You have clearly shown initiative as a DIY'r. Your posts indicate that you want to get "control" over this situation. It sucks dealing with injuries and I can totally relate to where you're at. So there's a lot to unpack here, but let's distill the situation down to the basic components.
First, don't conflate what's happening inside your boot to what needs to get done on the outside. Yes, they're inextricably linked, but you must attack them separately and in the right order. As @pliny the elder previously noted, your dorsiflexion issues due to the fused ankle must be addressed inside the boot via modifications to the bootboard ramp and/or forward lean of the boot (don't be concerned about the fore/aft balance yet). To do this correctly you need a goniometer (or a simple digital angle protractor) to measure the angle between your foot and shin when the ankle joint it is fully closed. We need to know this angle in order to compare it to what we have in the boot (the net angle between the bootboard and forward lean of the cuff). So let's get started...
The goal when measuring the angle between your foot and shin is to capture the measurement while you are doing a "toe raise". It's not the angle formed when driving your knee forward while your foot is on the floor. We want to measure how "closed" you can get the ankle joint purely through raising your toes. The critical "surfaces" of your body that interface with the boot are used for this measurement. The "points" are the bottom of your foot and the front of your shin. So those are the references for where to measure this angle. You want the angle formed from the bottom of your foot to the front of your shin.
Measuring the angle in the boot can be challenging. Luckily my digital protractor has a "hold" function that let's me stick it inside the boot and get a measurement. Put one arm along the bootboard and the other arm against the front of the boot cuff. Then you hit the hold button and you can pull the protractor out of the boot and read the measurement. This is the net angle formed between the bootboard and the cuff (it's not the forward lean measurement of the boot). Note that I measure the angles referenced from a 90* right angle (this is the same way all boot manufacturers state their forward lean angles). Since you have heel lifts, you should measure with them and without just to see what impact they have on this measurement.
Hopefully with your fused ankle you can get a setup where the measured angle between your foot and shin is GREATER than the net bootboard to cuff boot angle. For example, my left ankle measures at 20* and my right at 17* (yes, I'm dealing with an old injury too). My recommendation is that you have at least 2*-3* less angle at the boot. My boots (different pairs) are setup between 14*-16* (it's the best I could do without major surgery on some of my boots). The boot angle needs to leave enough "room" to dorsiflex your foot a few more degrees so that you can press the top of your foot into the roof of the boot. This also impacts your ability to apply pressure to the front of the boot. If you've exhausted your dorsiflexion RoM before your shin hits the front of the cuff, you're going to have some difficulty skiing well. I know you have a heel lift inside the boots to help "open up" the net angle, but now you have some "hard measurements" to help you determine if you have too much lift inside the boot or not enough. Note that modifying the boot forward lean is also an option to achieve the boot net angle you need. Heel lifts aren't the only way. There is a difference in the end result (between modifying FL versus a heel lift), but I haven't experimented with these variables enough to fully understand the implications.
Once you have the dorsiflexion component handled, you can move on to the fore/aft alignment concern. I think you already know that you can modify this angle both by raising the toes and/or lowering the heels. This can be accomplished by doing so on the outside of the boot (sole plating and grinding) and at the binding. You noted MacPhail's determination of 3* net ramp as being optimal, but I believe it may be even less than that. I currently have my different pairs of boot set at between 1.1* - 2.8*. The variance is due to the fact that bootboard modifications directly impact boot fit. So you have to be careful that you don't screw up the fit while striving for improved alignment. My net ramp was over 5* on all of my boots before I started experimenting with the gas pedaling. What this tells me is that even 1* of change is quite consequential.
Note that I used a combination of grinding down the heels and building up the toes (plating) to achieve my desired fore/aft alignment. I built shims that were installed on top of the lugs and also acquired/built my own boot lug routering table. This took a lot of work. Not something I would expect from typical skiers, but if you're so inclined it's certainly within the realm of possibility.
First, don't conflate what's happening inside your boot to what needs to get done on the outside. Yes, they're inextricably linked, but you must attack them separately and in the right order. As @pliny the elder previously noted, your dorsiflexion issues due to the fused ankle must be addressed inside the boot via modifications to the bootboard ramp and/or forward lean of the boot (don't be concerned about the fore/aft balance yet). To do this correctly you need a goniometer (or a simple digital angle protractor) to measure the angle between your foot and shin when the ankle joint it is fully closed. We need to know this angle in order to compare it to what we have in the boot (the net angle between the bootboard and forward lean of the cuff). So let's get started...
The goal when measuring the angle between your foot and shin is to capture the measurement while you are doing a "toe raise". It's not the angle formed when driving your knee forward while your foot is on the floor. We want to measure how "closed" you can get the ankle joint purely through raising your toes. The critical "surfaces" of your body that interface with the boot are used for this measurement. The "points" are the bottom of your foot and the front of your shin. So those are the references for where to measure this angle. You want the angle formed from the bottom of your foot to the front of your shin.
Measuring the angle in the boot can be challenging. Luckily my digital protractor has a "hold" function that let's me stick it inside the boot and get a measurement. Put one arm along the bootboard and the other arm against the front of the boot cuff. Then you hit the hold button and you can pull the protractor out of the boot and read the measurement. This is the net angle formed between the bootboard and the cuff (it's not the forward lean measurement of the boot). Note that I measure the angles referenced from a 90* right angle (this is the same way all boot manufacturers state their forward lean angles). Since you have heel lifts, you should measure with them and without just to see what impact they have on this measurement.
Hopefully with your fused ankle you can get a setup where the measured angle between your foot and shin is GREATER than the net bootboard to cuff boot angle. For example, my left ankle measures at 20* and my right at 17* (yes, I'm dealing with an old injury too). My recommendation is that you have at least 2*-3* less angle at the boot. My boots (different pairs) are setup between 14*-16* (it's the best I could do without major surgery on some of my boots). The boot angle needs to leave enough "room" to dorsiflex your foot a few more degrees so that you can press the top of your foot into the roof of the boot. This also impacts your ability to apply pressure to the front of the boot. If you've exhausted your dorsiflexion RoM before your shin hits the front of the cuff, you're going to have some difficulty skiing well. I know you have a heel lift inside the boots to help "open up" the net angle, but now you have some "hard measurements" to help you determine if you have too much lift inside the boot or not enough. Note that modifying the boot forward lean is also an option to achieve the boot net angle you need. Heel lifts aren't the only way. There is a difference in the end result (between modifying FL versus a heel lift), but I haven't experimented with these variables enough to fully understand the implications.
Once you have the dorsiflexion component handled, you can move on to the fore/aft alignment concern. I think you already know that you can modify this angle both by raising the toes and/or lowering the heels. This can be accomplished by doing so on the outside of the boot (sole plating and grinding) and at the binding. You noted MacPhail's determination of 3* net ramp as being optimal, but I believe it may be even less than that. I currently have my different pairs of boot set at between 1.1* - 2.8*. The variance is due to the fact that bootboard modifications directly impact boot fit. So you have to be careful that you don't screw up the fit while striving for improved alignment. My net ramp was over 5* on all of my boots before I started experimenting with the gas pedaling. What this tells me is that even 1* of change is quite consequential.
Note that I used a combination of grinding down the heels and building up the toes (plating) to achieve my desired fore/aft alignment. I built shims that were installed on top of the lugs and also acquired/built my own boot lug routering table. This took a lot of work. Not something I would expect from typical skiers, but if you're so inclined it's certainly within the realm of possibility.
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