Stone Grinds. Do you do it?

[schindlerpiste]

First, I must admit that I don't know too much about stone grinds. Realistically, I have never thought about stone grinding skis that have no core shots, or require PTEX repair. I'm sure that a new pattern in a base once in a while is not a super bad thing, but I always thought that grinds don't do much, other than eat away at the base.
Is the collective pro or con stone grind? How often do you do it? I know some people who do it 2x/year. I always thought that for recreational schralping, that is just insane.

[Skidog]

I typically grind when damaged, however if you have dedicated spring skis putting a structure that prohibits the "suck" to snow factor is much recco'd. YMMV.

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[XXX-er]

I had a grind done on a monatana saphir machine on a very evil handling rail high ski and it made a big difference in the handling

Yes i could had filed it by hand but this M/C did a better job in about 10 minutes than I ever could have and I would probably still be working on that ski 10 yars later

YMMV but I don't bother with stone grinds unless the skis have a real problem

[detuned]

i lean more towards nay on a stone grind, especially if your skis feel alright on the snow

worked in a shop for a bit and it was 9/10 edge and wax vs full tune, the only time i sold a full grind tune was when there was significant damage on a fairly newer ski, even more so if the customer only skied that ski

i check my own skis from time to time with a true bar, never had the need to fix railed or base high ski which for me would be the only reason i'd want a grind and stone structure

if the bases are flat, wax is the best thing for em

[singlecross]

I stone grind everything, new/used/whatever, when I first get it to baseline it flat. Add edge bevels by hand and then maintain them from there. Only ever grind again for post core shot/ deep ptex repairs. Longtime buddy owns a shop so it's cheap/ free, so that's nice.

[gregL]

I stone grind everything, new/used/whatever, when I first get it to baseline it flat. Add edge bevels by hand and then maintain them from there. Only ever grind again for post core shot/ deep ptex repairs. Longtime buddy owns a shop so it's cheap/ free, so that's nice.

Me too. Don't really do it for maintenance unless there is base/edge damage I can't fix by hand; don't change structure for spring. Last 5 pairs of new skis also got Phantom base treatment.

[bodywhomper]

I’m trying out the skivisions guy’s koolaid and incorporating a few quick passes with my stone tool on the base when I’m doing polishing and touching up the edges.

[glademaster]

I get my bases stone ground twice a year. Winter snow structure and spring snow structure.

Also, I usually get a full tune with a stone grind on each new pair of skis before I ski them. I didn't do that with my most recent pair and regret it. Well worth the $60-80 to not form a shitty first impression of a ski.

[twat]

i only stonegrind after ptex repairs. if the garage repairs take over appr 33% off base and then its time for a grind.
never for maintenance.
new skies get serviced straight away and i also set base bevels by hand.
rest is just keep up by hand.

if spring is around the corner and a ski goes for service i tell them to but more structure.

[telepariah]

I usually don't unless as other have stated, there is a serious problem with the ski. I keep my skis waxed, scraped, and brushed. I keep my edges smooth more than sharp since I am really only interested in skiing soft snow. I don't need or like the feel of skis that are race room sharp. So I would detune them again in any case. I had a pair of custom skis for testing arrive wickedly railed and I tried to flatten them with a panzer file, soon gave up, and had them stone ground before I ever skied on them. That's the only one in recent memory.

[CaliBrit]

I’m trying out the skivisions guy’s koolaid and incorporating a few quick passes with my stone tool on the base when I’m doing polishing and touching up the edges.

Do you strip the wax first as per instructions? I guess after 4-5 days skiing there’s not really any wax left anyway.

[Cocximus]

Never, less material to chip away with rocks. If it's deep ptex, if it's superficial... wax.

[waxloaf]

Do you strip the wax first as per instructions? I guess after 4-5 days skiing there’s not really any wax left anyway.

Yeah I think if you’ve got a couple days of use on then it doesn’t need to be stripped. Otherwise I would strip wax, or else presumably you aren’t actually grinding the base and are just stripping wax with the stone


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[bodywhomper]

Do you strip the wax first as per instructions? I guess after 4-5 days skiing there’s not really any wax left anyway.

Yeah I think if you’ve got a couple days of use on then it doesn’t need to be stripped. Otherwise I would strip wax, or else presumably you aren’t actually grinding the base and are just stripping wax with the stone

i'm still learning the tool a bit. i've stripped wax if the wax is recent and have not removed wax if they've had several days of skiing on them, which worked well except for my wife's base-high skis. For those, i used a wax remover solution, but ended up getting down into wax that was apparently deeper in the sintered base, which then got into my stone. if i had to do it again for a ski that is pretty base high, i'd get the new base flattener attachment and an aggressive file for removing significant base material, and I would stop part way through the work and use the wax remover to make sure that i wasn't clogging up my cutting surface.

[lowsparkco]

I think the idea that a high quality stone is shortening the life of your ski is largely a misnomer. I ground an old pair of K2's once a week for two seasons, sometimes running them through repeatedly after a repair and it took well over 150 passes to thin the bases out. Adding structure helps to hold wax and a base grind with a side edge makes skis feel brand new again. If you have access to a stone for a reasonable fee definitely take advantage.

[buttahflake]

Yeah, for sure. I grind mine all the time. I hate freezer burn. Skis will lose their pop way before you will ever burn the base. So you might as well keep them flat and fast.

[robertrs]

I think all points expressed are valid, I have been surprised when a tech put a true bar on skis that had no real damage but were not flat. Techs have told me wide skis seem to need more base flattening than skis of yesteryear.

[old goat]

I get a stone grind if my edges are bad enough that I think I need to reset them from the bases which means the base must first be flattened and stone ground first. Or sometimes if the bases are so mangled I just can't stand the look of them. I do my own core shots and the like. I don't get a grind after that, just make sure the repair is flush with the rest of the base.

May I suggest a good quality engineer's square instead of a true bar. A very valuable tool to have around the shop for things other than checking ski bottoms.

[babybear]

my husband yells "stone grind" to me every time I ski thru the parking lot directly to the car

and I yell back "tools not jewels"

[jmedslc]

I ski them w factory/existing tune then will usually get a tucker tune which usually includes a grind to establish a good structure and any other adjustments we talk about.

hell, i might even Phantom this couple of new pairs i have comin up here pre spring

[jmedslc]

Yeah, for sure. I grind mine all the time. I hate freezer burn. Skis will lose their pop way before you will ever burn the base. So you might as well keep them flat and fast.

haha i have some second (third?) hand DPS hybrid wailers (awesome ski btw) that have some really low spots on the base - can almost see through it to the core. heheheh

[snowaddict91]

my husband yells "stone grind" to me every time I ski thru the parking lot directly to the car

and I yell back "tools not jewels"

My wife told me yesterday "you don't get new skis because you trashed them skiing through the parking lot."

[babybear]

My wife told me yesterday "you don't get new skis because you trashed them skiing through the parking lot."

we live in snowy enough places that it's ok. more efficient really
these spouses belong in the OCD thread

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Everyday I ski at Magic my skis get a stone grind.

[DeepHelmet]

I'll usually do a full tune once a year on them. That includes a stone grind. It takes so little material off I think I'll wear skis out with my fat ass before they get too thin. If it's a long spring season with a lot of really we spring snow then I'll do it again, makes a HUGE difference in high water content snow in May-June.