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Viable at-home alternative to grinding?

surfski

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I do not have a steel scraper and no experience of using one but im very carefull and good with my hands so I will buy one to add to my growing tool kit and see if i can take the base down. If i then get to try the skis and start to appreciate them I can get a grind in the future
 

Scruffy

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I do not have a steel scraper and no experience of using one but im very carefull and good with my hands so I will buy one to add to my growing tool kit and see if i can take the base down. If i then get to try the skis and start to appreciate them I can get a grind in the future

Google how to set a burr on that scraper ( look in woodworking stuff ) or it won't do much. The burr will need to be reset from time to time.
 

surfski

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thanks scruffy yes ive read that and to file the edge to raise a burr, oh and that a strong pair of hands would help -:)
 

oldschoolskier

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That and onies. :roflmao:

Rumor has it that when they were an in thing, all stock all of a sudden vanished killing the potential market. And now many, many years later some one still has stock, makes one wonder.

Peace @Jacques:beercheer:
 

Doug Briggs

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If he has a 4* bevel he is going to look like the Rock when he is done. He'll also have to intermix edge removal with base removal.

BTW what is 'plastic creep'?
 

surfski

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Hi guys
Thank you Jacques for the link but thanks to Noodler also as I followed his link to find and watch a series of 8 videos of you prepping some Dynastars and how to scrape. I have ordered a Bahco scraper and will be getting to work as soon as this arrives.
As for the 4* bevel this was the very high angle needed to get a diamond stone to touch the edge when in a TOKO 1* base guide i was lifted up maybe 1/4 inch to make contact. Knowing this was almost certainly impossible to be the case I sanded out a short section to get the base down to the level of the edge and tried again. This showed the edge angle to be almost a perfect 1* angle but high bases.
What I am VERY interested in is getting this changed and then seeing if miracle of miracles I find this ski many like a lot is not as loathsome as i find them
 

Jacques

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Doug Briggs

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Jacques

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Oh, please. :rolleyes:

How about a non-technical description and how it applies to flattening skis?
It happens with a belt sander more than a stone grind, but it causes the amorphous areas to become clogged up. Heat must be avoided when sanding or grinding. Still the plastic gets all "smooshed" around and the base will not absorb wax.
 

surfski

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well so far i estimate 20 hours sanding and scrapping on just one ski of the pair, and it is still not there yet almost but not quite.
I have sanded the top edges planed the side walls and reset the edge bevel for a change of activity from the endless sanding.
the bases were markedly high and convex in the middle but the edges were high relative to the adjacent base so to get to flat both the base and the edges have had to be taken down, the edges not just to remove the ground in bevel so I can change from 1* to .5*
So I am learning a lot, but also annoyed. The more I have done the more I can not escape how bad this pair of skis was when they left the factory.
I bought this well recommended ski only to find that for me it was garbage, yes it has taken me a very long time to realise thanks to this site that this is likely due to the I hesitate to even call it a tune that it was dispatched with.
My question is why would any manufacturer allow a product to be so far away from ideal, surely knowing that in use the customer will be disappointed and as im my case may blame their lack of magical technique.
Is this issue with all manufacturers ? how common is it to find a ski that is this far away from what ought to be expected ? did I get a rogue pair started on friday evening and finished on monday morning ?
I suspect it was a tech put into Heads workforce from a rival manufacturer.
While this is a rant of sorts my questions are genuine and i am interested because i cant get my head around such a complete lack of QC
 

Doug Briggs

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20 hours x $10 = $200. Not to mention the materials you use (belt, bandages, etc.)

At the shop I work you'd get a flat base, bevels set and a nice wax job for $60. Even at $5 hour for your time, you'd come out ahead. And that's just one ski done. As you haven't started ski two, I'd be really interested in a photo of the base with a true bar on it.

That your skis came brand new as bad as you describe is remarkable. I've seen plenty of brand new skis and never one from a respected manufacturer that needed tons of work, much less more than some, to be skiable. Independent brands, plenty. I won't name my 'favorite' 'crap out of the wrapper' winners but they have been concave, convex, rough belt sanded and lots of other things.
 

NE1

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When I see the title of this thread, I keep thinking about the kids I see (ok, some adults too) skiing across the dirt and concrete by the base lodge/parking lot, and in some cases the ski-tuner dads and moms who faithfully and painfully renew the skis between trips! Or not...!
 

surfski

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Hey Doug believe me im not doing this for fun and my time while im retired as such is still valuable to me. I am in a new home in a new country and the only place i know of that I might trust to do this work is 21/2 hour drive away. I do not know any of the local shops and mostly things are closed so I have not yet seen a place with stone grinding available.
I have two true bars one round and a flat TOKO one to use as a check but I have a lot of experience of sanding a lot of different projects where accuracy is important so a keen eye sound / feel and shade alone would get me pretty much there.
In the end I reasoned that I dont like the skis as they were to the point i refused to waste time on the slopes with them, the issues were clear so I had little to nothing to lose, but a great chance to learn. Unsurprisingly as this is the first time of doing such a project I have been shocked by how long it takes to bring the base and edges down despite comments which hinted at this being a tough task and yes my hands and thumbs have regained some of their former strength which is a bonus i suppose.
I am not in general in favour of bad mouthing a manufacturer as from what ive read all brands can have sub optimal work and to er is human even new Stocklis given another thread here it seems would need to be checked.
I get that if the base thickness varies between batches due to tolerances relative to the edge thickness this could happen and time is money so blasting the skis through the grinder once costs less than ensuring the base is flat with the edges, I dont have an issue with the tips and tails not being 100% if the machines cant do this.
I cant now take pictures as both skis have been substantially altered already but I do wish I had measured the thickness before and after to quantify some of this.
In the end the proof of the pudding will be in the eating if I manage to get them on snow this year and I will report if I find what I hope to with the skis, which is a ski which is much more predictable, way way more responsive to edging that the ski will curve into a far more even bend and grip along its entire length
 

surfski

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I guess but it is only supposition on my part that the practice ive read about of finishing the skis before they are properly cured could be the cause behind the base high through the central part of the width. I do know from other fields and interests this for me is a NO NO as the items wont be stable until epoxy is properly cured admittedly on items rather more expensive than skis, and it ought to not increase costs much at all to remove skis from the press and then store them to finish curing prior to finishing
 

Jacques

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I would not use sandpaper on a ski base. Best to sharpen up your steel scraper.
Once you start hitting the edges, then wrap some wet sandpaper around a diamond stone, put it in a guide and go to town on the edges.
After that, you may need to go back and forth between both processes.
@surfski
IDK, this is like 5 hours long with a new ski. Watch and speed it up with the YouTube speed option, then fast-forward a bit from time to time.
Long story, see video description.
Here it is here.
 

Mark1975

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Haha, you guys are wasting your time with the $500,000 robotic machines and spending 5 hours with a steel scraper.
This is how to do it fast.
:roflmao:
 

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