How to Tune a Snowboard

Every snowboarder must have knowledge of his own snowboard, as this helps keep it in perfect shape and working order. The ability to maneuver while snowboarding goes up greatly when it is tuned regularly.

If you are hiring someone to tune your snowboard for you, it is imperative that you choose the right person for the job. Make sure you do your research on the person well, and that he has a good reputation. A snowboard is an expensive piece of equipment, and you should not be careless with its maintenance, repair, and tuning.

Tuning a snowboard basically involves waxing the board, so as to reduce friction, and make the board go faster and smoother. The functionality of the snowboard increases, its durability rises, and it becomes a more thrilling experience to ride on a tuned up snowboard.

When you are setting out to tune your snowboard's edges, it is necessary to first take off the bindings on it. Use a clean towel dabbed with base cleaner to clean the base and its edges, and get rid of any dirt or dust that may be there.

The snowboard needs to be placed on a workbench of sorts that has some vices that can hold it in place. Now, use a deburring stone, and smoothen out all irregularities that you can see on the surface of the board. Carry out this process for the edges as well.

Now, what you need to do is sharpen the edges of the board using an edge tool or a file. The angles on the edges are known as bevels, and these bevels determine the dynamics of the board. A 90-degree angle is typically used by beginners, and 89, 88, and progressively lesser angles for more advanced boarders.

Use clean long strokes for this purpose, and pretty soon your snowboard will have smooth edges to enable you achieve better results during turns. Tuning the edge is relatively simple, but getting down to doing it requires patience, experience, and a lot of love and affection for your board.

Once the edges are done, run the deburring stone along the edges again to ensure that they are clean and smooth.

After you are done with the edges, start with the base. This step is possibly the easiest and the most fun part. Buy some snowboard wax from a snowboard utility store. Melt the wax on the iron and let it drip on the board. The wax should be evenly dripped. You will need an iron to wax the board.

The temperature of the iron should not be too hot. The wax should just melt at contact with the iron, and should not smoke due to excess heat. While ironing, do not linger on a spot for too long. Prolonged heating on one spot can damage the board.

After the waxing is done, the board should be allowed to cool down for at least 20-30 minutes. After cooling, use a plastic scraper and scrape off the extra wax from the board. Scrape in long and even strokes.

This will ensure that your board gets an even shine and a smooth finish. After waxing, some snowboarders rub the waxed surface with scotch pad, giving it 3-4 long strokes. This prevents the board from soaking up water while snowboarding.

Every snowboarder should ideally know how to tune their own boards, because after doing it for some time, it makes them proficient at this task. A badly tuned and worn out snowboard is not much fun to ride, and will not give a good experience. Snowboard utility stores typically charge $20-50 for a tune-up, but you can save this expenditure by doing the tuning yourself.