Never tuned a ski and I'm thinking of starting

[jmills115]

I have the Tools4boards spin but haven’t used any other brands to compare it to. I am happy with how the brushes are holding up after one season of use.
I pieced the 3 brush kit together for about $145 and if I was doing it again would look at a brass and nylon brush and pass on the horsehair.

 

[Andy Mink]

Toko is a site sponsor. Just sayin'.

 

[Sibhusky]

I have an earlier set of rotobrushes from RaceWax and it's probably going on ten years now, but they were actually made by FK/SKS and no complaints. But sometime else on this board got a set more recently and was not as happy.

It looks like the current iteration of that part number is here: http://www.fktools-us.com/Product-Details.asp?Part-Number=3326 I notice the guard is not part of the FKS set, but it was part of the set I got from RaceWax and to me it's crucial.

 

[OnEdge]

Hi All! Long time lurker but new member here.

Do home tuners typically polish (vs. set or cut the angle) the base edge when tuning?

I just started tuning kiddo race skis this year (rising U8 and U10 girls), and at least some of the how-to's I ready seemed to suggest polishing the base edge as part of a tune. So I check the base edge for irregularities and tidy as necessary, and then run my finest diamond stone in a guide down the base edge one or two times to polish. Does that make sense?

Also, for whatever it's worth the race program director told us to put a 2 degree side edge on the kids skis. This was something about which I could find very little guidance online, and what I did see seemed to indicate that a 3 degree side angle was appropriate for junior racers.

My thanks in advance for the group's thoughts! Stay safe everyone.

 

[TheArchitect]

I have the Tools4boards spin but haven’t used any other brands to compare it to. I am happy with how the brushes are holding up after one season of use.
I pieced the 3 brush kit together for about $145 and if I was doing it again would look at a brass and nylon brush and pass on the horsehair.

I read the handle for the Spin kit was very good. I think I'd prefer having a guard, though. Are you going straight from brass to nylon with your work flow or do you find the horsehair doesn't make a big difference?

Toko is a site sponsor. Just sayin'.

It's a thought. The Sidecut kit is appealing for the 120mm and 150mm width, though.

I have an earlier set of rotobrushes from RaceWax and it's probably going on ten years now, but they were actually made by FK/SKS and no complaints. But sometime else on this board got a set more recently and was not as happy.
View attachment 99671
View attachment 99672

It looks like the current iteration of that part number is here: http://www.fktools-us.com/Product-Details.asp?Part-Number=3326 I notice the guard is not part of the FKS set, but it was part of the set I got from RaceWax and to me it's crucial.

I agree on having the guard, especially if using a brass brush. Good to know that someone recently got the Racewax and wasn't happy. Do you remember what it was that the person was unhappy about?

 

[jmills115]

I read the handle for the Spin kit was very good. I think I'd prefer having a guard, though. Are you going straight from brass to nylon with your work flow or do you find the horsehair doesn't make a big difference?

If I had a handle with a guard I would still wear safety glasses but feel safe with just my glasses
Prior to getting an electric scraper sharpener I had been using the fiberlene method to absorb which led to less-no scraping but decided I prefer to scrape
Now with sharp scrapers, I’ll go right to the nylon brush after scraping

 

[TheArchitect]

If I had a handle with a guard I would still wear safety glasses but feel safe with just my glasses
Prior to getting an electric scraper sharpener I had been using the fiberlene method to absorb which led to less-no scraping but decided I prefer to scrape
Now with sharp scrapers, I’ll go right to the nylon brush after scraping

By complete coincidence my Swix electric scraper sharpener was just delivered. I've used the fiberlene method and like it but I'm still working to perfect it.

I'd like to keep post-scrape brushing down to two types of brushes. Some websites suggest brass followed by nylon and others horsehair then nylon. I'm trying to decide what I would like to do and then order. Going with 2 brushes and the handle get most of these kits down to a good price.

 

[KingGrump]

Hi All! Long time lurker but new member here.

Do home tuners typically polish (vs. set or cut the angle) the base edge when tuning?

I just started tuning kiddo race skis this year (rising U8 and U10 girls), and at least some of the how-to's I ready seemed to suggest polishing the base edge as part of a tune. So I check the base edge for irregularities and tidy as necessary, and then run my finest diamond stone in a guide down the base edge one or two times to polish. Does that make sense?

Also, for whatever it's worth the race program director told us to put a 2 degree side edge on the kids skis. This was something about which I could find very little guidance online, and what I did see seemed to indicate that a 3 degree side angle was appropriate for junior racers.

My thanks in advance for the group's thoughts! Stay safe everyone.

You are polishing If you are using a diamond in a guide.
You are cutting if you are using a file.
If the angle of the guides used do not match the existing side edge angle of the ski then you are resetting the edge angle on the ski.

If your kids are older and/or really good - go with 3 otherwise 2 will suffice.

I agree on having the guard, especially if using a brass brush. Good to know that someone recently got the Racewax and wasn't happy. Do you remember what it was that the person was unhappy about?

The horsehair fibers fall off. They replaced the defective item promptly. This is from memory not actual personal experience.
I bought couple brushes from Racewax. The horse hair didn't feel right. Gave it away. The steel brush was long. It measured 120 mm even though it was specified as 100 mm. Had a get a longer mandrel to make it work. I would say good price but the QA/QC is problematic.

I'd like to keep post-scrape brushing down to two types of brushes. Some websites suggest brass followed by nylon and others horsehair then nylon. I'm trying to decide what I would like to do and then order.

The brass is more aggressive in wax removal compared to horse hair. Everyone have their own routine. Mine is scrape, horse hair, nylon. I have tried brass in between but can't really feel much difference. But then I don't race. YMMV.

 

[TheArchitect]

The horsehair fibers fall off. They replaced the defective item promptly. This is from memory not actual personal experience.
I bought couple brushes from Racewax. The horse hair didn't feel right. Gave it away. The steel brush was long. It measured 120 mm even though it was specified as 100 mm. Had a get a longer mandrel to make it work. I would say good price but the QA/QC is problematic.

The brass is more aggressive in wax removal compared to horse hair. Everyone have their own routine. Mine is scrape, horse hair, nylon. I have tried brass in between but can't really feel much difference. But then I don't race. YMMV.

Thanks for the input! I'd rather pay once for something more expensive but higher quality than try to save some money and end up replacing it. I learned that lesson a long time ago. I think I may try horsehair and nylon first and add a brass roto if I feel the need. I have a brass oval if I need it.

 

[TheArchitect]

I think I've narrowed it down to either the SVST or Sidecut. I'm planning to get the 150mm version with a horsehair and nylon brush. The difference between the two with shipping is about $20, which isn't a factor. I see the Sidecut handle allows for quick swapping of the brushes but can't tell if the SVST does as well. I may reach out to Race-Werks to confirm.

 

[KingGrump]

Just a heads up. The SVST brushes and mandrel are not compatible with most of the other brushes/mandrels out there. I believe they use a oval mandrel rather than the standard 10 mm hex.

 

[Sibhusky]

I don't use a brass rotobrush. It just seems way too harsh to me and with the potential of raising ptex hairs, slowing you down. I use hard waxes fairly often, too, and never saw a need. I just wax, do a pass with Fiberlene, cool, scrape, horse hair, nylon. (That's oversimplified, but the essence. The reality is much more, but will sidetrack the topic.)

 

[James]

Just a heads up. The SVST brushes and mandrel are not compatible with most of the other brushes/mandrels out there. I believe they use a oval mandrel rather than the standard 10 mm hex.

That alone is enough to skip it.
Just get a horse hair. I’d go Red Creek.
If using brass, be sure to wear glasses/goggles as the bristles often come off.

 

[TheArchitect]

Just a heads up. The SVST brushes and mandrel are not compatible with most of the other brushes/mandrels out there. I believe they use a oval mandrel rather than the standard 10 mm hex.

That kills the SVST. I'll take another look at Red Creek as James suggests.

 

[KingGrump]

Red Creek, Toko, Swix are the same. Same company, different color.
I have had good experience with both Swix and Maplus.

ETA: Briko, Maplus, Red Creek, Toko & Swix are all the same. Different colors
.

 

[jmills115]

That kills the SVST. I'll take another look at Red Creek as James suggests.

20% off at Tognar still

 

[ARL67]

The Tognar discount has lured me into adding binding mounting drill bits and a 12AB tap to my cart.

FYI my wax process: I don't Roto, but I apply wax via crayon method and iron, let cool indoors overnight, then re-heat the wax and use a Scott Pro shop towel under the iron to soak up the wax, and let the ski cool again for a few hours. I then scrape with plexi, which usually yields not much because of the Scott Pro towel. Then I do 4 passes with a Toko oval copper brush, then 8-10 passes with a nylon brush.

I have been using Purl Purple for the last 3 seasons, but recently bought some of their Green and Yellow and Graphite, and will try some blending next season via crayon method. I definitely noticed on some very cold days this season, that I needed something more suited to a lower temperature range. And at the opposite end when I was out on a few warm spring days where my skis were sticking. I like Purl as I can buy it in their 1 kg bricks and it is pretty cheap, all things considered.

 

[Jacques]

I can't ski and who knows if we'll be skiing next season so of course I'm looking at buying some roto brushes.

I've searched here and know most of the usual suspects. Swix, Sidecut, Toko/Red Creek, Racewax, SVST, Spin, etc. Given the pricing for each it seems like the Racewax kit at $119 is too good to be true. Does anyone who has/had it want to chime in with what they think of it? How about the Sidecut or SVST? Any that I'm missing that someone could recommend?

Brushes - SIDECUT

Brushes - Sidecut Tuning offers a wide range of brushes for ski tuning that work in the high performance ski and snowboard world.

www.sidecut.com

Roto Brushes and Handles for Ski Waxing

www.race-werks.com

Tools4Boards > Brushes > Roto

The powerful shopping cart software for web stores and e-commerce enabled stores is based on PHP5 with SQL database with highly configurable implementation based on templates

www.tools4boards.com

RaceWax Ski Rotobrush Kit SnapOut Quick-Change Axle Plus All 3 Brushes

Ski snowboard wax and tuning tools with video instructional help for the do-it-yourself tuner.

www.racewax.com

Forget about roto. You don't need them. Hand brushing is the king!

 

[jmills115]

The Tognar discount has lured me into adding binding mounting drill bits and a 12AB tap to my cart.

FYI my wax process: I don't Roto, but I apply wax via crayon method and iron, let cool indoors overnight, then re-heat the wax and use a Scott Pro shop towel under the iron to soak up the wax, and let the ski cool again for a few hours. I then scrape with plexi, which usually yields not much because of the Scott Pro towel. Then I do 4 passes with a Toko oval copper brush, then 8-10 passes with a nylon brush.

I have been using Purl Purple for the last 3 seasons, but recently bought some of their Green and Yellow and Graphite, and will try some blending next season via crayon method. I definitely noticed on some very cold days this season, that I needed something more suited to a lower temperature range. And at the opposite end when I was out on a few warm spring days where my skis were sticking. I like Purl as I can buy it in their 1 kg bricks and it is pretty cheap, all things considered.

Purl yellow has been great for me in the spring. In Utah I mostly use purple and will go blue on colder days. I will blend purple and blue on occasion as well

 

[Atomicman]

If I had a handle with a guard I would still wear safety glasses but feel safe with just my glasses
Prior to getting an electric scraper sharpener I had been using the fiberlene method to absorb which led to less-no scraping but decided I prefer to scrape
Now with sharp scrapers, I’ll go right to the nylon brush after scraping

You still scrape after Fiberlene before Rotobrushing. Uses much less wax and a lot less to scrape! Best to use Fiberlene and then let skis cool to room temp. Then Scrape and Roto!