Tuning equipment

[AcousticBoarder]

Looking for some tuning tool advice... 

Table:

I am in the market for a tuning table, I have some clamps but the plastic 4 ft uline folding table I have just isn't cutting it, it is not stable enough, and the plastic buckles under the clamps.  How do the cheap bench options compare to the more costly ones? Are they sturdy enough to handle scraping and edge work when the board is clamped to one side? Most also seem to be rather short for a 170 or so board.  I was thinking of a portable workbench too, anyone try one of those? Any other thoughts or suggestions? I do need something that can fold down. 

 

Iron:

I also am looking to upgrade from my cheap entry level iron to something with some more temperature controll and more constancy in its heating. Any suggestions or is an iron an iron? 

[st_lupo]

Haven't compared tables, but I use a Swix 120x45cm folding table at home for snowboards (up to 174) and skis (180+).  I'm in the "ski hut" about 2 hours every week tuning skis for my daughter (while hiding from the rest of the family), and I love me that Swix table.  Really burley and really stable.  I use the Swix T-Bar clamps for my snowboards.  It's got enough room for the files, stones, clamps, waxes, iron and a small stereo.

As far as waxing irons, I use a Toko T8 iron.  I'm generally pretty happy with that (definitely a huge step up from the clothes iron), but next time I will probably opt for something with a bit more thermal mass.  But for the price it works really well.  

[michael.a]

I found a tall bench cabinet that was being junked. All wood so stiff and long enough that can adjust my clamps to fit my 200 cm board.

As for irons, no sir, I own a cheap Swix but when I tried the higher end versions there was a big difference especially in wax retention. My next but will be something with a big ass thermal plate but the T72 but god damn is it expensive. 

[AcousticBoarder]

I think that swix table is one of their upper mid range ones? Sounds like it would be good. How is setting it up, I have heard the entry level one that looks similar can be cumbersome. 

I've thought about making something or attaching to a garage work bench, and I'd love to down road but I just don't have the space right now. 

 

For an iron, I should say I I know there's differences in performance between entry level and mid to high range, but anything in specific to look for? Bigger/thicker heat plate?  What's the point of diminishing returns? I was thinking of the Toko T14

[Corey]

The tables that Bomber has are pretty stable.  Toko?  Not sure.  They had a tuning table race video last year, looked like a bad use but a good video.  

I drilled holes in a shop workbench and put T-nuts below.  Then use some wing-bolts from the top side to hold my DIY tuning vices.  I welded some scrap steel up to hold two suction cups near the nose/tail from a glass holder.  Similar to this with the black handle removed: https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/dual-head-4-1-2-in-suction-cup/A-p8136624e 

Doesn't work at all on Carbonium topsheets though.  I've stopped using an iron and scraping anyway since I tried a Wax Wizard.  Now I just prop the nose up on a couch arm and use the WW that way.  Don't slip off the side or the edges quickly remove your knuckle skin.  

[Jonny]

On 10/16/2017 at 2:28 PM, corey_dyck said:

The tables that Bomber has are pretty stable.  Toko?  Not sure.  They had a tuning table race video last year, looked like a bad use but a good video.  

I drilled holes in a shop workbench and put T-nuts below.  Then use some wing-bolts from the top side to hold my DIY tuning vices.  I welded some scrap steel up to hold two suction cups near the nose/tail from a glass holder.  Similar to this with the black handle removed: https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/dual-head-4-1-2-in-suction-cup/A-p8136624e 

Doesn't work at all on Carbonium topsheets though.  I've stopped using an iron and scraping anyway since I tried a Wax Wizard.  Now I just prop the nose up on a couch arm and use the WW that way.  Don't slip off the side or the edges quickly remove your knuckle skin.  

Corey - what is a Wax Wizard? Google didn't help me much...

For the OP - I've had good results rotating my Cateks to equal stances - 60/60 seems to work fine - and then clamping them into the center of a Workmate table (which is basically a big clamp). It's great for tuning but you obviously wouldn't want to hot wax like that because you'd get wicked base suck from waxing with the bindings mounted.

[Mig]

17 minutes ago, Jonny said:

Corey - what is a Wax Wizard? Google didn't help me much...

Name has changed and is now called the Pro-Glide waxing system.

http://www.skimd.com/pro-glide.html

Edited October 18, 2017 by Mig

[jburk]

I ordered a Wax Wizard / Pro-Glide from SkiMD's website late on Friday (after business hours on the East coast), and it arrived in my mailbox in Oregon on Wednesday afternoon.  Very fast shipping, nice...

Tried it out, I think I'm going to be a convert from the hot iron.  Uses way less wax, no worries about cooking the base by accident, and no scraping!  That last bit is my favourite part.

[Corey]

Amen to all of that!  I use a tiny fraction of the wax I used to.  I just run about two inches in from the edges with the hardest One Ball Jay wax.  The rest doesn't touch the snow enough to wear off the wax.  

[queequeg]

Living in a small apartment, I do not have a tuning table but instead use SWIX bench vises, which I find to be more than adequate and take up very little room (and are somewhat portable as well). I used to hotwax all of my boards but this year I am going to give the wax wizard a go; this is mostly so that I could get rid of a bunch of stuff: scrapers, iron etc ... I also figure it will allow for less cleanup given the lack of scraping required. For edge tuning I have a set of swix files, and diamond stones, as well as SVT  Pro-Edge base/side bevels, all of which have served me very well.

Back when I was ironing I would wax outside on my balcony since I had to worry about drips and scrapings. Now that I will be using the wax wizard I expect I will be able to do this all inside, on my oak dining room table with no concern for making a mess; that's a convenience that I am looking forward to.

Edited November 2, 2017 by queequeg

[michael.a]

Whats the wax retention using the Pro Glide method? As quote "SkiMD highly recommends applying a minimum of 3 coats of wax every day before skiing." made my jaw drop

[Corey]

That's excessive. I do one pass every couple of days on the snow. If there's any white showing in the Ptex, I'll do two passes. 

Or if it's crazy cold and the snow is going to be like sandpaper, I'll do 2 or more just along the edges. 

[ursle]

I don’t buy used boards anymore, well, possibly if the wax wizard was used by an honest person. last spring I picked up a used MK, it had a thick coat of sealing wax and it’s cupped an eighth inch because it was overheated, the wizard takes a few minutes, you have no excess and yes it puts plenty of wax on, every two weeks taking a brass structure brush to the bottom removes a lot of wax, heating the bottom of a snowboard with bindings on is a good way to overheat and bend, and who removes bindings every time they ride to wax, and who doesn’t tune and wax every time they ride?

 

[RyanN]

Does that Pro-Glide come in one size only and if so, are the ends beveled up to prevent accidental damage to the base? I have a ton of wax from a local shop that closed down but the no need for scraping sounds great.

[bigwavedave]

I've been using the same low-tech cork block for years to friction-rub the wax into the base for daily replenishment. It fits in  the palm of my hand and looks easier to hold than the proglide. Do you think the proglide/skimd is better than cork? 

I still hot wax once or twice each season as needed and always loosen binding screws to prevent base suck.

[digger jr]

I second the wax wizard. I usually warm the wax on a heat register, or in the sun and usually heat the base in the sun also, then it rubs on really easy. The bases heat up to about 150 degrees F in the sun, which I think is an ideal temp to soak in.

Will not damage the base, the short length is good,you can work the wax into binding suck or other anomalies.

Rocket Approved.

[Corey]

9 hours ago, bigwavedave said:

Do you think the proglide/skimd is better than cork? 

No science here, but the Wax Whiz/Proglide seems to spread/melt the wax with less energy than a cork. The fabric wrap is quite textured, but even once that texture is filled with wax it seems to work just as well. 

You're right about the ergonomics though; it's tough on your hands if you do 3 boards in a row with cold/hard wax! 

[slopestar]

I just had my trusty saber waxed and tuned (edged) by a pro. He said he used flouro and cork and did a very mild base grind etc...etc... it was $25 usd. I think he did a great job for that price. That being said... at home, I do my own edges at 2* side and 1*base with zero detune. I only use the file to set or fix the edge. Then 3 passes, I each of whet stone from rough to fine on base and side to sharpen (my personal preference) I use orange clean to clean up the base of any residue. Scrape with a very sharp plastic scraper to remove any other old wax and wipe again with a spritz of orange clean. I always use whatever proper temp wax up the middle and cold on the edges. Use a fairly hot iron to wax in and let cool. Follow up with a pass tip to tail with my dull scraper behind the iron to remove excess wax(lazy mans scrape) and then let cool. Scrape everything off and then use a green scrubby (kitchen 3m comes in multipack from the local grocery store) like a cork to rub in/off the wax the scraper couldn’t get and then follow up with a brass brush tip to tail and then cross hatch for a bit of structure. Takes about 10 minutes a board aside from the cooling time. 

Im happy to say that in direct comparison on my fullbag diamond blade(self tuned) to my saber(pro tuned) that I will NOT be taking it back to ANY SHOP,  any time soon... ridden at Loveland for 5 runs each on man made corn/white strip of death... the saber looks dried out and the edges were not nearly as sharp as my diamond blade. I got to watch tv in my man cave while drinking beer and playing with snowboards... priceless.

So Cal friends looking for a trip to get away should contact me. Tune ups and free beer will be provided??

Edited November 3, 2017 by slopestar

[Pat Donnelly]

Affordable table at Costco (Nov 9 - Nov 16, 2017 - $10 off) that just might work?

 

Edited November 6, 2017 by Pat Donnelly

[AcousticBoarder]

I did find something, my brother was getting rid of his Tools 4 Boards vices he had, they don't make the exact model anymore but they are a snowboard vice that like their other vices, use a t-track system or can be mounted to a clamp like other vices. It works great in the future as I can build them right into a workbench. I found the stand for them though here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OIPZMMO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_E3BgvSYHnX4vT

I got it at less than $140 too. Anyway, I needed something more sturdy than the Costco plastic folding table because I too have the wax wizard and using it requires some downward force that the plastic table did not readily handle. This stand is great and is sturdy enough to sit on, and I bought some extra track hardware to make some modular top pieces with to hold my wax and tuning tools. 

I ended up getting the Toko T14 iron and couldn't be happier. Even though I have the wax wizard, I do like to hot wax atleast at the beginning and end of the season, sometimes in the middle if I neglected to wax wizard for too long.  

Edited November 8, 2017 by AcousticBoarder
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