DIY ski tuning stoke thread

You skied 18 days and didn't tune at all?  How did you hold on the ice the edges must be almost round?  Sharp edges should be able to remove finger nail material.

To get the most out of your equipment you need to keep it in good shape.  It needs to be tuned regularly.  If you have the bottoms flat with your preferred bevel and have not hit anything you don't need do much there.  I touch up the side edges with a diamond stone to in a file guide to take the burrs off and then use a file to put my side bevel back on and keep them sharp - I do this every weekend.  After about 10-15 days you'll need to get a bottom tune as well which I suggest using a shop for to make sure they are flat unless you hit something major and need base work.

Skis need to be waxed at least every 3-4 days of skiing and more in the spring.  If you bases are getting white looking (assumes that they are black) the base is oxidized and needs wax.  Its best to wax them prior to the summer.  Have them tuned and ask the shop to not scrap them for summer storage - they will know what you are asking for.

I tune almost every time I ski..Just like Coach Z said, I hit the side edge with a stone to maintain my 1deg bevel. And try to wax after each sharpening..

Any advice on where to pick up a stone or file and how to learn how to do it correctly?  I'll ask at the ski shop if they ever have a class or anything like that where they teach routine maintenance.  Book that you might recommend on how to do it?

i use this, along with a few stones and vices..simple and inexpensive way to maintain your skis

http://www.reliableracing.com/detail.cfm?edp=10121614

Thick storage coat for the winter, definitely.

Tuned and waxed the quiver for summer storage a couple of days ago

I flexed my moderator muscles and moved Gebbyfishs's thread into the original DIY ski tuning thread. There is a lot of good info in the original thread that shouldn't get lost.

Just procured some storage wax today, though I might wait a week or so before finally throwing in the towel.

Thanks, SBR!

I've been tuning my own skis for a number of years now, first started with simple waxing, then moved on to sharpening the edges, Ptex, structure, brushes, etc.... Skis haven't been in the shop in years and will never see one again, except in emergency.

FP

What vise do you have there?  I'm in the market for a new set of vices

Some advice to novice tuners - never use a file on rock hardened edges.  You need to remove the rock burrs with a diamond stone first before you file.  Also wet your diamond stone - I keep a bottle of water on my tuning bench for that purpose.

If I do damage to the bottoms or they are not flat I prefer to have them tuned on a machine and bottom beveled.  I just maintain the side edge and wax them in the mean time.  A stone grind once a year puts the structure back in the bases.

Jason is right Reliable Racing is your best source for tuning supplies as well as gaining knowledge.  If they don't sell it you don't need it.

Coach it's the Profi -Skispanner, got it a reliabe racing a few years back. Very happy with it.

http://www.reliableracing.com/detail.cfm?edp=10568780

thanks

Love the new FP avatar - very cool photo shop work there.

I structured my bases the other day by skiing across some dirt/ grass/gravel.


In all honesty, however, you guys have NO clue how nerdy and ANALytical
ski tuning and waxing can be when compared to the Nordic racing world, even at a provincial/state level.


$$$$$$$$$$$$$!

Okay, end of rant. I'll try to post something constructive to this thread ASAP.

TD

So long as you don't gouge the base, that is a fair method of structuring and honestly, much simpler than the way I do it.

So, just 'cause I tend to over-do things, someone please give me a time limit on how long this should take for a pair of skis.  I don't want to over-do it and grind the edges off!

Depends on what kind of tune you're giving it and what shape they're in. Usually for a good wax, you'll know when it's ready to move onto the next ski when you can feel the warmth of the iron through the topsheet (make sure you're at the right temperature!). At that point, the pores should be open enough that it will absorb a significant amount of the wax. Some people do a "hot scrape" i.e scrape immediately after waxing. You usually use base prep (CH10, the yellow SWIX stuff)- this helps remove dirt and other junk from your bases. The people who do that will most likely re-wax, this time they allow the wax to cure overnight before scraping and brushing again. Use a plastic scraper for wax and a metal one for p-tex. Make sure your scraper is sharp and things will go a lot quicker. Lots of people make their own sharpeners - some with just a regular file clamped down, some with sanding screen for drywall against a 90` wall to make sure the edge is true.  This scraper from Swix is nice, cheap, and get's the job done.

If you're doing your edges every few days, you probably won't need a file on them, just a stone. That is, unless you've got yourself a bad knick in them. Just run it down the edges until, like Coach Z said, it is sharp enough to remove fingernail material.

I know a few people who use a gummy stone and run down the edge with it at a 45` (with almost NO pressure) just to remove whatever small burs may be lingering. Some people are against this because they think it is counteracting exactly what they just spend their time doing. But if you do it right, you'll be fine.

De-tune tip and tail as preferred.

Hmm, I guess this turned into a tuning tutorial. But like I said in the beginning, it's all about how precise you want to get. Assuming you're just a recreational skier and not racing, you can probably do the edges in <5mins per edge. Waxing is probably 5-10 mins per ski, plus another 5-10 for scraping, and another 5-10 for brushing. The longest part is waiting for the wax to dry. The longer you wait, the less frequently you should have to wax your skis. I usually just go with 20 mins to an hour, or however long it takes me to do something in between.

I totally agree with tbatt...
you wouldn't over do it with just a stone...

Just found this forum and it is great? I am a diy tuner and love to see all the great tips and tricks.I was a ski tech many moons ago and just got back into it over the last few years because my kids are racing and there is no way I am paying for high priced tunes all the time. Picked up some supplies and have been edging and waxing about 5 pairs of skis every week. Put together a homemade tuning bench and was off to the races. Just remember light pressure with the files and wax as much as you can. Pray for snow.

If you want some ideas for an inexpensive home tuning bench or boot dryer check out the link below.
diy tuning bench

oops! link didn't work, sorry.
try this in your browser instead
http://chris-cbphotography.blogspot.ca/2011/10/diy-tuning-bench-ver-20.html

canyonmanny - those links don't won't as a form of spam control. It's designed to prevent people from joining who have no intention of really contributing to the forum.

Usually spammers start by Googling something related to what they are selling and finding a related thread in the forum. They join and try to post links back to their own business or project.

Often those visitors are from far away places and join late at night.

The system isn't perfect and sometimes it inhibits people who would really like to contribute. If that's the case they can email me and make their case, or prove themselves by becoming a valuable contributor.

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/NEW-MEMBER-NOTICE-td4020201.html