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Ski Tune Bench

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Squashfest81

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Bought a kit to file and wax the skis, but I need a bench and clamp setup. Lots of good ideas on the google, but here’s the start of mine.
Parts cut from some roadside table for materials.
IMG-5142.jpg
 
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Squashfest81

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All ski tuning and ski talk encouraged.
Heading to Jay Peak after Christmas, but I’ll be skiing somewhere next weekend. Don’t have a lot of time.
 
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tarmy

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930dreamer said:
Not sure anyone's age here but, who remembers this rechargeable cassette player?
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Had that, then the portable CD player!

Back when nobody wore helmets, skied on thin log boards and actually had lift tickets on bails that got tore off by ski patrol if we jumped too much. That was at SQUAW VALLEY mostly too!
 
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930dreamer

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tarmy said:
Had that, then the portable CD player!

Back when nobody wore helmets, skied on thin log boards and actually had lift tickets on bails that got tore off by ski patrol if we jumped too much. That was at SQUAW VALLEY mostly too!
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Before they changed the name. We went snow boarding there in the early 90's. Started skiing in the PNW at Mt. Bachleor all day ticket was $12. We'd make 12 runs without a break to "pay for the ticket". All gravy after that. Some great Cannabis stories/memories.
 
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tarmy

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930dreamer said:
Before they changed the name. We went snow boarding there in the early 90's. Started skiing in the PNW and Mt. Bachleor all day ticket was $12. We'd make 12 runs without a break to "pay for the ticket". All gravy after that. Some great Cannabis stories/memories.
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Thread hijack…sorry OP…

Squaw was THE place for us young crazy fast skiers in the 70/80s. I vaguely remember paying 10 bucks for a ticket. We would road trip up from the Bay Area and ski/drink/smoke whatever….ski till they threw us out and then eat and drive home (we actually always had one guy that was the DD…the rules per parents that let us use their cars). We had one guy that ended up on Colorado’s downhill ski team…stupid fast. Still skiing over 35 days a year 50 plus years later!
 
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Grant Gunderson

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Squashfest81 said:
Grant, killer setup. I’m a stalker of your thread.
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One thing I’d do differently next time is add a front fence to the bench to contain wax scrapings. At some point I’ll add a retractable fence to mine.

If you ever mount bindings it’s nice to be able to slide the end supports in directly under the bindings as well as being able to adjust their height. I use those two features a lot. You can do this with some T-tracks.
930dreamer said:
Not sure anyone's age here but, who remembers this rechargeable cassette player?
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I love old ski marketing materials. I have a fully library of it in storage.
 
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Kuma601

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Wow...brings back memories of my first retail job as a ski tech. Was paid $3.25/hour in those days and probably the most fun job I've had. Good crew so each day was a blast. We'd ski or snowboard together when not on shift, included ski tickets too. Just had to take the 90 mile drive towards Big Bear.
 
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Squashfest81

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Grant, good thought on the front fence. Should be easy enough to retrofit your bench. A length of aluminum angle screwed from underneath that sticks up like a half inch would be slick.
I’m planning to use an 18 inch piece of the table to make a “thin” bench that should work in the basement laundry area. A tool box below and ski storage on the wall above.
I planned the ski clampy parts with a nice base to clamp down to the bench. I don’t plan to do much binding installs, but if needed I can move everything around. That also allows a clear bench for crafty stuff and bike work when the shed temps are too low.
 
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Grant Gunderson

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Kuma601 said:
Wow...brings back memories of my first retail job as a ski tech. Was paid $3.25/hour in those days and probably the most fun job I've had. Good crew so each day was a blast. We'd ski or snowboard together when not on shift, included ski tickets too. Just had to take the 90 mile drive towards Big Bear.
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I had a job at a local ski shop briefly in college. It was an old school sporting goods store. Kinda place that sold hunting rifles, fishing gear, had a legit ski shop and also sold Alcohol and Tobacco….The ATF loved them too…. (That’s another story) but being the business savvy college kid I was, anytime someone needed ski repair I’d quote them a price and a time frame. Then let them know if they dropped off a 12 pack it would get bumped to the top of the work list. We’d also discount the work for beer tips. So while I was there tuning income was down but beer sales were an all time high!
Squashfest81 said:
Grant, good thought on the front fence. Should be easy enough to retrofit your bench. A length of aluminum angle screwed from underneath that sticks up like a half inch would be slick.
I’m planning to use an 18 inch piece of the table to make a “thin” bench that should work in the basement laundry area. A tool box below and ski storage on the wall above.
I planned the ski clampy parts with a nice base to clamp down to the bench. I don’t plan to do much binding installs, but if needed I can move everything around. That also allows a clear bench for crafty stuff and bike work when the shed temps are too low.
Click to expand...
IMG_1066.jpeg
For the top of your uprights I’d suggest adding a gripping surface. I’ve tried everything from textured rubber to weather stripping. So far I’ve found Cork gasket material seems to work best and last the longest. Second best was the ¼” neoprene rubber.

Are you planning on using a vise as well?
 
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Trapps

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Years (probably close 20) ago, I built a ski tuning bench. I can't find many pics, but it was pretty well thought out. Drawers above with files, wax, irons, etc. Tubs below with all manner of related gear. I cut large dog holes in the top that allowed me to mount a set of SkiMan vises mid table. This kept all the wax on the table instead of the floor. I installed a light close to the working surface, but not visible to my eyes.

53388508709_37b17cc216_z.jpg

Grant's stuff is next level...
 
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Squashfest81

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Got the vise freed up with a little pipe wrench persuasion. Gave her a bath in the parts washer and hit what I could with the wire wheel. I’ll scruffy pad the rest and give it a rub of linseed oil later.
IMG-5168.jpg
 
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Squashfest81

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Thanks KJ. Didn’t cost me anything to build.
One thing that has helped is buying consumables in bulk. Like sandpaper in giant boxes for cheap off Amazon. Got to have that stuff on hand.
 
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Squashfest81

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Heading home from Jay Peak!
Warm soft snow and luckily we dodged the rain.
Some thin stuff up top, but where they’ve been blowing snow was great. Conditions kept the crowds down and we had a blast.
Skis performed fantastic, so I’m feeling good doing my own edges and wax. Plus it was fun tuning with the 12yo daughter. Then shredding with the 10 and 12yo.
IMG-5371.jpg
 
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Grant Gunderson

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Squashfest81 said:
Heading home from Jay Peak!
Warm soft snow and luckily we dodged the rain.
Some thin stuff up top, but where they’ve been blowing snow was great. Conditions kept the crowds down and we had a blast.
Skis performed fantastic, so I’m feeling good doing my own edges and wax. Plus it was fun tuning with the 12yo daughter. Then shredding with the 10 and 12yo.
IMG-5371.jpg
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Those conditions look way better then here!
 
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tarmy

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We are up at our place at Tahoe Vista in the north end of the lake. We are about 7,000 and there is NO SNOW. Last year we had skied about 12-15 days by now. Not good.
 
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Grant Gunderson

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tarmy said:
We are up at our place at Tahoe Vista in the north end of the lake. We are about 7,000 and there is NO SNOW. Last year we had skied about 12-15 days by now. Not good.
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There is no snow anywhere this year other than Europe, Japan and Alaska. I’m used to one region being bad, but this is ridiculous this year.
 
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Squashfest81

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The daughter goes off with jr high ski club tonight. Wachusett got 15 inches in this last storm. So jelly! She’s going to have a blast.
 
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Squashfest81

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And I think it’s time to combine the bike and ski worlds. Saw this pic on the Facebook. Skateboard trucks? So simple and brilliant!
IMG-5461.jpg
 
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zak77

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Reminds me of something like this: https://www.motortrend.com/news/198...yimageid=962a26ed-7db5-4ba0-af5f-aa1f5642e11f

My buddy has one of these, at least i think he still has it, but never drove it.

Jr high ski club!!! Holy **** that brings back some memories, and at Wachusetts also. I think we got yelled almost every night for doing stupid ****, like jumping the roads and acting like animals. Ah, the good ole days!!
 
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