Friends of the tiny apartment, the strict landlady, the fourth-floor walk-up, we hear you. A garage is sketched into the blueprint of your someday life, but right now you’re living in a studio jammed with gear.

How can you wax your own skis and snowboards?

The answer is simple: Build a self-contained waxing table that folds up and won’t drip on the carpet. It’s genius! You can put it on any flat surface, like the kitchen table. As you scrape your skis or snowboard, all the wax falls into the box. Two cutout slats underneath allow you to brush the wax from the table into the garbage. Fold it up and store it away with the rest of your gear. Sounds rad, right? Then let’s get to work.

What You’ll Need:

Supplies:

4′ x 8′ sheet of ½” plywood

1 16” piano hinge

2 buckle latches

12 anti-skid pads

Wood glue

Wood screws (1/2”, ¾”)

Old bike tube

8 5/16 x 2” carriage bolts with washers and wing nuts

2 D-rings and mounts

Tools:

Screwdriver

Tape measures

Drill with small bit

Pencils

Construction square

Skill saw

Small handsaw

Safety glasses

Download the waxing table supplies list and cut sheet and get started: Portable Ski or Snowboard Waxing Table.

How to Build It:

Step 1

Transfer your measurements from the cut sheet to the plywood. Make sure to account for “kerf,” so everything stays square for assembly. (Kerf is the divergence between saw teeth, and it defines the width of the cut.) Plan your cuts to break down the plywood in the least amount of cuts. If you don’t own a saw, most hardware stores offer cutting services. If you plan to have the hardware store do the cutting, you’ll want to provide a cut list and a diagram.

Step 2

Start by assembling the bottoms and end caps of the boxes, followed by the two sides. If you are not using self-drilling screws, you should pre-drill holes for best results. Screw and glue all seams.

Step 3

Install inner pieces to create slots that are spaced a half-inch apart. We used screws, not glue, in case we wanted to change the spacing later. (Depending on your bindings, how you space these slots are optional; we put two slots on each box for flexibility.)

Step 4

Install the piano hinge, making sure to center the hinge in the seam of the two box halves for easy folding.

Step 5

Install anti-skid pads to the bottoms and hinge sides of both boxes. Offset the anti-skid pads on the hinges so they don’t hit each other when the box is open.

Step 6

Install the buckles.

Step 7

Install the side braces. Clamp and drill through the brace and the side of the box, then install and glue carriage bolts into the brace. Mark the braces and the box sides they relate to so it’s easier to match them up later.

Step 8

Assemble the ski/snowboard supports. Measure, cut and install the bike tube for ski/snowboard supports. We added an optional radius cut to the bottom of the supports to allow wax to be brushed through for easier cleanup.

Step 9

Cut out the handles and wax slot. The size of your slot is optional; we chose the width of our small hand broom to make it easier to brush the wax out of the box.

Step 10

Install D-rings. We positioned ours just under the ski brake so we could hold down the ski and brake at the same time.

Step 11

Sand and finish.

You’re all done! Now get stoked for the snow with a Pray for Snow party, complete with ski and snowboard waxing station. Your buddies will be impressed!

Learn how to tune skis or snowboards.

Shop for ski and snowboard tuning and tools at REI.com.