PSA: Mount your own fucking skis.

[dschane]

Do you start with a center punch? The one from SVST is great because it fits in jig bushings perfectly:

http://www.slidewright.com/svst-alpine-center-punch.php

Sometimes, esp. if I'm installing inserts, I'll start with a very small bit to make that center punch a tad bigger (and I just use the jig for the center punch; after that, I drill by hand with no guide).

[Andeh]

Do you start with a center punch? The one from SVST is great because it fits in jig bushings perfectly:

http://www.slidewright.com/svst-alpine-center-punch.php

Sometimes, esp. if I'm installing inserts, I'll start with a very small bit to make that center punch a tad bigger (and I just use the jig for the center punch; after that, I drill by hand with no guide).

I did not, but that makes sense. I use inserts 100% of the time, so I should probably get the tap, plus a guide for a small bit. Thanks guys.

[DropCliffsNotBombs]

Jong question: any tips for drilling more vertically with a hand drill?

I've done a few mounts now, all with a jig, and have noticed that inevitably about 1/4 of the holes I drill are like 1mm off due to verticality slop in the jig guides. It hasn't caused any major problems, but getting some of my Dynafit toes screwed in has required some finesse.

DO NOT bother with a drill press. It takes all of the "feel" out of drilling - not good.
You should be able to confidently free-drill by hand if you just hold the drill steady. Watch your countersink step drill marks on the topsheets for signs of the hole's straightness. Don't put too much thought into getting your pilot holes perfect. It's not THAT important, really. Just get as close as you can.
The Dynafit toe pieces have super tight tolerances. I like to drill them out slightly to the point were the screw drops through the binding without having to be threaded in.
That's my .02

[1000-oaks]

Big fan of the drill press personally.

[dschane]

I think because he's doing inserts, I would take care with the pilot holes.

I agree that drill press is not needed. I also see no use for a drill guide. I use a cheapo one for the tap b/c mine likes to wander.

[Shorty_J]

DO NOT bother with a drill press. It takes all of the "feel" out of drilling - not good.
You should be able to confidently free-drill by hand if you just hold the drill steady. Watch your countersink step drill marks on the topsheets for signs of the hole's straightness. Don't put too much thought into getting your pilot holes perfect. It's not THAT important, really. Just get as close as you can.
The Dynafit toe pieces have super tight tolerances. I like to drill them out slightly to the point were the screw drops through the binding without having to be threaded in.
That's my .02

I wholeheartedly agree with everything in this post.

[Driver]

I wholeheartedly agree with everything in this post.

Another +1 on this. Use the countersink / punch mark to get it going and steady as she goes.

[castlefreeskier]

Can anyone tell me the correct drill bit size for mounting the new bent chetlers? The 2014-2015 model

[NW_SKIER]

Can anyone tell me the correct drill bit size for mounting the new bent chetlers? The 2014-2015 model

Start at the beginning of the thread and read. All your questions will be answered JONG!

[muchocacao]

Jong question: any tips for drilling more vertically with a hand drill?

I've done a few mounts now, all with a jig, and have noticed that inevitably about 1/4 of the holes I drill are like 1mm off due to verticality slop in the jig guides. It hasn't caused any major problems, but getting some of my Dynafit toes screwed in has required some finesse.

I use a inch thick flat chunk of acryl drilled 8mm in press as a guide.

[Meadow Skipper]

DO NOT bother with a drill press. It takes all of the "feel" out of drilling - not good.

I don't understand this. Care to expound? I've done a couple dozen mounts with my $40 yard-sale drill press, and let others (who love it) use it, and the holes are always perfect. With a shouldered bit, it's so fast - bam, bam, bam - and confidence-building. Never had a problem using it, and it was cheap at the yard-sale.

[Timberridge]

I've used both press and freehand on inserts.

I can't even imagine why anyone would need a press for a standard mount. Just practice keeping the drill straight. Drill twenty holes in a 2x4 and stick dowels in them till you get it figured out.

That said, inserts are much less tolerant of being off axis because its metal on metal machine threads. A press can eliminate that.

[Meadow Skipper]

I've used both press and freehand on inserts.

I can't even imagine why anyone would need a press for a standard mount. Just practice keeping the drill straight. Drill twenty holes in a 2x4 and stick dowels in them till you get it figured out.

Or drink beer and don't bother spending time developing skills that aren't necessary.

[doebedoe]

Do you need a press? No.

Is it fun to buy new tools? Yes.

Can you use a press and make the process a bit easier? Yes. Just like a jig makes it easier (because its basically a drill guide with auto-placement). Or a stepped drill bit. Or an electric drill vs a hand drill.

[Timberridge]

MS, if a beer reduces the DT's, fine. Though I'm at a loss why anyone would think being able to drill a straight hole is not a necessary skill if you're into building and making stuff.

[muchocacao]

MS, if a beer reduces the DT's, fine. Though I'm at a loss why anyone would think being able to drill a straight hole is not a necessary skill if you're into building and making stuff.

nowadays it is considered an overqualification unless you actually drill more than a dozen holes a month

[DropCliffsNotBombs]

I don't understand this. Care to expound? I've done a couple dozen mounts with my $40 yard-sale drill press, and let others (who love it) use it, and the holes are always perfect. With a shouldered bit, it's so fast - bam, bam, bam - and confidence-building. Never had a problem using it, and it was cheap at the yard-sale.

Have you ever seen a pro ski service shop with a drill press in it? Yeah, me neither.
Drill presses make perfectly perpendicular holes... to the base plane, not the topsheet plane. So drill press holes are NOT ever perfectly straight. Remember, skis are not perfectly square like a piece of 2x4.
Also holding the drill by hand while it penetrates through the different layers in the ski allows you to feel what's going on. With a drill press, all your doing is watching it force a cut into the ski as you crank on a lever, you're not feeling it.
The drill depth will also vary slightly as the ski's core tapers/thickens from front to back. Are you accounting for those small changes by resetting the depth every couple of holes? If not, those holes won't all be the same depth. Just look at the asymmetric patterns left by the bit's step when you use a press as an example.
If you want to take the time to set up a press, go for it. To each his own, but I feel like I do a faster and better job with a good old hand drill.

[Meadow Skipper]

Have you ever seen a pro ski service shop with a drill press in it? Yeah, me neither.

I've worked as a tech in a shop. We had metal jigs - not a press - and jigs are faster. But we don't have jigs at home for the most part, or we wouldn't be in this thread, would we? And I find the holes that I've made with a press tighter than the ones I made with jigs. YMMV.

Drill presses make perfectly perpendicular holes... to the base plane, not the topsheet plane. So drill press holes are NOT ever perfectly straight. Remember, skis are not perfectly square like a piece of 2x4.

Do shop jigs account for this? No.

Also holding the drill by hand while it penetrates through the different layers in the ski allows you to feel what's going on. With a drill press, all your doing is watching it force a cut into the ski as you crank on a lever, you're not feeling it.

"Feeling," eh? Oookaaayyy.

The drill depth will also vary slightly as the ski's core tapers/thickens from front to back. Are you accounting for those small changes by resetting the depth every couple of holes? If not, those holes won't all be the same depth. Just look at the asymmetric patterns left by the bit's step when you use a press as an example.

I use a shouldered bit, just like when I used jigs. You sure you're not over-thinking this a little?

If you want to take the time to set up a press, go for it. To each his own, but I feel like I do a faster and better job with a good old hand drill.

Just relaying what works for me. I put the shouldered bit in the chuck, turn it on, hit the lever 6, 8, or however many times, and it's done. Faster than a drill IME. Have you ever used a press with a shouldered bit? Or are you using shop jigs at home?

I'm not saying you need a press, just that using makes it easier and better for me, and maybe/probably for others.

[Meadow Skipper]

MS, if a beer reduces the DT's, fine. Though I'm at a loss why anyone would think being able to drill a straight hole is not a necessary skill if you're into building and making stuff.

IME, Dynafit bindings have tighter tolerances than most of the other shit I make. And if my home made shit needs to be tight, I use the press.

[dcpnz]

Drill press, dunno don't have one.

I used to freehand drill and I found it fairly hard to consistently get vertical holes. Potentially problematic for dynafit mounts, especially non adjustable race heels.

Then I got a Gator drill bit guide. Improved my accuracy a fair bit.

Then I got jiga-rex and no more fucking with paper templates. Awesome!!

Somewhere along the line I spent 2 days reading about what glue to use


So now I've spent about 3x - 4x what shop mounts would have cost but I don't care cos I like MMOFS.

[1000-oaks]

Also holding the drill by hand while it penetrates through the different layers in the ski allows you to feel what's going on. With a drill press, all your doing is watching it force a cut into the ski as you crank on a lever, you're not feeling it.

I absolutely feel the layers in the ski through the lever on the press. It's not a power-feed quill. How is a hand on the lever different than a hand on a hand drill? Suppose if someone just rams the lever they won't notice much, but that goes for a hand drill too. Each to his own though.

The drill depth will also vary slightly as the ski's core tapers/thickens from front to back. Are you accounting for those small changes by resetting the depth every couple of holes? If not, those holes won't all be the same depth. Just look at the asymmetric patterns left by the bit's step when you use a press as an example.

That's only if you use the mechanical stop on the press, if you use a standard ski binding drill bit all the holes will be the same depth.

[::: :::]

So now I've spent about 3x - 4x what shop mounts would have cost but I don't care cos I like MMOFS.

Ha, this is where I am after doing my first mounts ever and putting two sets of inserts onto two pairs of skis to swap bindings.

drill guide saved my shit...not sure why anyone would freehand inserts specifically
(i do see folks maybe freehanding regular mounts)

but now I feel like I can get it done


MMOFS

[ffmedic84]

Mounted these fucking skis today. STH2's with the Cast system. Reading this thread and using the template made it easy.

[::: :::]

those look awesome!!!!!

Txt instructions were key!
Thx again!!

[doebedoe]

Skied my legs off the last two days. Bell-to-bell both days, plus 2 hours of pre-dawn skinning in between.

So I took today off and MMOFS while drinking my SOs last summer-ish homebrew - a Berliner weisse with some raspberries at the end.