Sidewall Planer. Do I need it?

[Jerez]

I think I rounded my edges last time I sharpened them because of sidewall material getting in the way. I only edge (diamond stones) and wax between professional tunes and base grinds, so i haven't purchased a sidewall planer. I do have a fanvy carbon steel file that was a gift. Can I just use it? Will it cut the sidewall and reset the edge, or do I need to pony up for a new tool? And, if so, is a basic model OK, or will it not be precise?

 

[Fuller]

Set up correctly the planer removes just enough material to expose the edge, leaves a nice clean shaved sidewall and you won't bugger up the bevel. Worth the money IMO. Can you do it with a file? sure but the right tool is fun to have.

 

[François Pugh]

yes

 

[Primoz]

Well... yes and no As soon as you want to use normal file on edge, you need it. But if you just do skis with bastard file, it's coarse enough to cut also sidewall and aluminium above the edge and still file the edge. Of course that's far from what I would recommend, as first, you file way too much edge away this way and skis last less because of this, and second, end result of filing edge this way is worse then it's when using finer file.

 

[chilehed]

I've used one of my wickedly sharp wood chisels, but a real sidewall planer would have been easier.

 

[Dakine]

If you are going to be tuning skis regularly you need on as much as you need a ski vise.

 

[focker]

I spent the $30+ on one from Amazon (swix) and it worked amazing well. It does take some time to get to know how to use it and set it up correctly.

Weird tool as you really only use it once. I did my son's race skis with it as they had a huge amount of sidewall on them. Next I'll do my skis (likely next year) and then probably won't use it again until we buy new skis. My other family members skis are cap skis and they won't even need planing.

 

[cantunamunch]

Or ...if you have ABS sidewalls you can always try the nail polish remover method.

 

[Dakine]

You could probably take them off with a piece of small diameter det cord....

 

[focker]

The one thing that's nice about the sidewall planer is it cuts the sidewall so cleanly. I tried doing it some at first with a file and was just making a mess out of it.

 

[KevinF]

A 7 degree side-edge guide and a coarse file seemed to do the trick for me...

A true sidewall planar seems like one of those tools that probably make the job easier if you're prepping a lot of skis, but if you're doing it once every "rarely" you'll never get the hang of setting it up "right".

 

[Doug Briggs]

The one thing that's nice about the sidewall planer is it cuts the sidewall so cleanly. I tried doing it some at first with a file and was just making a mess out of it.

Except when it doesn't. An improperly set or implemented sidewall planer can produce a serious case of the jaggies on the sidewall that can't easily be undone. The hardest part is that every ski has a slightly different sidewall material, configuration and condition. Use care with planers and practice like crazy.

 

[François Pugh]

I've done it with the file and a 7 degree guide. I've done it with the sidewall planer. There is no doubt in my mind, the sidewall planer is the way to go.

 

[focker]

Except when it doesn't. An improperly set or implemented sidewall planer can produce a serious case of the jaggies on the sidewall that can't easily be undone. The hardest part is that every ski has a slightly different sidewall material, configuration and condition. Use care with planers and practice like crazy.

Correct. I mentioned that in my first post. Much care must be taken when setting up the tool. I made a slight cut first, then went back and did a deeper cut after that as a follow up. The one I have allows for very slight adjustments and can be set up to very exact cutting. Works well in that regard.

Once you have it set up correctly it works like a charm and it strangely satisfying to use

 

[cantunamunch]

Correct. I mentioned that in my first post. Much care must be taken when setting up the tool. I made a slight cut first, then went back and did a deeper cut after that as a follow up. The one I have allows for very slight adjustments and can be set up to very exact cutting. Works well in that regard.

Once you have it set up correctly it works like a charm and it strangely satisfying to use

I can just see it now - in 20 years we'll have no snow at all but we'll have sidewall planing competitions like with Japanese pull planes.

 

[Primoz]

Weird tool as you really only use it once. I did my son's race skis with it as they had a huge amount of sidewall on them. Next I'll do my skis (likely next year) and then probably won't use it again until we buy new skis. My other family members skis are cap skis and they won't even need planing.

That's not entirely true. You should remove so much of sidewall (fenol and aluminium above edge) that you can file the edge. Not that you can file edge for rest of your life, but 2, 3 times max. Alu and fenol above edge, gives some extra support for the edge, so it's good to leave them there as much as possible. So if you are doing things right, you need sidewall planner almost everytime you file edges of your skis.

 

[Jerez]

Except when it doesn't. An improperly set or implemented sidewall planer can produce a serious case of the jaggies on the sidewall that can't easily be undone. The hardest part is that every ski has a slightly different sidewall material, configuration and condition. Use care with planers and practice like crazy.

How do I "practice"? (on my husband's skis? )

 

[cantunamunch]

How do I "practice"? (on my husband's skis? )

Or thrift store ones, whichever are cheaper/more of a crime to take seriously.

 

[Jacques]

That's not entirely true. You should remove so much of sidewall (fenol and aluminium above edge) that you can file the edge. Not that you can file edge for rest of your life, but 2, 3 times max. Alu and fenol above edge, gives some extra support for the edge, so it's good to leave them there as much as possible. So if you are doing things right, you need sidewall planner almost everytime you file edges of your skis.

^ What he said. Truth.

 

[Fuller]

I can just see it now - in 20 years we'll have no snow at all but we'll have sidewall planing competitions like with Japanese pull planes.

I once spent and hour or two watching YouTube vids of the Japanese planing competitions. Those guys are way deep into the whole art of planing wood. Judges running around with micrometers and veneer cut to about 9 mils or something, see-through coils 2 meters long, they are just fanatical about stuff like that. And there's a whole auditorium dedicated to it! You really have to admire a culture that still values those skills in a public way.

So yeah, get the damn planer, we have a lot of catching up to do!