first trip to steamboat

On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:

Right, but if you do it yourself, it gets done the way you want.


And if I don't take them to the shop, they won't get done, which is worse
than not doing them myself.

Believe me. I know myself, and myself right now isn't going to get it
done, regardless of good intentions.

Really? If you take them to the shop, it will take you more time and hassle
than doing it yourself.

Really.

--
monique
Longmont, CO

Chester Bullock wrote:
Mary Malmros wrote:

Chester Bullock wrote:

Mary Malmros wrote:

Right, but if you do it yourself, it gets done the way you want. I
don't know what angles the shop uses when they sharpen edges, but I
know what angle _I_ want. I don't know what they use for wax,
either -- I like to pick my own. Prepping your skis really doesn't
take that long.




Mary -
What are you using for an edge file? I am using one I picked up in
the 80's, and I think it is time to move on to something else...



When I'm just doing maintenance work, I usually use a medium diamond
stone. If I've really got to do some serious edits, I start with a
mill ******* file.


For your edges, or for the bases? If for the edges, do you have some
sort of guide you hold the stone or the file in to control your angle?

I use stones and files, as noted above, for both the base part of the
edge and the side part of the edge. I use a couple of simple tools
called Base of Beast and Side of Beast as guides. They're available at
Tognar Toolworks.

--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:


Right, but if you do it yourself, it gets done the way you want.


And if I don't take them to the shop, they won't get done, which is worse
than not doing them myself.

Believe me. I know myself, and myself right now isn't going to get it
done, regardless of good intentions.

Really? If you take them to the shop, it will take you more time and hassle
than doing it yourself.


Really.

Your choice, of course, but I'm telling you the truth when I say that
taking it to someone else takes more time and effort, at least for
routine maintenance. That is, unless the person you're taking it to
lives next door, does the work whenever you want them to, and returns
the skis so you don't have to go pick them up.


--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.

On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:

Your choice, of course, but I'm telling you the truth when I say that taking
it to someone else takes more time and effort, at least for routine
maintenance. That is, unless the person you're taking it to lives next
door, does the work whenever you want them to, and returns the skis so you
don't have to go pick them up.

I believe you. It's just mentally easier for me to drop the skis off on the
way to lunch than it is to do the work at home. The ski shop is close to
work, and I run a lot of errands in Boulder, anyway.

There's also the time spent learning how to do it, setting up a space
somewhere that wax drips don't matter, and the fear of screwing it all up
somehow. It may be fast when you know what you're doing, but it takes a while
to get to that point and level of confidence.

--
monique
Longmont, CO

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

There's also the time spent learning how to do it, setting up a space
somewhere that wax drips don't matter, and the fear of screwing it all up
somehow. It may be fast when you know what you're doing, but it takes a while
to get to that point and level of confidence.

You only really screw things up when you start using a belt sander as a
stone grinder...


----------------------
Chester

Why survive when you can live?

On 2005-01-11, Chester Bullock penned:

You only really screw things up when you start using a belt sander as a
stone grinder...

I'm not exactly known for my finesse ... tend to be a brute force kind of gal
....

--
monique
Longmont, CO

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:

Your choice, of course, but I'm telling you the truth when I say that taking
it to someone else takes more time and effort, at least for routine
maintenance. That is, unless the person you're taking it to lives next
door, does the work whenever you want them to, and returns the skis so you
don't have to go pick them up.


I believe you. It's just mentally easier for me to drop the skis off on the
way to lunch than it is to do the work at home. The ski shop is close to
work, and I run a lot of errands in Boulder, anyway.

That's cool. It's good having someone who's convenient.

There's also the time spent learning how to do it, setting up a space
somewhere that wax drips don't matter, and the fear of screwing it all up
somehow. It may be fast when you know what you're doing, but it takes a while
to get to that point and level of confidence.

Yeah, I was lucky -- I had someone with a lot of experience to teach me
(my big bro), and he gave me some hand-me-down tools to get me started.
Plus I've got a huge basement that doesn't need to accomodate much
except for the ski bench and the beermaking stuff. If you ever change
your mind, I have a good article that my brother wrote that'll get you
started.

--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.

On 2005-01-12, Mary Malmros penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

There's also the time spent learning how to do it, setting up a space
somewhere that wax drips don't matter, and the fear of screwing it all up
somehow. It may be fast when you know what you're doing, but it takes a
while to get to that point and level of confidence.

Yeah, I was lucky -- I had someone with a lot of experience to teach me (my
big bro), and he gave me some hand-me-down tools to get me started. Plus
I've got a huge basement that doesn't need to accomodate much except for the
ski bench and the beermaking stuff. If you ever change your mind, I have a
good article that my brother wrote that'll get you started.

I would happily accept such an article and file it away! If nothing else, my
husband has been talking about doing the tuning himself, to save money. I
still think we'd save more money by actually packing our own lunches ... but
hey, if it's something he wants to do ...

--
monique
Longmont, CO

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:

On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
On 2005-01-11, Mary Malmros penned:

Right, but if you do it yourself, it gets done the way you want.

And if I don't take them to the shop, they won't get done, which is worse
than not doing them myself.

Believe me. I know myself, and myself right now isn't going to get it
done, regardless of good intentions.

Really? If you take them to the shop, it will take you more time and hassle
than doing it yourself.

Really.

Yes. OK, let's start out easy. Waxing.

* Get some wax (practice with canning wax [paraffin here in the
colonies], it's dirt cheap as are unwanted candles) and steal somebody's
old iron (yes, steam is OK).
* Clean the crud off the bases however you want -- I have some orange
de-greasing goop and a green Scotch-thingy. Let dry.
* Fasten the brakes out of the way (broccoli rubber bands are good for
this).
* Set your iron on 'silk' or 'wool'.
* Lay a ski bottoms-up over a couple of chairs or wastebaskets or
anything else that will keep them from escaping that you don't care
about getting wax on.
* Hold the iron over one end of a ski and hold the chunk of wax to the
bottom, letting a row of drops drip onto the ski. One every inch or so
ought to be OK, using too little makes it hard to move the iron around
and too much dribbles onto the top of the ski (or the floor) and looks
very un-cool.
* Run your iron over the skis until all the wax is melted. Keep the
iron moving.
* When you figure you've done this long enough (maybe a minute) stop
and set the ski aside to harden.
* Repeat for the second ski.

This is where I stop, but some people scrape the wax off with a metal
straightedge of some sort, and some people do other things with scratchy
implements. They can take it up here if they want.

This takes 15 minutes at most, and saves you lots of driving time to and
from the shop. You can wax whenever you want to.

If that amount of effort seemed OK, get Seth Masia's book on ski tuning,
definitely a worthwhile investment.

--
Cheers,
Bev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++ Bil"...so she told me it was either her or the ham radio, over."

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
On 2005-01-12, Mary Malmros penned:

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:


There's also the time spent learning how to do it, setting up a space
somewhere that wax drips don't matter, and the fear of screwing it all up
somehow. It may be fast when you know what you're doing, but it takes a
while to get to that point and level of confidence.

Yeah, I was lucky -- I had someone with a lot of experience to teach me (my
big bro), and he gave me some hand-me-down tools to get me started. Plus
I've got a huge basement that doesn't need to accomodate much except for the
ski bench and the beermaking stuff. If you ever change your mind, I have a
good article that my brother wrote that'll get you started.


I would happily accept such an article and file it away! If nothing else, my
husband has been talking about doing the tuning himself, to save money. I
still think we'd save more money by actually packing our own lunches ... but
hey, if it's something he wants to do ...


You should find a copy of Seth's book. Maybe he still has a couple
laying around. I'll find out.

----------------------
Chester

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.