Telemark Ski Mounting 101
Telemark Ski Mounting 101 This is a detailed, step by step instruction for mounting your boards. Folks have different ways, but this is the standard as recommended by almost all tele ski manufacturers. It works for us and has for thousands of other freeheel believers. Follow the links below to read some more expert advice submitted to Telemarkski.com
Supplies Needed
Workspace: preferably a bench long enough to hold your skis and at a level where you can drill. Better yet, drill with a ski vice.
#3 Posidrive screwdriver: It looks like a #3 Phillips head but has a flattened point. Not having this drastically increases the chances of stripping the screw heads. If you don't want to kick down for a #3 Posi, you can take your chances by filling the last 1/8" of the point of a #3 Phillips flat.
Tape measure: 8ft. or longer, preferably with centimeter markings.
Wood glue: Siliconebased glue or wood glue (Elmer's). Epoxy works for sealing moisture out of the drill holes (the main point of using glue) and holds the screws in place, too. But you'll have much more difficulty removing screws later. (You usually need to heat the screws to soften the epoxy and get a bit lucky if you want to remove epoxied screws later).
Drill: a basic cordless hand drill is fine.
Drill bits: The correct size drill bit is essential. There are two standard sizes: 3.5mm x 9mm, and 4.1mm x 9mm. Most skis without metal topsheets use a 3.5mm bit. Usually skis that make an exception to this are marked somewhere on the topsheet or sidewall of the ski with a small circle and slash (sign for drill bit) and the number 4.0 or 4.1. Skis with a metal topsheet always use a 4.1mm bit. Ski drill bits have a built in collar to drill the holes to a specific depth. You can use a regular bit but you have to be really careful not to drill through the skis.
Binding template or Jig: Either the paper template that comes with a new binding or the jig specified by the manufacturer (a much better choice but a lot harder to come by).
Binding specific directions: the manufacturer's directions and specifications for mounting.
File: For detuning.
Wax and iron: For base preparation.
Marker or crayon: For marking skis.
Straight edge or something you can make a straight line with.
Mounting Instructions
Set the skis up in the vice, if not using vices you can use cclamps but protect your boards with a rag!
Measure the top of the ski from tail to tip in a straight line to the summit of the tip.
Divide this number by two.
The number you have now is what you use to find the center chord of the ski.
Measure that number from the tail towards the center of the ski on the top surface. Make a mark on the ski at this point. Repeat this for each ski. This is the chord center. This is also where the pin holes of the boot sole should end up. It's also the place to put the obvious mark on most jigs and templates to line jig up before drilling.
For twin tips you may need specific directions from the ski manufacturer. Follow this to read an article by Chris Clark on mounting twin tips.
RE-MEASURE EACH SKI TO VERIFY THAT THIS MARK IS IN THE SAME PLACE ON BOTH SKIS.
Not everyone likes to mount their bindings at chord center (but probably 80+% do). Most old school racers moved their bindings back 12cm. Some people use the balance point (this is the point to use on Nordic touring skis) which is almost always in front of the chord center, but more people are likely to use a spot halfway between chord and balance, or 1cm in front of chord. Serious jibbers often use a boot center calculation (which also moves you forward of chord center).
If you don't have a specific reason or known personal preference for something specific, use chord center.
Put the template on the ski lining up the center chord from the template with the ski center chord. Line up and center the template very, very carefully and tape it onto the surface of the ski.
Use a center punch or nail and hammer a good indentation at each of the drill marks on the template. You can remove the template now but you don't have to.
Set up drill /w correct bit size. NOTE: Use a 4.1mm bit for metal top sheet. To tell if your skis are metal top sheet look at the profile of the ski and you will see metal towards the top. A cap ski usually does not have metal top sheet, but if you start to drill and see metal shavings then you should be using a 4.1 bit. Some companies like Rossignol are using both cap and sandwich construction.
Having steadied hands drill straight down for all the holes marked. Do the same for ski #2.
When done drilling, turn the ski over and tap the base of the ski to clean the holes out.
If your skis are metal top sheet you need to tap the ski. A tap makes threads in the metal so the screw has something to match. If you don't tap the hole you risk the screw going in offset.
You are ready to screw on the binding.
NOTE: Make sure that the screws are not to long. If they are, you'll have to cut or file down the screws. If they are too long they can possibly push out the base or go all the way through the ski bad news if that happens! This problem is especially prevalent with a lot of the fat powder boards that don't have a lot of ski height under the foot.
Fill the holes with glue. Line up the binding holes with the holes in the ski.
Start with the forward hole and move to the back screws.
Do not screw all the way in. Screw them all in tight after you have them started. Screw by hand. Using a drill can strip the holes!
Repeat on the other ski.
NOTE:If you are using risers make sure that the screws you have are long enough!
Heel Piece
Put your boot in the toe piece.
Put the heelpiece under the heel of the boot.
Carefully remove the boot making sure that you do not knock the heelpiece loose.
Measure from the back of the toe piece to the front of the heelpiece.
Mark the holes of the heelpiece on the ski.
Repeat on the other ski using the original measurement from toe to heel.
Line the skis up next to each other and make sure you measured correctly.
Drill and screw just like for the toe piece.
NOTE: If using climbing wires that are not meant to be removed, put them on before you screw on the heel piece.
Mounting Twin Tips
Twintips are all over the mountain nowadays. They're in the pipe, the park, the bumps, the trees, the steeps, and the backcountry. People are amped on the new boards but are getting stumped at the workbench. With twintips, either tele or alpine boards, all of our 'rules of thumb' no longer hold true. Mounting off Chord Center (standard tele mounting location) can move you boot as much as 3 inches behind ski/boot center! Mounting off ski/boot center can leave the skier with, what feels like, a remarkably short tip, and a huge tail.
Whenever you're mounting ANY ski and you're confused about mounting location, it's helpful to mark multiple measuring techniques and visually compare your options. Twintips are best mounted by comparing ski/boot center and at a chord center measured just behind the tails' contact point. The more likely you'll be hucking fakie carcass in the park, the more you should favor ski/boot center. If you're mounting your new boards for allmountain use, you may want to err towards chord center. Make sure you mount your bindings tipforward, but you may end up remounting your new boards anyways after a few days on them. It's incredibly common to transform your twin tips from dogs to rockets, simply by remounting them forward or back. Try not to worry about the holes; your remount should move them far enough from your original mount. (NOTE: for ski/boot center measuring, the ski must be marked and you must mark the boot halfway between the heel and the pinline: mark the PINLINE on the ski after matching boot/ski center to give a relative comparison to CC.)
by Chris Clark
