Wax on...wax off

[Hugh]

I'm wondering who enjoys waxing their own gear? I just finished waxing two boards and a pair of skis tonight, getting ready for next week's 3-day session.

Up next for me is learning to tune my edges.

--Hugh

[Jrobb]

After a rather infuriating incident, I do all the work on my boards base repair, structuring,,,you name it. Noone touches my babies anymore.

J

[martyagt4]

My girlfriend and I do all our own waxing and edge tuning on our equipment. Neither of us has had the need to do any P-Tex repairs yet, although I do have one board that could use it.

I have one board that could use a base grind, it's a bit concave. Holding off since I'm not sure of the quality of work available here locally.

We enjoying, find it relaxing to a degree. We have a nice table set up in the basement with our gear around it and a set of the Bakoda stands. We wax everytime we ride.

[Mike T]

I do everything but base grinds myself. However I am happy to pay a master tuner such as PTC or Startingate to do a grind and edges on one of my "A" decks each summer.

[Jrobb]

I stopped letting others touch my decks when Powderhouse in Tahoe did this to my Arbor.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-10/1100521/CRGYH-DSCF0944.JPG
The scratches were me trying to identify the substance.
That there is epoxy used to hold my stomp pad on. They apparently removed it to grind the base and couldn't get it back on so the schmoe there epoxied it back in place. I didn't catch it till a year later when I went to sell the deck, I removed the pad to find this. It's been about 12 hrs of work and 70 bucks in supplies to get it back to useable standards but the super hard finish Arbor puts on from the factory is hard to duplicate.

I'll be a little hesitant in letting anyone else touch my other boards.

J

[martyagt4]

I stopped letting others touch my decks when Powderhouse in Tahoe did this to my Arbor.


The scratches were me trying to identify the substance.
That there is epoxy used to hold my stomp pad on. They apparently removed it to grind the base and couldn't get it back on so the schmoe there epoxied it back in place. I didn't catch it till a year later when I went to sell the deck, I removed the pad to find this. It's been about 12 hrs of work and 70 bucks in supplies to get it back to useable standards but the super hard finish Arbor puts on from the factory is hard to duplicate.

I'll be a little hesitant in letting anyone else touch my other boards.

J


Wow, what a knob end. It's almost worth kepping a junk board around to test some of these shops.

[azrcd5]

I find the hardest part is if you live in NYC and fly to CO. to ride. It is a little hard and impractical fly with all the tuning gear, however I don't like people touching the boards for all the reasons posed already. And trying to tune in an apartment in NYC or a condo in CO, just sucks no matter what since there are no proper work spaces.

martyagt4 am I looking at Mid-O in your avatar?

[Fastskiguy]

Had some skis get funked up on a stonegrinder way "back in the day" (back when they invented stones) and I like to work on my stuff anyway. Most of it is really easy, edge sharpening and waxing is pretty easy, even base structuring is not too bad. But getting that base really flat pretty much requires a stonegrinder....and somebody to run it.

Get a vise, a file guide, a new sharp file, and maybe a diamond stone and you're all set for side edge filing nirvana. Add a base edge guide and you're all set for the base edge too. Go slow, don't press hard, try to avoid slipping (!), and you should be fine. You'll never ride dull edges again :)

[Hugh]

Wow, a ton of us doing it ourselves, that is very cool.

Where do you buy your supplies? I usually buy my wax on sale at the local ski/snowboard shops in town or end of the season sale at the ski resorts. My other supplies were bought online at www.tognar.com

Also, I've been using two saw horses, so I need to get some real tuning racks to work with.

--Hugh

[Fastskiguy]

My other supplies were bought online at www.tognar.com
--Hugh


I've gotten some stuff from them too, seems like a good place. My favorite file is the 2.75" pansar.....use a light touch! You can peel off big stringies of edge with'em :)

[Fastskiguy]

You know, some of that base tape would probably we worth getting too....anybody use it? I just pick the metal out of my base :0

[jnshapiro]

Yup. I wax, minor base repair, minor epoxy sidewall/topsheet repair, and edges. Core shots and such I'll learn how to do when I need to. Stone grindings I leave for a shop, though I am thinking about getting a riller bar and learning to use it.

[Thor VonRippington]

Growing up in Steamboat... I worked in a shop and did a majority of the ski and board tuning (long before the stone grinder). I got spoiled by always tuning my boards to the exact conditions daily. It became an obsession and a hobby. Now I must have a bench set up where ever I live. I still obsess over the way my boards run and take a lot of pleasure in doing all the work myself. Once in a while a grind is neccessary and I have a trusted person I go to in Boulder for the machine work.

[Blackbird]

I do all the waxing and edge tuning myself...Have all the tools for this sorta work..


There is something therapeutic in looking after your decks..

Never done any delam repairs as I've been lucky I haven't needed to yet but I have a buddy here in Syd with a boardshop that can do base grinds and repairs Having all the equipment helps...

[tex1230]

:cool:

[Thor VonRippington]

There is something therapeutic in looking after your decks..

Indeed!

[crucible]

Last week I was up at Whistler for a company skiing event against the Intrawest staff. The hotel we were staying at did not have a waxing room, but their rental shop was charging $25.00 for a basic hand wax job. WTF?

The also wouldn't allow skis and boards up in the rooms, so I was forced to improvise.

I went down to the liquor store, picked up a $11.00 bottle of wine, went back to the rental shop and said to the ski tech, "Here's a bottle of wine for your trouble- I have my board tuning equipment with me, I just need your bench for half an hour to do my race decks - whaddya say?"

He smiled and came from behind the counter and said, "Like yer style mate- like yer style". Problem solved.

[SEJ]

I have a base grind done at the start of the season, then do everything else myself. Picked up my stuff from Tognar