Toboggan Tune-Up

This toboggan is 30 years old. 

Truthfully.

It was my and my brother's when we were kids and I inherited it when my parents cleaned out the basement the girls were born.

I was SO tempted to throw it away.

It's big and bulky to store and I thought "newer is better" when it came to sleds.

Let me tell you how wrong I was!

We've bought several different sleds and we don't have a single one still around for the next winter.

Plastic cracks, ride-ons can rust, foam boards break.

But our toboggan lives on.

Finally, after only 3 years of nagging, Hubby put a coat of wax on it.

I'm not sure it's ever had a coat of wax.

Maybe even never ever.

Well, perhaps when it left the manufacturer?

So let's begin the tune-up.

First things first, tighten all the screws in the bottom of the sled.  

Newer toboggans will have staples, so if you're just purchasing one it really is worth the extra money to get screws.  After some abuse and bending and bumping down hills - the screws will hold solid, but the staples will come loose.

Lightly sand. 

 Your toboggan needs to be clean and dry - if you've been working on it in the previous step - it should be at room temperature by now.  If not, bring it in the night before you plan to do your tune up and it will be ready to go in the morning.

There are a lot of different ideas on waxing sleds on the internet; 
I've read about soft wax that wipes on and can be buffed off.
(Wax on, wax off grasshoppa)

Some people have even recommended using furniture polish in a pinch.

If you want to go traditional (and like a bullet down the hill), you'll need hard wax.

Yup, it's going to be more labour intensive - but SO worth it.

You'll need an old iron.

One you don't mind getting wax in, on and all over.

Hold the hot iron at a 45% angle and melt the edge of the wax against the faceplate.

Spread the drippings all over the bottom of the toboggan.

Once you have a fair coating of wax drops, proceed to spread them out with the hot iron.

Melting them and rubbing them into the wood at the same time. 

 You'll be able to see the drops spread out and it will make the wood look darker.

I liken it to putting skin cream on dry skin - you can almost hear the wood lapping it up.

 Repeat the melting process on any areas that didn't get enough coverage.

  
Once you've completely covered the sled and the wax has solidified, use a scraper to smooth out any lumps and bumps.

 The concept behind waxing is that anything that will keep the snow/ice melting beneath the toboggan away from the wood, the faster it will go.

As the toboggan runs over the snow, the bare wood will latch on to it and will drag like sandpaper.

Putting a coat of wax between the wood and the snow will push the water melting beneath it away and therefore make you go faster.

If nothing else, it will make dragging them to the hill easier.

Don't worry - Hubby will be speed testing this before any little ones hit the hills.

Have a great one!
  
 



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