Ski tuning by hand or ski tuning by machine?

A snowHead

Experiences of either? Thoughts?

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By hand it is more satisfying when you do a good job plus quite therapeutic for me Shocked

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

My daughter has just gone up to Senior school and joined the school racing team , every Sunday before training on the plastic I have to wax her skis , I love doing it and even took my prep kit away this Xmas / New year and did all our skis whilst away , as @speed098 said very therapeutic , next on the list is learning to fill holes Very Happy

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Q&P. anything else and you just get upset when you hit a rock/stump/gravel first day out.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Both work.

Hand gives the best result if you have the time, good tools and the skill.
Machine gives a quicker result, but you need the machine and the skill to use it.

Whichever you use, you still need the knowledge to decide on edge angles, detuning (if you still go there), waxes, etc., all of which can make a major difference. But the biggest difference is the skier: a good skier on poorly tuned skis will be better than a cr*p skier on the best tuned skies.

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.khfuohgg

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I had a misfortune of having the above damage inflicted to my ski at MK (by a tree stomp - they hadn't made enough snow Sad

I took Spyderjon's course and know how to fix it - but by using a wax kandle.
If the location was different that probably would have sufficed but, being so close to the edge, it probably calls for a p-tex strip fill.

What do you lot think Puzzled

If Spyderjon sees this, I'd very much welcome his opinion Crying or Very sad

After all it is free

@Good Stuff Ski, "eke" not "eek" on your website.

I am told by brotherinlaw that his shop's machine does at least as good a finish with less wastage...

Have spent a considerable number of hours over Saturday and Sunday edging and waxing my sons training and race skis and also two pairs of my own (one pair never got waxed as ran out of time) I'd love a machine that could speed up the process. Toofy Grin

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@snowglider, Hi you need a bit more that a Ptex candle, it looks like you have gone down to the core and are also up against the edge, looks like metal grip is needed, with the candle it probably won't bind.

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@under a new name, "eke" not "eek" on your website

where abouts?

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@under a new name, cheers for that, now rectified!

@radar, thanks mate. It's not town to the core, it's not penetrated through the p-tex base. It's maybe about 1,5 - 2mm deep though.
Yeah I reckoned the p-tex candle would be no good but I was hoping a p-tex strip (the non - burning one) would do it?

In the picture it looks like it's gouged to the edge but, again, it actually isn't - though I'm not sure that it matters at all, since there's about a hair's breath between the gouge and the edge?

You know it makes sense.

@Good Stuff Ski, no worries. I am a spelling nazi.

Now, of no interest directly to me but your prices look very good, especially for hand finishing Happy

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Yes they are competitive prices compared to my local competition, Brighams especially!

A snowHead

@snowglider, yes the Ptex strip would work, its just how you weld it in, not sure if Jon showed you how he does it with the base doc?

A snowHead

If you are advertising servicing, then IMO there are two extremes:
- the one-man band, who can emphasis the care they take over each pair of skis and tune then to the exact requirements of the customer (who in many cases doesn't really know what the optimum settings are)
- the big business who can invest the €1,000,000 (or whatever) in the latest computer-controlled wizardry from Winterstieger/etc and guarantee to return the skis to the factory setting or as desired by the skier - and get it exactly the same every time.

But as for the posted damage, then that is not IMO tuning - that is base repair which is a different subject. For that, I'd use a little metal-grip followed by molten ptex from a repair pistol. Candles are fine for a temporary repair whilst away, but wear quickly and need a proper repair when facilities allow. After the repair, then do the normal service.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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@radar, nah, he didn't. I guess in the end, by the looks of it, I might have to take it somewhere to be repaired. Trouble is, I intend to go away soon, so the timing could hardly have been any worse. Sad

@RobW, I agree this is a repair and not really a tune. I just wanted to avoid starting an entire new thread (though in hind sight maybe I should have). So I used the opportunity to ask my question here, as it's summat (although admittedly, loosely) related.

Not sure what you mean by "advertising servicing" Puzzled

I assure you that I am not, and that the question is 100% genuine.
Thanks for your advice, though I don't really know what metal grip is?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@RobW, it is @Good Stuff Ski who is advertising not @snowglider.

After all it is free

@snowglider, p-tex won't bond to either the ski core or exposed metal edge which is why a basic candle repair will fail. It needs to be a welded repair on top of a thin metalgrip foundation/primer layer using a tool like the Kunzmann Base Doc II or the Skimender 105 or 360 pistol etc. http://www.thepisteoffice.com/index.php/tuning-guide/13-base-repairs.html

The kit do a welded repair is pricey compared to a pack of candles & a metal scraper. Any decent shop should do it for a few quid but unfortunately many are still in the dark ages and will either want to put a patch in &/or grind the ski instead of dressing down the area by hand. George at http://www.gbskiservicing.co.uk will do a great job & shouldn't be too far from you.

Thanks, @Gaza. It didn't make sense to me (but now it does).

@RobW, I know very well what "advertising servicing" means in its literal sense (although English isn't my mother tongue). I just couldn't quite work out why you were suggesting that I was advertising anything, when I was simply asking for advice?

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@snowglider, as you say the damage isn't down to the core you could use the Ptex candle to fix it. No need to worry about what metal grip is Very Happy

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@spyderjon, thanks very much mate for coming to the rescue, at mach speed!
As ever, a true gent. What would I ever do without you? Laughing

Will be contacting George first thing tomorrow.

Much appreciated, mate. Will have to buy you another beer and a cake when I see you next! snowHead

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@radar, it most definitely isn't. And it definitely hadn't exposed the edge either.

But I'm aware a p-tex candle fix won't be as durable as a p-tex ribbon fix.
I'm pressed for time now so will probably just drop off the ski at the shop that @spyderjon recommended, but I will probably order one of the repair kits from him, and when I see him next (probably at the EoSB), I'll see if I can bribe him with more beer into showing me how to use it! Laughing

Thanks to you as well mate for your kind advice snowHead

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@snowglider, a recommendation mention this post when calling George

A snowHead

@snowglider, said:

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Depending upon the degree of work.................... There was a time when no machinery existed. Then too, there was a time when many things did not exist such as glitter pants, but I digress............. That said, sometimes a base grinder does wonders as a starting point. I said a starting point, thank you. But, in the end, working base by hand, by a competent, knowledgeable individual IS where it is at, period.

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Can In just clarify, I'm not advertising my services, just interested to get the opinions from some skiers, call it market research. Some good points on here, thanks for the feedback.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@davidof, if it was a bit further away from the edge, I wouldn't give two hoots about it.

What worries me is that a candle p-tex is softer than the ribbon p-tex (as it contains additives which enable it to burn). And after having been burnt, it contains carbon and other impurities etc which weaken it further.

The candle repair hence may not be strong enough and, if I were unfortunate enough to find another rock (and we all know that mr Murphy resides on the mountain) Laughing

, and gouge the softer compound and pull the edge.
That is my worry, otherwise I couldn't care less.

I'm a freshman though when it comes to such matters, hence asking the good people on here what they make of it Smile

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After all it is free

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@davidof, MTFU, but yes your close Happy

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Ski tuning by hand or ski tuning by machine?

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