Ski Tuning - How big a difference for mediocre skis?

[MemilyG]

I am starting to get allured by the idea of setting up a DIY rig and learning to tune my own skis. It sounds cool!

However, the skis I am on now are not particularly "performance skis" (I only have one pair ). They are intermediate skis that I like a lot, but I am no racer.

What and how much of a difference would I notice if I learned to tune my skis regularly? Am I putting the cart before the horse here?

 

[PowDiva85]

absolutely not. a tune can make a difference for any type of skier. The only difference is racers will get more technical about their tunes with specific angles that are sharper ect. Go to your local shop and talk to them about what the right angles for your level is. Probably a 2 degree base and 1 degree side. Just be careful, a bad tune can ruin a ski day as much as a good tune can help you so make sure you get well educated before you start doing it yourself

 

[volklgirl]

Tuning is critical for mediocre skiers! You have enough to worry about with your own body movements to have to also deal with balky, twitchy, unreponsive, or unpredictable skis.

Clean, smooth, sharp edges and a nicely waxed base actually helps your skis to turn and track properly and to hold and edge through harder snow and on steeper slopes. Keeping your skis well tuned will help you become a better skier. As a DIY project, it also keeps you in tune with the health of your skis and you can adjust your edge bevels as you become better and your needs change.

I have to disagree with pow diva on the bevels, though. Most skis are sold with a 1 deg base and 2 deg side bevel, but this can be confirmed by your local shop tech. As advanced skiers on midwest "snow", we actually reset all ours to 1 and 3, even on our powder skis. Detuning tip and tail is entirely optional, and I don't recommend it unless you actually have a problem like a too long ski and need it to ski shorter. The most important parts of tuning are deburring and waxing!! Make sure you take your time with these steps to keep everything gliding nicely.

Check out the Gearipedia for more info on tuning. Also, there's another thread with some great videos on tuning, although, again, I recommend skipping the 1st video (detuning) unless you find a need for it.

 

[MemilyG]

Fantastic That gives me an excuse to go for it if I continue to have the itch.

I found this cool thread on Tetongravity and it piqued my interest.

Thank you for the info, and I will check out Gearipedia.

 

[volklgirl]

Feel free to post up or PM with questions....I've got nothing but time right now. :(

If needed, I can even get hubby to do some tuning and get video if the others don't cover your needs.

By the way....different waxes smell different when melting; a fun tidbit I finally noticed last week. Hot Sauce smells almost sickly sweet while their race formula smells slightly acrid. I the smell of melting wax. (yup, I know I'm weird, and I'm on pretty good drugs right now, too )

 

[MemilyG]

Is everything okay? Something in your post makes it sound like you are down and out. (Drugs + lots of free time on your hands). Speedy recovery if so.

Hey, thanks a lot for the offer. I love the ladies on this forum I think probably step one is persuading boyfriend to buy me a workbench thingy so I can set up shop :-) Ahem... But I sure like this idea!

Haha, the wax thing is great. Somehow I can relate, even though I don't know the exact smells yet....

 

[tamlyn]

One thing racers pay alot of attention to is getting your ski base even with your edges. When skis are tuned from the factory or a shop they use a wet belt sander to get a pristine bottom. The problem with this is sanders remove more plastic than metal so your skis become "railed" meaning the edges are slightly higher than the base. This makes the ski skittish(it is also why I don't put much stock in demo skis) Some shops offer hand tuning but it is expensive, about $70 here. Before worrying about wax and degrees get your bottoms flat. To do this get a mill bastard file and file until you see the file making contact with the ski bottoms for at least 1 1/2 inches from the edge. You will see the scratch marks. Make sure you de-wax the ski before starting this process! And get a file card to keep cleaning the p tex that will build up in the file grooves. This sounds easy enough but the first time you do it to a new pair of skis plan on spending several hours of filing. After that debur the edges, they make a tool for this that holds a small file at 90 degrees, then follow up with a stone or diamond file, it is best to use 3 a coarse then medium and finally fine. Then you are ready to set any angles you may want. Finally rub on alot of white wax(if you use swix) and heat it or melt some and brush it on then hit it briefly with an iron. Scrape of the excess then wax again with the appropriate temperature wax and fiber if you use it, and scrape again. Finally polish the bottoms with a cork (they sell shaped ones so you don't cut up your knuckles) or a good tuning brush...or both. I would never detune a ski, but there can be reasons for a beginner to so they don't catch a tip or tail, just be sure there are no burrs on the edges. Once you do this you will never have to go through the whole process again, unless you let a shop put your ski on a sander again. If you are tuning an older ski there is the whole P tex candle thing to fill in gouges
but thats pretty straightforward. Check your work with a true bar. If the base is slightly convex this is OK, it helps make edge change quicker, but not too much or you will end up with ballet skis lol
Tami (gravity girl)

 

[SkiGAP]

Feel free to post up or PM with questions....I've got nothing but time right now. :(

:(:(:(:(:(

 

[volklgirl]

Is everything okay? Something in your post makes it sound like you are down and out. (Drugs + lots of free time on your hands). Speedy recovery if so.

My story is in the Health, Fitness, and Injuries section.