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Electric edge tuners (Razor Tune, Rhombus, Swix/Toko): looking for advice

Philpug

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By the way, I'm getting my BootDocs tomorrow from Dierer at Alpina Ski Shop because of the recommendations that I've read on this forum ogsmile
Let them know.
 

mdf

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I fixed my cord management problem. Ridiculously simple in hindsight.
20220219_153650.jpg

The converter brick can be dragged along the tabletop if necessary, without getting hung up.

Edit: cord not cold
 
Last edited:

Tony S

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I fixed my cord management problem. Ridiculously simple in hindsight.
View attachment 160126
The converter brick can be dragged along the tabletop if necessary, without getting hung up.

Edit: cord not cold
Not seeing it. What did you change? Did you replace the thin cord with a longer one?
 

mdf

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The troublesome cord just sits on the table in front of the ski, so nothing ever gets caught on bindings or vise.

Before I was trying to hang it from behind me, and it gat caught on everything.

The big smooth table is important too.
 

mdf

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Oh you guys don't do the overhead cord thing?
The converter brick is in just the wrong place to make a cord hang easy. (And in my case, we reorganized the basement so my tuning bench moved about 18 inches, putting my existing cord hang in the wrong place. I still use it for my wax iron, and I really need to move it before it drives me crazy.)

I'm not using my normal bench for the power edger, but setting up in the garage instead, so I'd need another cord hang.
 

Tony S

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The troublesome cord just sits on the table in front of the ski, so nothing ever gets caught on bindings or vise.

Before I was trying to hang it from behind me, and it gat caught on everything.

The big smooth table is important too.
Well the obvious learning for me is to take the center part of the vise entirely off the bench when doing edge work. That had never occurred to me. I was already doing the cord more or less like your pic and it is still not perfect, partly because my ceiling outlet must be higher off the table. But then I also have more crap on my bench than you do on your elementary school classroom table there. Maybe if I rest the brick on a milk crate or something......
 

sparty

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I'm back with a few more thoughts after using a RazrTune a bit. I'm currently traveling with a few coaches and 15 athletes, so we have a lot of skis to get through. The program picked up a RazrTune this fall, and so far everyone who's used it likes it more than the TriOne. I'd describe it as slotting pretty well between the Evo and the TriOne—it's spring-loaded, so you don't have a depth adjustment that requires close attention, and it's reasonably powerful but won't chew through material the same way the TriOne will. It is easier to keep on the ski than the Evo, although it seems to want to tip when you get towards the waist. The battery power is also rather nice, although I think the weight of the battery is what makes it want to tip. Cleanup is easier than TriOne, but it does make more of a mess than the Evo.

We also had a discussion last night about relative merits of the RT, TriOne, and briefly talked about the Evo, and both the guys I work with and the other coach staying here right now all agree that we prefer the RT. There is a difference in what "3 degrees" is between the TriOne, the RT, and the Evo (and none of them exactly match normal file guides), so you're best-advised to pick one and stick with it.

If I were doing it over again, I'd buy the RazrTune, but I'm not going to replace my Evo early just to get one.
 

Dave Marshak

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Any grinder that requires adjusting the pressure is over my skill level so that eliminates the TriOne. I like my EVO because I can hold the ski securely edge up without a vise on my outdoor bench. I added a battery to the side of it so now it balances on the edge if I hold the ski about 20 degrees off vertical. Still not quite as easy to use as a RT but better than it was with the power cord and easy enough for me.

dm
 

mdf

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Any grinder that requires adjusting the pressure is over my skill level so that eliminates the TriOne. I like my EVO because I can hold the ski securely edge up without a vise on my outdoor bench. I added a battery to the side of it so now it balances on the edge if I hold the ski about 20 degrees off vertical. Still not quite as easy to use as a RT but better than it was with the power cord and easy enough for me.

dm
I'm a very satisfied EVO user (and a grateful prize winner!).
I like working edge-up; it inherits the feel for proper placement from years of hand tuning.
The only thing I don't like about it is the power cord. The placement of the power brick (transformer) in the middle of the cord makes it very difficult to set up a good cable management solution.
I was going to set up a battery like DM, but realized that would be a problem for airline travel.
It turns out the cable management is not that bad if you think of it as something to be set up rather than expecting to spend the 15 seconds it takes with most gear.
 

sparty

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I'm a very satisfied EVO user (and a grateful prize winner!).
I like working edge-up; it inherits the feel for proper placement from years of hand tuning.
The only thing I don't like about it is the power cord. The placement of the power brick (transformer) in the middle of the cord makes it very difficult to set up a good cable management solution.
I was going to set up a battery like DM, but realized that would be a problem for airline travel.
It turns out the cable management is not that bad if you think of it as something to be set up rather than expecting to spend the 15 seconds it takes with most gear.
Batteries shouldn't be a show-stopped for airline travel as long as you can bring them in your carry on. Not being able to check them is a reasonable concern; one of my coworkers arrived in Europe this summer for a camp short two of them because he forgot about that rule.

Re: working edge-up versus base-up: it is a bit weird at first, but another advantage that I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that, as long as you can center the ski on the vises well enough, you can run the RT up one edge and down the other in quick succession, with no flipping the ski or extra trip back to the other side of the bench...just run it tip-to-tail on one side and then go back tail-to-tip on the other (based on the appropriate work direction). The RT does go far enough below the edge that protruding vise rubber beyond the side of the ski can get chewed up pretty good if the ski isn't positioned properly.
 

Dave Marshak

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I was going to set up a battery like DM, but realized that would be a problem for airline travel.
It turns out the cable management is not that bad if you think of it as something to be set up rather than expecting to spend the 15 seconds it takes with most gear.
Cable management is s easy enough if you have a permanent bench where you can leave everything in place, but it’s a PITA if you need to set stuff up all the time. In a rental house you can’t even be sure you will have power. The battery takes all the wasted motion out of it.
You can carry a battery in your carry on and maybe even hack it to charge your cell phone. OTOH in more than 50 western trips I’ve only wanted to tune my skis once, so I never bring the EVO.

dm
 

Dave Marshak

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Re: working edge-up versus base-up: it is a bit weird at first, but another advantage that I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that, as long as you can center the ski on the vises well enough, you can run the RT up one edge and down the other in quick succession, with no flipping the ski or extra trip back to the other side of the bench...just run it tip-to-tail on one side and then go back tail-to-tip on the other (based on the appropriate work direction). The RT does go far enough below the edge that protruding vise rubber beyond the side of the ski can get chewed up pretty good if the ski isn't positioned properly.
The advantage of holding the ski edge up is that you don’t need to be careful. Drop the ski into the slot and go to work. The EVO may be harder to use but it sets up faster without the need to be careful.

dm
 
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Ivan

Ivan

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I have a question for the Protek users (paging @ScotsSkier). I tried using my Protek for the first time today, and had a really tough time tuning the first/last few cm in the tip/tail (especially in the tip, around the curvature of the ski). The middle of the ski is fine, but in the tip and tail, it is very difficult to be precise and accurate. Is this a common issue? Is it simply because of my lack of skill and experience? What is the best solution here?
 

anders_nor

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LOVE IT, anyone who has tried it LOVES IT (battery model)

I have a LOT of skis + friends abuse it, only if you have really really rough skis it requires some battery. so I think Im good with just the one

3 buddies has bought them now


It does a way better job at tuning skis then I ever did by hand, and its easier to see flaws in your teqnique because of pattern on edge, easier to see high sidewall etc, superb & easy product @TahoeWarrior
 

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