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Build Your Own Cross-Country Ski Tracksetter for Grooming
By:  Arno Turk   (2006/06/22)

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If you've got a big field for a backyard you might as well groom if for skiing! Now you can go out and try to buy a tracksetter from any of these companies...

But those are going to set you back hundreds or many thousands of dollars, so why not just build a very simple one. Here are some pictures in case you want to build your own.

Basic xc ski tracksetter
A fairly wide box provides a flat track and room to pole on either side.

Build your own xc ski tracksetter
The angled front funnels snow downward to be compressed.

Build your own classic skiing tracksetter
The metal bar attaches to a recreational snow machine or Alpine. The wooden box can be filled with bricks, cement blocks or sand bags to provide enough weight for compressin the snow..

Basic xc ski classic tracksetter
The bottom of the box was covered with a "crazy carpet" like plastic for reduced friction.

Basic xc ski tracksetter to tow behind a snow mobile
The runners are made from plastic that can be shaped using hand-held power tools (HDPE or UHMW) but 2x4 could be used as well. In terms of the runners dimensions for tracking there's a someguidelines...

Cross Country Canada manual (http://www.cccski.com/dbfiles/469.pdf)

According to the FIS rules quoted in this, it looks like a standard track allows for a good deal of variation.

Depth: 2-5 cm
Width: 6-7 cm.
Space between tracks (center to center): 17-30 cm. apart...

“The ski tracks must be prepared so that ski control and gliding are possible without a lateral braking effect by any parts of the bindings. The two tracks should be set 17-30 cm. apart, measured from the middle of each track. The depth of the track should be 2-5 cm, even in hard or frozen snow.”

Here are a few other D-I-Y tracksetting links..

 
Interesting Reading. . .
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