Ray's Way - WAX WHIZard

[D-Sub]

pretty sure all your questions are answered on the site. There is a ton of info there. Or used to be at least

[pebu]

Look, I've spent alot of time on the site before posting here trying to learn as much as I can. I may have missed some things so I even went back and read again. There's a couple questions that would have nothing to do with the site as well.

The base flattener. Anybody try this?

Wouldn't be on the site...

The way it looks it seems as though it needs to span the edges?

I ask because 5.5" wouldn't do it. I couldn't find the answer.

Won't this hurt the edges at all?

I guess he says that there is no chance of hurting your board. I'd still like to hear it from others though...

Has anybody used the hi-glide yet?

Wouldn't be on the site again.

Does it remove Ptex hairs or wax hairs? Does it polish the ptex or the wax?

I guess on the site it kind of infers that since you do it after a flattening that it does the ptex. I may have been a little hasty on that question.

I didn't think any of those were really hard questions. I'm just lookin to further my learning a little bit. If you don't have anything to say then don't bother. If you have a little experience or if you have seen something that I missed, maybe you can point it out.

I don't really mean to snap.

Well, ok, I guess I do a little bit.

But like I said, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't have to.

[tex1230]

Pebu, you may want to check the carver's almanac. Scott did an amazing job on his write-up of tuning equipment and technique. Not sure if all your questions will be answered but it's a good place to go if you can't find the answer here.

[pebu]

That sounds fair enough. I'll check it out.

[D-Sub]

easy tiger. People tend to hit the post button without thinking first. I know for a fact that the Rays Way site is chock full of info, but yes, you are correct that some of your questions might not be answered there.

BUT...Id still say that you might want to email the guy who sells this stuff. He's really cool and likes to share info.

[Mike T]

I second D-Sub's recommendation on emailing Ray. Great guy and very passionate about tuning.

[pebu]

Ok, cool.

Like I said, I didn't want to just snap or anything, but it did kind of annoy me.

[Fastskiguy]

The base flattener. Anybody try this? The way it looks it seems as though it needs to span the edges?

I wanna second this question....has anybody tried this? Can it work on a snowboard? It looks too narrow and I couldn't find anything on the site about the base flattener and snowboards...

[Terryw]

I recently bought all of Rays tools. I have yet to try the base flatner. For what it is worth here are his instructions:

Instructions for Snowboard Base Flattening

My tools WILL give you the accuracy you desire. My kits can are designed for

maintenance tuning except for deburring for which you will need a stone (you probably

already use one). I say maintenance because my tools are designed to only remove a

minimal amount of material with each tune. I designed them that way to eliminate the

risks of damage from over zealous tuning. If your board is good shape, my tools will

bring them up to spec very quickly and accurately. If a board has been neglected, using

my tools will require extra time and I do mean extra. Particularly base flattening. I

often tell board tuners starting to use my tools to get the base stoneground with the

goal of removing the least amount of material necessary, then do the beveling yourself

assuming there was a bevel in place to start with.

As far as a brand new board is concerned, they should come from the factory with 1

degree on the base and 2 degrees on the sides. If they have 90 on them, better let the

shop rough in the angles first. I say this only to save time for you. Let me explain- a

grind tech should only remove .0002 to .0003 inches per pass of the wheel. A one

degree bevel using this material removal rate will require 5 to 7 passes and you are done.

For the two degrees on the side you need to make twice as many passes of the wheel.

My bevelers require 50 strokes to remove .0003 inches. Remember we are talking about

creating the angle here. For maintenance tuning I have found that the edges sharpen up

with about 10 strokes as maintenance sharpening is done on the side edges only and the

angle is already present. We don't touch the base bevel except to remove burrs unless

you redo the base flattening. Regardless, it is relatively effortless work because the line

contact of the abrasive generates very high cutting pressure.

In tuning a board I need to make you aware of a couple of technique points in base

flattening unique to boards because the tuning tube does not extend across the base

from edge to edge. For a board, RAY'S WAY base flattening begins in the center portion

of the board where only P-tex will be removed. Use my standard flattening instructions

and continue to remove material until you are satisfied but remember to count the

number of strokes because P-tex, being less dense than steel, will be removed 4 times

faster (.0008 to .0010 inches per 50 strokes). Next you should wrap a piece of masking

tape on top of the abrasive at one end of the tube . This end will ride on the P-tex

surface you have just tuned near the center of the board and will prevent any material

removal there. The other end will ride on the steel where you will use 4 times the

number of strokes you used on the P-tex because the steel is denser. This will leave you

with a pefectly flat base, except for the edges which have a bevel angle that you will

then touch up assuming we are talking about a maintenance tune. This step is obviously

repeated on the opposite edge.

Sounds a little wordy but it is really quite easy and straight forward once you get into it

and it doesn't take too long. With very little experience you will know exactly what you

need to do. I usually touch up my skis every weekend and it takes about a half hour

complete with waxing and brushing to open the structure.