Ski tuning - The basics and tools for ski tuning
Skis and snowboards have a hard life. Snow, ice, the adverse temperatures, different types of terrain and the high speed with which one travels put an enormous strain on the material. It is, therefore, all the more important to take care of your skis or boards so that you have more fun skiing in winter and are safe on the road.
Together with experienced servicemen from the World Cup, we have put together the most important basics for the ski service for you so you can do the ski tuning yourself. You will find all the necessary tools in our shop.
1. Check the ski surface
Before you start you have to check the ski surface. A concave (surface is hollow) or convex (surface is curved) ski surface complicates the ski service or makes it impossible. A flat surface is a basic requirement for a proper ski service. The edge angle, which is important for ski edge grinding, can only be correct if the surface is in order. That is why you have to check if the surface is flat before doing anything else.For checking the ski surface, we recommend our Basic tool No.1: Base Planer And Flat
2. Removal of the sidewall
For ski edge grinding or alternatively ski edge filing, it is advisable to first remove the sidewall. The plastic above the ski edge disturbs the process and causes dirt when working on the edge.If you are working with the raze-cat ES 2000 ski edge grinder, this step is not absolutely necessary but recommended regarding dust generation. We advise you to strip away the sidewalls of the edges of the skis are to be worked with a file.
To remove the sidewalls, we recommend our Basic tool No.2: Side Wall Stripper - Racing
3. Measure edge angle
If you are not sure which angle your ski or snowboard edge has, you can measure it.It makes it much easier to maintain the existing angle or to grind another edge angle suitable for you, if you know the starting angle. It also makes sense to measure and re-check the new angle.
This is not very easy, because there aren't a lot of tools available for measuring the side edge of the ski or snowboard. That is why we have developed an angle gauge that is fine yet handy enough to measure the angle of the ski edge.
Since the correct angle for your riding style is important, we have published a special blog post on this topic: How to tune skis - Which edge angle?
For measuring the edge angle we recommend our Basic tool No. 3: Edge Angle Gauge.
4. File ski edges
Today, the file is still the most widely used method for working the ski edge.We recommend working with a file to skiers and to-be servicemen having a high level of craftsmanship. The file angles existing on the market have rarely been further developed and are often not easy to use. It also takes a lot of manual work and the enormous time of 20-30 minutes needed per ski pair or snowboard should not be underestimated.
For ski edge filing we recommend our file angle series FG100 pro with fixed angle as well as the CF-4 from raze-cat with an adjustable angle.
These are innovative and contemporary ski tools for professional ski tuning.
5. Grinding ski edges
If you want your work to be easier, just as precise and less time-consuming, you can use our ES 2000 electric ski edge grinder. Easy to handle and with different grinding belts, it is possible to achieve a top result at any desired angle in a very short amount of time. The quality of the sharpened ski edge is sensational, and it takes only around two minutes per ski pair or snowboard.We recommend the raze-cat Ski vice profi quick for optimal working with the ES 2000.
6. Clean the ski surface
After ski edge filing or ski edge grinding it is important to clean the surface of dust, cuttings and other dirt.Ski waxing is not possible without this step.
The easiest and quickest way to do this is with our Basic tool No. 4: Base brush speed - copper
SHOW PRODUCT
7. Ski waxing
There are countless types of wax for every need on the market, but which one is right for you?We have put together a small but fine selection of ski waxes to suit every temperature range.
We recommend our wax iron for waxing the ski surface.
