In search of the most suitable BC ski

[wabene]

@randoskier "How did you counter sink the screws in the soft plastic runners without trashing it?"

Countersink drill bits or some may call them bevel bits.

[randoskier]

That is true actually because that is the bar of the Grana River Brewery in Snaasa, Norway a very small but good brewpub. I know the owner well so I pulled my own!

This is a completely brilliant story. I love this part of the world and the people who live in it.

(I'm reminded of the time we went skiing in Finland and my reckless car-destroying wife we parked on two-metre-deep snow at the beginning of the snowmobile highway to Norway rather than the trailhead 'car park' and our big car sank. We'd cheaped out on international insurance because we hadn't intended to drive over the border, so we'd have to get a recovery vehicle to the middle of nowhere and pay for it ourselves. We tried everything. At which point a Finnish guy training to ascend Everest turned up on snowshoes with a full complement of avalanche equipment on his back, and serious competence and experience in his head, and showed us how to rock the car out of the mess we'd got in. He saved our lives. I've used that rocking method to get others out of deep snow since. Finland's the best and so are the Finns).

Greeting Ox,

That's the good side of the Finns... as my Norwegian friend from greedy Aalesund mentioned to me- the last time he was in Finland there was an axe murder in a bar (maybe one less Norwegian?).

Your wife has a future on the Demolition Derby circuit, and possibly in NASCAR (if she is a right-wing winger).

Anyone who skis on big, wide 270cm forest skis in flexible rubber boots is alright with me!

Viva Finland!

[randoskier]

@randoskier "How did you counter sink the screws in the soft plastic runners without trashing it?"

Countersink drill bits or some may call them bevel bits.

download (2).jpeg

Did you drill the big hole first or the screw hole?

[wabene]

@randoskier "How did you counter sink the screws in the soft plastic runners without trashing it?"

Countersink drill bits or some may call them bevel bits.

download (2).jpeg

Did you drill the big hole first or the screw hole?

Drill the pilot hole first to guide the bevel bit. Then you pretty much have to go slow and eyeball the depth stopping when the diameter of the bevel is larger than the screwhead

[GrimSurfer]

@randoskier "How did you counter sink the screws in the soft plastic runners without trashing it?"

Countersink drill bits or some may call them bevel bits.

download (2).jpeg

Did you drill the big hole first or the screw hole?

You need to use a counterbore bit with a pilot… like this.

A simple counterbore (without pilot bit) will dance all over your top sheet and result in a very poor chamfer).

Just make sure the pilot bit is smaller and shorter than the binding bit.

An alternate method is to drill your binding holes then use a tapered grinding bit from a Dremel to create a tapered recess in the top sheet. This can be done by hand or using a Dremel on low speed.

[Theme]

I think my bolts needed 4mm (or 5mm) holes so I first drilled all 4mm holes through - as the runners at this point are already bent, I placed a screw in the front to keep runners in place while drilling the rest

Then just drilled with an 8mm to about mid-depth of the runner to allow the head to sink in. Cleaned the edges with a sharp knife. Left about 4mm surface to wear out. I have only worn down about 1mm on the most prone areas after a thousand miles, also dragging on snow-free roads and such. It is tough material. Just be sure not to tighten the bolts too much. I used capped nuts on the other side, paired with 20mm spacers

I don't have fancy tools - wish I did. The dremel bits will get all clogged with plastic, so no reason to try them, it does not work.

What comes to the plastic for the runners - I emailed muovia.fi customer support. Oddly enough they do not have the correct option readily available on the website, even though quite many are doing these modifications. They'll cut you a custom piece. I think it was something in the realm of 15-20€ for two runners in that grade of plastic. Softer ones would be cheaper but who wants to do that

[wabene]

You can just use a larger drill bit for the bevel as @Theme mentioned. I suggest the bevel bit pictured because it works really well in plastic, with a super clean cut. That is exactly what it is designed for. Plus the angle of the cut matches the bevel angle of the screw. Maybe five bucks. I would not use the other tools mentioned.

[randoskier]

What comes to the plastic for the runners - I emailed muovia.fi customer support. Oddly enough they do not have the correct option readily available on the website, even though quite many are doing these modifications. They'll cut you a custom piece. I think it was something in the realm of 15-20€ for two runners in that grade of plastic. Softer ones would be cheaper but who wants to do that

Thank you, great info.

[GrimSurfer]

You can just use a larger drill bit for the bevel as @Theme mentioned. I suggest the bevel bit pictured because it works really well in plastic, with a super clean cut. That is exactly what it is designed for. Plus the angle of the cut matches the bevel angle of the screw. Maybe five bucks. I would not use the other tools mentioned.

You need to use a bevel gauge to make sure that the fastener and bit are the same angle. Without one of those, it’s a crap shoot regardless of what style bit you use. Why? Because fasteners have all kinds of bevel angles depending on whether they’re metric, SAE, UNC, UNF etc.

The problem with simply using a bigger standard drill bit for the head is that the bevel is almost certainly wrong. The head will not seat properly. More stress will occur where the material meets the top of the shank, which could lead to cracking. If the material is soft, it might just cam out over time and need to be tightened, retightened, tightened after that, and so on.

But hey, wtf do I know? Maybe I’m thinkun too much for Telemark Talk.

Everyone will go ahead and do what they want anyway. No sense using the right tools or even thinking about shit. That’s for amateurs. Life is more interesting when punctuated by failure. And it’s repeatable too, so the fun can last practically forever.

[randoskier]

You can just use a larger drill bit for the bevel as @Theme mentioned. I suggest the bevel bit pictured because it works really well in plastic, with a super clean cut. That is exactly what it is designed for. Plus the angle of the cut matches the bevel angle of the screw. Maybe five bucks. I would not use the other tools mentioned.

You need to use a bevel gauge to make sure that the fastener and bit are the same angle. Without one of those, it’s a crap shoot regardless of what style bit you use. Why? Because fasteners have all kinds of bevel angles depending on whether they’re metric, SAE, UNC, UNF etc.

The problem with simply using a bigger standard drill bit for the head is that the bevel is almost certainly wrong. The head will not seat properly. More stress will occur where the material meets the top of the shank, which could lead to cracking. If the material is soft, it might just cam out over time and need to be tightened, retightened, tightened after that, and so on.

But hey, wtf do I know? Maybe I’m thinkun too much for Telemark Talk.

Everyone will go ahead and do what they want anyway. No sense using the right tools or even thinking about shit. That’s for amateurs. Life is more interesting when punctuated by failure. And it’s repeatable too, so the fun can last practically forever.

Theme did it and it worked very well, look at his sled.