Anyone up for a little shop talk? I am looking into doing more of my own tuning this year and was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for a good file guide. Do I need separate guides for the side and base bevels, or does a single guide work for both?

Also trying to figure out what angle I actually want. Whenever I get my skis tuned at the shop I just have them do whatever the default angle is, but to be honest this is not something I have ever really paid attention to. Different brands have different recommended angles, which is something that I did not know.

Here is a good article about the edges and tuning.

http://www.racewax.com/edge-tuning/

wgo wrote:

Anyone up for a little shop talk? I am looking into doing more of my own tuning this year and was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for a good file guide. Do I need separate guides for the side and base bevels, or does a single guide work for both?

Also trying to figure out what angle I actually want. Whenever I get my skis tuned at the shop I just have them do whatever the default angle is, but to be honest this is not something I have ever really paid attention to. Different brands have different recommended angles, which is something that I did not knHere

The tools for base and side edges are different. I use the Beast base file guide and a Swix side angle bevel tool.  Unless you're racing, stay with manufacturers recommendations for angles to start with.

Standing sideways, I’ve been using a variable 90 degree bevel: 2 degrees in front & behind my feet, 1 degree under foot/feet.  May be in my head - works for my riding style.  Well worth the $100+/- in tooling.  I use 2 Swix variable file/ceramic/diamond holders, different handheld stones, too.  Maybe $150+ in tooling. ;)   “Flat base” can be a relative term and/or desire - but, it definitely affects the use successful use of said tools.  Manufacturer’s specs are good for reference but, do we all really share the same technique?   

Thanks for the responses. I am trying to decide between variable angle guides and fixed angle guides - any thoughts on this? @56Fish seems to be happy with the variable guides...

 Also, if a pair of skis has previously been tuned with, say, a 2 degree side bevel, is to possible to switch to a 1 degree side bevel?

Gwgo wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I am trying to decide between variable angle guides and fixed angle guides - any thoughts on this? @56Fish seems to be happy with the variable guides...

 Also, if a pair of skis has previously been tuned with, say, a 2 degree side bevel, is to possible to switch to a 1 degree side bevel?

I use 1deg on the base on all my skis and 3deg on the side for most of them.  3 deg will hold ice very nicely and has no downside that I can detect.  The standard shop default is 1 and 1.  I have a pair of fat skis, Black diamond megawatts, 155 mm at the tip, 125 waist and 130 tail.  On those I use the manufacturers recommendation of 2 on the sidewall.  I also use 2 on a pair of lightweight scaled backcountry skis.  I use a variable file holder and finish the side edges with a diamond file.  

Changing the side bevel will require some work because you must cut a fair amount of metal to achieve the new angle on the full width (thickness) of the edge.  That will shorten the life of your skis, so I wouldn’t do it more than once.  You can check for when you have achieved the new angle on the full width of the edge.  Blacken the edge with a magic marker and then file it with the holder set at your desired angle.  You should see bright metal on the full width of the edge.  

I have not let any shop tune any of my skis for 15 years.  Not that I haven’t known great shops, but if I get a bad tune it’s my own fault, and I like it that way.

Denis wrote: "Blacken the edge with a magic marker and then file it with the holder set at your desired angle.  You should see bright metal on the full width of the edge."  

Wish I’d have said that....excellent advice!

And, a sidewall plane almost always makes edge work much easier.