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Ski Tuning Upgrade – Going High Tech

By Lou

Back in January Bill Thistle of Sportfeet opened my eyes to how precise a ski should be tuned. I’d been tuning skis for years (even been a shop rat), but I’d gotten a lazy about my edge work, and my home tuning setup used an old vise that didn’t grip skis with angled top edges. Time for an upgrade.

I contacted Terry Ackerman of SlideWright, and made it clear I needed “everything from a vise to the proper bevel tools.” Terry figured out exactly what would work, but more, he suggested I build a new tuning bench and think about any trick mods I could come up with. Yep, he was speaking my language! Read on.

Our new Tools4Boards Cinch vise in action, custom mounted on a new bench.

While the Cinch vise comes with bench clamps, Terry Ackerman suggested that a cleaner and more solid way to mount this sort of thing on a home-made workbench is to use Rockler Woodworking “T-track” aluminum channel mounted on the bench, to which the vise fittings are attached with T-nuts and knobs, so the vise fittings can be quickly moved to different positions. I was a precision carpenter in another life and still have some of my tools stashed away, so I dug out my router and mortised the T-track into a new bench made from a solid-core door we got from a construction recycling joint near here (during the day, not at midnight, sorry).

Bench installed in our shop, T-track going in. If I’d had more time I would have surfaced the bench with Formica, so it would be easy to scrape ski wax drippings off of. Instead I painted our door/bench with latex floor and porch enamel. (If you don’t want the trouble of mortising the T-track into the bench, you can surface mount it on the bench and run a strip of wood on either side to widen the surface the vise end-fittings sit on, or if you want a bench that’s already made check out the Tools4Boards Terminator Tuning Stand.)

T-track details.

Tools4Boards Cinch vise with ski in flat position. This ingenious vise holds the ski by pulling it down to the bench with a simple cord and locking cleat device. The ski rests on high friction rubber on the two vise end-units, and the cord is threaded around or through the binding then pulled tight. Without bindings, the friction rubber still holds skis fairly well for flat filing, but the cinch cord locks them like a rock. More, this rig will hold snowboards, telemark skis, skate skis, ski poles, lumber and many other long and odd shaped items. Take my word for it, this vise works great!

Cinch vise converts in seconds to side file mode. It holds skis on their sides two different ways. You can quickly set your skis on small supports and cinch them down, or use dedicated side clamps as shown in the photo above. This is when you really need the length adjustment, as the side clamps work best on the thinnest part of tip and tail.

Okay, the vise is working, now what? My big agenda with this project was to start beveling skis precisely, instead of the hit-and-miss methods I’d been using. To that end, I ordered two Razor 3-in-1 bevel cutters from SlideWright. The Razor is a solid plastic jig that holds a file, and has shims for setting precise bevel. I got two so I could leave them set to different bevels and not be fiddling when I’m in a hurry, but one would work fine. To re-up my supplies, I got one of the Razors as part of a “Tuning Station” kit that includes a steel scraper, stone, sidewall cutter and other essentials. And just for yucks I got some Maplus universal spray wax to test, more on that in another blog.

In all, the cast of thousands here at WildSnow.com world headquarters is excited about treating our skis with the respect they deserve. And I’m sure they’ll return inkind. Thanks goes to Terry of SlideWright and Tools4Boards for helping us with this project. Now, it’s time to go find some snow!

Posted by Lou on March 21, 2006 | Filed Under Gear Mods, Misc Gear Reviews, Technique

Comments

10 Responses to “Ski Tuning Upgrade – Going High Tech”

dave downing March 21st, 2006 10:31 am

so lou, how much is a basic tune. and can i get it back overnight. finally ‘bonedale has a ski tune shop! when are you getting the GrindRite?
Andrew Klotz March 21st, 2006 3:25 pm

Mr Dawson. Would you mind sharing the (ballpark) total cost of that tuning set-up? Looks great. Thanks.
Lou March 21st, 2006 5:41 pm

Hi Andrew, the door was about $30, paint was $12, T-track was $30 (had to buy two 4-foot sticks), vise about $107.00, you can price the otherstuff on the Slidewright website.

The tricky part of the system is that you need 3/8 T-bolts to run in the T-track, instead of the usual 5/16 bolts. I made the 3/8 bolts by grinding the head of a regular 3/8 hex bolt. You also need 3/8 threaded knobs that fit in the slots in the vise end units. I believe those are available from Slidewright as well.

Of course it would work just fine to simply clamp the vise end units to the bench with the supplied clamps. But that’s too easy (grin).
Terry Ackerman March 21st, 2006 6:17 pm

You can also order the T-track kit w/5/16″ T-bolts and knobs. The knobs, the vise or both can be modified to work with the 5/16″ system.
AKBC March 22nd, 2006 11:45 am

Lou, what kind of edge bevel are you running on those Verdicts? Just curious…
Justin Wilcox October 29th, 2006 8:53 am

Lou, so what’s your take on the Razor 3 in 1? Is it somewhat precise, or does it have a lot of play in it like most of the other multi-function edging tools?
Terry May 8th, 2008 3:34 pm

We now have 5/16″ low profile knobs and T-bolts to fit the Cinch & T-track.
The Cinch Ski & Snowboard Vise | SlideWright Weblog October 9th, 2009 2:46 pm

[...] aren’t enough.Here is a page that shows some more of it’s versatility. Also, please check out a review by Lou Dawson at Wildsnow Backcountry Skiing Weblog and a unique method of using the mounting [...]
T-Track Tuning & Waxing Bench | SlideWright Weblog October 9th, 2009 2:49 pm

[...] Extruded aluminum T-tracks are commonly used by woodcrafters for setting up jigs, guards, stops, router and saw tables and other shop tasks requiring unique clamping capabilities.The Tools4Boards ski & snowboard vises (Cinch, CordLoc, BoardLoc & Pro 500) which are designed to integrate with the Terminator tuning stand also work great with T-tracks, knobs & T-bolts mounted into a workbench or homemade tuning stand. This is a time saving, highly versatile and unique approach to securing skis and snowboards compared to the conventional system of clamping vises with jaws to a bench or tuning stand to perform base repair, tuning & waxing tasks….even binding mounting and adjusting.Probably the minimum length of T-track needed is around 4’. Less can be used if used in strategic locations relative to the lengths of skis and snowboards to be maintained. The Cinch, CordLoc & BoardLoc vises have a 3/8” diameter hole in their base. One option is to bolt one vise support to the bench and place the other in a 2 or 3’ foot section of track. Ideally, a 5 or 6’ T-track allows maximum flexibility.A groove can be cut or routed into a bench top as long as it is well supported and thick enough for the track and necessary screws. A strong epoxy can also be used to permanently attache the track to the bench. Building up on top of an existing bench to just above the thickness of the track is another method of installing T-track.The most common T-tracks accept either 5/16” or 1/4” T-bolts or modified hex bolts. A modified 3/8” bolt can also be used. Since the 3/8” hole in the vise bases are 3/8”, we feel the 1/4” bolt allows a little to much ‘play’, but is workable. The 5/16” is probably the best size since there are many accessory options available, along with track, bolt & knob availability. The best length bolt is 1 inch to fit the Cinch, CordLoc & BoardLoc vise bases. The low profile knobs we carry are the only ones we’ve found that will fit the vise bases and quickly secure or loosen to adjust location and orientation of the support base.Once installed, the T-track and Tools4Boards vise system will provide a quick and secure method to help you take care of your boards.For another description of installing a T-track in a door used for a bench top, please visit WildSnow.com Backcountry skiing weblog and website by Lou Dawson. [...]
CleanCarve December 7th, 2009 10:39 pm

Great article. Now you just need some ski tuning tools to go with that great vice setup. But then, I forgot to ask, perhaps you already have some tools since you’ve been tuning skis for 40 years?