Ski Tuning

[Marc]

Definitely a clothes iron. I don't think Wally World sells "ski" irons. I may try to fill in the steam holes with JB Weld, but they really didn't seem to affect anything. There isn't really even that much wax left on the bottom of the iron.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

just becareful not to get it too hot, if the wax is smoking off the iron, turn it down...thats why ski irons are great, you can set the temps exactly..

 

[Marc]

just becareful not to get it too hot, if the wax is smoking off the iron, turn it down...thats why ski irons are great, you can set the temps exactly..

I set it just hot enough to melt the wax, the lowest or second lowest fabric settings on most irons, as described by our friends at Harb: http://www.harbskisystems.com/tuning/hotwax.htm.

That's why I think a ski iron is kind of a collosal waste of money, and no offense to anyone here that bought one or has one, but Swix charging $60 or in some cases over $100 is retarded for a slab of stainless with a heating element in it, just because it has a digital display.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

I got mine from Tognar when i was ordering all my other stuff for like $30...takes up less space, fits nicely in my bag when i go on exteneded trips so i can wax...

 

[kbroderick]

True ski irons do have significant advantages over clothes irons:
a) a purpose-designed thermostat that lets the iron more accurately cover the range for waxing (i.e. the difference between "cold" and "hot" on a wax iron is likely to fall somewhere between "barely on" and "slightly warm" on a clothes iron)
b) said thermostat should have a tighter tolerance than on a clothes iron (i.e. a clothes iron may turn off the heating element when the temperature reaches the desired temp plus 5 degrees and on when it falls to desired temp minus 5, whereas a wax iron will turn off at plus 2.5 and on at minus 2.5; numbers are completely made up, but they illustrate the concept)
c) a good wax iron will have a thicker, heavier base plate that will more evenly distribute heat, while a clothes iron will usually have a thin baseplate that has hot spots and not-so-hot spots

Personally, I wouldn't bother spending $100+ on a high-end wax iron unless I was putting expensive wax on a lot of skis, but I'd definitely go for a purpose-built wax iron before I'd buy a cheap clothes iron from Walmart. Reliable Racing lists the Swix Consumer Wax Iron for $39 before shipping (although they don't currently have any in stock), and the Econo Wax Iron is only $59 before shipping (and includes some wax). Having a good iron with a thick baseplate just makes waxing soooo much easier...trying to keep a consistent temp with a cheap iron can get really frustrating.

(Of course, you may find the best of both worlds if you can dig up an old iron with a thick baseplate at a yard sale, which is what I had been lucky enough to do on my last iron purchase.)

 

[Marc]

True ski irons do have significant advantages over clothes irons:
a) a purpose-designed thermostat that lets the iron more accurately cover the range for waxing (i.e. the difference between "cold" and "hot" on a wax iron is likely to fall somewhere between "barely on" and "slightly warm" on a clothes iron)
b) said thermostat should have a tighter tolerance than on a clothes iron (i.e. a clothes iron may turn off the heating element when the temperature reaches the desired temp plus 5 degrees and on when it falls to desired temp minus 5, whereas a wax iron will turn off at plus 2.5 and on at minus 2.5; numbers are completely made up, but they illustrate the concept)
c) a good wax iron will have a thicker, heavier base plate that will more evenly distribute heat, while a clothes iron will usually have a thin baseplate that has hot spots and not-so-hot spots

Personally, I wouldn't bother spending $100+ on a high-end wax iron unless I was putting expensive wax on a lot of skis, but I'd definitely go for a purpose-built wax iron before I'd buy a cheap clothes iron from Walmart. Reliable Racing lists the Swix Consumer Wax Iron for $39 before shipping (although they don't currently have any in stock), and the Econo Wax Iron is only $59 before shipping (and includes some wax). Having a good iron with a thick baseplate just makes waxing soooo much easier...trying to keep a consistent temp with a cheap iron can get really frustrating.

(Of course, you may find the best of both worlds if you can dig up an old iron with a thick baseplate at a yard sale, which is what I had been lucky enough to do on my last iron purchase.)

Look, not to be a pain in the ass here, but all the iron has to do is get hot enough to melt the wax without smoking it and without melting your UHMWPE base. I don't know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet there's a pretty big temperature range between a wax's melting point and its smoke point. You shouldn't have to worry about that anyway if you keep the iron moving. I've never used a purpose built ski iron, but I honestly can't imagine the waxing going any easier than it has been for me using my $6 Walmart iron. I very easily got even coverage very easily.

Then again, I don't fret a lot over my wax job, but I don't race either. I'm not using expensive wax. I might care more if I did. I just want something to protect my bases and so I can slide past my friends on the flats and laugh at them when they have to skate more than me.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

hey, no matter what you are using, you are doing more than most!!!

"Too many go thru life with dull edges" (Tognar 2006)

 

[Terry]

I bought an iron at a yard sale 4 years ago with no steam holes. I paid 1 dollar for it. Works great for my purposes. Takes a while to heat up but gives me more time to drink a beer while waiting! :beer:

 

[kbroderick]

Look, not to be a pain in the ass here, but all the iron has to do is get hot enough to melt the wax without smoking it and without melting your UHMWPE base. I don't know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet there's a pretty big temperature range between a wax's melting point and its smoke point. You shouldn't have to worry about that anyway if you keep the iron moving. I've never used a purpose built ski iron, but I honestly can't imagine the waxing going any easier than it has been for me using my $6 Walmart iron.

I may have just picked up a particularly crummy clothes iron or two, but I have used irons that would drop below the melt point before the thermostat kicked the heating element back on and then go above the friggin' smoke point before it kicked back off. And it's not the melting of the wax to drip it onto the base that gets obnoxious, it's the melting it into the base part of the process; a good wax iron lets me get a nice, even, uniform coat in less than three passes (not counting the first, quick, pass to spread the wax out after I drip it on). With better-but-not-good irons, the variations in iron temperature mean that you have to make significant changes in iron speed as you move down the ski (and risk either ripples in your nice even puddle of molten wax or nasty, insufficiently melted spots where you moved over them too quickly..or even worse results from moving too slowly). Soft wax does mitigate both concerns; I've had much more difficulty with low-temp wax than with higher-temp stuff.

I very easily got even coverage very easily.

That's good...I hate it when I very easily get even coverage very labourilously.

Then again, I don't fret a lot over my wax job, but I don't race either. I'm not using expensive wax. I might care more if I did. I just want something to protect my bases and so I can slide past my friends on the flats and laugh at them when they have to skate more than me.

At this point, I use whatever bulk wax happens to be easiest to grab (which is usually whatever someone else left out, so hopefully it's reasonably close to the right temperature range). Having a decent structure, a well-brushed ski, and the appropriate cheap wax will provide more than enough glide for most folks; you need to get into a fairly lengthy race course and be skiing pretty well before it makes any sense to add in the flouro.

 

[drjeff]

Afer waxing experience #1 with the new Swix iron vs. "old faithfull" (20 yr old regular flat based travel iron), the difference is night and day. I didn't think that it would be as much of a difference as it was. Much, much, much easier to distribute the wax evenly over the base, no smoke, no guessing about extactly where to set the temp dial. The swix guide that is came with basically had a chart that linked rough temperature waxes to iron temps. I almost feel like I could sum up the ease using that stupid Ronco Rotisserie infomercial line, "just set it and forget it" :roll: uke: :wink:

 

[SkiDog]

Honestly I could give a crap what kind of iron the guy at the shop whos waxing my skis uses...as long as they're waxed when I get em back and theyre fast when I ski em he can melt it with his breath and spread it with a butter knife for all i care...

Ha...im teasin...IM WAY TOO LAZY to tune my own boards...besides I have a friend who owns a shop right near the base of my mtn....whats $15 every few days out amongst friends???

M

 

[Marc]

I may have just picked up a particularly crummy clothes iron or two, but I have used irons that would drop below the melt point before the thermostat kicked the heating element back on and then go above the friggin' smoke point before it kicked back off. And it's not the melting of the wax to drip it onto the base that gets obnoxious, it's the melting it into the base part of the process; a good wax iron lets me get a nice, even, uniform coat in less than three passes (not counting the first, quick, pass to spread the wax out after I drip it on). With better-but-not-good irons, the variations in iron temperature mean that you have to make significant changes in iron speed as you move down the ski (and risk either ripples in your nice even puddle of molten wax or nasty, insufficiently melted spots where you moved over them too quickly..or even worse results from moving too slowly). Soft wax does mitigate both concerns; I've had much more difficulty with low-temp wax than with higher-temp stuff.



That's good...I hate it when I very easily get even coverage very labourilously.



At this point, I use whatever bulk wax happens to be easiest to grab (which is usually whatever someone else left out, so hopefully it's reasonably close to the right temperature range). Having a decent structure, a well-brushed ski, and the appropriate cheap wax will provide more than enough glide for most folks; you need to get into a fairly lengthy race course and be skiing pretty well before it makes any sense to add in the flouro.

Apparently I just got insanely lucky with my $6 iron?




And yeah... I work for the department of redundancies department. With the emphasis on easy.