Base grinders

[Wvmtnbiker]

Anybody have any experience with a Fontaine 680? Looking for a base grinder and found the 680 with optional auto feed. How does this compare to a st600 in quality - I only plan on doing skis at least for now. 155mm tip would be the widest I would need. Any insight would be great - Thanks

[skidesmond]

I have the Fontaine 680 and it works fine for me. I don't have any experience to compare it too. It only does skis. Autofeed motor works fine. I wish the cleanup hose was a bit longer for cleaning the inside of the machine. I may put on a longer hose. Other than that it, it does the job.

[Wvmtnbiker]

Thanks - is it a 6 inch belt? Do you have a good source for belts and coolant? Do you feel like you need the auto feed for doing new skis or can u manage with it? Do you have the edge attachment? I've only used a base grinder a handful of times and that was 20 yrs ago so sorry for all the questions. Thanks again for the info!

[skidesmond]

Thanks - is it a 6 inch belt? Do you have a good source for belts and coolant? Do you feel like you need the auto feed for doing new skis or can u manage with it? Do you have the edge attachment? I've only used a base grinder a handful of times and that was 20 yrs ago so sorry for all the questions. Thanks again for the info!

Yes 6 x 80 belts. I got my last set of belts from Econaway Abrasives http://www.econaway.com/

I use a 60grit for removing the remaining flashing after the rough cut. It's agressive so use with care. I do not use 60grit on the base. I use the 80grit to take off epoxy and flatten the base, run the edges across 1-2 times or so. Usually 2-3 passes for the bases and spot check for any high/low spots. It takes off a lot of material also. I use a 120 on the base to remove the scratches the 80 grit makes. After 120 sometimes I'll take a few more passes with 220 grit but not always.

My coolant/cutting fluid is from http://www.skikare.com/

Don't really need to autofeed but it's a nice to have. Practice on an old pair if you can. I have the edge guide. It's fixed at 90 degrees. I bevel the edges with hand tools/guides.

[skimann20]

I have the Fontaine 1400 so the 680 is basically the little brother. My opinion: it will get your ski nuts flat. I get all my belts/parts from SVST.com good group of dudes over there. I just recently picked up a stone and belt combo that basically has the 680 bolted to the side. I'm very impressed with fotnaine's quality. they are TANKS, weigh a TON (not really) and has the ability to kill you at a blink of an eye.

the autofeed certainly saves your shoulders. Grinding skis with the 80grit will do a number on you if you are doing multiple skis.

[Dr. Delam]

Skimann, how were you able to get an account from SVST? Are you affiliated with a shop? I used to order from them when I worked at a shop but they denied me when I tried to get a new account.

[MontuckyMadman]

They will register u as a manf. If u have a buis name and a tax id.