Snowboard tuning
It’s pretty much impossible to sharpen the base edge without either changing the edge bevel or getting a base grind.
I’ve been wondering about this. Is the reason because you’d be removing material from the edge, then the base would be sticking up higher, ie. you’d need to remove base material to make it all the same level?
It also seems to me that if your edge has become a bit rounded off, say through natural wear, then you’re going to have to remove steel from both the side edge and base edge to make it truly square and sharp again.
The blue bit that runs at right angles to the file should go flat against the base.
Where is the 88deg printed? I can’t really visualise what you’re describing, but it should be on the side that’s closest to the side of the guide that you’re using.
Thanks mate.
If you have a look at the photo I attached it has 90 written just below the file (above the dakine though) If I flip the whole thing over it has an 88 instead of a 90. What I’m trying to work out is which side should be facing me to tune an 88 edge? If I have the base facing me (and going by what you have said the blue bit will be sliding along the base) should the 90 be looking at me (putting the 88 face down against the actual base) or the other way around with the 88 looking at me?
It’s pretty much impossible to sharpen the base edge without either changing the edge bevel or getting a base grind.
I’ve been wondering about this. Is the reason because you’d be removing material from the edge, then the base would be sticking up higher, ie. you’d need to remove base material to make it all the same level?
It also seems to me that if your edge has become a bit rounded off, say through natural wear, then you’re going to have to remove steel from both the side edge and base edge to make it truly square and sharp again.
Correct on both counts.
The blue bit that runs at right angles to the file should go flat against the base.
Where is the 88deg printed? I can’t really visualise what you’re describing, but it should be on the side that’s closest to the side of the guide that you’re using.
Thanks mate.
If you have a look at the photo I attached it has 90 written just below the file (above the dakine though) If I flip the whole thing over it has an 88 instead of a 90. What I’m trying to work out is which side should be facing me to tune an 88 edge? If I have the base facing me (and going by what you have said the blue bit will be sliding along the base) should the 90 be looking at me (putting the 88 face down against the actual base) or the other way around with the 88 looking at me?
I see it now. Had a quick look before but I must have missed it.
Yes, if you want to sharpen at 88deg, the 88deg should be pressed up against the base, with the 90deg visible to you.
I see it now. Had a quick look before but I must have missed it.
Yes, if you want to sharpen at 88deg, the 88deg should be pressed up against the base, with the 90deg visible to you.
Fantastic I’ll feel much more confident doing it now knowing it’s facing the right way.. It was surprisingly hard to find any form of instructions to use such a simple device. Here I come super sharp edges!
Yeh i plan to give my board a go tonight! Pretty sure the nose/tail of my board havent been de-tuned cos they look exactly the same as the other edges. Is it generally a good idea to wax after tuning?
Either way I’m going to have to go buy some wax sooner or later as apparently the “complete” waxing and tuning kit doesnt come with wax…
It’s pretty much impossible to sharpen the base edge without either changing the edge bevel or getting a base grind.
I’ve been wondering about this. Is the reason because you’d be removing material from the edge, then the base would be sticking up higher, ie. you’d need to remove base material to make it all the same level?
It also seems to me that if your edge has become a bit rounded off, say through natural wear, then you’re going to have to remove steel from both the side edge and base edge to make it truly square and sharp again.
Correct on both counts.
I’m gonna disagree on count 2, mainly cause I can and partly cause I’m just 
, but I reckon that in order to round ya edge out that much so that it can’t be recovered by only sharpening one edge (ie Side Edge), you would have had to do some serious wear of the metal!!!!!
A standard worn edge is probably only measured in Microns, so even if you remove ~ 1/10 of a mm, you will recover that edge!!!!!
Count 1 though, that’s the only way to do it!!!!! But like I said before, you can do very light passes that only remove the heavy burrs etc, using a Base Edge Guide!!!!!
There is also a Sidewall Removing File & Guide also available, that shaves the sidewall to match whatever Sidewall needs to be taken off to suit your filed Side Edge!!!!!
I’ve got one of these for the Base Edge/Sidewall work!!!!! (Different “File” used for the Sidewall)
Yeh i plan to give my board a go tonight! Pretty sure the nose/tail of my board havent been de-tuned cos they look exactly the same as the other edges. Is it generally a good idea to wax after tuning?
Either way I’m going to have to go buy some wax sooner or later as apparently the “complete” waxing and tuning kit doesnt come with wax…
Yes, wax after you de-tune the nose and tail (and any other filing for that matter), then make sure you wipe all the little particles of metal off the whole board with a clean cloth!!!!! These particles will rust and leave marks and/or cause damage to your boards base!!!!!
Make sure you use a good flourinated wax, and don’t use heaps to start with!!!!! You can always dripp more on, but once it’s on you’ll just waste the excess by scraping it all off into the bin!!!!!
I found Blue Swix is a good all-round wax to use, after I couldn’t get Oneballjay X_Wax Flouro here, and rider26 recommended it as a replacement!!!!!
I see it now. Had a quick look before but I must have missed it.
Yes, if you want to sharpen at 88deg, the 88deg should be pressed up against the base, with the 90deg visible to you.
Fantastic I’ll feel much more confident doing it now knowing it’s facing the right way.. It was surprisingly hard to find any form of instructions to use such a simple device. Here I come super sharp edges!
Also Dave, if you look at the “Built up Fins” on the guide, the 88˚ will have longer “Fins” than the other side, and hence give a more Acute Angle!!!!!
In this pic you’ll see the “Fins” are longer at the top right, than they are at the bottom right!!!!! The longer ones denotes a sharper angle and therefore the 88˚ side!!!!!
As for the Magnatraction, I’d get the file guide, or if ya keen ya can cut a file into a small enough section (About Half of the length of ya File that’s in your DaKine Guide now), as it is harder to get into the valleys of the Magne properly with the DaKine one!!!!! (I had a TRice a couple of years ago)
Thanks mate.
I actually just got in from having a go at it before I noticed your post. Spent ages going over the base edge with a variety of gummy stones but I think it’s beyond repair in spots with super deep cuts.
Used the edging tool and it’s definitely removed some metal and if nothing else taken some of the serrated edges off it. I’m a little unsure about the end result. When I first got my charlie slasher I was nervous carrying the board without gloves as the edges felt really sharp. I was kind of hoping for a similar result on this board. It’s definitely not as sharp as it was. I can’t tell if it’s better or worse than it was pre-tune but if nothing else it’s “smoother” now.
Meh this board will get me through the rest of the season and be retired to rock hopper status after that, it’s bee a brutal season for boards!
Maybe you’ve accidently de-tuned the edges with the gummy stone over a period?????
That’s why in one my earlier posts in this thread, I said that I prefer to use the File Guide at a very light pressure to clean up any burrs that I get on my edges!!!!!
Maybe for an experienced Technician the old “By Hand” method is better, but I just trust a guide for keepin the angle nice and clean?????
Maybe if it’s gonna be a Rock Hopper, shave a little more off????? The original Side Edge Angle may have been different to the 88, and therefore you will have to shave off more in order to get it sharp anyways?????
Yeh i plan to give my board a go tonight! Pretty sure the nose/tail of my board havent been de-tuned cos they look exactly the same as the other edges. Is it generally a good idea to wax after tuning?
Either way I’m going to have to go buy some wax sooner or later as apparently the “complete” waxing and tuning kit doesnt come with wax…
Yes, wax after you de-tune the nose and tail (and any other filing for that matter), then make sure you wipe all the little particles of metal off the whole board with a clean cloth!!!!! These particles will rust and leave marks and/or cause damage to your boards base!!!!!
Make sure you use a good flourinated wax, and don’t use heaps to start with!!!!! You can always dripp more on, but once it’s on you’ll just waste the excess by scraping it all off into the bin!!!!!
I found Blue Swix is a good all-round wax to use, after I couldn’t get Oneballjay X_Wax Flouro here, and rider26 recommended it as a replacement!!!!!
Thanks heaps for all the advice!
Popped down to the snowboard store this afternoon (I’m lucky enough to work about 10 mins away from one!) and the guy recommended the oneballjay x-wax, so good to hear it was a good choice!
out of curiosity how many uses would you usually get out of one lot of wax? It doesnt look like much in the pack but then i imagine it spreads pretty thin!
You should get about 30 waxes out of a block of that!!!!!
You’ll probably use more than you need the first couple of times, but you’ll soon work it out!!!!!
And your edges are more likely to “dry out” more than the center of the base, so add a few more drops concentrated on the edges!!!!!
Or even heat the wax on the irons surface, then crayon it onto the base, then Orion it in!!!!!
Whatever way you go, it’s cheaper than a shop wax, and in a weird way kinda rewarding to do it yaself!!!!!
Finally got around to doing my board. I think I did an alright job! There was a pretty deep nick in the nose of my board which i couldnt really do anything about but otherwise it was pretty straight forward. Gave it a wax as well so it’s all ready for the shred!
I did notice that after i waxed it (i watched the tutorial first - it was very helpful btw!) it seems to be heaps smoother than when i got it done at the snowboard place. Both times they’ve done it it’s had really noticeable lines down the base and if i scratched at it wax would come off, where as after i finished it looked a lot smoother and like there was no wax on it with only really faint, fine lines. Not sure if I’ve done it wrong or whether i was just more meticulous considering it is my board..
Nice one, air!!!!!
It sounds like ya did a perfect job!!!!! 