Need plans to build a ski clamp system for wide skis

[SnowCountry]

I need a ski clamping system for wide skis. My skis are 108mm at the waist and 118mm at the tips. I don't have a good mechanism to hold them in place when waxing them, in particular, a method to keep the ski brake retracted.

Does anyone have any plans on how to build a clamp system? Or other suggestions to make waxing easier?

I'm skilled at woodworking so I think that a homemade wooden clamp system would be ideal.

 

[neonorchid]

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-portable-carpenters-vise-95203.html

- glue weather stripping to the metal jaws to protect the skis or coat with a rubberized paint.

 

[Monique]

Er. To abuse Crocodile Dundee - "That's not a wide ski. THIS is a wide ski!" <flourishes several pairs up to 125mm at the waist>

I use rubber bands to retract the brakes, just like every other ski. I don't understand the problem there?

And I use a SWIX clamp. Maybe the one made for larger skis?

 

[KingGrump]

Brake holder - #94 rubber band.

Screw couple scrap pieces of 2x6 together in a T shape. Cover the top of the T with some scrap pieces of carpet and you are goo to go.
Should not need any clamping if you are only waxing. Make sure your plexi scrapers are sharp.

 

[raytseng]

another approach is to make dummy wooden boot soles with a dowel or other peg to help click in, that you can use that engage the bindng.
Otherwise, you can always make some slipknot loops with cord (tautline hitch or your favorite hitch)

 

[Dwight]

View attachment 31246

Brake holder - #94 rubber band.

Screw couple scrap pieces of 2x6 together in a T shape. Cover the top of the T with some scrap pieces of carpet and you are goo to go.
Should not need any clamping if you are only waxing. Make sure your plexi scrapers are sharp.

That is this, http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Ski-Vice/

I use tire inter tube instead of carpet, less slipping.

 

[DanoT]

Several years ago I went to a snowboard shop and asked them what they used to work on snowboards. They showed my a heavy duty plastic T shaped bracket that clamped to a table and used friction to hold the board and a slot in the middle to hold boards sideways. I asked them if they had one that they could sell me and they did.

They are very portable and great for ski trips.

 

[Dave Marshak]

I've bought a couple of vises, but they either they don't hold very well or they become obsolete whenever ski design changes.
This is all I need now:

Ski Bench

• Dave Marshak
• Jun 13, 2017
• 1

I got a lifetime supply of that black rubberized shelf liner at Home Depot. It holds well enough by friction and it's easy to replace whenever it gets slippery. I've re-worked the top profile to make it easier to work on a base up ski, but I kept the slot to hold the ski edge up.

dm

 

[jzmtl]

A piece of cord with a cordlock will hold brake down on any width of ski, easier to install than a strong rubber band too.

 

[1chris5]

View attachment 31246

Brake holder - #94 rubber band.

Screw couple scrap pieces of 2x6 together in a T shape. Cover the top of the T with some scrap pieces of carpet and you are goo to go.
Should not need any clamping if you are only waxing. Make sure your plexi scrapers are sharp.

I use basically the same system. I note @KingGrump uses carpeting to protect top sheet and bungee to clamp ski down. I would be interested to know exactly how he attaches skis to bungee to keep clamped (picture?). I use tire inner tube as I would think dripped wax and wax scrapings would get pretty gummed up in carpeting. I use two eyelets on each t-base and attach ski with para-cord. I find bungee to be too springy for a nice tight clamp. I don't like the clamping via tie-down but it works. I like the t-base design as you can even work on snowboards. A wide ski should be no problem. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

 

[KingGrump]

That is not my set up. Just random pics off the net.
I use several sets of 3 piece ski vises from Swix and Toko.
Generic pic.


Almost never use the center portion. My wax scrapers are really sharp and I use roto-brushes so the skis don't really move much.
I have made up several sets of the 2x6/carpet contraptions to support the middle of the skis when I am working on the bindings.

If I were to use the home made wooden supports for sharpening the ski, I would much rather cut a vertical slot on the wooden up right and use a piece of shingle (wedge) to secure the ski in the horizontal direction. Not a fan of the bungee.

 

[Jacques]

I need a ski clamping system for wide skis. My skis are 108mm at the waist and 118mm at the tips. I don't have a good mechanism to hold them in place when waxing them, in particular, a method to keep the ski brake retracted.

Does anyone have any plans on how to build a clamp system? Or other suggestions to make waxing easier?

I'm skilled at woodworking so I think that a homemade wooden clamp system would be ideal.

Try clamping in this way as I demonstrate here. You can build for this way.

 

[NE1]

Large rubber bands (ie. From Staples) work fine.

 

[Monique]

A piece of cord with a cordlock will hold brake down on any width of ski, easier to install than a strong rubber band too.

I use the "special" ski rubber bands (no doubt regular whatever-gauge rubber bands with a markup). The trick I realized (or someone told me) was to push down the part of the binding that your boot steps into. All of a sudden, securing brakes became a million times easier.

My wax scrapers are really sharp

How do you do that? I have a plastic (or whatever it is) scraper and I do run it against the sharpener, but it doesn't seem to do much. I do see bits of green plastic getting stuck in the "teeth" of the sharpener, but it still feels pretty dull.

 

[jzmtl]

I use the "special" ski rubber bands (no doubt regular whatever-gauge rubber bands with a markup). The trick I realized (or someone told me) was to push down the part of the binding that your boot steps into. All of a sudden, securing brakes became a million times easier.

I got a couple of those with my sharpener, but I still prefer my cord. Maybe it's because I've been using those since I started ski tuning and got used to them, dunno.

 

[Monique]

I got a couple of those with my sharpener, but I still prefer my cord. Maybe it's because I've been using those since I started ski tuning and got used to them, dunno.

Whatever works!

 

[KingGrump]

I use the "special" ski rubber bands (no doubt regular whatever-gauge rubber bands with a markup). The trick I realized (or someone told me) was to push down the part of the binding that your boot steps into. All of a sudden, securing brakes became a million times easier.

How do you do that? I have a plastic (or whatever it is) scraper and I do run it against the sharpener, but it doesn't seem to do much. I do see bits of green plastic getting stuck in the "teeth" of the sharpener, but it still feels pretty dull.

For use as brake retainers, I get a box of #94 Rubber band from Amazon for $14/lb. About 140 pieces. Will last a while.



I cut my own scrapers from scrap pieces of plexiglass I have lying around. Usually cut about 30 pieces at a time with a table saw. I true them up with a large router on a router table. At home I use the router table setup with a fence offset for a 1/32" cut to sharpen them. Pretty standard wood working set up.



On the road, I use a Mantac scraper sharpener. It makes a mess though. I make sure I have a vacuum before I use it. Plastic shaving gets everywhere if not contained.



The manual units with the panzer files works OK. Not nearly as quick.

 

[Dwight]

 

[Monique]

For use as brake retainers, I get a box of #94 Rubber band from Amazon for $14/lb. About 140 pieces. Will last a while.

View attachment 31503

I cut my own scrapers from scrap pieces of plexiglass I have lying around. Usually cut about 30 pieces at a time with a table saw. I true them up with a large router on a router table. At home I use the router table setup with a fence offset for a 1/32" cut to sharpen them. Pretty standard wood working set up.

View attachment 31501

On the road, I use a Mantac scraper sharpener. It makes a mess though. I make sure I have a vacuum before I use it. Plastic shaving gets everywhere if not contained.

View attachment 31502

The manual units with the panzer files works OK. Not nearly as quick.

View attachment 31500 View attachment 31499

I have the red one. Maybe I'm doing it wrong .... how long should it take?

 

[KingGrump]

how long should it take?

A while.

Do the marker trick with the scraper edge like you would on the ski edge. Then you can monitor the progress. After doing that a few time, you will be tell if it is properly sharpen by feel without the marker.

Often, the error is too much downward pressure. Focus on the stroke. Let the panzer file do the cutting. Clean off the panzer file occasionally to clear the shaving will allow the file to cut cleanly. Don't wait for the scraper to real dull before sharpening. Touch up the scraper after each ski..