How to mount ski bindings at home - free and easy!

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

A couple of observations. Ski binding screws use Posidrive #3 not Phillips. The most common drill bit sizes recommended by manufacturers would be 3.5-9.0mm, 3.6-9.5mm for non metal skis, 4.1-9.0mm,4.1-9.5 for skis with metal. Always use a 12AB tap to cut the thread in a ski with metal. These are step drill bits that only penetrate to the correct depth and have a counter sink. A drill guide is useful when drilling metal which can require more downward pressure. The guide helps you drill straight. Binding technical manuals recommend a wood type glue to lube the screw and help seal the screw hole from moisture. When setting up the toe and heel by eye keep in mind the some toe pieces have a preload on the wings so the boot pushes the forward. The toe piece requires the proper forward pressure from the heel to ensure proper release in a twisting release. When the boot is inserted the heel piece actually moves backwards on the track. Always double check the forward pressure after mounting and adjustment. The boot and bindings are a release system and the release spring needs to be set and calibrated to a skiers hight, weight, age, boot sole length and skier type. Just because you set a binding to a certain DIN number doesn’t mean that the boot and binding will actually release at that value. This should be checked by measuring the requirements with a force measuring device/ torque wrench. The same chart that recommends the DIN setting also lists the proper release force range in twist and forward falls.

[@EveryotherKarl]

Very helpful. Hope everyone reads this. I've just done my own bindings several times - looks like you have some serious knowledge.

[@aslanerken6918]

Cool comment 👍🏻

[@alwaysbattlin]

I agree with every thing said above! Good add on. I just want to add something. If you are buying old equipment like this, you will have to work on it yourself. Check and see if your bindings are indemnified before you buy them, because a shop will not work on them if they are not. Thanks

[@ashersymanowicz1099]

Do you have a set of bits you would recommend getting?

[@J_Smith7]

How do you use a torque wrench to test the force require for a specific din release value?

[@BenHoselton]

I consider myself fairly handy and watching this video convinced me it is worth $70 to have someone else do this for me

[@Nickporter17]

Really? Looks stupid some to me.

[@yuhokim8718]

More like $100 now…

[@DRL1320]

No one in my mid-South city does bindings. Therefore, I calculated that the cost would include the tuning shop’s fee plus a day of rental so I wouldn’t miss at least a half-day of my five days of skiing (even assuming the shop thought the glue was okay to use the skis on day one).

[@damianhenry6227]

Awesome video. I got two pairs of skies a a thrift store for 15 bucks and I was having issues figuring out how to slide the back of my bindings to open it up more. Your video was exactly what I was looking for in order to learn how to adjust them. Now there perfect.

[@johnlinn5929]

Love it, no paper template or jig necessary. Unfortunately lift ticket prices here in CO are about 6x the price of your skis!

[@smartone9787]

Awesome video! I want to mount my own skis because I don’t trust the shop to mount them true dead center, and this video is a great and easy to follow tutorial. Thanks!

[@Livigirl6]

This guy has all the measuring tools I had in 5th grade 🤣🤣 haven’t had a half circle measuring tool since then and never thought it would have a real practical use right on

[@7DaysDeath]

Karl! Great vid, good pacing, excellent execution. You really helped me out and it was easy to follow along. I was fortunate enough that I only needed to drill 2 new holes per ski instead of 7. Anyway, keep up the good work! Happy skiing!!!!

[@itsjustfuhrman]

Thank you for this video, I just bought a set of used skis and boots, and the boots are about a quarter inch too large for the bindings at max adjustability. After watching your video I feel like this will be a fun project to do to re adjust the rear binding back since the boot and the ski centers match with where the front binding is. Probably saved me a ton from taking it to a shop when I could do it myself.

[@josephkemp5604]

Thank you Karl - that was very informative and will save me $70 tech fees for mounting.

[@Bonzer460]

went to the only ski repair in the area (Oxnard, Ca.) & they couldn't do the bindings because there wasn't enough tread on the boots! Liability issue. Price is $110 for labor. Here I go! Thank you for the VHS & comments! Stuck at Mountain High! Season pass $499!

[@guckertott]

I once accidentally installed my bindings backwards on a pair of skis. I decided to go with it rather than re-drill them. Over one year of skiing this way, I mastered skiing with the flat side forward. I was then able to transition into skiing backwards on my other pairs of regularly mounted bindings. I then could easily ski (and jump) backwards at Freestyle events. Over a two year period, others began copying me and it became a critical aspect of freestyle jumping. So when you see others skiing backwards and jumping backwards, please give proper respect to the originator. Remember the name Gucker Tott.

[@saragoing]

Really great video, thanks so much! Also the old straight-ski you pulled the binding off will make a great shot-ski!

[@chuckruffing6283]

Nice work... I literally have about fifty skis to mount..The rest I am turning into ski furniture. I got a ski areas old rental gear before they restocked with new. Some are trash but some are in great condition...

[@brents7858]

Thank you for the video, I am getting ready to mount my first set of bindings and you really had some great ideas.

[@remyr5749]

Makes me appreciate what snowboard mfg's did by putting in tapped inserts during the mfg process. Maybe someday, ski companies will adopt the same standard.

[@Mr.blue1400]

Shut up

[@jd42305]

I don't see any reason why ski manufacturers don't do this other than ski shops want customers to rely on them.

[@wickeed100]

Great vid and ideas. Thanks, will try on my own skis!

[@jcobra09]

Bro! You’re the man! Thanks a ton. Great instruction. I’d rather do it myself.

[@J_Smith7]

$40 for pair of unused skis and great condition bindings vs $700 new skis and $300 bindings. $960 cost difference. Nice job 👍

[@pirateskeleton7828]

I’ll be doing this myself on my new skis since I don’t want to have to overnight them at a shop to get the bindings installed. You’ve demonstrated that having the right tools and a basic know-how can get it done.

[@RealMitchRappisBack]

thanks for sharing. no. criticism here but i would like to recommend…. anytime a drill needs to be used with a heavy clear or gel coat, run the drill in reverse for just a couple turns. it will prevent blowout and the heating of the gel which creates that ridge you trimmed with the exacto knife

[@Seriksy]

If you just need to install new bindings using the same holes because the previous ones broke. You basically just unscrew them, and screw the new ones in? Ofc adjusting the weight for release and all that too

[@whatintarnation4969]

so this was center mounted correct. sounded like you said you were lining up the center of the boot with the center of the ski

[@grilledchickenwrap]

great video... will need to adjust the bindings on the skis I bought as my boot is too big :D hopefully I wont screw up.

[@robbiesharp311]

Thank you. Great video buddy. I'm in Utah.

[@Pounamu78]

Do the shops add the glue? Does that stop you ever taking the screws out?

[@rhunt811]

Great video. I had to move some bindings and your ideas were great. Turned out perfect.

[@nacholagunagomez5317]

Nice vid!! Hey i just got a qst 98 from my cousin mounted bindings for his 305mm sole (26,5), i use 29.5 so more than that (not sure the lenght of my sole), will i have any problem to use those bindings? (Shift 13), thanks so much!!!

[@drewgsands]

Did it, you made it easy. Thanks

[@kristianholdhus3328]

Easy to follow. A lot of good pointers 👌

[@Kenny_Edmonton]

I want to save the money and do it myself but I just don’t know if it’s worth the hassle

[@EveryotherKarl]

It is a bit tricky

[@darylfortney8081]

in terms of finding the centerline of the ski and bindings that method will always have enough error that you aren't actually on center. better is to just put the binding on the ski and center it by feel on each side with your fingers and tape it down and double check side measurements are equal with calipers.

[@J_Smith7]

Since super glue becomes brittle more quickly than other substances do u think a type of epoxy would be better or not a deal breaker? Also, you made the process seem munch easier from what i have been hearing. Seems like anyone with patience and basic tool skills can mount. Great clear video👍

[@dustinlee2310]

You don't want to use super glue or epoxy, actually. The screws' threads are shaped such that the glue of any kind really doesn't contribute to their strength. The thread pitch and size gives it its strength. Glue can help them not back out. But with the proper torque, they won't ever back out, even with no glue. Adding super glue or epoxy will cause the screws to lock in so hard that taking them off will ruin the immediate area around the screw, or the screw head will strip. Most binding technicians and manufacturers recommend using Titebond wood glue. It seems too weak, but it actually works great. It bonds very well to the wood core and most importantly it does a great job sealing the holes from water ingress. Water/humidity getting in the screw holes over time will rot the wood and the screws will be more likely to pull out.

[@J_Smith7]

@@dustinlee2310 thanks for the detailed reply 👍

[@Ydooo]

where did you find these skis for 40$?

[@EveryotherKarl]

At a ski swap

[@Ydooo]

@@EveryotherKarl there is no such a thing in Europe :/

[@EveryotherKarl]

@@Ydooo dang, that's a bummer

[@DavidDrayer]

Awesome video!

[@reneguinot9982]

Très Bien

[@hunterbancroft290]

You said the binding technology hasn't changed which might be true but the springs can still wear out. I think I would want to test the bindings before I would trust them.

[@modytube]

And that is what he also recommends in the video. It'a a perfekt viedo. 😊

[@JackDobson-zf4rn]

Very good video

[@reneguinot9982]

Très bien

[@danielyakymyshyn8280]

hey... what happens if your bindings are not entirely flush with the ski? I think the glue dried faster than I was able to drill. I have like a 1mm gap between binding and ski. Good/bad?

[@EveryotherKarl]

Ideally it would be flush - but you might be ok if the screws are tight.

[@danielyakymyshyn8280]

Screws are definitely tight. Thank for the reply!

[@alistairharris7891]

Or just download the template and print it out. Then lay it out and drill the holes

[@enricofumi8072]

useful video, many shops here refuses to work on old stuff. i have a pair of gs skis where i wore off the edges and they have steel racing binding still perfectly functional. i asked to mount the bindings on a pair of old voelkl P20 that i still enjoy using, but no! the ski is too old so it's dangerous (??!).

[@r0gers96]

They have too… the ski isn’t reliable and if your binding ever came off you would have a big payday… you can’t blame them🤷‍♂️

[@enricofumi8072]

@@r0gers96 please... they sell you junk skis for 200€ that become unstable after 5 runs. have you ever seen a binding coming off a quality ski in good condition? probably only if wasn't mounted properly. but they also told me that their edge tool isn't hard enough to sharpen the old ski. strangely enough they were super ready to sell me a new pair and change the basic bindings with mines

[@jamesroscoe7555]

@@enricofumi8072 I can see a shop not wanting to touch old bindings due to liability. They have moving parts that can degrade and fail with age. Skis otoh just get worn out from tuning. I've kept a pair of P9 RS - what a contrast vs the modern world cup racetigers haha...

[@enricofumi8072]

@@jamesroscoe7555 so car shops should refuse to work on anything more than 12 y/o. carpenters won't touch any building built before 2002 etc...

[@jamesroscoe7555]

@@enricofumi8072 The difference with a car or a house, is the binding industry specifically provides a list of indemnified bindings and any binding not on the list, a shop will usually reject. The binding manufacturer will no longer support bindings not on their list, so if a shop does work on them, the shop will incur all liability. Some of the parts in some bindings are plastic and can age and crack unexpectedly, so it is fairly legitimate that the manufacturing engineering staff would advise of the risk. The same is true with car tires. Shops will often not reinstall tires over a certain age (tire manufacturers often say 6 years) due to potential liability. Tires can last longer before spider line cracks happen, but it is easier for a shop to go by numbers. Helmets also... if you crash in a 10 year old helmet and it fails, good luck suing. In a house, smoke detectors often have a defined life and are designed to "fail" with a siren at some lifetime rather than not go off in a fire. The binding industry works the same way. Older skis otoh are imho totally fine generally unless there is some sort of serious visible damage.

[@ELY-SI-UM]

Excellent, thank you.

[@grilledchickenwrap]

anyone know of a good waterproof glue to use on the screw and holes ? also what type of glue to use to fill existing holes on the skis ? thanks.

[@dadama66]

Titebond 3 and Elmers Wood Glue max (also called Pro bond max in Canada) are rated as waterproof. Glue stating weather proof or water resistant are not waterproof.

[@psychedeliccheese]

Thanks buddy!

[@bradstudio]

You could also buy a drill hole guide and proper drill bits and have this all done in under 5 minutes....

[@grujenkins]

Although this looks like a properly mounted ski it isn't. By mounting the bindings this way the alignment of the boot to binding interface will be off which in turn affects the proper function of the system, hence it makes it unsafe. Best left to your local ski shop.

[@Simon-cn2id]

Amazing how ski industry still haven't made changes to such a laboring process that only someone handy in construction would be able to do. Meanwhile, snowboard bindings mountings are so easy it only takes minutes and any 8 yr old can do

[@jd42305]

As a snowboarder buying skis as a Christmas gift for someone, I'm appalled at how inaccessible this process is. I was naive and bought bindings for sale online, only to have no idea that they're not easy to install like snowboard bindings AND shops here are charging $100 if you didn't buy from them. One of a few reasons I'm glad I picked snowboarding is it seems the barrier to entry at least when it comes to gear is way more straight forward and accessible and less pretentious.

[@madmattthehatter]

the local shop charges $10... Dropping my new skies off tomorrow

[@nonyabizniss3292]

Great video! Thanks.

[@rebeccaheidenreich5939]

Thanks this was helpful!!

[@KyleRattay]

Wrong glue wrong drill bit list goes on and on jig is how you get things straight and perfect. I call this video what not too do!

[@user-rt3qv8dx5v]

Cool.

[@videoworks7731]

nice and clear

[@d.a.g.532]

Качественно и понятно🤝👍

[@MrSlappy1423]

And this is why snowboarding is superior to skiing

[@kevinprzystawski3177]

I'll have a shop do it and actually confirm the bindings are working correctly. If you can't spend $50 to mount and test ski bindings maybe this sport isn't for you

[@jackcleverly3183]

Just take your skis to a shop yall, theres so many ways mounting skis can go wrong, 9 times out of ten skis boot center mark isnt the same exact spot on both skis so most of the time we end up making our own mark in between the two marks

[@uswwt]

Snowboards are waaaay easier! Bindings usually support multiple mounting systems. Screw holes or rail already built-in on the board. So a simple screw driver is sufficient to complete the job. There is no need to worry about boot size (well, except small, medium and large) and no DIN to mess with. Drilling holes into an expensive pair of skis!?!? holy crap, the scenario of drilling the wrong hole is too horrifying. I will pay the pros to do it. Hey, already shell out 500+ for the flat skis, 150+ for the bindings and 400+ for the boots, might as well pay more to get it mounted, right? So at this point, the skis setup is already much more expensive than an average setup for boarding. There is also a draw back that the components are not very interchangeable. Say, if you have multiple boards and just one pair of binding, you can move the bindings around the boards easily and save money. You can do that with the skis too. Except that you have to pay the pros to do it!?!? On a power day, I will just use the screw drivers at a resort bench to quickly move my snowboard bindings to the back. I don't think this kind of flexibility is possible for skis :) Anyways, enough ranting. I am a snowboarder trying to pick up skiing as well. Just want to rant after spending some good money for skiing gears but before I can get onto the mountains.

[@EveryotherKarl]

Snowboard bindings are definitely easier, and you're right, if you're spending big money on equipment already, you might as well tack on more to pay a pro - but if you're on a budget, there's a way to do it yourself :)

[@hotskillet]

Yet another full of 💩💩 angry millennial looking for attention. Relevant DIY video for those who decide to tackle the job themselves.

[@carterleynes6380]

You just said find a pro LOL

[@quentinbailey3582]

yeah,I noticed that... I'm not brave enough to mess up the skis I just bought, I just watched this to understand why some stores claim they can't mount certain brands

[@giantsfan1259]

@@quentinbailey3582 cause they aren’t brave enough to mount them either…lol

[@Nickporter17]

You probably need one

[@msminny-qt6zk]

poo

[@SuiGenerisMan]

Yes, if you buy a pair of trash skis that were made before smartphones existed - you can try mounting them yourself. If you buy brand new, carbon fiber skies with marker griffon bindings, you'd be an idiot to mount them yourself.

[@andersstrandhagen5489]

Great video. Thanks!