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Ski & Snowboard Tuning Overview & Checklist PDF
Ski & Snowboard Tuning Overview & Checklist
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SkiVisions Base Flattener & Structuring Plane
(Updated 11/2/12: Revised instruction and NEW instruction videos at the bottom of the page)
A ski base must be flat for optimum ski performance. The SkiVisions Base Flattener is a powerful planing tool designed to quickly flatten and structure a ski base with a minimum of expertise, effort and potential for error. (Patent # 4,884,343)
Stainless Steel Threaded Ski Insert Installation
Binding Freedom Insert Courtesy of Drew Persson-PhotoTurbo.com
Regarding materials, tools, screws and installation procedures, Binding Freedom & Quiver Killer stainless steel threaded inserts are virtually interchangeable.
(Click on the adjacent images to enlarge.)
Versatile Big Gator Tools Hand Drill and Tap Guides
Any DIYer will find years of usefulness for an array of gear and home projects, repairs and maintenance out of Big Gator Hand Drill & Tap Guides. They can be used on flat surfaces (like skis & snowboards), corners and round items (like ski poles and bike frames). With or without clamping, these handy guides should be in every DIYers toolbox.
Wax Charts: Briko-Maplus, Toko & Purl
Wax less, Glide faster and longer with Briko-Maplus. Holder of the World Speed Record.Briko-Maplus is the leading Italian wax manufacturer working directly with prof. Gianpaolo Gambaretto of Padua University who developed CERA F for Enichem in 1984 and is on the cutting-edge of fluorinated and perfluorinated wax development. Briko-Maplus provides a complete alpine, snowboard and nordic World Cup winning line of wax and tuning tools to a global market. The high-melt paraffins used in Briko-Maplus wax provides a more durable/longer lasting wax per application. This translates to more time with excellent glide while using less material, cost and time. The Briko-Maplus base Preparation and Saturation waxes are second to none.
Side Edge and Guide Angles
PUCK your Edges with the New Tools4Boards Swiss Diamond Disks
Tools4Boards PUCK Diamond Disc-200 Grit Red
The New Tools4Boards PUCK Swiss Diamond Discs for ski and snowboard edge tuning are sweet!
It has been a privilege to be on the front line for the last twelve years as Rick Weissenborn (former Canadian Downhiller) of Innovation Inc/ Tools4Boards has been pumping out new and inventive tuning tools & products. He has been setting the bar higher while redefining and improving the industry. If you are into quickly and efficiently optimizing the performance of your gear you really should get up to speed on Tools4Boards products, while watching for the next one…..
Ski Binding Templates Thanks to Powderguide
Note: Due to server issues the Powder Guide links are currently unreliable, Knut Pohl has graciously set up
This Google Drive for Ski Binding Templates, here.
How’s your German? Knut from Powderguide.com and Forum has been producing ski binding templates for a number of years. His list is pasted below. Check out their site for other information and thank him for his efforts.
Sneak Peak: New Tools4Boards Switch Cut Edge, Side Wall & Scraper Sharpener System
Tools4Boards is coming out with a modular/’All-In-One/Multi-tool Side Edge Guide, Base Beveler, Side Wall Trimmer & Wax Scraper Sharpener system, called the Switch. Depending on the combination, the tool names are variations of the base ‘Switch’ name. Ie, Switch Cut, Switch Side Edge Guides, Switch Rig with base beveler, etc.
Measuring Ski Edge Bevels
It’s good to quantify the edge geometry on your skis. The REAL ANSWER to ‘what’s the factory spec’ of my X, Y or Z skis question is, MEASURE THEM because variables exist. A case in point is a recent purchase were the ‘factory spec’ is 1:1 (1 degree base & 1 degree side). With the intent of skiing them as is first, then adjust, It’s good to Measure Ski Edge Bevels and record the geometry so you know where you started vs where you may end up.
Colorado Ski Resorts Powder Level Cameras
After a snow storm it’s always good to find out ‘how much they received’. Here are Colorado Ski Resorts Powder Level Cameras which are periodically updated to see how much has accumulation. Many are date stamped and are cleared at various times of the day. Some do it at 4pm, others at 4:30 and so on. The accumulation is since their last clear off. Telluride has a conveyor belt on a timer which is pretty trick. By checking during a storm you can get a sense of the rate of the snowfall.
Ski Binding Templates
Binding Freedom Templates:
With help from many of the members of the Teton Gravity Research message boards, Jon maintains a set of paper templates for mounting bindings to skis. These are also a great resource for checking for hole conflicts on multiple mounts. All of the templates print on 8.5×11 paper, but be sure to check the print with a ruler and adjust the print scaling percentage. Please also be aware that these templates may be updated at any time, so please be sure that you are using the revision linked here (suffix R2 denotes revision 2).
SlideWright Newsletters
Newsletter-3-29-17: It’s Spring time! Hike or Bike for Turns??
With 4 feet of recent snows in the High Country, fair weather, clear roads and trails below, all options are on the table. Check our clearance deals on waxes, tools for Skis, Snowboards & Bikes.
On the Bench Bench Prepping a Course Base Structure to Harvest Spring Corn in 10-15 minutes
On the bench prepping a course base structure to harvest spring corn in 10-15 minutes:
Heating and Molding Intuition Ski Boot Liners
UPDATE: We are pleased to announce Intuition Boot Liners are now available from SlideWright.com.
True to DIYer form, trial and error (sometimes lots of errors) lead to a better understanding of “do’s and don’ts”. Molding Intuition Boot Liners was not excepted. After reading and viewing Intuition, Scarpa, SVST and DIY techniques and ideas, we set out to experiment with new Intuition Pro Tour liners from Scarpa Maestrale RS AT boots to discover and illustrate the pitfalls of home oven backing vs heat gun hot air approaches. A ‘modified conventional oven boot liner baking’ approach appears to be a reliable and safe for good boot to foot fitting. Especially for ovens without enough height to stand the liners on their bottoms.
Prepping for Sweet Corn & Crust
One of life’s simple pleasures is getting out for skate skiing, touring or making turns on a warming bluebird day, with an inch or so of wet sweet corn on firm crust or solid base. Spring & summer predawn hikes on crust to harvest morning corn is right up there.
Bike Tools & Supplies Clearance Sale
It's peak Wildflower season in the high country. Get out on your bike and check 'em out.
Summer Storage Waxing after Pond Skimming
Now that you skimmed the pond due to proper waxing and technique (and hopefully not your good gear) 😉 , it’s usually a sign for most that it’s time to put your boards in storage.
Following is a recent bulletin from Toko:
Waxing for the Week Ahead
The San Juans of Colorado can have an air temperature change of up to 30 degrees/per day when the intense sun is out and depending on the aspect. When storm or weather systems flow through it can be over 50 degrees in a week, along with broad relative humidity swings. Waxing for the Week Ahead can drive you nuts if you enjoy optimal glide and are trying to determine what wax to use to achieve your goals, especially several days out for a trip or to not have to wax again until after several outings. Fortunately, the snow temperature changes at a much slower rate.
Base Cleaning Hot Scrape or Cleaner??
(FAQ)
There is a school of thought that base cleaners/wax removers should never be used on the ski bases and hot scraping is the only method to employ for cleaning ski and snowboard bases. The thinking is cleaners will absolutely dry out the bases and destroy the wax saturation level and optimal glide achieved through repetitive wax cycles. How much wax is removed is highly variable from zero to a fair amount depending on duration, how aggressive is the cleaner and how much brushing and elbow grease is applied.
Hone Ski and Snowboard Edges Sharp and Smooth with Diamond Stones
Tools4Boards has just put out their second generation of Hone Ski and Snowboard Diamond Files & Duo Hone Diamond files. With a choice of two diamond grits, one on each side, the Tools4Boards Hone Duos are a unique option for ski & snowboard edge tuning. There is a very nice feel and feedback from the rigid cast aluminum backs. This is a sweet edge tuning option. Hone Ski and Snowboard Edges Sharp & Smooth with Diamond Stones is better than using metal files for routine maintenance. Files remove too much material, and are less forgiving than diamond files (aka diamond stones). Diamonds can be used in either direction. The progression from coarse to finer grits cuts and the polishes the edges to a smooth, sharp, consistent and longer lasting edge than a file will. This, without creating an irregular, short lived, burr sharp edge that files create. This is similar and desirable much like when you hone a knife sharp and smooth.
Base Prep, Brushing and Edge Bevels
From -Toko: Base Prep, Brushing and Edge Bevels Cheever and Willi Witz
Cheever on Base Prep and Brushing Hello everyone, I wanted to do a myth busting eblast series. But I need to consult with the man before I attempt to blow everyones` mind. So instead for this early season eblast I want to talk about some base preparation and brushing. I should say, what I do for base prep and brushing…My early season riding isn’t much different than most skiers and snowboarders. I’m on a glacier with varying conditions and trying to mimic racing as much as possible.
Measuring for Binding Screws, Drill Bits and Taps
Whether you lost a screw, adding shims, have a tear out or want to swap bindings between multiple skis, we have any array of ski binding screw options to help you do it yourself.
Please note it is impossible for us be on top of every screw head type, length, shims, cants, rail system, and nuances for every binding and situation. So please try to resolve screw by going through the steps below issues prior to calling or emailing.
See more Binding Topics for more insights on mounting, binding and screw questions.
Not much has really changed since 1941
The more things change, the more things remain the same…..but get more complicated and expensive.
For training USA mountain troops in 1941. In this segment, we learn how to choose the proper ski length, how to choose and take care of boots, how to adjust bindings, how to care for ski edges and ski bottoms. Alan Ladd is one of the recruits.
SlideWright Supports CAIC to Help Colorado Avalanche Forecasting
CAIC, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center is funded by donations and is an important avalanche forecasting resource for backcountry skiers and snowboarders, along with other snow season backcountry users.
JigaRex Universal Ski Binding Mount Jig System
UPDATE: SlideWright no longer carries JigaRex Binding Jigs. For binding drill bits that fit in the jigs, inserts & mounting screws, click here.
The Pliny Equipment JigaRex Binding Jig System clamps to the side of skis and helps you quickly align the boot sole center on the ski mount point. JigaRex interchangeable binding plates are purchased separately for specific binding types and are easily seated on the Universal Jig for your favorite alpine, backcountry and telemark bindings.
Efficient Hot Waxing, Scraping and Brushing
Following, are two videos, a few minutes long, showing various hot waxing techniques, along with minimal scraping and roto-brushing to bang out waxing tasks in little time and with little mess. Not including cooling and hardening time (20 minutes, minimum) the total time involved could be easily under 15 minutes and possibly 10 per pair or snowboard. Using liquid wax, the time could be 5 minutes:
(Note select the ‘HQ’ icon for Higher Quality video.)
Cool! New boards! Now what????
You just got some new skis or a snowboard. Now what?
Unwrap & drool, then inspect them to ‘get to know’ them
Soldering Iron Base Repair
While skiing or riding challenging terrain or sparse snow coverage, it’s inevitable that your bases will get dinged. Core shots need to be sealed and protected, Gouges need to be filled to keep your bases running smooth.
Binding Freedom Pozi Screw Lengths
Following is a ‘guide’ for determining required M5 pozi machine
screws for Binding Freedom (or Quiver Killer stainless steel
inserts). Measure and self-verify screw lengths needed. If in doubt purchase addition lengths and back ups. Longer screws can be ground to shorter lengths if needed.