My mom taught me to mount and tune my own skis when I was 9. I'm 67 now and still tune my skis to some degree almost every day. This is the best ski tuning video I've seen. I live in Hokkaido and ski pretty much only powder and a little corn in spring so I don't get as detail oriented. But this is excellent. Great job, Wilson and thank you Deb for the best ski content on the internets. 😊
Fantastic video & great young man - if I could only get my U16 daughter to do her own skis like that. The 'reason' to first rub some wax onto the base before dripping more on with a hot iron is to provide the base with a tiny, tiny layer of broad protection from the heat of the iron before the large drops can melt and spread. The only step I didn't see being done is that after sharpening & polishing the edges, a tiny burr will overhang from the side edge past the base edge level - it can dramatically slow the ski while it glides. Take your finest stone, place it flat along the base and over the base edge, and very carefully and slowly move the stone along the base edge and remove this burr - it is critical to remove if you want maximum glide. It is very important NOT to do this aggressively and thereby increase your base level edge angle which will make the ski less responsive - you are just trying to remove this burr. You can feel this burr if you take your fingernail and move it from the inner base edge towards the outside edge of the base edge as it will overhang from the side edge that has been sharpened and then further polished. Some people incorrectly think that this is dulling the edge that you just spent time sharpening because if they feel the edge with the hand prior to doing this it will feel very sharp - and when you remove this burr it will feel less sharp - and thus people incorrectly think you have dulled the edge - when what you have in fact done is just brought the base edge where it meets the side edge into a non-jagged connection - it's that jagged connection that feels sharper to you but it's jaggedness just slows the ski when it is attempting to glide. Fantastic content Deb.
Wilson you are a great role model! My 8 year old son watched this video and he is inspired! Thank you Deb for all of your videos. We are heading to Colorado next winter.
Great job! I started at your age, worked as a tech for 15 years, tuned, trained, coached and rehabbed several memebers of the USST. Always clean your tools (a bowl full of hot water with car soap works well), never let your brushes touch anything but the base-bag them, pay more attention to your sidewalls...remember to wax them as you are on them more than your edges. :-). Big fan of FastStik!!! Ask them for some sideglide!!
Great job Wilson! And Deb! I love the meditation of the process and knowing that my skis are dialed in for me! Most of my friends say, “they are tools, not jewels.” I say, If I take care of my tools, they will take care of me!”
The future is bright! I agree, this was a pretty cool video of a wise young man. It is going to be fun to watch him continue to develop. Thanks for sharing and wish you the best...SkiStrong!!! Best, Jeff
This young man is on his way to becomthe ing one of the technical best. His use and demonstration of the tools is excellent. I don’t have enough space here to qualify myself but I’ve been around many years and my comment is always file from tip to tail and all finishing strokes including electric tools and brushes run from tip to tail never the opposite races are won in the stage by thousands not 100s keep up the great work Wilson I’d love to meet you someday Thomyt
Thank you Deb and Wilson. Very nice to see Wilson working on his skis. Started this year on my skis as well and it’s amazing how much a tune impacts the ski performance.
Interesting video. Can't say I agree with everything he did.. but the bottom line is if his skis perform the way he wants them too.. that's what really matters. Thanks for posting Deb.
Great job, Wilson! Keep your table clean and well organized, take a good care of your files, file guides and brushes (I keep each brush in his own marked bag and i never let the brush on the table after i use it - i put it in his bag). Good luck in your next races! Congrats Deb for the video! 👏🎿
Bravo!!! As always a kicker in my as... video, bravo Wilson!!! What a great job an dedication to tune up the skis, my tunings are nothing compared to that class, awesome!!! I will love to see a full tuning by Wilson. How he will do a scratched base? Definitely will be another master class, thanks Deb as always y grande Wilsooon!!! Vamos!!!
Great work Wilson! I wish I had bought the razor tune instead of the Evo. I think the Evo angle is not accurate, it's kinda tippy, and sometimes hard to move past the binding. I used to use water to lubricate my diamond stones and have switched to 99% alcohol with a needle tip squirt bottle. Less mess, no rust, and cleans. I struggle with being confident on what base bevel to use here in the east. My athlete is too inexperienced to give me good feedback and once you increase base bevel, you can't go back without a grind so I have been shy to move past 0.5 degree. I would welcome comments on base bevel. I use 3 and 0.5 on both GS and SL skis now. 2 and 0.75 on all mountain skis.
In the Nordic skiing world, we've stopped dripping the wax on and have moved to crayoning the wax on. Heat up the wax block on one end and crayon it onto the ski in short strokes. We waste less wax and get better, more even coverage.
@@Fritznn Of course you still need to iron the wax into the base of the ski. My comment was that rather than dripping the wax onto the base, we heat up the wax block and rub the wax onto the ski base. The result is better coverage of the entire ski base, and it requires less passes with the iron to melt in the wax which is better for the base material especially when using green or blue waxes which have a higher melting point.
Hi Deb: can you make a video (of giving a little tip) pls how much shoulder counterrotation on a turn is considered good in modern skiing when it is too much or too little? Are shoulders always pointing down or do they still face the side of the hill a little bit? I do the poles drill when I hold them in front of me and could make a correct adjustment from your advice. I notice that it is easier to ski when I counterrotate shoulders instead of being a solid upper /lower body "Brick" that faces the side of the mountain at the end of the turn. Also big thanks to Wilson
Deb - Question for you: having worked with Terry Watson at Swix a bit, the dominant way to work a file or honing stone was to pull the tool towards you - not to push the tool, which tends to scallop edges. Thoughts? Is that still best practice? Thanks.
Agree on Pull vs push, but also a big fan of young athletes tuning, discovering what works and what doesn't feel as good. Maybe a key to future success?
Currently working on my skis without a set of vices. They are pricy, but i definitely have to get some. Theres no way my tunes will be that good with wobbly skis.
After a couple of trips to the hill, I touch my edges up with the diamond files and may do a hotwax. At the beginning of the season, I have the shop do a full tune. One thing about the base bevel, it is easier to go from an aggressive bevel like .5 or .75 to a 1 than to go from a 1 to .5 or .75, because they would have to grind the base to get to .5 or .75 if you have an existing base bevel of 1.
Not sure if anyone is coming back to this after so long. File from tail to tip is fine for a rough file especially if the goal is to remove hardened spots quickly. For the diamond stone tune after tip to tail is preferred but it doesn't make a huge difference
My mom taught me to mount and tune my own skis when I was 9. I'm 67 now and still tune my skis to some degree almost every day. This is the best ski tuning video I've seen. I live in Hokkaido and ski pretty much only powder and a little corn in spring so I don't get as detail oriented. But this is excellent. Great job, Wilson and thank you Deb for the best ski content on the internets. 😊
Deb consistently proving why she’s one of the best UA-cam channels out there. Thank you! And thank you Wilson!
Fantastic video & great young man - if I could only get my U16 daughter to do her own skis like that. The 'reason' to first rub some wax onto the base before dripping more on with a hot iron is to provide the base with a tiny, tiny layer of broad protection from the heat of the iron before the large drops can melt and spread. The only step I didn't see being done is that after sharpening & polishing the edges, a tiny burr will overhang from the side edge past the base edge level - it can dramatically slow the ski while it glides. Take your finest stone, place it flat along the base and over the base edge, and very carefully and slowly move the stone along the base edge and remove this burr - it is critical to remove if you want maximum glide. It is very important NOT to do this aggressively and thereby increase your base level edge angle which will make the ski less responsive - you are just trying to remove this burr. You can feel this burr if you take your fingernail and move it from the inner base edge towards the outside edge of the base edge as it will overhang from the side edge that has been sharpened and then further polished. Some people incorrectly think that this is dulling the edge that you just spent time sharpening because if they feel the edge with the hand prior to doing this it will feel very sharp - and when you remove this burr it will feel less sharp - and thus people incorrectly think you have dulled the edge - when what you have in fact done is just brought the base edge where it meets the side edge into a non-jagged connection - it's that jagged connection that feels sharper to you but it's jaggedness just slows the ski when it is attempting to glide. Fantastic content Deb.
Deb this is so much fun to watch. Wilson is such an amazing young talent. His knowledge is amazing. Enjoy all his appearances in your UA-cam vlogs.
Wilson you are a great role model! My 8 year old son watched this video and he is inspired! Thank you Deb for all of your videos. We are heading to Colorado next winter.
Great job! I started at your age, worked as a tech for 15 years, tuned, trained, coached and rehabbed several memebers of the USST. Always clean your tools (a bowl full of hot water with car soap works well), never let your brushes touch anything but the base-bag them, pay more attention to your sidewalls...remember to wax them as you are on them more than your edges. :-). Big fan of FastStik!!! Ask them for some sideglide!!
I always bag my brushes. I was afraid that was overkill. Thanks for the reassurance, I had never heard this before.
Great job Wilson! And Deb! I love the meditation of the process and knowing that my skis are dialed in for me! Most of my friends say, “they are tools, not jewels.” I say, If I take care of my tools, they will take care of me!”
The future is bright! I agree, this was a pretty cool video of a wise young man. It is going to be fun to watch him continue to develop. Thanks for sharing and wish you the best...SkiStrong!!! Best, Jeff
Thanks Jeff
This guy has so much knowledge, love to see it!
Lol. I laughed at the "dad ran over my skis" comment.😂
OMG this kid is brilliant! He’s the baby Yoda of skiing! I learned a lot from him. Thanks again, Deb, for a really good video.
Very informative - I learnt a lot!! Thank you for making this one, kit maintenance is important.
This young man is on his way to becomthe ing one of the technical best. His use and demonstration of the tools is excellent. I don’t have enough space here to qualify myself but I’ve been around many years and my comment is always file from tip to tail and all finishing strokes including electric tools and brushes run from tip to tail never the opposite races are won in the stage by thousands not 100s keep up the great work Wilson I’d love to meet you someday Thomyt
Thank you Deb and Wilson. Very nice to see Wilson working on his skis. Started this year on my skis as well and it’s amazing how much a tune impacts the ski performance.
Interesting video. Can't say I agree with everything he did.. but the bottom line is if his skis perform the way he wants them too.. that's what really matters. Thanks for posting Deb.
Thank you so much for the video. Just tried skiing for the first time and I’m hooked and really determined can’t wait to practice more!!
Great job, Wilson! Keep your table clean and well organized, take a good care of your files, file guides and brushes (I keep each brush in his own marked bag and i never let the brush on the table after i use it - i put it in his bag). Good luck in your next races! Congrats Deb for the video! 👏🎿
Thank You for making this, answered my questions!!
Bravo!!! As always a kicker in my as... video, bravo Wilson!!! What a great job an dedication to tune up the skis, my tunings are nothing compared to that class, awesome!!! I will love to see a full tuning by Wilson. How he will do a scratched base? Definitely will be another master class, thanks Deb as always y grande Wilsooon!!! Vamos!!!
It was great to say hi to you yesterday .
Great job!
You can already do some $$$ with this knowledge and skills. I'll show this film to my 13yr old.
Good job. Keep on keepin on ! Great video Deb😎
WOW! WHAT A CLINIC
Wilson you're a little star! 👍
amazing young man, hope to see him at world cup one day
Great work Wilson! I wish I had bought the razor tune instead of the Evo. I think the Evo angle is not accurate, it's kinda tippy, and sometimes hard to move past the binding. I used to use water to lubricate my diamond stones and have switched to 99% alcohol with a needle tip squirt bottle. Less mess, no rust, and cleans. I struggle with being confident on what base bevel to use here in the east. My athlete is too inexperienced to give me good feedback and once you increase base bevel, you can't go back without a grind so I have been shy to move past 0.5 degree. I would welcome comments on base bevel. I use 3 and 0.5 on both GS and SL skis now. 2 and 0.75 on all mountain skis.
Very impressive 👍
Еле еле понимаю по английски, но и так видно малой ,,Мужик,, работяга !!! Просмотрел без перемоток 😂 уважуха
Nice! Love it
Thank you.. I learned a lot..
Great!!!
In the Nordic skiing world, we've stopped dripping the wax on and have moved to crayoning the wax on. Heat up the wax block on one end and crayon it onto the ski in short strokes. We waste less wax and get better, more even coverage.
I do it that way too. It keeps the wax layer thin so not too much heated wax that could heat up the base and skis
You need the temperature of the iron to get the perfect bound between your base and wax the wax stick itself is too cold to sink in.⛷️💨
Yup we've been crayoning for years
@@chadridsdale9970 seems like it!;)
@@Fritznn Of course you still need to iron the wax into the base of the ski. My comment was that rather than dripping the wax onto the base, we heat up the wax block and rub the wax onto the ski base. The result is better coverage of the entire ski base, and it requires less passes with the iron to melt in the wax which is better for the base material especially when using green or blue waxes which have a higher melting point.
Wow! Just wow!
How often do you stone the base edge? Noticed you only did side edge. Good for you on taking care of your equipment
Hi Deb: can you make a video (of giving a little tip) pls how much shoulder counterrotation on a turn is considered good in modern skiing when it is too much or too little? Are shoulders always pointing down or do they still face the side of the hill a little bit? I do the poles drill when I hold them in front of me and could make a correct adjustment from your advice. I notice that it is easier to ski when I counterrotate shoulders instead of being a solid upper /lower body "Brick" that faces the side of the mountain at the end of the turn. Also big thanks to Wilson
Wilson is such a smart and responsible teen. Does he have a UA-cam channel so we can follow his races?
Not at the moment. Good thought
what a cool dude
Deb - Question for you: having worked with Terry Watson at Swix a bit, the dominant way to work a file or honing stone was to pull the tool towards you - not to push the tool, which tends to scallop edges. Thoughts? Is that still best practice? Thanks.
Agree on Pull vs push, but also a big fan of young athletes tuning, discovering what works and what doesn't feel as good. Maybe a key to future success?
Any thoughts on the DPS Phantom?
Currently working on my skis without a set of vices. They are pricy, but i definitely have to get some. Theres no way my tunes will be that good with wobbly skis.
Cool! Is that glass of water nearby for drinking- just thinking of debris flying into it🧐 never mind😅 -i see that you're using it to clean your tools
Anyone know the brand/model of that sidewall planer?
Swix
Go Buckeyes!
Cool, anyone know of a decent, reasonable kit on amazon?
After a couple of trips to the hill, I touch my edges up with the diamond files and may do a hotwax. At the beginning of the season, I have the shop do a full tune. One thing about the base bevel, it is easier to go from an aggressive bevel like .5 or .75 to a 1 than to go from a 1 to .5 or .75, because they would have to grind the base to get to .5 or .75 if you have an existing base bevel of 1.
Just curious, why he Pushed the file from the Tail to Tip? Shouldn't it be the opposite way?
Not sure, it works for him
Not sure if anyone is coming back to this after so long. File from tail to tip is fine for a rough file especially if the goal is to remove hardened spots quickly. For the diamond stone tune after tip to tail is preferred but it doesn't make a huge difference