A man who called himself a "ski developer" but (presumably) knew nothing about skis actually visited a ski manufacturing factory and ended up working on the ski manufacturing process
This three-part series explores the mysteries of ski making—materials, internal structure, and production process—in an entertaining way, allowing viewers to relive this special experience. This is the second installment.
Entertainment skier Shogo Kono's brain was overflowing with knowledge from the very first day. What will happen on the second day!?
Click here for Episode 1: Infiltrating an Unknown World
The death flag of "I have a feeling it's going to work out" and the special treatment from an overly kind craftsman
I woke up to an anxious morning, unsure of how much of what I'd been putting together last night was actually finished.
When I opened the heavy, light-blocking curtains of my business hotel room, the dazzling morning sun streamed in.
It was a perfectly clear, cloudless day. Right in the middle of a high-pressure system. It was such a beautiful day that it even made me think, "Hey, maybe things will actually work out."
When I arrived at the office at 9 o'clock, Ms. Edo, who had patiently answered all of my questions via LINE late into the night, asked me kindly, "Were you able to rest well yesterday?" Her
kindness made me smile politely, and today's training began.
"Right now, Satomura is making all the preparations, so would you like to go and take a look?"
When I arrived at the factory, Mr. Satomura was preparing the press machine. The plates were being churned out in one go to produce the entire year's worth of units.
Although production of the Raptor, which I was making, had already finished and the shipments were complete, he had gone to the trouble of adjusting the press machine specifically for the Raptor for my training.
Furthermore, the assembly room was neatly arranged with all the parts in place, and the design drawings were posted.
Well, with everything prepared like this, it should go smoothly... right?
The craftsman aims for 15 minutes, while I'm aiming for 1 hour. Yet, the blueprint in front of me looks like nothing more than a mysterious code
The assembly process involves stacking ski components together in a mold using adhesive.
You place a component into the mold, apply adhesive, and then stack another component. This process is repeated.
The craftsman can assemble one board in 15 minutes
"Well, it'll probably take about an hour at first!"
Mr. Satomura said with a laugh. So, an hour is within the acceptable range, then. At least I felt a little relieved knowing that it was okay to take four times as long as the craftsmen.
I put on rubber gloves and stand in front of the workbench. I take a deep breath and check the parts
...I don't really understand
I even feel like this might be the first time I've ever seen it. At this point, there were some materials that I hadn't even seen in their component form.
In the midst of my confusion, I looked at the blueprints that had been prepared for me.
I don't really understand
It's because it's written by product name, not as FRP or reinforcing material as explained to me
……I didn't hear about that
The atmosphere made it impossible to even say, "Could I take a break for a bit?"
I had no choice but to go.
However, I knew from experience
that nothing good comes from pushing yourself when your heart is screaming, "No, go!"
The top sheet that was "definitely failed" was quietly replaced
Mix the epoxy and hardener. A distinctive smell fills the air. Place the sole in the mold, fit the edges in, and apply adhesive
"Start from the tail in one go, then bring it from the nose to the tail in two or three turns. Make sure you have a good gap at the edge."
Even though I was told to do it all at once, I felt like there were some spots that weren't painted properly, so the putty kept going back and forth
"Don't apply it sideways."
Despite being told not to, the putty is scattered all over the place
Anxiety manifests in actions. The feeling that I must do it carefully, and the feeling of wondering if this is really okay, take up a lot of time
After applying adhesive to the sole and edge, apply a primer. Then apply more adhesive, then more primer. Apply more adhesive, then FRP. Similarly, layering adhesive, FRP, primer, primer, side material, and finally the intermediate wood
"Ideally, the top and bottom of the board should be made of wood, and the same material should be used as much as possible to create a beautiful arch.
However, the material of the top sheet and the base are different, and because of the edges, we take those factors into consideration when deciding on the materials."
Those words from Edo come to mind. So that means there's still half left?!
The Raptor has a total of 16 layers. That means the maximum time I can spend on each layer is three and a half minutes. This is bad, no matter how I look at it I've spent more than five minutes on it.
A mix of feelings arises: the urge to hurry and the desire to ask, "Is this correct?" and get it checked
The ninth layer, the tenth layer. As I continued layering, my hands gradually began to get warm
"Ah, the epoxy is starting to harden."
Satomura's words reached my ears. Adhesives generate heat as they harden. The adhesive that had splattered onto my rubber gloves in my haste was starting to harden. The adhesive I had on hand was the same
"Hmm, this isn't working. Let's try making the adhesive again."
Satomura's voice was deafening.
Once the adhesive starts to harden, it becomes unusable. If you try to apply the unusable adhesive over and over again, thin materials will wrinkle.
For now, we'll make a new batch of adhesive to make it soft again and start again.
While I was doing that, Edo and Satomura had disappeared.
Maybe that "This won't work" from earlier wasn't about the adhesive, but rather about the entire board manufacturing process.
Hearing that would completely break my spirit. All I can do is keep going
Then Satomura returned and quietly replaced the top sheet. The graphics were from this season. He was supposed to be working on the Raptor, which will be a product for next season, so the fact that he brought out this season's top sheet, which is already completely out of production, means... well, you get the idea
I somehow managed to put the top sheet on, with the greatest anxiety I've ever felt
"What do you think?"
When I listened to her voice, which was so faint it was almost inaudible..
"That's a little off."
Satomura peeled off several layers at once and made some fine adjustments
I felt incredibly uncomfortable when I saw it. I checked the time and it was an hour and a half. We
were well past the one hour they said the initial assembly would take.
After that, everyone spoke very little, carrying the closed molds to the press machine and starting the pressing process.
Pressing involves applying heat and immense pressure to bond the sheets together, and the process takes about an hour
"You must be tired. Shall we take a short break?"
I was invited into the conference room by the kind Mr. Edo
"Craftsmen are truly amazing. I learned a lot from them. It's important to remember how incredible craftsmen are from time to time."
Every kind word from Edo-san pierces my heart
The atmosphere was terrible, and there was no conversation. Yet, a smile born of sheer determination connected us to "tomorrow."
After about an hour, the press machine let out a big sigh, spewing out the sheet metal
The removed plate was hot. Mr. Satomura took the plate out and checked both sides. He had heard that even a small piece of debris stuck on the surface or bottom of the mold could lead to a dent, but there was no sign of that
Normally, the results would be announced at this point, but now everyone is silently accepting the situation, and no one is allowed to ask "What do you think?"
"There's very little room to ignore. It was incredibly difficult."
If I don't say anything else, I'll just blurt out that kind of opinion
"You must be tired. I have a dinner reservation for you afterward, so please take some time to rest and recover,"
Mr. Edo said to me once again.
Going out to eat in this atmosphere would be pure hell.
I quickly created this image to try and get a laugh.
Everyone knows it was a failure, but it's hard to draw the line on how far you can go with making fun of the failure. I decided to send it to Edo-san first, and regardless of what he really thought, he replied, "That made me laugh so hard. It wasn't a failure at all. Let's do it again tomorrow!"
At a drinking party, Edo-san asked, "Kono-san, do you have that picture from earlier?", which allowed me to show the picture to Satomura-san as well. She
was laughing hysterically. That was great!!
It's not good
Let's succeed tomorrow and laugh
To be continued in Episode 3: We'll Make It No Matter What.
Blue Morris https://bluemoris.com/
Photo by Hodaka Ando