 Poster: A snowHead
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Had lots of time on my hands.
Work on the extension to the cottage was stalled due to Covid-19.
So the garden looks like an abandoned builder's yard.
There's no workbench in the house.
Today I made a jig to clamp into my folding workmate for ski maintenance, out of some bits and pieces I could see lying around ouside.
The builder was happy for me to use any rafter offcuts fixings etc.
It was dead easy.
Materials:
- rafter offcut;
- thread-cutting screws, 8 long 4 short;
- 2 screw-in eyes;
- 2 lengths nylon cord;
- rubbery roof membrane offcut.
Tools:
- saw;
- craft knife;
- screwdriver;
- staple gun;
- rubber band brake holder.
Cost:
- only the effort to make it.
Time:
- 3 hours, and with a powered saw I wouldn't have spent so much time sawing. The builder's wasn't left behind unfortunately.
The ski is pulled down by its bindings down onto the jig.
When in the base-up position, the spring of the ski makes it plenty stiff/firm enough to work on along it's full length and the friction keeps it in place.
I did wonder whether in base-up position, the downward curve under the force from the cords would make it difficult to see the edge bevel against a truing edge, but it doesn't.
In the edge-on position there's a notch it sits in and it's fine.
I didn't make any measurements - I made it to suit by eye.
Hope someone finds this non-totally-original idea useful.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I had a similar setup , mostly it was fine, but it was difficult to scrape the wax at the tip and tail as the bench itself tipped.
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Nice one, @geoffers; I’d not seen that thread.
Yours seems more designed than mine: am I right, rather than pulling down in the base-up orientation, as per my jig, does it in effect push the camber up out of the ski to hold it flatter, by using the downforce of clamps at the toe and heel?
My respects,
FG
PS: I like that angle you put on for an edge-wise hold. I might copy that tomorrow!
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Fri 24-04-20 20:37; edited 2 times in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Roguevfr wrote: |
| I had a similar setup , mostly it was fine, but it was difficult to scrape the wax at the tip and tail as the bench itself tipped. |
Just add some 'goal posts' to the underside of the beam at the ends. If you hing them then they'll fold up for storage.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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With my jig, if the downforce is excessive for stability, it’s easy enough for me just to slide the assembly along a distance, and re-clamp it there temporarily. Otherwise OK.
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I just extended the work surface of a sturdier work bench to be able to clamp the ski bench assembly directly to it instead.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I suppose if I were to dispense with the workmate, and clamped my rafter to those two builders’ workhorses here that don’t belong to me, it’s going to be a lot more stable! (horse, geddit) 
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@Fat George, 
A work bench works well. Yours looks the pro version though with the foot rest but they don't make them like they used too
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@AndAnotherThing,
Yup, it’s served me well for many years.
But now, wear and tear on the threads and hinges, and the fact that the rubber feet have gone missing, mean it ain’t as stable as it used to be, and it’s scratchy/sketchy on the surfaces. Like my skiing. I could probably make some substitute feet if I could be bothered; instead a bit of old carpet does the trick.
Meanwhile I only need to clamp the rafter close to one end, and prop the far end cantilevered out up on a chair plus something or suchlike, for it to be solid enough to work on the skis OK.
Easy peasy.
Some of those concrete building blocks will work while they’re there.
There’s plenty on site and nothing’s happening on the extension - - - yet.
Having seen your impressive high-tech solution, I’m in the mood to improve on that tying down with nylon cords - a first effort - and do something else a bit more engineered, but not so much as all that.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Fat George,
| Quote: |
does it in effect push the camber up out of the ski to hold it flatter, by using the downforce of clamps at the toe and heel?
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I just added the clamp at the tip to stop the ski moving when scraping it - there is a removable adjustable (for height) angled "bracket" in the the middle which stops the ski sagging when you press down on it - other than that it just sits on the end pieces without any other clamping required.
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Assuming your skis are all set up for the same set of boots why not just make a dummy boot sole out of wood.
Close the bindings onto that.
Have an "ankle" on the boot sole that is the same thickness as the tip and tail pices and just close the workmate onto all three.
You would have a very stable middle section to press down on, no flex at all.
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You know it makes sense.
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| rungsp wrote: |
Assuming your skis are all set up for the same set of boots why not just make a dummy boot sole out of wood.
Close the bindings onto that.
Have an "ankle" on the boot sole that is the same thickness as the tip and tail pices and just close the workmate onto all three.
You would have a very stable middle section to press down on, no flex at all. |
Here ya go:
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks everyone, and thanks @rungsp: You must be a mind reader! I made that dummy boot sole this morning!
Closing a workmate onto two workpieces is easy enough, but in my experience it's well nigh impossible/unreliable to close it onto three effectively?
My solution was a bit different.
I modified Version 1:”
- adding more height as necessary, to allow clearance for the heel piece lever;
- also adding a sort of stirrup, which has a pin to lock the dummy boot firmly in place when pushed down. This is so the ski is sprung under tension, making it stiffer to work on, and increasing the grip of the friction at the ends.
It turned out to be really easy to make this work.
Although I'd mention that if you do try this yourself, making the profile of the toe and heel pieces properly match a boot’s has got to be done pretty well, if it’s all to sit together nicely and stably in the jig.
All that's left is to start on the skis . . .
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Sat 25-04-20 19:49; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Fat George, Those ski's have a fair bit of camber. Is that natural or the jig ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@AndAnotherThing:
Nope, there’s nothing abnormal about the skis.
The skis have 6mm or so of camber centre-vs-ends when unweighted.
The jig induces lots more, and that’s quite a deliberate feature.
If I wanted, I could reduce the camber to zero in the jig by using clamps at the ends, similar to what your setup looks like.
And ditto, if they were rockered, I could pressure them flat I suppose.
No need, though.
Regards,FG
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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