base grind and board tuning...

I just read a thread and a couple pages on base grinds, edge bevels,
edge polishing, etc, etc, etc, and know I'm just more confused and
unsure whether or not to trust my board to my ski shop to have it
tuned. They have a rock grinder, and I was just planning on dropping it
off at the end of season for a good base grind and have the edges
tuned. Am I worrying about nothing here? Also, should I even bother
asking them to detune my tip and tail? I'd be taking it to Ski Chalet
in Chantilly, Virginia.

I'd consider myself a low intermediate snowboarder. I'm mostly on
blues, with a couple blacks thrown in. I mainly do speed runs, with
some other stuff thrown in.

wrote:
I just read a thread and a couple pages on base grinds, edge bevels,
edge polishing, etc, etc, etc, and know I'm just more confused and
unsure whether or not to trust my board to my ski shop to have it
tuned. They have a rock grinder, and I was just planning on dropping
it
off at the end of season for a good base grind and have the edges
tuned. Am I worrying about nothing here? Also, should I even bother
asking them to detune my tip and tail? I'd be taking it to Ski Chalet
in Chantilly, Virginia.

I'd consider myself a low intermediate snowboarder. I'm mostly on
blues, with a couple blacks thrown in. I mainly do speed runs, with
some other stuff thrown in.

Some people are very picky about their tuners. While there is
definitely a difference, I think for basic tunes (wax and edges) most
places aren't going to damage you board... you just might need to get
your board tuned sooner as the wax job or edge sharpening wasn't done
very thoroughly. So just get you board tuned by some place that doesn't
look completely sketchy.

Yes a Wintersteiger (sp?) stonegrinder is key and a bad base grind can
ruin your board, but it doesn't happen that often. My thinking is that
since you rarely *need* a base grind I would personally avoid it until
you've ridden the board 30-45 days (it mainly gives you a flat base and
lets the wax seep in better). Also, I'm not so sure there is much point
to getting the base done at the "end" of the season since you are going
to store it anyways (maybe it will clean off all the junk in your base)
just have the edge polished and the board waxed, but not scraped (the
idea is that the wax will help protect the base/edges over the summer).

Detuning tip/tail is a personal preference. They will usually do it for
you, but even if they don't I don't think you will notice that much of
a difference. If you are still worried about catching edge, then ask
for it.

Just my opinion, I like to keep my boards in relatively good condition,
but I'm too lazy to pamper them.

Just my opinion, I like to keep my boards in relatively good condition,
but I'm too lazy to pamper them.

I'm a "board pamperer" so I'll throw in my 2 cents.

These are the times when I recommend a shop tune for most intermediate to
advanced riders:

1) Your edges have taken a beating, beyond what you feel comfortable
repairing yourself

2) Your base is far enough from flat that you notice it while riding. Many
riders will not notice a convex base. A concave base will be prone to edge
catches and is noticable by most riders.

3) You have gouges on your base that are either through the ptex and into
the core, or are otherwise severe enough such that you notice them while
riding. It takes a pretty good base ding for most riders to notice while
turning; a lesser ding might make itself apparent when traversing a flat
section.

4) Your base has worn smooth, all trace of structure is gone, and you find
yourself getting hung up on flats, especially in warm weather

5) You've burned your base with a waxing iron set too hot, or left face-down
on the base while you answer the phone

In general I like Wintersteiger stone grinds, but I've seen some really nice
belt grinds as well. For example, Donek snowboards used to and may still
finish their bases with a belt grind, and their belt grinds come out better
than a lot of stone grinds.

If you want aboslutle top-notch tuning, which is overkill for most
freeriders and freestylers, look up these guys:

http://www.precisiontuningcenter.com/ptc.php?page=ptc


My Madd alpine board was tuned by them before shipping, and it's hard to
separate out what's the board and what's the tune, but I actually find
myself seeking out icy patches when I'm on that thing!

While pondering the Universe, (Mike T) wrote
wPuXd.72930$uc.37464@trnddc08:

These are the times when I recommend a shop tune for most intermediate
to advanced riders:

1) Your edges have taken a beating, beyond what you feel comfortable
repairing yourself

I was going to post a few days back on this topic. I do my own
waxing 90% of the time, but never the edges. I've gotten an edging
kit this sseason but am still leary and will wait a bit more and
try on my rock board. Anyways, I was in a shop this past weekend
that had the counter where you pay and generally ask for help right
out in the open work area-no boards disappearing into other rooms.
So a kid comes in and just wanted edges and they just tossed it then
and there through a spinning 'device' (I'm sure there is an official
name for it), making some very nice sparks along the way.

So heres my question - is this the way all shops do you edges? I had
no idea. And if so, I wonder if this could explain some random top
coat damages I've seen on my boards around the perimeter? Amd here
I thought edges were done with a file by hand (naive aren't I?)

Mike M. Miskulin wrote:

So heres my question - is this the way all shops do you edges? I had
no idea. And if so, I wonder if this could explain some random top
coat damages I've seen on my boards around the perimeter? Amd here
I thought edges were done with a file by hand (naive aren't I?)


Mike,

I'm pretty sure any time you take your board in for an edge and wax
(quick tune) most shops will throw your board on a belt. That's what
they use to "file" the bottem edge. Then they'll throw it on a small
grinder for the side edge. Only difference is if A) they specifically
tell you "hand tune," or B) you get a a stone grind, in which case you
get the board width stone instead of the belt.

That's why I stopped getting quick tunes. I'd have this money base that
the manufacturer only recommended stone grinds for...then I found out
that every time I take it in the shop, they're throwing it on a belt
and sanding down the stone grind texture I paid $50 to acquire!

So, for me, I stick with the guidelines posted above. I can keep my
edges pretty sharp with hand tuning and I now like the quality of my
own waxes more than most shops. Something about doing it by hand, I
guess...I probably take more care to slowly work the wax into the base
and then scrape it well. In any event, my last shop wax had my board
looking dry after a half day of riding. When I do it myself I don't
notice any dryness for 2-4 days, depending on snow condition.

Bad base damage and a metal edge that has been ground down by rocks
have me bringing it into the shop for the stone grind. Hopefully that
is only once a season...maybe twice for bad luck.

-todd

While pondering the Universe, (todd) wrote
.com:


So, for me, I stick with the guidelines posted above. I can keep my
edges pretty sharp with hand tuning and I now like the quality of my
own waxes more than most shops. Something about doing it by hand, I
guess...I probably take more care to slowly work the wax into the base
and then scrape it well. In any event, my last shop wax had my board
looking dry after a half day of riding. When I do it myself I don't
notice any dryness for 2-4 days, depending on snow condition.

interesting.... yes I agree on doing your own waxing its almost
always the better way to go. What we need is a guy like you or
mike T to make a video of how to properly do edges

interesting.... yes I agree on doing your own waxing its almost
always the better way to go. What we need is a guy like you or
mike T to make a video of how to properly do edges

Although I do my own and have great results, I am far from an expert. A
world cup racer would probably find plenty of little things that I don't do
right, that I am simply not a good enough rider to detect.

In any case, videos already exist:

http://www.tognar.com/books.html#MAS-VID



Mike T

While pondering the Universe, (Mike T) wrote
qO1Yd.64403$uc.30319@trnddc03:

In any case, videos already exist:

http://www.tognar.com/books.html#MAS-VID

Thanks Mike for the link!

Originally Posted by Mike T

interesting.... yes I agree on doing your own waxing its almost
always the better way to go. What we need is a guy like you or
mike T to make a video of how to properly do edges

Although I do my own and have great results, I am far from an expert. A
world cup racer would probably find plenty of little things that I don't do
right, that I am simply not a good enough rider to detect.

In any case, videos already exist:

http://www.tognar.com/books.html#MAS-VID



Mike T

i agree with mike t. i got the tognar video (vhs tape) and it is very technical, but you can take from it what you wish to meet your personal needs. they get all the way to the measuring the temperature on the course before applying wax and then testing glide speeds. Very very cool to see, but not always to do.

The biggest thing you will find about tuning is creating the proper base for your board. Boards have a sintered base now, not Ptex. So if you see little hairs on your board base, that means that you are too dry and need to wax. the sintered base will suck up the wax when heated on there, but if it has no wax, it will also suck up dirt and the hairs will create drag (thus, slow in the flats). You treat your base with a nice Graphite wax or other base type wax, and then texture that as you wish with a brass brush, then apply your wax of the day, you will be very happy. Tognar is the place to find everything y ou want to know about tuning.

b k

Baka Dasai wrote:

On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 20:43:56 +0000, beekay said (and I quote):

Boards have a sintered base now, not Ptex.


No, they are P-tex. Good boards have sintered P-tex, and cheap boards
have extruded P-tex.

Actually they can have sintered/extruded versions of P-tex or Isospeed,
which are trade names for similar but not identical plastics.

Neil