How to Tune a Snowboard

Every rider must have knowledge of his own snowboard, as this helps keep it in perfect shape and working order. The ability to maneuver goes up greatly when it is tuned regularly, and with good care and maintenance you can ensure that your snowboard is in tiptop shape. The biggest advantage of knowing, the proper way to tune a snowboard is that it will go faster while snowboarding and it will also be able to take sharp turns and curves with relative ease.

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. Snowboards are expensive pieces of equipment and you should not be reckless with their maintenance, repair and tuning. Talk to other snowboarders and ask them, where they get their snowboards tuned from.

Tuning a snowboard basically involves waxing the board, so as to reduce friction and make the board go faster and smoother. You regularly service your car and all other pieces of machinery right, so people who ask about what and how you can enhance their board have their answer. The functionality of the snowboard increases, its durability rises, and it becomes a more thrilling experience to ride a tuned up snowboard.

Tuning a Snowboard Edge
The regularity with which you should tune your snowboard depends on the amount you use it. Some people say you should tune it before you ride it, but ideally, tuning it after every 3-4 rides will work for you. Knowing, when to tune a snowboard makes all the difference, and by talking to some snowboarders and also doing some research online, you can find the perfect time to tune your snowboard.

When you are setting out to tune your snowboard's edge, it is necessary to first take the bindings of the snowboard off. Using some towels or rags dabbed with base cleaner, you must now clean the base of the snowboard along with 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 board vices that can hold the snowboard 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 sides and edges as well. This will even out the surface of the board.

Now, what you need to do is sharpen the edges of the board using an edge tool or a file guide. The angles on the edges are known as bevels, and these bevels determine the dynamics of the board. If you know about them and are aware what angle you want them to be at, go ahead and shape them. Use clean long strokes for this purpose and pretty soon, your snowboard will have smooth edges to enable you to achieve better dynamics while moving. This is relatively simple, but getting down to doing it requires patience, some experience, and a lot of love and affection for your board. Once the sharpening of the edges is done, run the deburring stone along the edges again to ensure that they are clean and smooth.

Tuning a Snowboard Base
The base now, needs to be waxed. This is the next step of tuning your snowboard, and this is possibly the easiest and most fun part. Buy some snowboard wax and drip it on the board, or melt it if it is in a bar form. You need an iron to wax the board now, and rub it evenly across the entire surface. Do not linger on one spot for too long, and always keep your hand in motion. Now let the wax dry up and cool down for 20 minutes or so. Once this has been done, use a plastic scraper and rub off the remnants of the wax on the board. Now rehook all the bindings and your snowboard is as good as new.

Every rider should ideally know how to tune their own boards because, it is a major help to the way a snowboard works. A badly tuned and worn out snowboard is not much fun to ride and can also cause a lot of accidents. People wondering about how much does it cost to tune a snowboard should know that it takes about $20-$50 if you give it to a snowboard store, but you can save this expenditure by doing it yourself.