skis will rest on little blocks as shown here to allow steam to circulate around the skis.

For steaming I use a large aluminum pot over a propane burner. It is about a 7 gallon pot, and I filled it half full with water, which was about half gone after an hour and a half of boiling.

Here are the skis carefully placed on the spacer blocks in the steam box.

At this stage I screwed the end of the box in place and connected the steam hose.

Next I secured the boiler top and fired up the boiler.  I steamed the skis for one and a half hours.

Have a fire extinguisher at the ready for safety. Once the boiler reached a boil I added spring clamps on the lid to keep it down tight.

The skis are steaming in the box. The garage door to the left is open for ventilation. The mould is nearby ready to accept the steamed skis.

Steam exiting the far end of the box. The box is at a very slight angle, with the exit end slightly lower than the steam entry end, which allows condensed water to run down and drain our the lower hole in the exit end of the box.

After an hour and a half I put on thick leather gloves (the skis are way to hot to touch), and removed the skis from the box. I quickly set them in the mould as shown, and everything went well. I will leave them in the mould for a couple days.

…...And that's where the project is at as of now, late September 2018.  I will have these done in time for this winter, so please check back in and I will update this site as I progress.