What do I need to wax/tune my own skis/snowboard?

[smackboy1]

I'm inspired by JBotti's scrapeless ski waxing thread, so after years of procrastination I'm thinking of waxing and tuning my own skis. There is something cathartic about hand applied hot wax (I also like cooking with a whole stick of butter  ).

I have some equipment from years of doing hotel room tune ups e.g. multi-angle edge tool, diamond stones, gummi stone, file, rub on wax, nylon/steel brush etc..  Equipment advice would be welcome. In fact any advice would be welcome.

At minimum I need some kind of collapsible bench for the garage (doesn't need to travel) and a vice. We are a mixed family; skis and snowboard so I need a vice that can handle both.

[jbotti]

Yes, you need a bench, a vise, an iron where you can adjust the temperature, wax and a brush or two and a scraper. This is all you need to wax. If you want to tune and do edge work you need a good file (they don't last that long so better to buy a few), an edge guide (they come in 1 degree, 2 degrees and 3 degrees), a set of diamond stones is very useful as well. I can't get by without a sidewall planer, and good ones are expensive but well worth the money in my opinion. The only one to get is the Swix one, it is great.

For $225 or so you can buy a tuning kit. I was given one for a present years ago. It is cost effective if you don't already have a vise and an iron. If you have both I would buy the rest piece by piece.

I use the Toko iron, wintersteiger files, swix training wax, SVST edge guides, and Diaface Moon Diamond stones.

I do most of my business with Artechski  http://www.artechski.com/index.aspx They carry good products, have reasonable prices and they are friendly and helpful if you need assistance.

[smackboy1]

Great advice, thanks.

I am bewildered by scraper options. What width and length plastic scraper do I need? 3 mm? 4mm? 5 mm? 10" long? I have to scrape a snowboard as well as skis so do I get 2 scrapers or just 1 for both?

In looking at a vice I found these 2 ski/snowboard models. I like the idea of the Fix because it has a middle vice to secure the ski/board from moving around. Thoughts?

http://tools4boards.com/store/category/0/category_id-207

[Svend]

A good vice is worth paying a few bucks for.  I'm not familiar with the Fix, but from a quick look it seems well made, solid and versatile.  I have a similar one (Holmenkol Pro) that has the center clamp for the binding, and it is excellent for supporting the ski when scraping and brushing.  One thing to check is whether the clamps at the far ends are height adjustable -- this is useful for skis with different camber profiles, as the tips and tails may rest higher or lower, so having a vice that you can snug up and create a solid working platform is great....no flopping of the ski while you're working on it.

John is right -- get a decent sidewall planer.  On skis where the sidewall is right up to the steel edge, you'll never get them sharp.  You need to plane them back so the files/stones don't rub the plastic.

You can get good deals on full tuning kits at Backcountry Outlet:

http://www.departmentofgoods.com/swix-master-tuning-and-wax-kit

Seems like an OK deal, considering the vice alone is worth about $150.

Other shops to check out are Slidewright, RaceWax and Sidecut.  Slidewright often has insider deals for Epic members, if you belong to that forum.

If you'd like one of us to post a full list of what you should consider buying, post back and someone will compose a shopping list for you. 

Good hunting....

[Svend]

Here is a place for great advice, how-to guides, tuning equipment reviews, and even an instructional video:

http://www.skituning101.com/

They also recommend Artech for good tools at great prices.  Will have to check them out myself....