How often do you get your boards ground and structured?

[Sultan Guy]

So here I am deep into my second year of carving and like most people here own a small quiver of different boards. I have yet to take a board in to have a base grind and new structure. How often do most people need this on a new board? How do you know when it is time?

[carvedog]

For me it's not on a time schedule but when the board gets polished spots that don't hold structure or too many ptex drips or the board starts to get convex.

Test with a true bar, only grind when necessary.

I have a couple boards that I have ridden a ton and only ground two or three times.

Not all grinds are equal. If my base is good and flat I can take a two or three pass light grind just for structure and not to remove any but minimal material.

A time or two I have had a grind done and lost a lot of material. No bueno.

[Zanci]

I get my board structured when I buy it, thats that :)

[Emdee406]

I'm on my teaching boards (freestyle and freeride) 130+ days a season between them and get them structured when new. Then I get them re-structured to a coarser water-shedding structure in the Spring, they get sold at the start of the new season. Combined with a good wax, I find this the best way to avoid feeling like I'm dragging an anchor in wet snow!
My Alpine/SBX set ups usually get a diagonal cross-hatch structure when bought and are left that way unless damaged. They usually only get used on well prepped race slopes/courses, so damage is pretty unlikely.

[Mike T]

For the most part, I get it done once. Usually I wait till I ding a board up and then get it done. If I really ding it up later, I get it ground again.

[Allee]

I was told that the board neeeds a light grind when you notice shiny spots on the base (spots where the wax isn't soaking in), and gaps in the structure. That might be every season if you ride it a lot. In the case of mine it seems to be every 2. A light pass just re-opens the structure again, and takes any small dings out of the base.

[heroshmero]

Good brushing with a wire brush while tuning will keep the base structure in good shape. That will stretch out the time between grinds.

The two situations that I will get a grind and structure:

1. I've beat up the board too much from hitting rocks, trees or whatever and normal ptex repair is not holding well.
2. The structure has become flat. I am a heavier rider and often am riding on west coast snow with higher water content. I find that when the structure gets flat I slow down. Having a decent structure helps the board run well.