How many people here tune their own stuff?

I leave that to the pro's. Sometimes that's hard to find too. Lots of times they only run it thru the machine.
 
I tune my own skis. I learned from my ski coach when I raced in high school. It's really pretty easy, you just need the right tools for the job. It makes such a huge difference for everyday riding with waxed bases and sharp edges.
 
seanpistol...completely off topic, but have you skied your SV's yet? How do the compare to your SP's?
 
haven't gotten the chance yet. bindings haven't even been mounted. i would recommend a pm to iggyskier. i believe he has already gotten a day or two on them, and he also owns the same year pistols as i do. luke (vicious) and myself just drool at the seth v's daily.
 
i tune myself and i personally just learned from trial and error. it's so much cheaper to tune your own equipment. i can wax my skis 20 times for the cost of taking them into the shop once.
 
I occasionally tune my own stuff, but most of the time I take it in.... I have some of the tools needed but not all of em, and im too stingy to make that initial expense (even though I know it will save me $ in the long run)

50% off tunes @ the shop probably contributes to my lazyness as well :/
 
i was a ski tech for 3 years. dude i dont know if i can even call myself a tech. theres nothing technical about tuning skis. honest to do a race tune only takes time, and some expensive machinery if you want a grade a job, but all you need is some p-tex strips for any gouges, a rough brush and a soft brush. a scraper, various waxes, an iron, and a edging tool and a gummy stone. i think you can buy those exact kits at ski stores for like 50-60 bucks. granted its not the best iron and your gonna have to keep on getting more wax and ptex but tuning is a joke. go get your skis tuned once at your shop ask them to tune them manually and see if there is a time that you can watch them do your skis or someone elses. as soon as you've seen it done and can remember its all trial and error and your get it after a few tries.
 
hey, u seem like u know a hell of a lot, so lemme ask u something...

ive been tuning my skis for a few years now, but ever time i do it, i always stress over my edging technique. my pa's old school and can do an exceptional job on edges w/ a straight file, but when i try it, im always thinking that im going to mess up the edge by sharpening at the wrong angle. to get to the point, what do you think the best way to sharpen edges is i.e. a straight file or a sharpening tool. and if its the tool, which is the best for the job (excluding price, but something that everyone can use).

NE one can answer this too...
 
yea my dad worked in a ski shop most of his the edge stuff is kinda useless kuz my edges ar gone but i can make a base look new, no goudes the works in about an hr
 
Tuning is really easy. Basically just waxing, filling in major scratches, sometimes sharpening edges.

It is all easy and pretty sell explainatory. I usually only fill in major base gouges as p-tex you use to fill in you bases with is slower than that on the ski. I don't keep my edges very sharp, don't really need to unless your racing.

Waxing - clean off base, drip wax on, melt wax (not too hot or you can bubble your base), scrap off, brush. Brushing is important. Basically, the more brushing you do the faster your skis will be as the water that melts between the skis base and the snow will have more channels to escape from.

Edges - on new skis detune the tips and tails some. I usually try and get rid of burs and sometimes sharpen them a little. But, as I said above, edges aren't usually a problem for me so i don't spend much time on them.

Filling in gouges - I use p-tex sticks. there are other more expensives ways (p-tex gun) but $ wise they aren't worth it for me. Get p-tex stickers and good lighter. I small lighter torch thing works best. Clean out gouge. Heat up p-tex and keep it as hot as you can. If you start seeing black it is carbon forming on the p-tex and makes the p-tex not as strong. Drip the p-tex in. If it is a really deep gouge I often do it in parts and let it set. So, I fill the gouge maybe 1/2 way, let it sit, fill gouge the rest of the way, let it sit, and then scrap. So, scrap it off, and your done.

If it is a core shot you can use epoxy to fill in the bottom. Let that sit for awhile and then cover it with p-tex.

Hope this kind of helps.
 
^no, im not saying that his stuff is useless, in fact, when i do a good job with it, the straight file does a much better job than the shops. im just wondering if there is a similar tool that is more precise.
 
usually just a diamond file or gummi stone. Sometimes I use a file, but only when the edges are in very poor shape.

I do use an edge bevel too.
 
like eggy skier said a diamond stone is awesome and cleans an edge nicely. a file gets rid of burrs and can also fuck up and edge quik if you old it at the wrong angle. KUU makes a tool which holds your file to your ski at the angle you want. also to get rid of carbon drips in the ptex hold the ptex stick close to the ski so the flame off the lit ptex is clear/blue. when the flame is orange you will get carbon formations in the ptex and it will weaken your fill. black bases dont show this only clear and colors. dont be scared to use and exacto knife to clean out carbon drips and fill again. also if the gauge is really rugged. and i mean really fucked and all the way tot he core. cut the surrounding base area around the gouge and only a little bit just so the edge around the gouge is 90 degress. and remove the wrecked base. fill with a small amount of epoxy to seal off the base and if your have extra base cut a peice the same size as the chunk in your base and add this when the epoxy is still liquid. clamp this with two flat objects and some vices and use a hairdryer to warm the ptex. leave for 12 hrs and then scrap away the extra epoxy. if you dont have base patches then epoxy half way and let the epoxy harden then fill the rest with ptex.
 
KUU makes a tuning video its easy to find ask your ski shop they'll find you a copy or give you theres. good learning tool and explains it all well. or go shadow a shop tech for a few complete tunes done by hand and youll be set.
 
I do full tuning, including sharpening edges, repairing damage, I even know who to properly adjust a binding. and of course waxing every couple uses.
 
check it out bro here's the trick. You take a straight file not too gritty ya hear, a medium or light guage, and you take a paper business card and you wrap it around the base of the file to create your angle, this is cheaper and as affective as a bevel. Then you always go tip to tail and observe the ammount of material you are pulling off. For side edges without a nice shop tool just go really lightly at as close to even with the edge, 0 degrees, as possible, as it's insane to try and bevel by eye, and the 1-2 degree on the base will be fine. If that isn't sharp enough for you you belong on TGR and not NS.
 
i was decent at sharpening my edges a few years ago, but havent bothered since. what ive mastered pretty well is making makeshift edges out of epoxy.

but anywho, learned to tune from friends and from people in shops over many years
 
yea boi, i do they pretty mch exatctly same thing except on edge tunining. I'll tune just right at my tips and tails, and detune a little bit just uner my boot,and tune every thing else sharp. (east coast)

and i only tune once and while, once i can notice no edge at all, i'll retune that area.
 
A tip, if you are gong to wax and sharpen edges, do the edges first. The metal shavings will scratch bases a little.
 
where did you get certified? what was that process like? all said and done i would like to be professionally trained, i spend too much money on skis to fuck them up..
 
that should say de-tune

and good tip by C.J gotta do it in the right order.
 
highSPEEDchase, go shadow a local ski tech. if you wanna learn thats the best way. if you want to learn how to mount, and do it professionally you gotta take the skills courses offered by each company. its a video and a q and a thing they send to ya. go shadow a tech, we had people come into the shop each year when i was there just to watch for a few days. plus if you have a techshop at your local hill that does tunes then go volunteer there for half a season, learn the works and they will most likely give you a seasons pass. 2 birds with one stone
 
after that i usually get an index card or use a plastic scrapper, and lightly get any wax off that might have dripped over onto the edges. i'm pretty sure you don't have to and it would come off skiing right away, but it's just a habit.
 
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