Repair job for a significant edge tear - how sketchy is this?

[JShort]

I'm wondering if anyone has a more informed opinion on the safety of this quick rock ski repair. Are these good for some more rock bashing, or should they be tossed?

About ~40 cm of the edge delaminated on the skis. I cut away all of the loose base material (these skis have seen many base grinds and there isn't much base material left.)

Drilled some small screws in to anchor the edge. Above the edge is the sidewall material, which is not very dense and doesn't have that much grip on the screw threads. Still, I put plenty of screws down and the edge seems to be anchored solidly.

Lots and lots of ptex. After scraping the screw heads reappeared, but I was able to sand everything level. Definitely not possible (or worth it) to do a base grind.

 

[DanoT]

Ptex may not hold that well. Metalgrip is what you need but I'm not sure if very many ski shops sell Metalgrip.

 

[Noodler]

When a repair area is that large on a ski, the better approach is to create a patch from base material and epoxy it in. You can then use P-tex to clean-up any possible gaps still present. P-tex alone (even metal-grip) on an area that large is probably not going to be durable/dependable.

P.S. - looks like you used a drip candle on this repair. There's probably so much carbon in this patch that it won't adhere well to the ski.

 

[Eric267]

How sketchy... Very sketchy!

I'm gonna guess the first time you flex that ski hard all that p-tex is going to crack apart and fall off. A p-Tex candle is not made for a repair of that magnitude.

Retire them, looks like they’ve seen their day

 

[Doug Briggs]

I don't think safety is an issue. if it falls apart the worst that is likely to happen is you won't have good edging. You described the issue with screwing so close to the edge of the ski: there is nothing to substantial to screw into.

When I need to screw an edge in place I will dremel the screw head to insure it is below the level of the base. You don't need much screw head to be effective. I often end up with no slot in the head. The edge sections we use to replace edges have longer tabs so the screws can be further from the edge and hopefully screw into solid base material.

If you are really committed to reviving this ski, just fill the area you filled with p-tex with epoxy. It will bond the base to the metal edge. It won't glide as well as p-tex, but it is structural whereas p-tex is not.

 

[DanoT]

If you are really committed to reviving this ski, just fill the area you filled with p-tex with epoxy. It will bond the base to the metal edge. It won't glide as well as p-tex, but it is structural whereas p-tex is not.

Epoxy does sound like the best repair material.

 

[Uncle-A]

Epoxy does sound like the best repair material.

I agree you might as well use it and it should get you through the rest of the season if you are careful. Not sure how it will hold up to the rocks in the spring, but that is always a challenge.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I used to use epoxy instead of p-tex for big core shots before I learned about metal-grip. It holds up ok, but it does tend to crack and eventually fall out.

This repair has withstood the test of time and use.

 

[DanoT]

I used to use epoxy instead of p-tex for big core shots before I learned about metal-grip.

I think metal-grip has been around 12-15 years. A buddy of mine whose ski shop closed down about 15 years ago didn't know about metal-grip until I talked to him about it one time.

 

[JShort]

Ptex may not hold that well. Metalgrip is what you need but I'm not sure if very many ski shops sell Metalgrip.

Ah yes, someone told me to try this, and then I promptly forgot the name of it. I'll try to chip out the p-tex that I put down, find some metal grip and then maybe put a thin layer of p-tex on top of it. At this point I'm just fooling around with different repair options. Soon I'll scrap these skis and salvage the bindings

 

[dovski]

FYI Racewax sells Metal Grip

Metal Grip Ski Snowboard Base Repair Material Black - (55-560-331)

Ski snowboard wax and tuning tools with video instructional help for the do-it-yourself tuner.

www.racewax.com

 

[DanoT]

Ah yes, someone told me to try this, and then I promptly forgot the name of it. I'll try to chip out the p-tex that I put down, find some metal grip and then maybe put a thin layer of p-tex on top of it. At this point I'm just fooling around with different repair options. Soon I'll scrap these skis and salvage the bindings

Look at some of the other recent posts. The consensus is that epoxy would be better than metal-grip and easier to acquire and apply.

 

[Scrundy]

Man that’s pretty bad, not sure if even epoxy will hold. I’ve had a troublesome core shot and this epoxy has held real well, hasn’t even wore due to friction. Got it from Tognar but it says they are out of stock.

 

[JShort]

Sounds like epoxy is the way to go, then I'll give these skis one last hurrah and retire them. Thanks everyone!

 

[graham418]

Try Tognar for a bunch of ski repair material. Have a bash at it. At the very least you'll get some experience at ski repair. At best you have a pair of rock skis.

 

[crgildart]

Yer gunna die..

 

[sparty]

I don't think safety is an issue. if it falls apart the worst that is likely to happen is you won't have good edging. You described the issue with screwing so close to the edge of the ski: there is nothing to substantial to screw into.

Worst-case scenario is the edge partially coming off and pulling the ski off-line at a bad time, isn't it? That's substantially worse than just "not having good edging", but it's also a risk I wouldn't consider huge from a safety standpoint (although I'd probably avoid firm snow, even traverses, in no-fall terrain).

The non-safety risk I'd see is loss of a ski day: if it's a really fun day on tap and that edge fails at 9:30 a.m., what's your plan? A lot depends on how you plan to use the skis, but after having pulled edges out of a pair of skis, I'd be disinclined to use a pair with compromised edges except as for "skiing" that involves lots of sparks and loud noises (or maybe sand dunes).

 

[Doug Briggs]

Worst-case scenario is the edge partially coming off and pulling the ski off-line at a bad time, isn't it? That's substantially worse than just "not having good edging", but it's also a risk I wouldn't consider huge from a safety standpoint (although I'd probably avoid firm snow, even traverses, in no-fall terrain).

The non-safety risk I'd see is loss of a ski day: if it's a really fun day on tap and that edge fails at 9:30 a.m., what's your plan? A lot depends on how you plan to use the skis, but after having pulled edges out of a pair of skis, I'd be disinclined to use a pair with compromised edges except as for "skiing" that involves lots of sparks and loud noises (or maybe sand dunes).

I assume the bad edge will be an outside edge therefore if it fails you shouldn't be standing on it very hard in the first place.

 

[crgildart]

Pffft

 

[Chuck danache]

Pffft

View attachment 123133

In this case, no repair needed.