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pais alto

me encanta el país alto
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My centerline location process: I tighten calipers across the ski, edge to edge, and using a ruler placed against the caliper arms to determine halfway, I mark three times - forward, boot center line, aft. Then I run a piece of blue painting tape along the marks. I double-check the measurements and use a steel ruler to check for straightness. Tape template to the ski aligning along the centerline tape and boot center mark.

Our own @SlideWright has a page on his website with a great discussion of mounting bindings.

And if I didn’t already have a method, I’d be looking hard at @SlideWright’s tool for locating it.
 
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mikes781

Out on the slopes
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Thanks all for the great summaries. Admittedly what I did with this first go with the board was quick and dirty... marked a couple of center points, drew a center line with a straight edge, taped down the template, punches holes, used a small bit to start the holes and then drilled with a 4.1 x 9 mm mounting bit. Really wanted to get a quick sense of the process and how things lined up. Templates do have scales on them which I’ve used to check the scale along with the distances between the holes. I will have plenty of time this weekend the do more practice runs to get the process down and it will include using a drill press, cleaning up the top of the holes with a countersink, and tapping the topsheet.
 

Eleeski

Making fresh tracks
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Nov 13, 2015
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San Diego / skis at Squaw Valley
Opening up dimensions a bit to allow a square mount sounds quite reasonable. Expecting every product to come out perfect and without any flashing or debris in the hole might be too optimistic. Certainly everything I get gets a checkout. If drilling a little bit on the binding fixes things, do it!

Of course, it's usually me. I have a tendency add some misalignment due to real world factors (my palsied incompetence at hitting exact dimensions). I've customized lots of bindings to fit my "wrong" holes and still had good service from the skis and bindings.

Practice does help. Get after those 1x4s.

Eric
 

mikes781

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Turns out there was a little slop in two of the holes in the binding frame. Touched them up lightly with a dremel bit and now the screws are squared up when they thread through the frame. I’m going to do a couple of test runs tomorrow step by step before moving on to the skis this weekend. Appreciate all the guidance that I’ve gotten here. :thumb:
 

mikes781

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Finished up the skis this weekend and it went off without any major issues. Steps I ended up taking after making a number of practice runs on pieces of lumber. Hopefully this helps another newbie if the want to try their hand at it. Feel free to critique if need;)
  • Printed template on vellum paper. The translucent paper made it easier to line up the paper at the correct BSL and on the center lines on the skis.
  • Double checked the dimensions on the template with the drawing scale and the noted dimensions between the holes. Also laid out the bindings on the templates to confirm everything lined up.
  • Placed a piece of painters tape on the ski mounting points and marked the boot mounting point. Double checked that those lines where at the same point by measuring from the ski tips. Also put some painters tape where the binding holes would go to make the marks easier to see. Credit to @KingGrump for that tip.
  • Ran painters tapes down the center of each ski. Marked multiple center points through the area where the bindings would be mounted. The binding templates had a center marking ruler and I used that measure off of the edges to mark the center points and then double checked the points and adjusted using calipers and a straight edge ruler. Used a straight edge through them to confirm that they lined up before drawing the center line. Spot check the center line gain at various points with the calipers.
  • Laid out the templates on the skis lining up the the boot mounting point and center lines before taping them down. Checked the BSL again with my books and laid the bindings on the skis again to make sure that everything looked good. Double checked dimensions from the edges to the center marks.
  • Made marks through the templates into the topsheets. I had a heavy duty fish hook laying around that I straightened out for this. Also marked the holes with a pen to make them a little more visible. Pulled off the templates and once again measured then distances between the center line and the points and the edges and the points. Lots and lots of measuring!:roflmao:Found one that was slightly off that I moved. Bindings went back on the skis for another eyeball test.
  • Used an automatic center hole punch on the points. More measuring and eyeball tests then on to the drill press. Probably wasn’t necessary but I put pilot holes through topsheets with a 5/32 drill bit. More spot checks...
  • Held my breath and drilled the holes using a 4.1 x 9 mm binding screw bit. Flipped over the skis and breathed again when the was no evidence of dimpling. The pilot holes did make it nice lining up the bit on the drill press before clamping the skis down and didn’t have issues with the bit wandering. The stop on the bit make a nice noise to alert me when I had reached that depth.
  • Tape came off and made a couple of hand turns on the top of holes with a countersink to remove any burrs. The looked pretty good to start.
  • Tapped each hole with a 12AB tap through the metal topsheets. Took about 2 turns.
  • Bindings all line up good so I filled the holes with Roo Clear glue. Spread the glue around the holes with a thin piece of meta wirel and wiped down the topsheets before screwing in the bindings. Used a pozidriver for that and went for screw to screw tightening each one a little bit at time.
All done! Overall it was easier than expected and just took some time and attention to detail. I went at a snails pace, but being locked up at home what else did I have to do! Thanks again for all of the great advice give here! :beercheer: And before I get one of these. :useless:
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