Mount Bindings

I'm new to the group and hope the flames will be kept to a minimum. My 6
year old was skiing on a pair of tiny Elan's which have relatively new and
in excellent shape Salomon 300 bindings. I managed to get a great deal on a
new set of K2 Magic from a Sports Authority ($50) and want to use the 300
bindings on these K2's but with the exact same boots. My son's weight has
not changed much since last season.

This binding simply use 4 screws in the back and 3 in the front. Can I mount
these bindings with the exact same measurements (distance between front
binding and back binding) from the old ski but percentage out for the
correct location on the new skis (110's)? The local shops want $50 just to
mount bindings because I didn't buy the boots or skis there. I know how to
adjust bindings for the additional weight and skill level and check for
motion etc... but need to know the specifics of drilling (measured depth)
and glue (what kind?).

Any help is appreciate. Please save the "pay the $50" flames. I'd like to
know if this is as simple as it looks.

Cheers

Schmoe wrote:

I'm new to the group and hope the flames will be kept to a minimum. My 6
year old was skiing on a pair of tiny Elan's which have relatively new and
in excellent shape Salomon 300 bindings. I managed to get a great deal on a
new set of K2 Magic from a Sports Authority ($50) and want to use the 300
bindings on these K2's but with the exact same boots. My son's weight has
not changed much since last season.

This binding simply use 4 screws in the back and 3 in the front. Can I mount
these bindings with the exact same measurements (distance between front
binding and back binding) from the old ski but percentage out for the
correct location on the new skis (110's)? The local shops want $50 just to
mount bindings because I didn't buy the boots or skis there. I know how to
adjust bindings for the additional weight and skill level and check for
motion etc... but need to know the specifics of drilling (measured depth)
and glue (what kind?).

Any help is appreciate. Please save the "pay the $50" flames. I'd like to
know if this is as simple as it looks.

Cheers



To be quite honest, I do all of the work on my skis myself - except for
mounting bindings. In reality it may be a simple process, but I feel
safer knowing that someone with experience has mounted them for me.

--
Chester Bullock,
Ethical, custom website hosting, design and programming
Tenxible Solutions, http://www.tenxible.com
Web Based Autoresponder and DRIP system, http://www.toolsre.com
AIM: tenxible YahooIM: ccb247

Schmoe wrote:

I'm new to the group and hope the flames will be kept to a minimum. My 6
year old was skiing on a pair of tiny Elan's which have relatively new and
in excellent shape Salomon 300 bindings. I managed to get a great deal on a
new set of K2 Magic from a Sports Authority ($50) and want to use the 300
bindings on these K2's but with the exact same boots. My son's weight has
not changed much since last season.

This binding simply use 4 screws in the back and 3 in the front. Can I mount
these bindings with the exact same measurements (distance between front
binding and back binding) from the old ski but percentage out for the
correct location on the new skis (110's)? The local shops want $50 just to
mount bindings because I didn't buy the boots or skis there. I know how to
adjust bindings for the additional weight and skill level and check for
motion etc... but need to know the specifics of drilling (measured depth)
and glue (what kind?).

Any help is appreciate. Please save the "pay the $50" flames. I'd like to
know if this is as simple as it looks.

You need to know several things
Where should the boot be on the new skis? Some skiboots don't even have
the center mark, so right away you're up against dealing with ski
cord-length and boot toe position issues - a whole art unto itself.
Assuming the boots and the skis have center marks, you position the
boots at the right location, set the binding heels to the middle of
their track, place the toe and heal bindings pieces appropriately, mark,
centerpunch, and drill the holes, screw the binding down, set the
forward pressure adjustment, set the DIN adjustment, and check for
proper release function and release force. (BTW, you mount the second
ski relative to the first ski binding position; not by going through the
positioning process again. You want matched mountings, even if the ski
position marks are slightly askew.)

Problems occur in drilling the holes right through the base - using a
drill press makes that easy to avoid; and in mis-drilling - proper
center punching can control mis-drilling. But the primary problem is in
testing release function and force - and this is why most will advise
against doing your own mounting, including me. The shop charges alot
because they have an expensive, complex machine to amortise that does
these tests accurately. So there's some risk in doing it yourself: it
can be done. BTW, my boy spiraled his tibia when he was 5 - landed a
jump wrong. The bindings were professionally mounted and checked; it
didn't help. Skiing's a risk sport.

I recommend you not mount your own, but get a shop to mount and test the
bindings. (However, you can get a shop to adjust and test bindings that
are already mounted - probably for about half the mount price. They
won't know you mounted them yourself, if you did it right.)

Schmoe wrote:

I'm new to the group and hope the flames will be kept to a minimum. My 6
year old was skiing on a pair of tiny Elan's which have relatively new and
in excellent shape Salomon 300 bindings. I managed to get a great deal on a
new set of K2 Magic from a Sports Authority ($50) and want to use the 300
bindings on these K2's but with the exact same boots. My son's weight has
not changed much since last season.

This binding simply use 4 screws in the back and 3 in the front. Can I mount
these bindings with the exact same measurements (distance between front
binding and back binding) from the old ski but percentage out for the
correct location on the new skis (110's)? The local shops want $50 just to
mount bindings because I didn't buy the boots or skis there. I know how to
adjust bindings for the additional weight and skill level and check for
motion etc... but need to know the specifics of drilling (measured depth)
and glue (what kind?).

Any help is appreciate. Please save the "pay the $50" flames. I'd like to
know if this is as simple as it looks.

This is not a flame, but the standard advice is to have this work done
by a qualified professional. It's not rocket science, but since you
don't have access to the measurement tools that allow you to verify that
it's been done right, its not a good idea to do it yourself.

If you shop around you should be able to find a place to mount them for
less than $50.

--
//-Walt
//
// The Volkl Conspiracy

Mount-your-own?

Along with the recommendations already posted here ...

Assuming the bindings were correctly mounted before, it would not be too
difficult to make a template off the old skis, and transfer that drilling
pattern to the new skis.

Tooling you'll need --

* drill press
* clamp equipment to hold ski rigidly in place on drill press
* correct size drill bits
* correct size taps
* correct size NEW mounting hardware

plus misc. stuff like maybe a transfer punch set to make a sample template
to compare to the old skis, misc. adhesives and shop chemicals, etc. etc.

Oh, and a way to limit the depth of the drilled hole. Some drill presses
have an attachment for this; if you use it you'll also need a depth gauge
to verify the hole depth.

Wait, I forgot, your taps have to be bottoming taps, or otherwise the screws
will enlarge the bottom of the hole and distort the topskin, forcing the
bindings up from the topskin and jeopardizing their action and/or causing
them to fall off ...

Wait, I forgot, the necessary skills are not rocket science but you DO need
to know how to operate the machinery AND make accurate measurements and markings
-- did I mention enough squares and straightedges to ensure that the bindings
are parallel to the centerline of the skis? A yardstick is not sufficient,
but a 36" steel machinist's rule is a good start. You'll also need a machinist's
scale to verify hole positions before you start drilling...

Since I already have most of the tooling, I'd risk mounting my own bindings
if the new skis AND bindings were free or next-to-free, AND if I didn't have
anything better to do. I'm guessing it'd take me a few hours to do.

And that doesn't include the maintenance on my existing tooling investment,
or the new stuff I'd need to buy, which would push my out-of-pocket cost
close to $50.

In short, mounting bindings is well within the realm of something that you
could do in your basement or garage shop, assuming you had the tooling and
training, but most people choose to farm out this little bit of work because
it's just not cost-effective to do it at home.

The up-side? If you mount your own and something goes wrong, it's easy to
beat up the last ski tuner who worked on your sticks. I have a little story
about a ski patroller who caught me readjusting my bindings at the top of
the lift ...

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:23:01 -0000, wrote:


Mount-your-own?

Along with the recommendations already posted here ...

Assuming the bindings were correctly mounted before, it would not be too
difficult to make a template off the old skis, and transfer that drilling
pattern to the new skis.

Tooling you'll need --

* drill press

Not in any of the shops I've seen doing mountings.

JP
***************
One less nit.

Jay Pique wrote:

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:23:01 -0000, wrote:



Tooling you'll need --

* drill press


Not in any of the shops I've seen doing mountings.

Agreed. Shops have jigs instead, which makes hole placement easier
(although I've seen some carefully mis-placed holes on new skis come out
of shops) - if you don't have a jig, a drill press can help you place
(and control depth of) the holes.

wrote:

I have a little story
about a ski patroller who caught me readjusting my bindings at the top of
the lift ...

And?

Are you going to say there's a mountain where they discourage
self-reliance? My local hill puts at several workbenches scattered
around the hill, with tools (chained to the bench, naturally - there are
boarders around) for binding self-adjustments and general repairs.

lal_truckee wrote:

wrote:

I have a little story
about a ski patroller who caught me readjusting my bindings at the top of
the lift ...

And?

Are you going to say there's a mountain where they discourage
self-reliance? My local hill puts at several workbenches scattered
around the hill, with tools (chained to the bench, naturally - there are
boarders around) for binding self-adjustments and general repairs.

We've got those here, but the damn chains are just short enough and the
table is just high enough that I have to take my boots off in order to
use the damn screwdriver to adjust one of the settings. I need to do
more stretching exercises.

--
Cheers,
Bev
================================================== ==============
"Everything sucks; reverse the wires and everything will blow."
-- Desert Ed

lal_truckee wrote:
wrote:

I have a little story
about a ski patroller who caught me readjusting my bindings at the top
of
the lift ...

And?

Are you going to say there's a mountain where they discourage
self-reliance?

Actually, on this trip I'd rented demo boards and skiied on them a couple
days but took my old Volants with me to the hill. I thought I'd do a few
runs on the old stuff to compare.

Naturally, I didn't notice until I'd skiied about 50 yards off the top of
the first lift that I'd loosened the binding settings back to zero for storage.

No big deal, except that a patroller saw me (clad in Texan neon) skid up
to a bench, take off both sticks, and start cranking like hell on all the
binding screws. He asked "what the hell are you DOING?"

I muttered something about "the last guy who tuned these" but he left me
alome when he saw that I at least appeared to have a clue about what I was
doing.

That wasn't as bad as the first time I used my adjust-o-matic Salomon Equipe
boots (1992) and had to swap the cant plates from one boot to the other ...
halfway up the hill at the Heave.

Nowadays I pay bootfitters to ply their trade.