Ski tuning tools

[stever2003]

Hey everyone. I was looking to get the tools for tuning last year, but money didn't hold up. Now i'm gonna have my parents get me the gear for christmas, and I need to figure out exactly what to get.Dr. D, I know we were talking a while back, maybe you can jump in here and help me out.http://www.racewax.com/servlet/the-Tuning-...shes/CategoriesLooking at the kits, I think I'm looking to get the Deluxe tuning kit over the Quality tuning kit. It looks like the Deluxe kit adds a diamond stone, the better edger, and a brake retainer to the Quality kit.

• Is this edger significantly better than the one in the Quality kit?
  
• Does it use a metal file or is the diamond stone used to file the edges? (or both?)
  

It seems that in addition to this kit, I'll also need an iron, a vise, and brushes. Is this correct? Are there any other parts that I should purchase up front?I will probably purchase a household iron later...i know it needs to be variable temperature, is there anything else I should know for it?Vise:

• Is the vise absolutely necessary, or is it just one of those things that makes tuning easier?
  
• If it is necessary, is there something I could rig up to do the same thing?
  
• This Ski Man vise looks like a good system...any thoughts? http://www.racewax.com/servlet/the-239/Vis...t%2C-Ski/Detail
  

Which brushes should I get? Most seem to be soft (nylon, horsehair). What do I use a brass brush for? This kind of brush seems like it would damage the base.

 

It seems like the main upgrade in the Deluxe kit is the edger, so would I be better off getting the Quality Ski Tuning Kit (1201) + Wax (219, 221) + Brush (1415) for $69.99, or the Quality Ski Tuning Kit (1201)+Wax (219, 221)+Brush (1415)+Cork (1002)+Fluoro (101) for $77.99?

 

It seems like I would want to add a diamond stone to one of these upgraded quality kits, or I could get the deluxe kit and add a brush and some wax.

 

What is the cork for?

 

What is the best choice for me to make? If I went ahead and bought this now, I would probably get:

• Deluxe Ski Tuning Kit, $69.99
  
• Some sort of brush, ~$12
  
• Add the red diamond stone, ~$8
  
• necessary, a vise, ~$65
  

for a total of about $150.

 

I'd rather not get the vise if its not absolutely necessary to help keep costs down...would it be possible for me to hold off on the vise till my birthday in march? Also, are there any other tuning tools I should add? I'm looking to get just what I need to take care of my edges and hot wax right now.

 

Also, at ski shops they say they'll do the binding check at the beginning of the season. What does this entail, how can I go about doing it myself?Thanks,Steve

Edited December 9, 2007 by stever2003

[trtaylor]

[*]Is the vise absolutely necessary, or is it just one of those things that makes tuning easier?

[*]If it is necessary, is there something I could rig up to do the same thing?

[*]This Ski Man vise looks like a good system...any thoughts? http://www.racewax.com/servlet/the-239/Vis...t%2C-Ski/Detail

 

Which brushes should I get? Most seem to be soft (nylon, horsehair). What do I use a brass brush for? This kind of brush seems like it would damage the base.

 

What is the cork for?

 

Also, at ski shops they say they'll do the binding check at the beginning of the season. What does this entail, how can I go about doing it myself?Thanks,Steve

 

 

A vise isn't "absolutely" necessary, but tuning skis is a PITA without one. You can do a search on Google for some homemade alternatives. But, everyone I know who has gone this route ends up getting a real vise sooner or later.

 

The brass brush is used to clean your bases before hot waxing. The nylon is used after waxing. If you don't race, these two are good enough. If you race (and are good), you could add a horsehair. Totaly unnecessary if you are just a recreational skier.

 

The cork is used for rubbing in fluoro overlays. Again, just a race item. And only if you are good (Gold handicap or better).

 

The binding check is to check the release torque and forward pressure settings of your bindings. No, you can't do it yourself.

 

Hope this helps.

[stever2003]

A vise isn't "absolutely" necessary, but tuning skis is a PITA without one. You can do a search on Google for some homemade alternatives. But, everyone I know who has gone this route ends up getting a real vise sooner or later.

 

The brass brush is used to clean your bases before hot waxing. The nylon is used after waxing. If you don't race, these two are good enough. If you race (and are good), you could add a horsehair. Totaly unnecessary if you are just a recreational skier.

 

The cork is used for rubbing in fluoro overlays. Again, just a race item. And only if you are good (Gold handicap or better).

 

The binding check is to check the release torque and forward pressure settings of your bindings. No, you can't do it yourself.

 

Hope this helps.

ya, that def helps. Is there any way I can get away with just one brush? The everything kits on racewax come with just a nylon brush.

 

Everything - Deluxe

[trtaylor]

ya, that def helps. Is there any way I can get away with just one brush? The everything kits on racewax come with just a nylon brush.

 

Everything - Deluxe

 

Sure, the nylon brush will work fine. Ask Santa for any others you may want.

[stever2003]

Sure, the nylon brush will work fine. Ask Santa for any others you may want.

Otherwise, does that everything - deluxe kit cover all the equipment i need to get the job done?

 

Thanks for the help btw. I like to know everything detail when I make a big purchase (or in this case, when a big purchase is made for me).

[RACEWAXdotCOM]

Otherwise, does that everything - deluxe kit cover all the equipment i need to get the job done?

 

Thanks for the help btw. I like to know everything detail when I make a big purchase (or in this case, when a big purchase is made for me).

 

You can get by with one brush in the beginning and add another if you like next time you need to reload on wax.

[mbike-ski]

shout out to dr D!

alright, for a family with 5 sets of skis and 1 board i figured its about time i start doing some basic tuning and waxing. between last spring and now i have aquired a basic tune kit, iron and vises from closeouts/sac/the bay...now all i need is some wax! what do you recommend dr d to get me started - rec skiers with 3 of us being hack nastar regulars, thanks!

[stever2003]

Dr. D,

It looks like the ski man hobby vise isn't on your site anymore...what happened? do you still have it for the everything kit? i hope to purchase this tonight. if you put in a different vise, is it an upgrade or a downgrade?

[RACEWAXdotCOM]

Dr. D,

It looks like the ski man hobby vise isn't on your site anymore...what happened? do you still have it for the everything kit? i hope to purchase this tonight. if you put in a different vise, is it an upgrade or a downgrade?

 

I took it down as a single item until Monday because I wanted to save them for the everything kit. I only have 6 left, but I get 50 more on Monday.

 

You can order your kit if you like; I suggest you do now though it has been selling well.

 

Thanks for asking,

Marc

[RACEWAXdotCOM]

shout out to dr D!

alright, for a family with 5 sets of skis and 1 board i figured its about time i start doing some basic tuning and waxing. between last spring and now i have aquired a basic tune kit, iron and vises from closeouts/sac/the bay...now all i need is some wax! what do you recommend dr d to get me started - rec skiers with 3 of us being hack nastar regulars, thanks!

 

I would get 3 bars of red/warm hydro (SKU# 603), 2 bars of universal hydro (#221), and one large bar of universal fluoro (#220)

 

On the 3 bars of red I have a promo deal on this week only:

 

Buy 2 bars of red hydrocarbon wax and get the third one free! Buy SKU #603 and enter the promo code below at checkout.

USE PROMO CODE: HW0702

 

You should sign up for my newsletter, I am putting special deals on there twice per month.

 

Thanks,

Marc

[Ski]

BTW, Marc, I received the second order today. I'll be sure Mike gets the brush and I'm psyched to try the X5.

Thanks!!!

[Justin]

I built my own vise and I have a Bakoda tuning kit I got for Christmas about 5 years ago. It came with a bar of wax, iron, scraper, and edge tool. That's all you really ever need. Most of the ski vises are cheap gimmicks so I built one with some shit I had lying around the garage. But there's pretty much no need to go all out with tuning equipment. Hell I've seen people get a regular iron for $5 from Goodwill and use that, you just need to make sure the temperature doesn't go above 160 or whatever the rating is for the wax. Too much heat will damage your base as well.

 

My kit was $65 on sale. I just waxed with Toko Yellow/Warm S3 wax. It was $14.95 for 2 bars, which gets probably 8-10 or so pairs of skis. I know Dr. D's is cheaper, but my local ski shop only carries Toko and I was in a rush to get my skis waxed. They were $9.95 a bar so I figured I would save the $5 and get another bar. Jibbing takes a toll on my wax so I need to wax at least once a week if not more. Which reminds me, I need to get some of that One-Ball Jay Jib wax.

[Ski]

It's like most things, though, Justin...you can buy the absolute basic item like a Huffy bike, or you can go right on up the price list. Not saying people don't have fun on a Huffy, but...if you add a diamond stone and just polished your edges and get rid of burrs, your edges would last longer than always using a file. And how sharp is your scraper after five years? Mine need a scraper sharpening every two weeks. And some skis can't be edge filed without a sidewall planer being used first.

 

I'm all for keeping things on the cheap, but not at the expense of performance.

 

As to a vice, you definitely need something to hold your ski/board steady while you run a file. You can wax with it on two chairs, but to do a good tune, you need a solid vice. If you make one, wrap the metal that holds the ski in duct tape to cushion it from damaging the base surface.

 

And even though I currently have an iron specifically for waxing, I've used a half dozen cheap irons over the years. In fact, the cheaper the better, since those generally don't have the misting hole features which can be a pain for waxing.

[adrian]

have you thought about cleaning your base? the decision of using base cleaner or not is up to you, but you definitely cant lose with a bulk order of the cheap wax for hot scrapes. you cant have a complete tune without getting all the dirt and shavings out of the picture.

[stever2003]

have you thought about cleaning your base? the decision of using base cleaner or not is up to you, but you definitely cant lose with a bulk order of the cheap wax for hot scrapes. you cant have a complete tune without getting all the dirt and shavings out of the picture.

Thanks man. I read the same stuff on racewax.com and ski also stressed it. I'm all for properly caring for my skis once i have the tools (which i should, in a day or two).

[method9455]

I really avoid the solvent base cleaner, it dries it out so much. If the base is really that bad, bring it to a shop and pay to get the bottom run over a machine. You can do wax & edges at home but nothing compares to a real stone grind. Especially if you do any ptex work.