Two-piece or three-piece vises?

[Zirbl]

Recently needed to get vises in resort. Was looking for three-piece options, but not a single shop had them. I ended up taking a two-piece one. It's heavy duty, and to my surprise it was labelled on the box, for what that's worth, as a race tuning product, and the shops I looked in draw a lot of local racers. (Maybe they'd taken all the good ones?) My understanding is that a two-piecer is fine for waxing, brushing and polishing with a diamond stone, but if you're taking a file to an edge, there's too much risk of bounce. But that's just what I've been told, and you get told all sorts don't you.
Haven't needed to use them with a file yet - should I upgrade my vises/find a spare centre piece before I do?

 

[Primoz]

Not sure if we mean same thing with 2 or 3 piece vises. But if you mean with "2 piece" something like this:
https://www.swixsport.com/globalassets/inriver/resources/t0149-50.jpg?width=1280
just without that center piece, then it really depends on ski. For race skis, I have never been using center piece, except when mounting plates. For powder and ski touring skis on the other hand, I normally use it, as they are much much softer and they bend too much without support in middle. Talking here about working on base. When doing edges and have ski in vertically, it's always just front and back piece without center piece.

 

[Zirbl]

Not sure if we mean same thing with 2 or 3 piece vises. But if you mean with "2 piece" something like this:
https://www.swixsport.com/globalassets/inriver/resources/t0149-50.jpg?width=1280
just without that center piece, then it really depends on ski. For race skis, I have never been using center piece, except when mounting plates. For powder and ski touring skis on the other hand, I normally use it, as they are much much softer and they bend too much without support in middle. Talking here about working on base. When doing edges and have ski in vertically, it's always just front and back piece without center piece.

Yes, there was no centre piece at the bindings, just the two end ones. Talking race skis - I will gladly do what you're doing. Thanks!

 

[Philpug]

Here is a breakdown of Toko's vises...

Review: - Overview of Toko Alpine Ski Vises

A run down of Toko's

www.skitalk.com

 

[Zirbl]

Here is a breakdown of Toko's vises...

Review: - Overview of Toko Alpine Ski Vises

A run down of Toko's

www.skitalk.com

Thanks. Read your article before buying, of course, then found they had nothing of the sort.

 

[Tom K.]

Jaws of the Beast FTW IMO.

Jaws of the BEAST — BEAST Tuning

The Jaws of the BEAST ski tuning vise has a 3-point design that holds any ski and binding system at the correct height and angle for tuning and waxing. The 95mm vise width accommodates gripping the sides of the binding plate or the AFD (anti-friction device) versus the ski sidewall, which can be too

www.beasttuning.com

Of course, Toko for ALL my wax needs. Seriously.

 

[Zirbl]

The set of vises I'm using now are very heavy, fine until they have to fly. Are the lighter-weight plastic vises out there reliable enough for tuning race skis, or am I just going to have to take the hit on excess baggage?

 

[François Pugh]

I find the centre piece convenient when scraping (perhaps a bit also when brushing) wax; it supports the ski. That is all.

 

[Jacques]

Jaws of the Beast FTW IMO.

Jaws of the BEAST — BEAST Tuning

The Jaws of the BEAST ski tuning vise has a 3-point design that holds any ski and binding system at the correct height and angle for tuning and waxing. The 95mm vise width accommodates gripping the sides of the binding plate or the AFD (anti-friction device) versus the ski sidewall, which can be too

www.beasttuning.com

Of course, Toko for ALL my wax needs. Seriously.

Inexpensive, and it works when one know how to best use it.

 

[Zirbl]

What's the weight @Jacques ? As feared, I've had to add another bag to my flight just to carry my vise. The return cost would be more than the price of some cheaper bits of kit. Do lightweight plastic vises work or do they bounce too much? Thinking there must be a reason race vises are so heavy.

 

[tromano]

I use the one @Philpug linked. Mostly, I don't bother to use the middle section. Of course I used the "no scrape" method of waxing.

 

[Philpug]

I use the one @Philpug linked. Mostly, I don't bother to use the middle section. Of course I used the "no scrape" method of waxing.

You can use a basic two piece, if you move them to the extremities of the tip and tail.

 

[Jacques]

What's the weight @Jacques ? As feared, I've had to add another bag to my flight just to carry my vise. The return cost would be more than the price of some cheaper bits of kit. Do lightweight plastic vises work or do they bounce too much? Thinking there must be a reason race vises are so heavy.

Bounce? Works fine for me for many years. Weight? Never weighed it.

 

[mdf]

When I have enough room to put the 2 vice pieces at the very ends of the ski, I don't really need the center piece. But for my longest skis on my improvised bench, I need to hold the center down to scrape the ends, which extend beyond the vice.

 

[Atomicman]

3 piece , just like fish & chips!

 

[Zirbl]

Bounce? Works fine for me for many years. Weight? Never weighed it.

Sorry, two questions, not necessarily related. 1. Is the jaws of the beast thing lightweight? 2. Are the heavy metal vises marketed as race kit heavy because race kit needs to be heavy to prevent imprecision from excess vibration?

 

[Jacques]

Sorry, two questions, not necessarily related. 1. Is the jaws of the beast thing lightweight? 2. Are the heavy metal vises marketed as race kit heavy because race kit needs to be heavy to prevent imprecision from excess vibration?

I don't have any vibration issues. I use both hands. Depending which end slots used when the ski is on edge, you can create a load, so it's not loose. I assume compared to a metal vice it's light, but again, never weighed it.

 

[Zirbl]

Here is a breakdown of Toko's vises...

Review: - Overview of Toko Alpine Ski Vises

A run down of Toko's

www.skitalk.com

Looking again at this, the World Cup is the only one with end pieces that securely holds the ski, right? With the others, is the ski just resting in a groove, and the only thing clamped is the bench?

 

[James]

Looking again at this, the World Cup is the only one with end pieces that securely holds the ski, right? With the others, is the ski just resting in a groove, and the only thing clamped is the bench?

Yes. Be nice if they combined the clamping side units with the wide free ride vise.
All these appear built by the same company with different colors.

SuperProPlus WIDE | Alpin - Snow - Products |

Spezial Skispanner zur professionellen Kanten- und Skibelagsbearbeitung

www.holmenkol.com

Skiman SKI VISE PRO Wide opening

Find best value and selection for Skiman SKI VISE PRO Wide opening. Fast delivery with Fedex or GLS. Payments with PayPal, credit cards or bank transfer. 21 days right to return.

www.tesmasport.com

 

[Rdp]

RaceWax World Cup Pro Ski Vise All-Metal Three Piece - (PB-4100)

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

www.racewax.com

Really like using this one from RaceWax. Other than having to re-glue a couple of the rubber pads, this vise is excellent!