Easiest to use side edge guide for diamond stone

[Dwight]

To each his own. I’m not a fan of them either but people are all about PPE today. I like to feel my work as well as see and hear. Guess I’m in the old school club.

That is what bandaids are for. I had one bad year. I don't use gloves.

 

[James]

Had a friend over past weekend to mount up bindings on her new skis. She wanted to learn how. Easy set up with binding jig & step drill bits. Demo couple holes and handed it over to her. Watching her using the drill was painful. Had to teach her how to use the drill properly. Develop the feel. Some of it is hearing too.

Maybe 2004, so before smart phones and youtube, but…
I was in a coffee shop with a friend when someone they kind of knew came in. She sits down and we get to talking about how she’s renovating her studio. She started talking about tools. She had a circular saw, a table saw, etc.

I asked her what she cut with the table saw.
“Sheetrock” , she says.
Huh. So, you use the circular saw for the sheetrock too?
“That’s right”
Lot of dust?
“Tons”

Ahhh..., the elusive feel.
I grew up using tools. Made a living with tools. Frequently forget most people don't have much exposure to tools to develop the "feel."

That’s another reason not to get one of those multi units that does base and side edge, you set dials, the files are tiny, and there’s a half inch of plastic between you and what’s happening.
You use it and your very divorced from what’s going on. No feel at all. So you learn little, and are left with the frustration.

 

[Noodler]

I've posted about this before, but since there was some discussion regarding using spring clamps to mount the file to the guide, I'd like to mention again that this Irwin micro-clamp is far superior:

 

[Dave Marshak]

That is what bandaids are for. I had one bad year. I don't use gloves.

I had one bad day. I cut my knuckle to the bone. I was lucky I didn't do any permanent damage.
And then there's this: http://www.castletonspartan.com/2019/02/20/embodying-the-castleton-way/

dm

 

[Dave Marshak]

That’s another reason not to get one of those multi units that does base and side edge, you set dials, the files are tiny, and there’s a half inch of plastic between you and what’s happening.
You use it and your very divorced from what’s gxoing on. No feel at all. So you learn little, and are left with the frustration.

If all you are doing is sharpening the side edge, the plastic Ski Visions tool works fine. You can adjust it to exactly match whetever angles you have, and a fine stone cleans up the base edge without removing too much material at the same time you use the coarse stone on the side. I used it that way almost everyday for years until I got my EVO grinder. I still use the SV to take down the shark bites before I use the grinder. The EVO is way faster but I'm not sure it does a better job than the SV.
IF I were starting over I would skip all the vises, all the cheap tools, all the pro tools and just get an EVO or Razor Tune. That would have been cheaper and better.

dm

 

[James]

I had one bad day. I cut my knuckle to the bone. I was lucky I didn't do any permanent damage.
And then there's this: http://www.castletonspartan.com/2019/02/20/embodying-the-castleton-way/

mm\\dm

Man that gash is really bad. Much worse than the one I saw.

Years ago I was doing L2 skiing exam at Windham. One of the guys was always throwing 360’s off stuff. It’s a pretty warm day in March, lightweight pant vents open. On this mogul run he throws one and falls. No big deal.
We get down, I’m standing next to him and he asks if we can go inside . Examiner asks, “bathroom?” He says no, I cut myself. I look over and there’s blood running down the outside of his boot.
We went quickly down to base, he could still ski. Ski patrol attended in front of lift right outside the lodge. He ended up going to Albany Hosp. Blood all over snow, ski patrol had to shovel to get rid of it.

 

[bbbradley]

Similar to what @Noodler posted I use a small one of these to hold my diamond stones onto a fixed 3* metal edge guide.

 

[Fuller]

Some good advice here. Also kudos to the OP @MNskier for teaching his daughter how to take care her equipment. Hands on is the best way to teach.

 

[MNskier]

Well, as much as I enjoy tuning skis (and I kind of do as long as I have a beverage and some Beastie Boys), girls gonna need to know how to maintain her own stuff!

 

[KingGrump]

Well, as much as I enjoy tuning skis (and I kind of do as long as I have a beverage and some Beastie Boys), girls gonna need to know how to maintain her own stuff!

Around here, we called that the Titanic Doctrine.
Every Man, woman and child for themselves.

 

[Sibhusky]

I've posted about this before, but since there was some discussion regarding using spring clamps to mount the file to the guide, I'd like to mention again that this Irwin micro-clamp is far superior:

View attachment 148818

Does it lock somehow? I need to Google this thing. Unfortunately the words on the side produced a ton of items that look huge. What words will narrow it down?

Is this it? IIt looks huge.
IRWIN Tools QUICK-GRIP Handi-Clamp, 1 1/2-Inch (59100CD)

 

[Sibhusky]

Some good advice here. Also kudos to the OP @MNskier for teaching his daughter how to take care her equipment. Hands on is the best way to teach.

When are you teaching Mrs. Fuller?

 

[Noodler]

Does it lock somehow? I need to Google this thing. Unfortunately the words on the side produced a ton of items that look huge. What words will narrow it down?

Is this it? IIt looks huge.
IRWIN Tools QUICK-GRIP Handi-Clamp, 1 1/2-Inch (59100CD)

IRWIN Tools QUICK-GRIP Handi-Clamp, 1 1/2-Inch (59100CD)

It's not huge, it's actually about the same size as the spring clamp I used to use. The beauty of it is how it locks down and then easily releases. If you've never used an Irwin clamp, I think you'll like what you find.

I noticed that the pictures posted in the Amazon reviews show the size in relation to a hand.

 

[Fuller]

When are you teaching Mrs. Fuller?

The Mrs is quite happy with her current bike / ski Sherpa and sees no reason to alter the arrangement. The Sherpa is content with beer in the fridge and a well prepared meal when the work is done. #winwin

 

[Sibhusky]

The Mrs is quite happy with her current bike / ski Sherpa and sees no reason to alter the arrangement. The Sherpa is content with beer in the fridge and a well prepared meal when the work is done. #winwin

I distinctly recall her saying she needed to learn because her Sherpa was....shirking.

 

[Dave Marshak]

I distinctly recall her saying she needed to learn because her Sherpa was....shirking.

Ouch…TMI.

dm

 

[Fuller]

I distinctly recall her saying she needed to learn because her Sherpa was....shirking.

Well Fuck it, she can wax her own skis!

 

[Atomicman]

I've tried every clamp there is over the years. You guys are way over thinking this!

There is nothing wrong with a strong simple Spring clamp. Easy to use and change. and your thumb has to be over the edge on top of the side edger anyway. And the file or diamond or stone should be on the tool at about a 45 degree angle. So near the top of the file where it intersects the tool is where the Spring clamp goes and your thumb goes about 1/2 way down the file or diamond. Mine don't budge!

 

[Noodler]

I've tried every clamp here is over the years. You guys are way over thinking this!

There is nothing wrong with a strong simple Spring clamp. Easy to use and change. and your thumb has to be over the edge on top of the side edger anyway. And the file or diamond or stone should be on the tool at about a 45 degree angle. So near the top of the file where it intersects the tool is where the Spring clamp goes and your thumb goes about 1/2 way down the file or diamond. Mine don't budge! View attachment 149208 View attachment 149207

Everyone is welcome to use their own solution of course. I used spring clamps for many years before switching to the Irwin clamp. The Irwin clamp creates a much stronger clamping force between the file and the guide. The clamp provides more contact area coming down over top of the file and locks it in place. This in turn removes any possibility of the file slipping or shifting accidentally and allows your hand to be much more relaxed while using the tool. To cap it off, I find it easier to position the file while putting the clamp on and it's easier to remove the clamp (much less force required as you do not need to "hold" the clamp open like with a spring).

I know the the spring clamp has been the de facto standard forever, but sometimes there really is a better way and the Irwin clamp is it.

 

[Atomicman]

Everyone is welcome to use their own solution of course. I used spring clamps for many years before switching to the Irwin clamp. The Irwin clamp creates a much stronger clamping force between the file and the guide. The clamp provides more contact area coming down over top of the file and locks it in place. This in turn removes any possibility of the file slipping or shifting accidentally and allows your hand to be much more relaxed while using the tool. To cap it off, I find it easier to position the file while putting the clamp on and it's easier to remove the clamp (much less force required as you do not need to "hold" the clamp open like with a spring).

I know the the spring clamp has been the de facto standard forever, but sometimes there really is a better way and the Irwin clamp is it.

Overkill! Why do you think you need so much clamping force? Your thumb directly over the edge is the where the most force is and holds the file just fine In fact some tuners use NO Clamp! And how lazy are we getting when undoing a spring clamp is problematic?