PSA: Mount your own fucking skis.

[Peruvian]

I noticed that the plate under my NTN bindings was loose and found the holes slightly stripped out. I took a wood golf tee and cut it to fill the hole, gobbed it with tightbond III and screwed the plate back it. After letting it sit overnight I no longer have any play and it's holding firm.

[PlayItLeo]

FUCK YES!!!

[::: :::]

I fucking mounted my kid's sticks



He gave em a wax and touched up the edges (tho not really necessary, we got em in great condition [thx FA!])

[bigdude2468]

For SLC Maggots I have a Jiga-Rex with the following plates.

Salomon STH 2, WTR13

Salomon STH Models with 4 holes

Salomon Z & STH Models with 3 hole toes

Fritschi Vipec

[detrusor]

For SLC Maggots I have a Jiga-Rex with the following plates.

Salomon STH 2, Driver Toe

Salomon STH Models with 4 holes

Salomon Z & STH Models with 3 hole toes

Fritschi Vipec

Add to that pivots, jesters, small guardian, dynafits and kingpin.

[NW_SKIER]

I fucking mounted my kid's sticks



He gave em a wax and touched up the edges (tho not really necessary, we got em in great condition [thx FA!])

Are those the skis I gave Bobby?

[::: :::]

Are those the skis I gave Bobby?

Dunno, but that's where I got em...

[NW_SKIER]

Dunno, but that's where I got em...

Unless he had more than one pair...

Glad they found a good home.

[bojangles]

I'm sure that the answer is somewhere within the 44 pages of this thread, but I'm lazy. Almost 30yrs ago, I mounted my own skis, but in a shop. I seem to remember the drill bit having a stopper in place to ensure you didn't drill all the way thru the ski. Besides not being a ham fisted dumbass, any tips for this? Or, just carefully tap thru the topsheet then let the screws take over from there?

Also, check out screw lengths before mounting. Dry mount the screws in the binding, set binding on edge of ski and check screw depth. No one likes a dimpled base. Your stopper should match this depth (within reason).

[Timberridge]

I've found myself doing a few freehand mounts lately, b/c I can't find a template or scaling one is a PITA. I'm confident I can mount just about anything freehand in 3 hrs without one. Unless I know I'm mounting a bunch of the same binding--which never seems to happen, I can't justify a jigarex yet. If I can do this I think anyone can do this, but if you do, I've found a couple of things are indispensable:

1. Overhead transparency sheets
- For double checking your marks and making a template that you can use again
2. A 2x4 to do a test mount
- For adult alpine bindings getting the correct forward pressure to be in the center of the heel adjustment can be tricky without doing a test mount first. For kids bindings, I'll put it forward, so they can upsize a boot or two. If you miss on the kids one, you're doing a remount, so it's advisable to always do a test mount if you're mounting at either end of the range.

[::: :::]

I've found myself doing a few freehand mounts lately, b/c I can't find a template or scaling one is a PITA. I'm confident I can mount just about anything freehand in 3 hrs without one. Unless I know I'm mounting a bunch of the same binding--which never seems to happen, I can't justify a jigarex yet. If I can do this I think anyone can do this, but if you do, I've found a couple of things are indispensable:

1. Overhead transparency sheets
- For double checking your marks and making a template that you can use again
2. A 2x4 to do a test mount
- For adult alpine bindings getting the correct forward pressure to be in the center of the heel adjustment can be tricky without doing a test mount first. For kids bindings, I'll put it forward, so they can upsize a boot or two. If you miss on the kids one, you're doing a remount, so it's advisable to always do a test mount if you're mounting at either end of the range.

ques re: the transparency...don't you shred the sheet when you drill? and, even if you don't, you've lost the center mark at that point and it's just a guesstimate per whether you were dead on with the first drill hole?

[oftpiste]

quick center punch on the mark and through the plastic might solve this?

[Timberridge]

Exactly. Use a center punch on the plastic film to mark the ski...makes a nice small hole and dent in the plastic so its very easy to recenter the punch another time. I've used one sheet about 5x, even so its easy to trace another on top if needed.

I drill freehand too, so I won't drill a ski w/o punching first.

Once you've done one test mount on the 2x4 to set forward pressure, you don't need to do another w/ same binding just measure the sole vs. the first one, divide the difference by 2 and slide the sheets apart by each amount. ie. if you did a 292 and need to do a 306, then move each sheet further apart by 7mm. I always double check the mid mark on the boot still lines up after.

[XXX-er]

I've found myself doing a few freehand mounts lately, b/c I can't find a template or scaling one is a PITA. I'm confident I can mount just about anything freehand in 3 hrs without one. Unless I know I'm mounting a bunch of the same binding--which never seems to happen, I can't justify a jigarex yet. If I can do this I think anyone can do this, but if you do, I've found a couple of things are indispensable:

1. Overhead transparency sheets
- For double checking your marks and making a template that you can use again
2. A 2x4 to do a test mount
- For adult alpine bindings getting the correct forward pressure to be in the center of the heel adjustment can be tricky without doing a test mount first. For kids bindings, I'll put it forward, so they can upsize a boot or two. If you miss on the kids one, you're doing a remount, so it's advisable to always do a test mount if you're mounting at either end of the range.

This^^

I mean how often do you really mount your own fucking skis I have at least a dozen pair of skis but still on average I probably do < one mount a year and they are all freehand cuz after fucking around trying to borrow a jig, make a template you have eaten up > the 3 hrs it would have taken to freehand

Layout your marks on painters tape with a pen, find/mark the boot center mark on your boot, t-square on that mark and on ski center (or whatever you wana use) gives you the boots position on the ski, use the actual binding for a template, center punch holes and drill the holes ...this is just basic layout

If you are removing bindings from a ski that was jig mounted is take a template so I used a piece of lucite from a pizza box to make a template of where the holes are ...handy

[doebedoe]

I mean how often do you really mount your own fucking skis I have at least a dozen pair of skis but still on average I probably do < one mount a year....

I've done one for myself this year, 4 total and have more 1 pending for the SO.

Either you need more friends that ski, or I need friends who aren't so cheap/lazy that they have me mount their shit. At least they buy good beer.

[skifishbum]

im 9 hours in on a long cyber monday roll and gettin close to a hundy
but im a trained brofessional
and we sell a few rail systems

[Timberridge]

Yeah but you use a jig.

[XXX-er]

I've done one for myself this year, 4 total and have more 1 pending for the SO.

Either you need more friends that ski, or I need friends who aren't so cheap/lazy that they have me mount their shit. At least they buy good beer.

I DO fix drysuit seals for good beer so I made the jigs and I even stock the seals but thats a pretty easy job if you know what you are doing, pretty easy even if you are half cut, mounting skis is way more hassle, I wouldn't be doing other peoples bindings unless I had the jigs/ the bits/ was sober ... in which case I would want to charge money

but for the average smo I don't see needing to order a 40$ drill bit or a bunch of gear

[HHTELE]

I DO fix drysuit seals for good beer so I made the jigs and I even stock the seals but thats a pretty easy job if you know what you are doing, pretty easy even if you are half cut, mounting skis is way more hassle, I wouldn't be doing other peoples bindings unless I had the jigs/ the bits/ was sober ... in which case I would want to charge money

but for the average smo I don't see needing to order a 40$ drill bit or a bunch of gear

I have done both, and make more of a mess out of the drysuits. Harder to hide mistakes.

Drill a twin tip backwards, and all you need is a couple stickers.

[XXX-er]

I've done close to 100 suits mostly high on wine & toluene fumes all of them damn near perfect ... perhaps I just handle my booze > U

[Meadow Skipper]

Two questions, the first for T-ridge: what are you mounting that you can't find paper templates for?

And for XXX-er: $40 for a binding bit? You been shopping at the wrong places. Or has the $CAD slipped that much?

[galibier_numero_un]

This^^

I mean how often do you really mount your own fucking skis I have at least a dozen pair of skis but still on average I probably do < one mount a year and they are all freehand cuz after fucking around trying to borrow a jig, make a template you have eaten up > the 3 hrs it would have taken to freehand

Layout your marks on painters tape with a pen, find/mark the boot center mark on your boot, t-square on that mark and on ski center (or whatever you wana use) gives you the boots position on the ski, use the actual binding for a template, center punch holes and drill the holes ...this is just basic layout

If you are removing bindings from a ski that was jig mounted is take a template so I used a piece of lucite from a pizza box to make a template of where the holes are ...handy

Without a jig, the most time consuming element for me is measuring the centerline of the ski, and this doesn't change whether it's freehand or with a template. Yeah, I use the folded paper origami method, but I always double check it. I'm a measure 10 times, cut once kinda guy.

... Thom

[MHSP1497]

Blasted out the mounts on my new Billygoats and the wife's new Wrenegade 88's. The jigarex sure made things WAY easier and faster. It was worth it just to know that the mounts on the new, expensive, skis is perfect.

I'm in the Bay Area if anyone wants to use it, only got the STH2 plates tho...

[AlpiNord]

Timber regarding transparencies: Try putting your bindings on a scanner. Print, check and adjust scale if needed.

Finding centerline should only take a couple minutes. See our binding mount tips for some easy tricks.

[Timberridge]

Two questions, the first for T-ridge: what are you mounting that you can't find paper templates for?

And for XXX-er: $40 for a binding bit? You been shopping at the wrong places. Or has the $CAD slipped that much?

Mostly kids bindings. I couldn't find a template on the Attacks last season and first year binding designs are always hit or miss. A regular mount is forgiving but have to be dead on if you're doing inserts. The transparencies are also great when checking interferences on old mounts of unknown origin.
Yeah, speaking of bits, a nice binding specific bit costs $12 down here. I'm sure this has been covered in one of the pages before in this thread but what happens if you use a 3.6 bit on a metal ski that calls for a 4.1? Never experimented with this but I'm guessing the screw pulls on the metal sheet and you get a bit of a volcano?

Terry, great idea on scanner---I'll try that next time!

Thom, I run a piece of 1.5" painters tape down the middle of the ski and use a small t-square that is deep enough to rest on the steel edge (if you can't find one deep enough glue a Lego block or piece of wood to one.) Eyeball the center and mark the ski and the t-square on its edge--you can wrap the square with a piece of tape to get a sharp mark on the edge. Flip t-square over, resting it on the opposite ski edge, use the same mark on the t-square to mark the ski. Your center is between the two marks. Sometimes you have to do this twice to get the marks fairly close together. Theoretically you can do this at two points, but I usually do it at 3 points along the ski and I have my line. It's foolproof and quick.