Never tuned a ski and I'm thinking of starting

[James]

It's really not that complicated. You have a side edge file guide of 2 or 3 deg, or both. And a sidewall planer. A file, a diamond stone or 2. Don't touch the base edge basically. Diamond stones are needed to cut case hardened burrs when you hit rocks. Otherwise the file won't cut it, it's too hard.

You can get a fine stone or use one of the diamonds to make sure any burr from filing is not hanging below the base edge. Hanging burrs make the ski very difficult to turn.

Eventually they need to be stoned ground as the base edge gets too worn and the bottom is not flat.

People invent all sorts of voodoo, but you're filing and polishing metal. The amazing thing is that a change from 1/2 deg to 1 deg on a base edge isn't that much metal, but makes a huge difference.

 

[KingGrump]

It's only crazy if you want it to be.

Things can be real simple. If I am starting out and broke. The following list of stuff would suffice.

Sharpening.
Couple pieces of 4"x4" with some carpet or rubber on top
Side edge guide (2 or 3 degree - pick one)
Bastard file
Panzer file
Diamond stone - 200 grit

Waxing
Ski wax
Iron
Plastic scraper
Scotchbrite

Done.

But boys will be boys, and boys want toys.

 

[Near Nyquist]

It's only crazy if you want it to be.

Things can be real simple. If I am starting out and broke. The following list of stuff would suffice.

Sharpening.
Couple pieces of 4"x4" with some carpet or rubber on top
Side edge guide (2 or 3 degree - pick one)
Bastard file
Panzer file
Diamond stone - 200 grit

Waxing
Ski wax
Iron
Plastic scraper
Scotchbrite

Done.

But boys will be boys, and boys want toys.

Yeah
Like a rotobrush with a Milwaukee drill
And a carrot side edge beveler
And a winterstager discovery
And double IPAs

 

[James]

 

[Hawk45]

Oh no.. a reason to buy more tools!! I'm a hobby knife maker so I'm all for making things sharp. Can't wait to start!

 

[Hawk45]

Ordered up an iron, CH7, small brush kit (to start), scraper and some DMT diamond stones. Will build a vice/table (I'm handy). Next will be an edge and bevel guide. Have some nice Nicholson files from my knife making hobby already.

 

[Ken_R]

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I just did, took my skis to A Racer's Edge in Breck and they did a fantastic job. @Doug Briggs Dunno who there did them but they came out perfect.

Id say base and edge work (specially setting angles) leave it to the pros. Waxing one can do no prob. Messy but doable

 

[Doug Briggs]

I just did, took my skis to A Racer's Edge in Breck and they did a fantastic job. @Doug Briggs Dunno who there did them but they came out perfect.

Id say base and edge work (specially setting angles) leave it to the pros. Waxing one can do no prob. Messy but doable

I'm glad to hear you like the tune. I think that was Peter's handiwork. You left them over a weekend, right?

He and I have been working together a lot.He has a bum shoulder at the moment but can run the Scout, while I was waxing and scraping after the tune. Another person helps him by waxing and scraping when I'm not there.

 

[Ken_R]

I'm glad to hear you like the tune. I think that was Peter's handiwork. You left them over a weekend, right?

He and I have been working together a lot.He has a bum shoulder at the moment but can run the Scout, while I was waxing and scraping after the tune. Another person helps him by waxing and scraping when I'm not there.

Yeah. Left them friday and picked them up tuesday morn. It was cold AF and the black crows skied great.

 

[KingGrump]

View attachment 60137​

I would if I can afford it. Walk into Norse House by Stratton the other day looking for a base grind for an old pair of SL. They wanted $90 for a base grind and $145 for a full tune. I told them I'll put the money toward another pair. They run about $300 to $400 off season. Don't understand their pricing at all.

Have some nice Nicholson files from my knife making hobby already.

Check the hardness of your files vs ski edges.

 

[TheArchitect]

I thought I'd follow up on this. I've deburred and waxed a couple pairs and for the most part it's gone pretty well and I'm enjoying the process. I think that I'm using too much wax on each coat given how much scraping I'm doing. I figure with a little experience I'll get better at guessing how much wax to drip but for now I'd rather have more than less so I don't heat up the base too much. I'll be trying the crayoning and fiberlene approach when I do the next round.

 

[Sibhusky]

The fiberlene is a huge help on spreading the wax evenly and absorbing excess. I don't do the crayon thing, and it really helps shorten the scraping.

 

[TheArchitect]

The fiberlene is a huge help on spreading the wax evenly and absorbing excess. I don't do the crayon thing, and it really helps shorten the scraping.

Getting the wax on evenly is a plus. I haven't got the hang of it yet and end up doing more passes than I would expect to do.

 

[Dwight]

Crayoning really helps.

 

[Mendieta]

Crayoning really helps.

Yes. I think I am a candidate to use Phantom in my next skis. But I have been crayoning plus fiberlene. It's fast, smooth, no left overs, and for my modes needs, more than enough. The one thing that I feel like it's a great time investment is going through the edges.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Obviously not an expert suggestion but you can skip the scraping and one day on hard snow/ice will scrape them for you.

 

[TheArchitect]

I used the crayoning and fiberlene last night. I'm sold. While I wasn't perfect getting the wax soaked up near the tail it was still like night and day. Waxing was much more consistent and I used less.

I'm glad that the first couple times I used the "traditional" method but from now on in it's crayoning/fiberlene for me. I wonder how long it will take me to get to rotobrushes

 

[raytseng]

if you use fiberlene, and need to make two passes to remove extra wax; I do the second pass the the other direction. In this way, the start of the 2nd pass won't be overly dry, and picks up the majority of the leavings of the the first pass, and the end of the second pass will spread any extra wax to any undercoated areas.

 

[Atomicman]

I used the crayoning and fiberlene last night. I'm sold. While I wasn't perfect getting the wax soaked up near the tail it was still like night and day. Waxing was much more consistent and I used less.

I'm glad that the first couple times I used the "traditional" method but from now on in it's crayoning/fiberlene for me. I wonder how long it will take me to get to rotobrushes

Not Long!!!

 

[TheArchitect]

Not Long!!!

Yup. I’ll save it for next season, though. Scratch that gear acquisition itch that will be sure to show up.