Beginner Tuning

[MikeW Philly]

So when I started back to skiing 2 years ago I started waxing on my own right away. Tuning I left to the pros. Given that my target is about 40 days average for skiing in a year I feel it probably makes sense to learn to at least maintain my edges. I’d like to get to the point where I start the season with a fresh pro tune, maybe mid year a check in (would be nice to avoid), and in between find some way to maintain my edges.

To that end I have my old Volks I can practice on (new laser AR awaiting it’s first year) and I haven’t tuned up the ski since the end of my last ski season. Now my understanding for maintaining is I need something like the angle guide, perhaps this one : https://tokous.com/side-angle-world-cup/ and a diamond fine file for edge maintenance? am I wrong in the research I’ve done?

My main goal is to figure out with my old skis how to maintain, so that for my stockli and my wife’s volks I can find some path for maintenance in between. Pictures of my old skis are below.

 

[KevinF]

Yep, a diamond stone, some clamps and an angle guide to match whatever angle your shop put on your skis to begin with. You have vises so you’re all set there.

Diamonds come in various grits. 100 is fairly aggressive- you can do some damage with one of those, so I’d avoid it until your hand is practiced. I usually use a first pass of 200 grit with a polishing pass of 400 grit. There are finer grits but frankly I’ve used more abrasive Kleenex.

You’ll need some type of lubricating agent as well. I just use a mixture of denatured alcohol and water. Others just use a drop or two of dish soap.

There’s countless YouTube videos demonstrating the edge polishing technique. Have fun! Diamond stones take off dust - it’s hard to do any real damage. Go slow, etc. and you’ll soon be wondering why you wasted so much money on shop tunes.

 

[oldschoolskier]

See @Jacques posts and videos.

 

[François Pugh]

You are correct.
If you are getting them professionally tuned twice a year, all you need is to maintain the side edge. You should have a vise, side angle guide and stones. You have the vise. Buy some stones and a guide. I recommend coarse medium and fine, but other's disagree. Get at least medium and fine stones and get a solid metal side edge angle guide set to the angle you want.

Don't forget to lubricate your stones!

Later when you start doing more of your own tuning, you can get files (sometimes you need to file), and worry about the base angle, but no need to complicate things now.

 

[Henry]

Mike, you are smart to limit what you want to do. You want great skiing skis but not a race tune to gain that last 100th of a second.

I'd add a medium diamond file and a simple base edge guide. You'll want to remove raised burrs from the base edges, but leave any divots there for the shop to clean up. If there are some good sized raised burrs, the medium file will remove them more quickly, then the fine file is the finishing touch. With the diamond file use medium pressure. Too little pressure, and it doesn't cut. Too much pressure and you knock the diamond bits out. SVST Secret Sauce Edge Polishing Solution--a lubricating fluid on your diamond stones to help reduce friction and increase polish on edges is a good product.

The steel in the edges is one factor in the life of your skis. Remove the minimum amount of steel to achieve your goal. One way is to color the edge with a Sharpie felt tip pen, then just file enough to take the ink off. Check the sharpness then. If it's good, you're done.

 

[MikeW Philly]

Thanks all for the help. So looks like I’ll spend some time tonight or tomorrow watching portions of this video:
In regards to angles. I have the factory tune (at least to start) on my new Laser AR which is 1.4 and 2. I’m not touching the base so I assume it doens’t matter that it’s different from most brands but still an 88 for the edge (which means I can tune the Volkls also since they are 1 and 2). So if I have this right:

https://tokous.com/side-angle-world-cup/ - 88 angle
https://tokous.com/diamond-file/ - course and medium (200/400)
https://tokous.com/edge-angle-pro-clamp/ - Clamp for fitting file to the angle
https://www.race-werks.com/svst-secret-sauce-edge-polishing-solution/ - lubricant

And since I don’t have seems like I should pick up a straight edge, https://tokous.com/prisma-straight-edge-120mm/

 

[Eric@ict]

And since I don’t have seems like I should pick up a straight edge, https://tokous.com/prisma-straight-edge-120mm/

I use a vixen file on edge. Lay it flat to square/sharpen your scraper

 

[Henry]

You won't use the straight edge much. If you get yearly or bi-yearly complete tune, they'll flatten the bases and set the bottom angle to what you want.

What side angle do you want? If you want 3° (87°), then get the guide for that and change the angle. I still think a cheap base guide, like a Beast, is useful to remove raised burrs from the bottoms. The spring clamp is nice-to-have, not need-to-have. You can find one in a hardware store cheaper.

The factory tune on my 2017 Laser AX wasn't good. The skis were squirrely. Try yours, and if they don't offer a superb ride, get them tuned to the specs you want.

 

[Jacques]

Thanks all for the help. So looks like I’ll spend some time tonight or tomorrow watching portions of this video:
In regards to angles. I have the factory tune (at least to start) on my new Laser AR which is 1.4 and 2. I’m not touching the base so I assume it doens’t matter that it’s different from most brands but still an 88 for the edge (which means I can tune the Volkls also since they are 1 and 2). So if I have this right:

https://tokous.com/side-angle-world-cup/ - 88 angle
https://tokous.com/diamond-file/ - course and medium (200/400)
https://tokous.com/edge-angle-pro-clamp/ - Clamp for fitting file to the angle
https://www.race-werks.com/svst-secret-sauce-edge-polishing-solution/ - lubricant

And since I don’t have seems like I should pick up a straight edge, https://tokous.com/prisma-straight-edge-120mm/

World's longest tuning video. Some good stuff in there, and some funny too!

 

[oldschoolskier]

Here are the big secrets in tuning.

Don't round edges! Won't hold.

Don't leave burrs! Does freaky things.....from no grip, to grip but not like you expect, to WTF (generally the most common).

Set base bevel and forget it.

Set side and maintain it (don't over do, just light touch ups when needed)DON'T LEAVE BURRS! (Sorry need to be repeated)

WAX LOTS, keep them waxed. If skis get sticky (feel slow) on the snow your tune sucks no matter how good it may be.

Final one, don't detune, falls under rounding edges.

As to settings, read the other threads on this.

BTW welcome to the OCD portion of skiing.

 

[MikeW Philly]

BTW welcome to the OCD portion of skiing.

World's longest tuning video. Some good stuff in there, and some funny too!

OCD portion just now? I don’t know sort of feel like I’m already there on skis and general gear. I haven’t even had my new laser AR out on the snow yet and I’m already toying with a second new ski in my mind (90-98 or so) for west/bumps. Going to hold off but I feel like obsessing hits at all levels in this sport. For example constantly looking at mountain trails maps for west trips.

the video was a good anew yes very long I suspect I’ve only seen about an hour but between that and a few others I feel comfortable with the idea of how to take the diamond file to the skis now. going to start with cleaning up my old volkl and my wife’s skis but figure as long as I go nuts, and with the pro tunes in between I should be unlikely to screw it up too much.

I appreciate the help and suggestions from everybody. Given my ski days totals these days, maintaining my edges at the very least seems to be a hard requirement.

 

[draco]

Thanks all for the help. So looks like I’ll spend some time tonight or tomorrow watching portions of this video:
In regards to angles. I have the factory tune (at least to start) on my new Laser AR which is 1.4 and 2. I’m not touching the base so I assume it doens’t matter that it’s different from most brands but still an 88 for the edge (which means I can tune the Volkls also since they are 1 and 2). So if I have this right:

https://tokous.com/side-angle-world-cup/ - 88 angle
https://tokous.com/diamond-file/ - course and medium (200/400)
https://tokous.com/edge-angle-pro-clamp/ - Clamp for fitting file to the angle
https://www.race-werks.com/svst-secret-sauce-edge-polishing-solution/ - lubricant

And since I don’t have seems like I should pick up a straight edge, https://tokous.com/prisma-straight-edge-120mm/

Hi,

I am building a tuning set to maintain the side edge sharp.
What I have is:
https://vola.fr/en/sport/accessoires/finition/pierres-diamantees - 200/400/600
https://vola.fr/en/sport/accessoires/affutage/equerre - 87/88/89(Bought different angles, in case my friends are in need)
https://www.ebay.at/itm/121863466029?hash=item1c5fa0ec2d:g:~wkAAOSwQ1dfFE7N - vise
Clamps, true bar, measure tool for the base and side angle, feeler gauge 0.02mm-1mm

I am also considering to buy:
https://www.tesmasport.com/snoli-arkansas-true-hard-stone
https://www.tesmasport.com/snoli-multi-gum

I was wondering what kind of file should I get, if I want to change the side edge angle?

Thanks!

 

[KingGrump]

I was wondering what kind of file should I get, if I want to change the side edge angle?

A 1st cut/bastard file - 13/15 TPI.

Will need something to cut back the side wall.

 

[draco]

A 1st cut/bastard file - 13/15 TPI.

Will need something to cut back the side wall.

I just remembered, that I bought a file a couple of years ago. It was for quick knife sharpening. I counted the teeth - about 18-20 per cm. The file is husqvarna.
Will it do the job, considering that I might never use it?

 

[KingGrump]

I just remembered, that I bought a file a couple of years ago. It was for quick knife sharpening. I counted the teeth - about 18-20 per cm. The file is husqvarna.
Will it do the job, considering that I might never use it?

18/20 TPI would be considered as a smooth file for ski sharpening. You can try it. It will be very slow work for resetting angles.

Caveat: Most hardware store files are too soft for use to sharpen ski edges. They will dull very quickly.

 

[draco]

18/20 TPI would be considered as a smooth file for ski sharpening. You can try it. It will be very slow work for resetting angles.

Caveat: Most hardware store files are too soft for use to sharpen ski edges. They will dull very quickly.

Aha, ok. Didn't think about the hardness of the file

Just to clarify - TPI means Teeth per Inch?
If that's correct, then my file should be about TPI 45-50

 

[KingGrump]

Aha, ok. Didn't think about the hardness of the file

Just to clarify - TPI means Teeth per Inch?
If that's correct, then my file should be about TPI 45-50

Sorry, TPCM. Teeth per cm

 

[Jacques]

Hi,

I am building a tuning set to maintain the side edge sharp.
What I have is:
https://vola.fr/en/sport/accessoires/finition/pierres-diamantees - 200/400/600
https://vola.fr/en/sport/accessoires/affutage/equerre - 87/88/89(Bought different angles, in case my friends are in need)
https://www.ebay.at/itm/121863466029?hash=item1c5fa0ec2d:g:~wkAAOSwQ1dfFE7N - vise
Clamps, true bar, measure tool for the base and side angle, feeler gauge 0.02mm-1mm

I am also considering to buy:
https://www.tesmasport.com/snoli-arkansas-true-hard-stone
https://www.tesmasport.com/snoli-multi-gum

I was wondering what kind of file should I get, if I want to change the side edge angle?

Thanks!

I use this, and they are great, and so in the price.

BEAST Ski Files

BEAST professional chrome files for tuning skis. These files are made harder than ski edges for fast cutting and long life. Available in a variety of cut profiles and sizes to meet your specific tuning needs.

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