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[maintenance tuning] Keeping the edges sharp in-between tune ups?

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Mendieta

Mendieta

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Be sure to use plenty of fluid with that stone.
You surely need a vice and bench to go where you are going.

Thank you @Jacques , I read the stone manual real quick and it recommended using a mix of 50% isopropyl alcohol and 50% water. It seemed natural since my veins run on about 50% alcohol :roflmao:. So I went for it. It seemed to go fine. I'll take them for a spin tomorrow. If you guys never hear from me again, you'll know it was a really bad "tune". :D
 

Jacques

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Thank you @Jacques , I read the stone manual real quick and it recommended using a mix of 50% isopropyl alcohol and 50% water. It seemed natural since my veins run on about 50% alcohol :roflmao:. So I went for it. It seemed to go fine. I'll take them for a spin tomorrow. If you guys never hear from me again, you'll know it was a really bad "tune". :D

That can work fine, but us "real pros" use Denatured Alcohol. You can get it at a hardware store. Mix with water and you can clean your glass too!
Also used pure for camp stove fuel. I buy it by the gallon. Make a mix in a sealable container large enough to dip the entire tool into.
Dip and lightly shake off the excess. Do that every few strokes or so.
Maybe you saw this, but this is how I do it.
 
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Mendieta

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My first side edge touch up, yay. Wayyy cool! My set up is a bit primitive:

View attachment 36982

But hey, I put the BEAST to good use!

View attachment 36983

Yes, I need a vise, but hey. The side edges are smoother now. The first pass it sounded like scratching metals, the forth or fifth in each section already felt more "silent". That felt about right. I did pick up some of the orange plastic from the side. I tried a sharpie and came out clean. Meaning, it probably is a 2 degree, which is what I was using. And also what I requested when I had them tuned.

Soo cool. I can't thank you all enough!

Ok, here is my status update. I took the skis out on a very challenging day (ice everywhere), and they were just fine. It seems to me like my mini-tune up did make the edges smoother and a little more stable after all the beating they've been taking. I didn't touch the bases, since there is nothing major.

My next step is a Vise. How is this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Wintersteiger-Sport-Plus-Ski-Vise/dp/B00AH4U3CE/

I want something simple like that. I read in this sub-forum and it seems to me that vise with the jaw in the center might be a bit of a problem, since the ones closer to the target I am setting for this expense ($100 an lower) seem to only go to 90mm with the jaw? Is it important to be able to clamp the ski itself? This one doesn't.

Oh, and there no snowboards in my life, I just need a ski vise. I noticed that some do both.

Thanks for any thoughts!
 

Sibhusky

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I have that vise (World Cup Pro) that only opens to 90, because skis were skinnier when I got it. So far I've just been grabbing the binding plate instead with no issues. But then I don't own any skis that are 116, maybe there are bindings for those with plates that are too wide??
 

Dwight

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I know! I found them for like 7 bucks on Amazon, with a lot of reviews. A few people mentioned that they work fine for tuning in their reviews. With the rallies, they barely push the brakes under the base, but they do, and I can always use two. I got a ton of them. That worked well!

Next thing is a Vise and I'm good for a while. I've been reading the portable bench thread. I think I'll wait for a chance and get a portable bench, but I have no rush, as I found a bench outside the house I can use with a vise. Getting there!

Can you work on the edges with the base up as if you were waxing? Many thanks!

If the rubber bands are long enough, loop them. Put the end on one brake side(left), take the rubber band under the right brake and then attach to the left brake side again.
 
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Mendieta

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I have that vise (World Cup Pro) that only opens to 90, because skis were skinnier when I got it. So far I've just been grabbing the binding plate instead with no issues. But then I don't own any skis that are 116, maybe there are bindings for those with plates that are too wide??

Thank you! I wound up getting a similar one from RaceWax for under $90

http://www.racewax.com/racewax-world-cup-ski-vise-all-metal-three-piece-90-mm/

I can't wait to have it at home!
 

James

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My first side edge touch up, yay. Wayyy cool! My set up is a bit primitive:

View attachment 36982

But hey, I put the BEAST to good use!

View attachment 36983

Yes, I need a vise, but hey. The side edges are smoother now. The first pass it sounded like scratching metals, the forth or fifth in each section already felt more "silent". That felt about right. I did pick up some of the orange plastic from the side. I tried a sharpie and came out clean. Meaning, it probably is a 2 degree, which is what I was using. And also what I requested when I had them tuned.

Soo cool. I can't thank you all enough!
You can hold the ski up resting on your chairs with one hand and use your guide in the other. Do it in sections. Doing it flat is kind of awkward.
 
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Mendieta

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That is the vise I have my eye on too.

My edge tools are all in the mail as I type this. They will be home before I am.

It looks like a real tool, and at a very good price. I can see myself using it a decade from now. It doesn't look huge which is nice, too, for car trips.
 
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Mendieta

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Silly random question on this same thread topic: if you wax and touch the edges, you first do the edges and wax at the end, right?
 
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Mendieta

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Right. Because you don't want metal filings being worked into the base.

Ah, thanks! I used a fine stone, and I waxed first. I realized right away that it was a mistake because there was some was on the edges clogging the stone. Which I kept cleaning with the water/alcohol solution, but I thought I'd ask. Thanks again!
 

colospgmike

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Great thread folks, I finally ditched my multi edge adjustable pos, also reached out to Tognar, and went with the side of beast/new file/diamond stones. One tune then a ski day at Breck yesterday. seemed to make a difference. I dropped my Z 77's off at Racer Edge afterwards to have them take me to baseline so I can do a better job with them going forward.
 

laine

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I've been reading all these tuning threads, but still have a question - how often should you actually tune your edges? I've been told I should wax every 3-5 ski days, but the REI instructor said that we just need to do our edges 1-2 times a season (my average is about 20-ish days in a season) for Tahoe. Can someone shed some light on this?

As I look to maybe build a tuning set-up, I might just focus on waxing. (We live in a condo, without a private garage.) If I really only need to sharpen my edges 1-2 times a season, a shop might do a much better job at that than I would, since my skis have been done already this season.

I saw this vise online - https://www.amazon.com/Swix-Helium-Vise-2016/dp/B014SCC17U/

How important is the middle vise? If it's important, I was looking at these:
https://www.amazon.com/Swix-Jaw-Economy-Vise-2016/dp/B00AYFRUJA
https://www.amazon.com/Toko-5560047-Ski-Vise-Race/dp/B00F7VM25I/

@Mendieta - I saw the one you linked to above - http://www.racewax.com/racewax-world-cup-ski-vise-all-metal-three-piece-90-mm/ - and this may be a totally stupid question - but I'm kind of confused about how you would deburr or tune edges without the 60* side slots.
 

Eric267

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I've been reading all these tuning threads, but still have a question - how often should you actually tune your edges? I've been told I should wax every 3-5 ski days, but the REI instructor said that we just need to do our edges 1-2 times a season (my average is about 20-ish days in a season) for Tahoe. Can someone shed some light on this?

As I look to maybe build a tuning set-up, I might just focus on waxing. (We live in a condo, without a private garage.) If I really only need to sharpen my edges 1-2 times a season, a shop might do a much better job at that than I would, since my skis have been done already this season.

I saw this vise online - https://www.amazon.com/Swix-Helium-Vise-2016/dp/B014SCC17U/

How important is the middle vise? If it's important, I was looking at these:
https://www.amazon.com/Swix-Jaw-Economy-Vise-2016/dp/B00AYFRUJA
https://www.amazon.com/Toko-5560047-Ski-Vise-Race/dp/B00F7VM25I/

@Mendieta - I saw the one you linked to above - http://www.racewax.com/racewax-world-cup-ski-vise-all-metal-three-piece-90-mm/ - and this may be a totally stupid question - but I'm kind of confused about how you would deburr or tune edges without the 60* side slots.

Do you have a gummy stone?
I usually wax every 5 or so days and just run the gummy along the edges to fix things up a bit each time. Usually file every 20 days or so depending on conditions. You will get to the point where you will be able to feel just by lightly running the file down the side edge if it needs to be reset a little. Last season I think I only really did the edges 2-3 times for 125 ski days. But last year in Tahoe was pretty much soft all season. This year I think I'm already on the 3rd time in 35 days since conditions have been firm with lots of burrs kicked up by rocks this season
 
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Mendieta

Mendieta

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@Mendieta - I saw the one you linked to above - http://www.racewax.com/racewax-world-cup-ski-vise-all-metal-three-piece-90-mm/ - and this may be a totally stupid question - but I'm kind of confused about how you would deburr or tune edges without the 60* side slots.[/QUOTE]

I think it rotates on its axis.Btw, i used it today, a total pleasure!

20180119_172348.jpg


Yes, it rotates, live pic just for ya

1516416670234279189555.jpg
 
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Blue Streak

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I've been reading all these tuning threads, but still have a question - how often should you actually tune your edges? I've been told I should wax every 3-5 ski days, but the REI instructor said that we just need to do our edges 1-2 times a season (my average is about 20-ish days in a season) for Tahoe. Can someone shed some light on this?

As I look to maybe build a tuning set-up, I might just focus on waxing. (We live in a condo, without a private garage.) If I really only need to sharpen my edges 1-2 times a season, a shop might do a much better job at that than I would, since my skis have been done already this season.

I saw this vise online - https://www.amazon.com/Swix-Helium-Vise-2016/dp/B014SCC17U/

How important is the middle vise? If it's important, I was looking at these:
https://www.amazon.com/Swix-Jaw-Economy-Vise-2016/dp/B00AYFRUJA
https://www.amazon.com/Toko-5560047-Ski-Vise-Race/dp/B00F7VM25I/

@Mendieta - I saw the one you linked to above - http://www.racewax.com/racewax-world-cup-ski-vise-all-metal-three-piece-90-mm/ - and this may be a totally stupid question - but I'm kind of confused about how you would deburr or tune edges without the 60* side slots.
Scrap the Helium. Get the Swix Economy.
I got rid of my Swix 500, and bought the Helium, and soon found out that I use too much brushing pressure not to have a center clamp.
So I scrounged a center clamp from a Swix Economy.
It works fine, and I am happy with it.
 

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