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Ski Maintainance

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I've just got back from my holiday to Chamonix, and the maiden voyage of my Watea 78's which served me very well throughout the week they handled all the conditions nicely. I made a small mistake of Skiing down the "Nants" black piste to return to the bottom of the mountain, i had heard that it was a bit stoney in places, but my friend who had boarded down there earlier in the day assured me that it was ok... well it wasnt.

I was lucky that i managed to miss all the big stones and did not do too much damage to the bases of my ski's, most of the scrapes were only "wax deep" but there are a few that penetrated the P-tex. also the edges took quite a beating and ended up getting quite burred up in several places, Armed with a diamond stone i carefuly de burred the ski's but i didnt want to go cutting in to the edges and messing up the angles.

So my ski's now need a service, i am one of those people who prefers to service his own car, do DIY etc. so i'm debating buying the kit so i can service my ski's, but it is a little new to me, i've got a copy of the TOKO wax manual and have read it all through and i think i can handle the work.

Firstly i'd like to know if i'm likely to be getting in too deep or if the whole ski service thing is as easy as it looks?

another thing i am unsure of is the choice of angles used when preparing the Ski edges, whats the deal here? What angle are my skis likely to be ground to? is there any point in chosing a sharper angle?

Since i am from an engineering background i have the belief that a fixed tool such as the Toko Edge Angle Pro is better to use than an adjustable tool. Would you advise buying fixed or adjustable tools?

Or should i just pay my local Ellis Brigham or Snow and rock to service the ski's for me?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Deejayry, Why not arrange to see Spyderjon?
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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?
urm... i'm pretty new here, can you tell me more about this Spyderjon fellow?
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Deejayry, Standard factory edge on a pair of ski is 90, if you spend alot of time carving and know what you are doing you may be better off with 88 or 87. for a better contact with icy pistes

It is not easy but with a bit of instruction and a good set of hands and plenty of practice you will pick it up. I personaly prefer the fixed edge angles and love teh stuff that sidecut make but the toko tools are just as good when you are starting out
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Deejayry, See www.jonsskituning.co.uk
I am one of many who have been to one of his maintenace sessions. His web site also details some ski miantenance \ tuning techniques. Highly recommended.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Deejayry, Definitely go and see Spyderjon, . It is a bit of a treck from Bristol to Nottingham, but you will get all you need and add another dimension to you skiing. Take your cheque-book!

Basic ski-tuning and waxing is much better done by yourself and by hand. Most places run skis through a machine that takes no account of original edge angles and will do more harm than good. I have recently returned my wife's skis to their original 87 degree angle and she really noticed the difference. A tutorial with Spyderjon, will give you the confidence to do this work yourself and what is more, you will ski better for knowing your skis are properly serviced. Highly recommended. As far as I know, he is one of the few people in this country that can supply you with the best kit for the job too.

snowHead
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Nice thanks for pointing that out. looks like a useful website, I'll get reading up!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Factory angles vary from ski to ski, depending on type and manufacturer. Best to start off with the factory angles (whatever they are) and then start tweaking as you get to know your skis and what you prefer. A sharper side edge angle gives more bite in harder snow/ice, but is more susceptible to damage. Increasing base edge angle (bevel) makes the ski less grabby as you have to tilt it more before the edge bites. A typical setup might be something like 1 deg base bevel, 2 deg side edge for a good compromise. For soft snow 1 deg side edge is all you need, but for boilerplate ice you might want 3 or 4 deg to get a really sharp edge.

DIY tuning is very easy if you get the right kit and a bit of basic instruction. That's where Spyderjon comes in. Here's a link to his website, he's very good and can provide all the kit you'll ever need.

http://www.jonsskituning.co.uk/
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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.
hmm... Depends what they were shipped at.. could be 1.1 which will indeed give an angle of 90 turned through 1 degree..could be .5, 1...i which case the edge angle is 89.5 etc etc.
The 0.5 or 1. would point to a bevel of the base..hence the tyhe reason the edge is turned through 1 degree or whatever

You can tidy up your edges with an Edge tool as long as it takes into account what your edges default at...

It can be 1,1..or the more edge oriented skis might be 1,2 or even 1,3... You could be planing the edge from 90 down to 85..!!! so need a tool that increments in 1 degrees down, IMV...certainly to 86 should you want a 1,3.

With your background this will all be a doddle once you have the right kit and have swotted up somewhat.

But you'll need to prepr the bases and fill them if necc, dress the side edges and the hot wax and scrape... etc etc etc
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ok thanks for the info guys, i guess i'll need to find out the angles of my ski's before i jump in and buy the edge and base file guides.

I've had a good read of Spyderjon's website, its very informative and probably tells me everything i need to know but i think i will still make the journey up to see jon for a bit of tuition, i met a nice young lady who lives near nottingham when i was in cham so i might try and arange a night out with her afterwards Mr. Green
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Deejayry, I look forward to hearing from you. Note that I get booked up well in advance - I've only got two slots left in April & I've already got bookings in for May.
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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.
Can I put in another recomendation for Spyderjons training. I'd been hacking at my edges for a few years and had seen all the guides. I learnt more in 3 hours with Jon than in years of DIY. Worth every penny of money, time and travel

Oh and take the piggy bank. Jon has an alladins cave of gadgets you will just want to own. Take your new skis and get the bindings checked and campbell balanced at the same time

And a hot date at the same time, sounds like a plan to me
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