Cutting Ski's... bad idea?

[Dizzy]

One (1) year into the Smitty experience, I can say that I love everything about my sled except for the length of the ski's.

I picked up an old pair of downhill ski's at the local thrift store ($10) when I started my build and they're about 7 feet long. Plenty long enough for what I needed, and too long to fit into most vehicles "straight on." As a result I have to transport them on a diagonal, and what a POA that has become, especially when sharing space with others.



I could easily shift my sled forward on the ski's an probably cut a foot off the back length (if not more).



Question is... Is that a good idea, or will the ski's delaminate? Also, since the ski's are arched, will this affect how it pulls?

I only drag it myself (walking), so there are no concerns over the extra pounding it would take pulling behind a snow machine. Cutting them is an instant solution, but maybe not a sound one. Perhaps I'll just keep an eye out for shorter ski's?

[gooner]

I cut the skis that I have on my sled to the length I needed them, and found no harm no foul.

[BaitBucket]

same here, about 3ft long

[paramedicjake]

Cut them down . I used a miter saw with a fine finish blade . No problem with mine .

[Purple Floyd]

Cut them. The ones that I got had metal in them for reinforcement and would trash a good blade. I just used a jig saw. Just be careful.

[stevek]

I just cut a pair a few minutes ago. I used a cutoff wheel on a die grinder, worked very well (but does stink a little). The sawing action would be more likely to separate them I would think, but the worst case scenario is to buy another $5 pair of skis.

[blufloyd]

Shorten them up flip the blue risers 180.  and ought to have plenty room.

[frogmaster]

Eventually they will start to delaminate....  You can try to Seal the newly cut ends in Expoxy for extended longivety.  Bless

[gooner]

Heres mine with the skis cut, I cut them about 4 years ago.
 

[Jaybobbie]

When I built my sled three years ago I cut the skis down to about 3 ft in length. The other day one of the skis pulled apart. It is still useable its just missing the slick plastic off of the bottom. I liked frogmaster's idea of using epoxy on the cut ends. I think that is what I'll have to do when I get around to replacing my skis.