Budget tuning bench

[TexasGortex]

What do you guys use for a tuning bench? I'm thinking of something along the lines of sawhorses I can put away when not in use. Waxing will obviously be the most common use.

I have all the supplies, just no work surface. I've been spoiled working in shops as a tech for years, so I just did my stuff after hours and used their benches and clamps. I no longer have enough time for a second job, so I had to quit. Not looking forward to paying for mounts and tunes. I'll have to invest in a bunch of six packs for bribery.

Or am I missing some kind of easy no bench technique?

[XXX-er]

I use a black & decker workmate for the bench

I made a with a jig made from some 2x10 for the base and some 2x4 blocks on the ends with climbing skin on the face to stick the skis ,hold the ski in place with some rope

the work mate folds up and hangs on the wall and so does the jig

[stuckathuntermtn]

sawhorses would seem like a good idea, but you'd need an extra one in the middle somewhere. If there's nothing holding the middle, the ski just sags as you scrape. You also need something to hold it still, which can also be the something that holds it in the middle.
Any kind of bench/bookcase turned sideways/whatever, with blocks and/or a vice of some kind. I have a cheap ski vise, and it honestly sucks, especially with wider skis. And I had to use a bungee of some kind around the binding to hold it still. The bungee can work very well, but you still need something to hold the ski up and that has friction or stickiness. Somebody also posted a picture of some kind of uber-rubberband that attached to the skibrake and was held on to the desk somehow. Can't remember who, but it's a great idea.

[plurpimpin]

I Tune my skis on top of my washing machine and dryer. It's ghetto and makes a mess out of them but it works. I have a buddy that uses saw horses and a narrow sheet of plywood with a vice bolted to it. Thats probably your best bet.

[TexasGortex]

I was definitely thinking 3 sawhorses opposed to 2 if I went that route.

I like this plywood + vice idea. I'll sit on it a few days and think about going that direction.

[hutash]

B & D work bench, or saw horses, then make a stand for the skies. Two rectangles of plywood at the end of two 2x4s. Cut a couple of vertical (or angled) notches to hold the ski edge up for edge tuning. works like a champ and better then any expensive clamps. I got the idea from skifishbum so he may have a picture from when he was tuning at Sillytude.

I can take a picture if anybody is interested, but it is pretty simple.

[Bosco]

There gots 2b many threads covering this. Did you try searching, or do you want everyone to treat you special and rehash it for you?

[Sinecure]

I have one of these that I got at Home Depot for around $25.



Then I bought a piece of 1x6 scrap at Home depot and bolted it to the top of the saw horse. Total cost, including all the hardware was still less than $30. The legs fold up and I can lean it in the corner of the garage. It isn't the most stable, nor the lightest solution out there, but it is portable, cheap and functional.

You could skip the piece of wood and just mount your vise right to the sawhorse, but then you'll drip more wax on the floor, and not have a place to set down your tools, wax and iron.

[MontuckyFried]

I have one of these that I got at Home Depot for around $25.



Then I bought a piece of 1x6 scrap at Home depot and bolted it to the top of the saw horse. Total cost, including all the hardware was still less than $30. The legs fold up and I can lean it in the corner of the garage. It isn't the most stable, nor the lightest solution out there, but it is portable, cheap and functional.

You could skip the piece of wood and just mount your vise right to the sawhorse, but then you'll drip more wax on the floor, and not have a place to set down your tools, wax and iron.

This is precisely what I did. It's nice, because the legs fold up and stow underneath it, so it works for small apartments. Just throw a drop cloth or tarp underneath, though. Thankfully my new rental house came with a hudge work bench! If you were up here, I'd give you my old one.

[miahw2828]

I just use two large plastic bins of the same height, just far aprt from each other for the bindings to sit in the middle. They are filled with shit and stay pretty stable during scraping. Obviously not ideal but gets the job done.

[Socialist]

I drop a piece of plywood on top of my desk, and it clamps onto the desk using the ski vices. I need to remove the desk drawers to fit the clamps on.

[TripleT]

i was going to make a variation of this:
http://skitracks.wordpress.com/2010/...-tuning-bench/

but then got a deal here on some vices and a lasso clamp...works pretty well.

[Mailman]

I went with a black and decker work mate. $30 for that plus a couple of bucks for a 6' length of 2 x 4 and I was set. Use the mechanism on the work mate to clamp the 2 x 4, attach a cheap ski vice to each end and its not bad set up (for someone who has no space at least). The only issue is it's occasionally a little unstable right a the end of a wax scrape if you're using too much pressure.

[XXX-er]

B & D work bench, or saw horses, then make a stand for the skies. Two rectangles of plywood at the end of two 2x4s. Cut a couple of vertical (or angled) notches to hold the ski edge up for edge tuning. works like a champ and better then any expensive clamps. I got the idea from skifishbum so he may have a picture from when he was tuning at Sillytude.

.

I did the same thing, I didnt realize it at the time when I picked the arbitray figure of 42 " base for the base of my jig but it means the jig will be small enough to hold a snowboard as well as a 190 cm ski,for anybody wondering WTF we are talking about it looks like this

|_____|

I used 2x6 for the end rectangles which gives more clearance for higher binding stacks and gives you more surface to nail some scrap climbing skin glue side UP

a piece of rope around the binding held with a sailing cleat or some vice grips will secure the ski, zap it all togetehr with drywall screws ... works very well & is very cheap

[Fat Mike]

I used 2x6 for the end rectangles which gives more clearance for higher binding stacks and gives you more surface to nail some scrap climbing skin glue side UP

a piece of rope around the binding held with a sailing cleat or some vice grips will secure the ski, zap it all togetehr with drywall screws ... works very well & is very cheap

Sounds like a decent setup. Any chance you could post up a pic? I think I have the idea but the visual would be great

[RShea]

I use one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/folding...egs-47844.html

along with 2 of these for supporting the ski tips and tails:

http://www.harborfreight.com/132-lb-...and-95621.html

[TexasGortex]

There gots 2b many threads covering this. Did you try searching, or do you want everyone to treat you special and rehash it for you?

I'm sure there is, but I sure as shit couldn't find it. Plus, who doesn't like feeling special?

Thanks for the tips guys. The Harbor Freight solution is surprisingly cheap, small, and multipurpose.

But this thing http://skitracks.wordpress.com/2010/...-tuning-bench/ looks killer. I'm thinking I will build one.

[LC]

This works for me.

[Tye 1on]

This works for me.

This looks perfect. Thanks. Also, completely support your organizational system.

[MarcusBrody]

I just use two chairs and lay the skis across them. Certainly not the most efficient and I wouldn't want to drill, but it works and doesn't add any extra gear to my packed apartment.

[Socialist]

I just use two chairs and lay the skis across them. Certainly not the most efficient and I wouldn't want to drill, but it works and doesn't add any extra gear to my packed apartment.

are the wax shavings a pain in your apartment?
I no longer have a garage and have resorted to waxing in my kitchen. I lay out plastic sheets - like dexter. It works, but its a pain. At a previous place I almost turned some painted wooden steps into a death machine if you were wearing wool socks.

[swerve]

I built a work bench with folding table legs. Not the cheapest but its plenty stabe and can be used for more than just tuning skis. Also easy to fold up and get out of the way.

[Alpinord]

-StableMate foldable sawhorse
-bolt on an off center 16" x 48" x 3/4" plywood top w/slots (or t-tracks) routed for vises with knobs
-attach bins, hooks, cords, etc below

Put two together for a larger surface:

[hutash]

are the wax shavings a pain in your apartment?
I no longer have a garage and have resorted to waxing in my kitchen. I lay out plastic sheets - like dexter. It works, but its a pain. At a previous place I almost turned some painted wooden steps into a death machine if you were wearing wool socks.

Wax your skis, wax your floors. Sounds like win/win to me.

[Lamothe]

picked this up yesterday at canadian tire . 17$ winning

it folds away, closes right on the bindings , its seriously perfect for those low on space