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What's your thoughts on this "Tuning" Kit?

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Glass Cranks
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Long term, no. What they are is self-consistent in the short term.

So what you don't want to do is use a metal one-piece guide to establish edges and then use a plastic multi-edges to polish, and that mismatch will get worse the older the plastic multi-edger gets.
For sure. I'm wondering if a brand new SKS-style tool at 2* is anywhere near 2* in anyone's experience?
 

James

Out There
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I’ve got one that’s sat in a box for prob twenty years. Just too much of a hassle to use and not worth it. Just get one fixed angle and a file.
It probably has the most usefullness to do a base edge. But just have the shop do it. I don’t think there’s any cheap base edge guides worth anything. Maybe the Beast. (The originals were terrible. Got a bunch of those too sitting around.)
For sure. I'm wondering if a brand new SKS-style tool at 2* is anywhere near 2* in anyone's experience?
What’s that? Got a photo? They make a bunch of different ones.
If you’re always using the sane guide, absolute accuracy doesn’t matter. But most plastic ones are adjustable. That’s an issue.
 

Doug Briggs

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I am looking at the vise and think it looks a lot like my Swix vise in size and features; the Swix doesn't let the tip and tail supports don't tip to an angle, though.

The vise system is great for race skis as the middle clamp will grab the plate and/or sidewall nicely. It won't hold skis that have rounded or sloped sidewalls as well. The tip and tail supports aren't that wide either. For instance my Rangers with their Aero design (rounded top sheet; think railroad car roof) don't sit well on a similar vise nor do my powder skis.
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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What I decided on the adjustable guides was that when you change from one angle to another, it wasn't always settling exactly in the same position, that it was very slightly different. Maybe not in a major way, but enough to make the edge duller. A similar issue with some guide clamps which would allow the stone to shift because it wasn't held firmly in all directions against the guide.
 

Atomicman

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ZNot a fan of the Beast stuff. got rid of all of it. SVST is the way to go. Spendy, but will last & last.......I particularly am not a fan of their side edger. It is awkward and easy to misuse. Also a pain in the ass wiht thier hold down plate. Spring clamp and an SVST with shim plates is the way to go. You are working on sports equipment worth how much? Don't be chinsy on the tools.

Jaques loves Beast stuff....I respectfully disagree. And I know the inventory
 

Pasha

i hiked the ridge... twice...
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Surprisingly, the tuning kits linked on the first page of this page have not dropped in price since the links where posted....
 

Atomicman

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Not a fan of the Beast stuff. got rid of all of it. SVST is the way to go. Spendy, but will last & last.......I particularly am not a fan of their side edger. It is awkward and easy to misuse. Also a pain in the ass wiht thier hold down plate. Spring clamp and an SVST with shim plates is the way to go. You are working on sports equipment worth how much? Don't be chinsy on the tools.

Jacques loves Beast stuff....I respectfully disagree. And I know the inventor
Should say I know the inventor, as does Jacques.
 

Flo

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I wanted to start to wax my skis by myself and saw this kit. Is it enough to start? I think I will miss a bronze brush.
Is the edge sharpener usable?
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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I look at each item in the kit and decide if I'd choose it if it wasn't in the kit. Out of this kit, I'd use the scraper and the iron. So to me that kit is worth $60 TOPS.

Better to just make a generic list of what's in it and buy better versions of each item, because ultimately you'll replace all of them.
 

Philpug

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I wanted to start to wax my skis by myself and saw this kit. Is it enough to start? I think I will miss a bronze brush.
Is the edge sharpener usable?
Here is another option and it supports a good cause..

As far as missing the bronze brush, that is something that can always be added down the road. you will get more use out of the different waxes.
 

Flo

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I would love to support this cause but the other pack includes a pair of vise...
Here is another option and it supports a good cause..

As far as missing the bronze brush, that is something that can always be added down the road. you will get more use out of the different waxes.
 

Sibhusky

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KingGrump

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the other pack includes a pair of vise

I believe @Sibhusky nailed it above in post #49.

Most of the items in that kit are really crap. Crap that you will throw out within the first season of tuning.
IMO, the only items that are acceptable is the wax and plexi scraper.

I'll give you a quick run down of the remaining seven items.

(01) Vise. I have several different sets of ski vises. That set is the one that never get used. It cantilevers off the edge of the bench. All the wax scraping ends up on the floor. For some reason the skis like to jump off that thing and fall on the floor. Tried it out once. It has been on the wall in my VT house since then. I would ship it to you for the cost of shipping but I don't think it's worth the hassle. You can make a better set of vises with couple pieces of 2x6 cut offs and a scrape piece of carpet.

(02) Wax brush. Spend a few more bucks and get a oval horse hair. Your hand and fingers will thank you.

(03) Brake retainers. Treat yourself to something healthy. Buy a couple bunches of broccoli. Trim the broccoli into bite size pieces. Saute with a bit of minced ginger and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Finish with a splash of light soy and drizzle with few drops of sesame oil. Healthy and delicious. Oh yeah, save the rubber bands.

(04) Iron. The Swix T75 is the least expensive iron carried by several different manufacturers. Different color, of course. I have couple I carry around as a second back up iron on my extended road trips. The best things about it is that it is small, compact and light weight. I usually see them on sales for about $20-$25. They are a real pain once you have used a real wax iron. Even a Swix T77 on Amazon is decent buy for $42. Will make the waxing experience much more pleasurable.

(05) Edge guide. Don't know about you but I definitely wouldn't let that thing near my skis. Another downside to that guide is the files used are not standard sized. A fixed guide with a 100 mm file would be the way to go.

(06) Instruction manual. Ha ha ha. Pugski and youtube.

(07) Carrying case. Really? That's why we buy gallon size zip locks from Costco.
 

Flo

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Thank you all for your help. It's not easy when you've never done it by yourself to know what's good or not.

I will buy everything separately and focus on the wax for now. Do you have any recommendation for the vise? They don't come cheap! I also saw something different on this video called Mr grippy Did you test it? As I live in apartment, I don't have a workbench and plan to tune the skis at my workplace. It looks stable and easy to install / transport but at 100$ I find it super expensive for what it is...
 

chopchop

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Thank you all for your help. It's not easy when you've never done it by yourself to know what's good or not.

I will buy everything separately and focus on the wax for now. Do you have any recommendation for the vise? They don't come cheap! I also saw something different on this video called Mr grippy Did you test it? As I live in apartment, I don't have a workbench and plan to tune the skis at my workplace. It looks stable and easy to install / transport but at 100$ I find it super expensive for what it is...
Good thread here on tuning tables:
 

KingGrump

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Thank you all for your help. It's not easy when you've never done it by yourself to know what's good or not.

I will buy everything separately and focus on the wax for now. Do you have any recommendation for the vise? They don't come cheap! I also saw something different on this video called Mr grippy Did you test it? As I live in apartment, I don't have a workbench and plan to tune the skis at my workplace. It looks stable and easy to install / transport but at 100$ I find it super expensive for what it is...

If you are staring out and just looking to wax your skis, you do not need a fancy vise. Just screw together couple pieces 2x6. Cover the top with a piece of foam weatherstripping or scrap carpet. The foam/carpet is to keep the skis from sliding around. You will need two of them. Nothing fancy. It looks like this.

Vise - Center Block.jpg

That should save a few bucks to spend on other tools.

You will need the following items.
(01) Iron.
(02) Shop towels (inexpensive alternative to fiberlene).
(03) Wax. Almost any universal wax will be a good start.
(03) Plexi wax scraper
(04) Scraper sharpener. The included panzer file can double as a sidewall cutter when you move to edge tuning. There are some home made alternatives on some of the tuning threads that are much more cost effective. Look on the other tuning threads.
(05) Oval horse hair brush. The oval shaped one are much easier on the hand.
(06) 200 grit diamond stone. To take down the occasional burrs on edges.

The embedded links are for reference only. You can shop around for the best deals. Shopping is part of the fun and educational.
There are few tuning thread that details the wax process. Here is a good youtube video from the Toko guy.

Note: If the ski/vise assembly moves when you are scraping, reduce the downward pressure. Take lighter cuts. make sure the scraper is sharp.
Happy waxing. :beercheer:

ETA: Here is a thread on scraper sharpeners.
 
Last edited:

Flo

Getting on the lift
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If you are staring out and just looking to wax your skis, you do not need a fancy vise. Just screw together couple pieces 2x6. Cover the top with a piece of foam weatherstripping or scrap carpet. The foam/carpet is to keep the skis from sliding around. You will need two of them. Nothing fancy. It looks like this.

View attachment 109648

That should save a few bucks to spend on other tools.

You will need the following items.
(01) Iron.
(02) Shop towels (inexpensive alternative to fiberlene).
(03) Wax. Almost any universal wax will be a good start.
(03) Plexi wax scraper
(04) Scraper sharpener. The included panzer file can double as a sidewall cutter when you move to edge tuning. There are some home made alternatives on some of the tuning threads that are much more cost effective. Look on the other tuning threads.
(05) Oval horse hair brush. The oval shaped one are much easier on the hand.
(06) 200 grit diamond stone. To take down the occasional burrs on edges.

The embedded links are for reference only. You can shop around for the best deals. Shopping is part of the fun and educational.
There are few tuning thread that details the wax process. Here is a good youtube video from the Toko guy.

Note: If the ski/vise assembly moves when you are scraping, reduce the downward pressure. Take lighter cuts. make sure the scraper is sharp.
Happy waxing. :beercheer:

ETA: Here is a thread on scraper sharpeners.
Thank you for all these infos! I appreciate the home made vise design. I saw a table on an other thread but for waxing I thinks it overkills.
So, I bought:
- iron for 45$
- plexi wax scrapper for 5$
- set of brushes for 47$

Was planning to buy:
- wax for 23$
- diamond stone for 35$ Do you know this brand? Was thinking that maybe later this kit would be great for edges tuning but might go to your cheaper recommendation.

I did not even know that scraper sharpeners were a thing. The more I know the more I sink into madness :D
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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Those are pretty pricey diamond stones for the length. You need a guide for them as well. If you want high end stones, the Swix World Cup ones run about the same price, are also metal backed, and are the 100 mm length instead of the 70 mm length. Now some holders only take 70 mm. But over time I've migrated to longer stones. I use a series of stones, moving from coarser to finer grit. So, price per stone can start to add up.

You can go even cheaper to Moonflex, still a good stone, but with a plastic backing. I used them for years, though. I began to use stiffer stones with the metal backing only recently because I didn't like the flex I was seeing with the plastic. Also, I had one Moonflex start to peel off the backing. It's just tape with diamonds bits on it.

DMT doesn't shed wax as well as the Moonflex but it's partially metal, so there's that.

As for guides, if you know the side bevel you want, get a fixed bevel guide. If you're still learning what you like, an adjustable will be a start, but ultimately you'll want the fixed guide. Look for the ones you can add shims to if you have skis with different side bevels from each other. I think there are two different brands that have that.

You may want to start with just waxing and wait a bit until you're comfortable with waxing and brushing. Starting all of it at once can be overwhelming for some of us. You might also think about the new "permanent" wax alternative, the name of which is ending me at the moment, but I know some fan will chime in. Then you'd skip all the wax carrying on and just do edge maintenance. I don't believe in the stuff, but many here do. (I'm an old bat with a big investment already in tuning equipment, so I need to use it!) Edit: It's called Phantom, just came to me.
 

cantunamunch

Meh
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Was planning to buy:
- wax for 23$

Is OK for Tahoe - but you will want something else for aggressive (fresh) snow days especially higher up on the mountain.

- diamond stone for 35$ Do you know this brand? Was thinking that maybe later this kit would be great for edges tuning but might go to your cheaper recommendation.

All that is fine. Forget commercial scraper sharpeners for now- you will get by just fine with homebrew.

When you buy a side edge guide, get a 2nd cut file. You will want that sharpness on icy days. Once you have all that and know how to use it, it will be time to round out the brush and scraper kit and think about sidewall shaping.
 

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