PSA: Mount your own fucking skis.

[sethschmautz]

Depth guides for your tap? I don't think it's necessary. My drill bit is stepped and drills to the proper depth. The tap taps until it hits bottom. When it suddenly gets a lot harder to turn the tap, you stop.

At least that's how it works for me. Just installed 16 tonight.

Seth

[nickbokhoven]

Depth guides for your tap? I don't think it's necessary. My drill bit is stepped and drills to the proper depth. The tap taps until it hits bottom. When it suddenly gets a lot harder to turn the tap, you stop.

At least that's how it works for me. Just installed 16 tonight.

Seth

A simple wrap of electrical tape to mark the height worked well. As Seth says, it is much harder to overdo it with a tap compared to a drill bit.


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[XXX-er]

I would bet a lot of folks have drilled too deep using a piece of tape for a marker becuz tape can move so do the set screwed drill stop collars

But using a piece of wood or a wine bottle cork between the drill bit and drill chuck (maybe add a washer if you wana get high tech) to limit depth the only thing that can happens is the drill moves and you don't drill deep enough

[Ted Striker]

Anyone have a pair of the Jigarex FKS/Pivot plates they want to lend me? Will pay shipping+$$$ extra for some beer.

Your can borrow my pair, but I'm in the pnw, so the time+money might be less than ideal. pm me if still interested.

[1000-oaks]

Yeah, better to stop by feel with the tap, or mark the proper depth on it with a Sharpie and watch it while tapping. If you put a drill stop on the tap, it's possible to keep turning after the stop bottoms out, which cuts out your new threads in the ski and turns it into a spinner.

[GeezerSteve]

If you put a drill stop on the tap, it's possible to keep turning after the stop bottoms out, which cuts out your new threads in the ski and turns it into a spinner.

Yup

Simple. Tap for 3-1/2 or 4 turns then back it out

[johnmtl11]

Yeah, better to stop by feel with the tap, or mark the proper depth on it with a Sharpie and watch it while tapping. If you put a drill stop on the tap, it's possible to keep turning after the stop bottoms out, which cuts out your new threads in the ski and turns it into a spinner.

Agree. I just did some tests on a scrap piece of wood and there's more feedback without the drill stop on the tap. Edited my post to remove that picture to avoid confusion.

I do like the drill stop over the tape or set screw methods, just one less thing I need to pay attention to. Although using leftover wood or a cork would have been much easier.

[jackattack]

I do like the drill stop over the tape or set screw methods, just one less thing I need to pay attention to. Although using leftover wood or a cork would have been much easier.

Or a stepped bit.

[S.B.]

Is there a template for the Beast 14 anywhere? I have looked but i can't seem to find any

[gregorys]

Jiggerex FKS.

I know it seems intimidating, but using a paper template is probably just as quick. It's easier to make a mistake, but really, if you are even marginally handy and are careful, doing a binding with the paper template isn't that hard a job.

[I should note that I've never done a FKS/Pivot, and haven't looked at the template, but I'm assuming it's good.]
Print out a template - and check the scaling.
Once you're sure it's right, print three.
Use one and do a quick single binding mount on a piece of wood. 3/4 Plywood even.

If you are careful, you can re-use that paper template to do the actual skis. If not, you've got a couple of spares all setup and ready to go that you know are correct.

[shroom]

mounted my wife’s fucking skis today. old new stock and well overdue for the upgrade.

also of note - variation in heel pattern b/w the warden 11/13 almost burned me. most of you are comprehensive enough to read the fine print, but thought it was worth calling out here regardless — i don’t believe i’ve seen a template matching the 11.

[gregorys]

I would bet a lot of folks have drilled too deep using a piece of tape for a marker becuz tape can move so do the set screwed drill stop collars

But using a piece of wood or a wine bottle cork between the drill bit and drill chuck (maybe add a washer if you wana get high tech) to limit depth the only thing that can happens is the drill moves and you don't drill deep enough

I've done both, though I don't use a single wrap of tape - I do a dozen. Still, it's possible to move it and that could be bad.

+1000 To the scrap of wood, or cork. That's what I do now. And as noted, if the chuck opens, you'll drill less deep than intended. Pretty hard to mess up - even for those prone to screw-ups.

[sethschmautz]

I would bet a lot of folks have drilled too deep using a piece of tape for a marker becuz tape can move so do the set screwed drill stop collars

Funny. I read his tape comment to mean the tap rather than the drill bit.

I think I started with a drill bit with tape on it and moved away for exactly this reason. Well... That is, I saw the tape move while practicing. Thankfully wasn't drilling skis.

Seth

[nickbokhoven]

Funny. I read his tape comment to mean the tap rather than the drill bit.

I think I started with a drill bit with tape on it and moved away for exactly this reason. Well... That is, I saw the tape move while practicing. Thankfully wasn't drilling skis.

Seth

Yes. No tape on a drill bit. That is dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight. It was pretty clear doing this to use either a stepped bit or really good collar. The tap, much easier and a whole lot harder to have it get sucked down into the core as you are really controlling it.


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[sethschmautz]

Agree. I just did some tests on a scrap piece of wood and there's more feedback without the drill stop on the tap.

A thrift store ski with metal in it will give you a better feel than a 2x4, but either will work. I have a ski like that that I tap new holes in almost every year before I mount a new pair of skis to remember what it feels like.

Seth

[sethschmautz]

I know it seems intimidating, but using a paper template is probably just as quick.

My most recent Beast and Radical mounts have been with a dynafit jig and I think they are worse than with a paper jig... I might just be more used to using paper.

I still haven't quite figured that out.

Seth

[XXX-er]

Not necessarily that i am a lush but I say wine bottle cork because they are about the right length

but what could be better or worse than using a jig ?

I asked my buddy who used to own Valhalla pure how to mount an AT binding, he said mount the heel piece dead center, mount the toe by 1 screw, click the boot in mark/ drill/ screw the rest of the toe screws ... pretty much a one sentance instruction

seemed to make a lot of sense to me

[galibier_numero_un]

... I asked my buddy who used to own Valhalla pure how to mount an AT binding, he said mount the heel piece dead center, mount the toe by 1 screw, click the boot in mark/ drill/ screw the rest of the toe screws ... pretty much a one sentance instruction

seemed to make a lot of sense to me

I've started doing this as well - thanks to your having mentioned it previously.

... Thom

[AlpiNord]

I asked my buddy who used to own Valhalla pure how to mount an AT binding, he said mount the heel piece dead center, mount the toe by 1 screw, click the boot in mark/ drill/ screw the rest of the toe screws ... pretty much a one sentance instruction

seemed to make a lot of sense to me

I believe Lou Dawson's approach is the opposite. Mount the toe dead center and relative to BSC first, click in boot and then click in heel piece and mark for drilling.

[GeezerSteve]

I mount tech toe first, then align boot heel fixture screw dead center on scribed center line before final screw tightening.

I also mark a line at back of heel. I draw a line @ back of heel on my Dynafit heel mounting template because not all Dynafit heels are created equal (e.g., Speed Turn 2.0 heel placement is 5mm different than template available on the template thread). It's best to verify per Lou's method of placing heel binding to check fore-aft placement of heel fixture screws. This is especially important if you plan to use two pairs of boots with different BSLs.

[gregL]

. . . i don’t believe i’ve seen a template matching the 11 . . . [/IMG]

The Warden 13 and STH2 share a template (same pattern except for two front toepiece holes, the Warden 11 has its own template.

[XXX-er]

I believe Lou Dawson's approach is the opposite. Mount the toe dead center and relative to BSC first, click in boot and then click in heel piece and mark for drilling.

"This is the tricky part of mounting any Fritschi. There is no good rule-of-thumb or visual check that tells where to locate the heel unit. You have to use measurements from the front screws to the rear screws, per those shown on the template."

For a frame binding ^^ he sez there is no good rule of thumb but maybe that is a really old instruction

"Drill the marked skis with minimal pressure, so you don’t mash the bit through a ski. Remember, only drill the ONE front hole at this point, and be clear that you’re only working with the toe unit at this point, the heel heel comes later."

for tech yes^^ he mounts the toe first BUT only by one screw which is the key piece of info



SO if you think critically about what you are doing the hinge of a tech or frame AT binding is at the toe and that hinge only goes up and down and so the point of the whole binding mount exercise is to put that hinge in exactly the right spot on the ski

SO if you mount the toe semi-loosely by one screw ONLY that toe piece can pivot 360degrees around that screw until you have located it with the 2nd screw but you only need that toe assembly to pivot a C hair off of straight ahead on the ski until the frame rail can drop into the heelpiece or on a tech binding the boot fitting to drops into the pin ... then you drill the next toe piece screw

so what I'm getting at IS if you drill all the holes for an AT instal at once using a piece of paper you got off the internet and screw everything into place don't be suprised if something doesn't line up, instead I am suggesting that because you are trying to get these 2 pieces (being the front and rear binding) to dovetail perfectly you should mount one piece and then mount the second piece depending on where you mounted the 1st piece

since you would really like the heel piece in the dead center of the ski put it there 1st, and then mount the toe piece depending on where you put the heel

[ccogg]

Just mounted a set of Wardens on my wife's skis and 3/4 of the kingpins on my skis.

The Wardens went smoothly - template was dead on for sole length and the bolt pattern matched up perfectly. I found the center of the skis with a paper template, digital calipers, and a square with a metal ruler. All three methods were within 0.2mm. Seems pretty easy if you're careful.

I was a little slower on the kingpins: first off the boot pin line was different than the template, took me a while to trust what I was seeing vs the template. I moved everything forward a little less than a cm so the boot centerline matched up. Then I got the toes mounted - I locked the boots in after installing the two screws in the rear of the binding and found that one boot was dead on centerline at the heel and the other was about 2mm off. Seemed good enough so I put in the front screws. The heel plate seemed like it needed to be about 7mm forward for the heel to be in the middle of the adjustment range so after a couple double checks I slid the holes up a bit (I had marked the original location with a punch, but hadn't drilled yet). The first one was looking great until I realized I had the wide brakes and needed the narrower ones. So hit pause with one heel plate partially installed and the other ski drilled but not installed yet. Of course the shop I got the bindings from is out of the narrow brakes, but will have them next week so waiting game it is.

I used a 4.1mm bit and tightbond III wood glue in all the holes. I tried a 3.6mm bit at first and there was metal shavings (both skis are Solomon QSTs), plus I tired driving a screw in and it buckled the top sheet significantly). I happen to have a torque wrench for carbon bike parts and I tightened all the screw to the solomon recommended 4Nm. Checking with a screw driver afterwards it was about as tight as I would feel comfortable going with a regular screw driver.

I was pretty happy for a first attempt. Thanks for the all the info and advice!!! And go for it...


I'll try to post an update if I rip them out!!!

[ccogg]

I just mounted kingpins and you can't really mount the heel first, doing the toe first and then checking the heel of the boot against the centerline on the ski worked great.

I believe Lou Dawson's approach is the opposite. Mount the toe dead center and relative to BSC first, click in boot and then click in heel piece and mark for drilling.

[Muggydude]

IMO you can get a much more geometrically perfect mount with a paper mount than any other way. Caveat is I use/make my own templates (check the sth2/warden I posted in the template thread) - which have a bunch of thin lines for the front and rear piece of paper to line up. More lines to line up = higher accuracy in keeping everything centered and lined up. Only way that would result in an off center AT hinge point would be if the boots were messed up. I also always do a 2x4 with a new binding.

I personally feel I'd have a better chance messing it up with the one screw first method. I also take a long time when I use paper templates