Home Base Grinding, Anybody?

[jt10000]

My ski buds like to tease me, because they witnessed me this one time halfway down Outer Limits, Killington, I pulled up to a granite rock on skier's right and took my left ski off and started "stone" grinding al fresco. I had some hanging material from hitting a prior rock that need addressing. I believe I used the push method

I used to XC ski a lot on the trails in Putney, VT, which often cross roads. Sanded roads in winter. We'd call skiing over a road w/o removing the skis a "Putney stone grind."

 

[GB_Ski]

(1) It is unlikely that they all need to be ground multiple times per season (particularly skis that are just used for training). I assume we're talking about juniors, not racers about to break onto the WC. Technique and good instruction (and edges and wax) is going to shave far more time for most juniors than a base grind.
(2) Do it wrong once or twice, the replacement value of the skis will be much more than the savings of DIY.
(3) To each their own - simply my thoughts/experience.

I'm not saying you are wrong or anything, in fact, I would agree with you. I'm just saying money is an issue for many people. OP might be paying a lot of money already for racing schools, saving some money via DIY might be the difference between racing in the winter or not. It's kinda like when I was just out of college, not having health insurance was stupid, but that was the difference between making rent or not. If I was to do it again, I would prefer to have health insurance and eat ramen everyday.

 

[Sibhusky]

Yes, it would be helpful to know the ages of the kids before deciding if a "race structure" (presumably something for injected courses? Most structure discussions focus on crystal size and humidity of the snow under the ski, not the pilot on the ski.) is needed. I mean, if you're really serious you're putting different structures on for each race, much like wax. And you've got your own , or a team, techician, NOT DAD. So, I'm assuming a certain level here and it's not THAT level. In which case, having FRESH consistent structure of some kind is superior to worn-off structure. So, don't get carried away by the "race" aspect. Focus on the type of snow usually encountered and figure out how you need to achieve that. The gorgeous fancy patterns of the latest machines look nice, but is the reason someone lost a race due to not having a diamond-shaped pattern on the ski or not having as good a line on the course? Or keeping low enough in a tuck? Structure is crucial at super cold or warm (especially wet) conditions, but not so important as wax sometimes, and never as important as technique or line.

 

[WhistlerGman]

Yes, it would be helpful to know the ages of the kids before deciding if a "race structure" (presumably something for injected courses? Most structure discussions focus on crystal size and humidity of the snow under the ski, not the pilot on the ski.) is needed. I mean, if you're really serious you're putting different structures on for each race, much like wax. And you've got your own , or a team, techician, NOT DAD. So, I'm assuming a certain level here and it's not THAT level. In which case, having FRESH consistent structure of some kind is superior to worn-off structure. So, don't get carried away by the "race" aspect. Focus on the type of snow usually encountered and figure out how you need to achieve that. The gorgeous fancy patterns of the latest machines look nice, but is the reason someone lost a race due to not having a diamond-shaped pattern on the ski or not having as good a line on the course? Or keeping low enough in a tuck? Structure is crucial at super cold or warm (especially wet) conditions, but not so important as wax sometimes, and never as important as technique or line.

DAD is the team sponsor, team driver, and team equipment manager. DAD is a retired engineer and loves to tinker with things. DAD volunteers his time at the ski club and at races both on home and away mountains. Most importantly, DAD enjoys hanging out with his team of 3 racing boys. I tell ya, it's priceless to be a DAD !

 

[justplanesteve]

DAD is a retired engineer and loves to tinker with things.

If dad has/ has access to a machine shop, as mentioned, many early wintersteiger as well as other brands, were just fairly simple belt machines optimized by the layout and geometry for base grinding, and with flood coolant. Or buy the stone from a more modern iteration and provide the platform. The tough thing about retro-engineering stuff like that is not really building it, but figuring out how deep to go, and learning to use it. Worthy project, but with everything else on your plate, kids could be on WC circuit by the time it is all functional. I do think some of the best work comes off old manual machines from a competent, seasoned, artisan. But they are not in every locale.

WINTERSTEIGER Base grinder - Google Search

 

[dovski]

If dad has/ has access to a machine shop, as mentioned, many early wintersteiger as well as other brands, were just fairly simple belt machines optimized by the layout and geometry for base grinding, and with flood coolant. Or buy the stone from a more modern iteration and provide the platform. The tough thing about retro-engineering stuff like that is not really building it, but figuring out how deep to go, and learning to use it. Worthy project, but with everything else on your plate, kids could be on WC circuit by the time it is all functional. I do think some of the best work comes off old manual machines from a competent, seasoned, artisan. But they are not in every locale.

WINTERSTEIGER Base grinder - Google Search

The only problem with the older machines where you hold the skis and manually run them over the stone is that they take a lot more skill to operate. In Sun Peaks several years back I had my skis tuned at a shop known for their artful tunes ... unfortunately they were in a rush that and there expert tuner pretty much wrecked my skis. Took about 16 passes on the automated Wintersteiger at WC Ski Shop in Bellevue to get them close to flat again. My point being is that if you get a machine like this used for a reasonable price, you probably want to pick up a dozen or so cheap pairs of skis you can practice on to teach yourself how to use it. You can often find these older machines for a reasonable price used, but servicing them to re-balance and replace the stone get's pricey. At the end of the day it will probably take much more time and money to get this setup properly at home than if you just find a good tune shop and go in once or twice a year. Now if you become the tuner for your kids entire ski team, maybe the team can justify the investment .... but at the end of the day when it comes to racing you will also probably have a lot of parents who want to get their kids a proper race tune vs. a DIY tune

 

[Lvovsky /Pasha/Pavel]

Grinder for sale:

Wintersteiger Micro 1 Stone Grinder - $3,500

Hello, I am selling my Wintersteiger Micro 1. It is dusty, but in working order and in good condition for it's age. It has a 150mm wide Stone Grinder, 150mm x 2000mm wet sanding belt and side edger all in one machine. I don't use it anymore and I need to free up the space. It is in a storage...

www.tetongravity.com

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