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Ideas to Keep Portable Tuning Table Stable

Snuckerpooks

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So I've had a Swix Portable Tuning Table that I put away during the summer as my main tuning bench. It's a little small but it gets the job done. I've had it for 3 years but it is so light that it wobbles during scraping and brushing. It's started to annoy me to the point of looking for ways to keep it stable when applying pressure to the skis.

Anybody got ideas to keep the table steady?

Do I need to put sandbags over the leg braces? Strap it to a wall?
 

KingGrump

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Best way to stabilize one of those cheap a** Swix wax table is to get one of this.

1642033755722.png


Seriously, I use the same cheap a** Swix table on the road. Usually I'll push it up against the wall. That helps to some extend. When I am performing operations that required both hands like scraping (wax or ptex), I will do a little hip dumping (hip check) against the table edge. That is usually enough to stabilize the whole setup. For one hand operations like filing or deburring, I usually place the other hand on the ski to stabilize the whole thing.
 

Jacques

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So I've had a Swix Portable Tuning Table that I put away during the summer as my main tuning bench. It's a little small but it gets the job done. I've had it for 3 years but it is so light that it wobbles during scraping and brushing. It's started to annoy me to the point of looking for ways to keep it stable when applying pressure to the skis.

Anybody got ideas to keep the table steady?

Do I need to put sandbags over the leg braces? Strap it to a wall?
Melt a bunch of lead, and pour into the tubes until they are full! :D
 

snwbrdr

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Have that table. No issues with it.

iirc, one of the legs, is adjustable at the bottom. Never bothered to mess with it.
 

geepers

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For couple of years rented a suite that had access to a room for tuning.

Big built-in table so no problem with stability. Only trouble was I have to fly 12,000km, space and weight is an issue, so don't carry vices. What to do.... Some-one pointed out a 1" hole drill in the table and the idea was to tie the ski down with a rope around the binding and a table support.

It sorta kinda .... didn't really work. :(
 

KingGrump

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Before we go any further. The yellow Toko unit is not the bench in question The actual Swix T75B looks like the pic below. There are "minor" differences between the two.


1642114733950.png
 

ScotsSkier

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Easy, if that is your main tuning bench, there are 3 important steps

Step 1
take several more pictures of it.

Step 2
list it on CL or here in Phil's garage sale

Step 3 (and this is the most importantogsmile)
go out and get a Holmenkol portable tuning bench. It is a bit heavier for travel but it is solid and stable and extremely capable as a primary tuning bench. I used mine as my primary bench for several years and even modified it with a 6.5 x 2 sheet of 3/4 ply bolted to it to make it even more useful

Problem solved
 
Thread Starter
TS
Snuckerpooks

Snuckerpooks

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Well, the bench so far has served me well. Just a little wobbly. Maybe I'll try to do something with those horizontal braces. Put some weight on those to settle down the feet.
 

TheArchitect

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Easy, if that is your main tuning bench, there are 3 important steps

Step 1
take several more pictures of it.

Step 2
list it on CL or here in Phil's garage sale

Step 3 (and this is the most importantogsmile)
go out and get a Holmenkol portable tuning bench. It is a bit heavier for travel but it is solid and stable and extremely capable as a primary tuning bench. I used mine as my primary bench for several years and even modified it with a 6.5 x 2 sheet of 3/4 ply bolted to it to make it even more useful

Problem solved

I have the Holmenkol as my primary bench and it's rock solid. Not for the faint of wallet, though.

 

Bienski

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Try adding an additional cross brace on each side of the table so there are four instead of two. Cross them in a X pattern and for more stiffness bolt them together where they cross.
 

Philpug

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It's a little small but it gets the job done.
Is it?
I've had it for 3 years but it is so light that it wobbles during scraping and brushing.
Obviously not now. ;)

Sounds a bit like you outgrew it. This is why there are different tables at different price points. Time to step up to a new table that is bigger and stronger. the name of the table is the the Portable Tuning Table. Might be time to stup up. https://tokous.com/workbench-110x50cm/
 

scott43

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Our shop had a metal workbench..it was tremendous. I hate sketch workbenches. Cross-bracing is important. Weight is also important. That metal workbench weighed probably 400lbs..but my god what a work bench!
 

Wilhelmson

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Probably the cross members have some play. Horizontally brace the two ends with a shelf and put a cooler on the brace.
 

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