Stowe Thread

[Smellytele]

Everything I use to tune and wax fits in that bag, no bigger than a 12 pack. Bought the table off Amazon for short money, folds up to 3 inches thick. Easily fits in the car during the season, have brought to hotels mutilple times. Setup and breakdown takes five minutes.

hope I never stay in the hotel room after you with metal shavings and wax in the carpet.

 

[drjeff]

People with thousands of posts on a ski forum still pay shops to sharpen their skis? Find a cheap folding table, buy a guide, file, stone and a set of vices. After the first couple times, you will do a better job than the shop anyway.

Don't forget the file card to keep the flutes of the file clean, and I'd also STRONGLY suggest a pair of nitrile/latex dipped work gloves to keep one from getting a file filing embedded in their finger and/or keep one from cutting themself on a sharp edge! Been there, done that!

 

[drjeff]

My wife definitely went a little overboard when she converted our broken beyond repair hot tub room in our condo into my tuning room! Has bevome a Friday and Saturday night guys hangout room amongst my ski friends up at Mount Snow

 

[SteezyRob]

man is that fortnite on the television

 

[ThatGuy]

Literally says Discovery Channel, Gold Rush.

 

[djd66]

Tony Beets!

 

[thebigo]

My wife definitely went a little overboard when she converted our broken beyond repair hot tub room in our condo into my tuning room! Has bevome a Friday and Saturday night guys hangout room amongst my ski friends up at Mount Snow View attachment 57705

Are you filing bases? What is the advantage?

I only use a boride polishing bar on bases with the beast 1 degree base tool. You must dedicate a file to bases?

 

[drjeff]

Are you filing bases? What is the advantage?

I only use a boride polishing bar on bases with the beast 1 degree base tool. You must dedicate a file to bases?

Most of the time I am using a fine or extra fine diamond file in my 1 degree BEAST base guide to just polish the edge. Only time I break out a true file for my base work is if there's a significant bur on the edge that a diamond file or coarse stone can't take care of sufficiently. I always go with a 3 degree BEAST side edge guide and a medium diamond file for my side edge work.

The thing that still gets me is so many folks, who don't really get what tools are available and how some basic, regular tuning maintenance (it's not really "work" the majority of the time), think that it's this mega time consuming and difficult project to tune their skis, and frankly it isn't as I am sure you know BigO! It takes way longer time wise, waiting for the wax to cool before scraping and brushing than it does to actually tune a pair of skis and apply the wax, and the performance returns one gets from a freshly tuned and waxed pair of skis is worth it for sure!

 

[jimmywilson69]

I've been waxing for years, but have always been afraid to tune the edges. Seems like I should stop being a pussy...

 

[Kingslug20]

It's easy..just don't go nuts with it..steel eventually can wear down.
3 degrees..hmmm..
I'm at 1 degree...but I'm a schmearer..not a carver..

 

[hovercraft]

Say no to being a pussy! I find tuning and waxing very relaxing. Keeps the stoke going even when you’re not on the hill. Start with diamond stones very easy to use and hard to mess up the edge when using them. There are some really good videos out there to help you along. I get most of my stuff from this site, they have good tutorials plus if you call (one man shop) he is very generous with his time, will answer any questions that you might have. https://www.racewax.com/. Go for it not as hard as one might think……

 

[drjeff]

Say no to being a pussy! I find tuning and waxing very relaxing. Keeps the stoke going even when you’re not on the hill. Start with diamond stones very easy to use and hard to mess up the edge when using them. There are some really good videos out there to help you along. I get most of my stuff from this site, they have good tutorials plus if you call (one man shop) he is very generous with his time, will answer any questions that you might have. https://www.racewax.com/. Go for it not as hard as one might think……

Agree! And I will also vouch for racewax.com - order the majority of my stuff from them with great service and quick shipping (they're based in the Fall River, MA area)

 

[Hawk]

I tune my skis when I have time. If you have a dedicated space like Dr Jeff that is nice but if it was me in that space, that carpet would get destroyed. The shaved wax gets everywhere. It is certaily not that hard to do minor filing and dimaond stone on edges but where it gets tricky is when you hit a rock hard and the edge is really compromised or if you gouge your base real good. PTex welding is kind of an art and it is pretty hard sometimes to get it to stick and last. Sometimes better left to the professionals.
We have a dedicated room in the base of our condo building that has a concrete floor. I spent some time install a plywood bench, lighing and storage shelves and donated my old equipment for the general use. The real issue is we have a really good social life up at sugarbush and between apre, parties and dinnners with friends it is really hard to find time to do the tuning. Something is going on jsut about every night. This is the best part of being a part of the community and not being a nomad skier.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

love your kastles doc. i have the 116s. in a perfect world i also have the 96 and 106

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

Great info here and the last couple posts pre answered some questions I was gonna ask. I've been meaning to start this learning process for a few years now but I remain confounded by the"where do I start" hurdle. Also a bit put off by the reality that any edge tuning is an inherently "consumptive" process meaning you're removing material that can't be out back. I'd hate to start trying to tune my skis only to find that I've done the equivalent of chewing through a bar of soap in a week (that's a metaphor). But as previously stated it sounds like it's hard to screw up thaaaat bad (with non power tools least I assume), so yeah, just gotta get started. Because on an icy groomer day good edges are sooo worth it⛷

 

[drjeff]

I tune my skis when I have time. If you have a dedicated space like Dr Jeff that is nice but if it was me in that space, that carpet would get destroyed. The shaved wax gets everywhere. It is certaily not that hard to do minor filing and dimaond stone on edges but where it gets tricky is when you hit a rock hard and the edge is really compromised or if you gouge your base real good. PTex welding is kind of an art and it is pretty hard sometimes to get it to stick and last. Sometimes better left to the professionals.
We have a dedicated room in the base of our condo building that has a concrete floor. I spent some time install a plywood bench, lighing and storage shelves and donated my old equipment for the general use. The real issue is we have a really good social life up at sugarbush and between apre, parties and dinnners with friends it is really hard to find time to do the tuning. Something is going on jsut about every night. This is the best part of being a part of the community and not being a nomad skier.

The carpet in my tuning room is just various remnant scraps that we had leftover from the last time we installed some new carpeting in the condo. Much easier to lean into the bench whien filing when it's on some grippy carpet vs the concrete floor under it. I break out the shop vac I have in the room after a good wax scraping session and pick up most of the wax scrapings, but the reality is if any gets on the carpet in there, I don't worry about it at all. Also it's much nicer (and warmer) standing on the carpet in my slippers than on the concrete floor!

 

[Kingslug20]

Diamond stones won't waste the edges...files can.

 

[urungus]

Also a bit put off by the reality that any edge tuning is an inherently "consumptive" process meaning you're removing material that can't be out back. I'd hate to start trying to tune my skis only to find that I've done the equivalent of chewing through a bar of soap in a week (that's a metaphor). But as previously stated it sounds like it's hard to screw up thaaaat bad (with non power tools least I assume), so yeah, just gotta get started.

Yeah that’s my fear too, that my amateur flailing would permanently damage the edges. I wish I could find a local shop in western Mass with a turnaround time faster than a week.

 

[Kingslug20]

With the right tools..you can't screw up the edges...just leave the base edges alone..
Then a few times a season get a super tune to reset the base.

 

[thebigo]

In my mind a pair of skis should last around 100 ski days. I hit my kids race skis every single day and have never come close to removing the full edge. I only file my skis as necessary per weather - posting from loon right now and certainly should have filed last night.

My routine is:
-rubber band on brakes.
-run finger along all edges, use gummy stone to remove any burs.
-wear tractor supply leather work gloves, cut my hands way too many times.
-use boride polishing bar on base edges with beast 1 degree tool.
-select proper guide, 2 degree for all mountain, three degree for race skis
-rotate skis in vice, run file the full length of the ski using guide, two passes with slight downward pressure, wipe any residue with paper towel after each pass
-switch to medium grit polishing stone, use short repetitive passes with consistent downward pressure, wipe ski again with papar towel.
-a sharp pair of skis should be able to remove one layer of your thumbnail with almost no downward pressure.

This part may be controversial but a pair of recreational all mountain skis does not require regular wax. The exceptions are warm spring days and following any base repair.

I start by crayoning the wax on the base, covering the full base, then melt the slightest bead or even just a handfull of drops. Make a few passes with the iron and then done. The recreational skier will ski the excess wax off in a few runs.

Race skis require wax maybe every few days but I only scrape wax on race night.

I third racewax.com also the race place, bought my vices and iron from the former, files/guides/stones from the later.