Swapping bindings - is it bad? is it hard?

[johnnycanuck]

I was gifted an old pair of Fischer Silent Spider skis. But they use an older Salomon binding. They look to be in an OK shape. My plan was to use them as rock skis, but also let my wife borrow them to see if she enjoys backcountry XCing.

Two questions for you folks, might be silly ones but I've never done this before so I had to ask...

- Is it safe to swap them with NNN-BC bindings?
- Is it easy to swap them?

With regards to the second question, I've never installed bindings, but I'm confident I've got all the tools and precision skills to do so (woodworking is my other hobby).

[Woodserson]

Go for it.

Plug the old holes using plastic plugs available at Tognar, or some other sort of plug. Polyurethane glue is helpful as it expands.

Mount the new bindings. About 1cm distance from old holes is generally the rule, especially with alpine stuff, but you can go closer if you fill the other holes with a durable 2 part epoxy with some sort of filler. You can also re-use old holes too if the threads are still good and the screw is the same. But if there are any doubts, new holes. The NNN-BC binding can be a bit tricky, it tends to walk up the screw as you're driving it, and it can be mounted slightly off-kilter as well. A clamp can help keep things straight as an arrow. 3.6mm drill bit for the pilot holes. Pin line is directly underneath the forward edge of the metal bar clamp.

Lots and lots of binding tutorials on youtube, internet, etc etc. watch a few vids.

[johnnycanuck]

Cool. Thanks for the advice, I'll start digging into the threads specific to mounting now

[phoenix]

A few more thoughts on the remount... 1 cm clearance between existing holes should be considered the minimum, if you're simply plugging with plastic plugs. On a wood core ski (I think this includes the silent spiders?), however, if you plug the old holes with wooden plugs & epoxy, allowing to harden properly, you can remount closer, or even overlap the hole.
I forget the specific pattern here, but seem to recall the BC's will require a couple different holes. Epoxied wood plugs in a wood core ski makes things easier and stress free (or less so).

And as Woods said, reusing existing holes is fine, if they are clean and solid. Use a good adhesive. I'm not a fan of the generic binding glues; I prefer two part epoxy, or a silicon adhesive, such as plumber's goop (this is underrated and underused, so to speak).

[John Dee]

Swapping your own bindings is a good thing, not a bad thing.

[johnnycanuck]

A few more thoughts on the remount... 1 cm clearance between existing holes should be considered the minimum, if you're simply plugging with plastic plugs. On a wood core ski (I think this includes the silent spiders?), however, if you plug the old holes with wooden plugs & epoxy, allowing to harden properly, you can remount closer, or even overlap the hole.
I forget the specific pattern here, but seem to recall the BC's will require a couple different holes. Epoxied wood plugs in a wood core ski makes things easier and stress free (or less so).

And as Woods said, reusing existing holes is fine, if they are clean and solid. Use a good adhesive. I'm not a fan of the generic binding glues; I prefer two part epoxy, or a silicon adhesive, such as plumber's goop (this is underrated and underused, so to speak).

Is a hardwood dowel the same as a wood plug in this context? Or am I misunderstanding?

In terms of two part epoxy, any recommendations? Most my experience is with West system marine epoxy which is a two part. But might be overkill for this.

Would you open the holes further to get a larger plug in? E.g drill a 1/4" and get the new plug in there tight or am I looking to just fill the void with half epoxy half dowel?

[fgd135]

If the hole patterns are the same, it is certainly ok to reuse the same holes for the new bindings instead of plugging and redrilling...in any case, measure twice, drill once.
Like others have said, you may have to position the new binding so the new holes are at least 1cm from the old holes.
Otherwise, don't enlarge the old holes, just fill them with epoxy or some other waterproof glue if you don't have plastic hole plugs. Certainly don't hog em out with a 1/4" bit; bad practice, and can weaken the ski.
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

[phoenix]

Just now looked at the post again:
A wood plug is sized and tapered to fit binding screw holes. A dowel would be fine... but I highly recommend whittling/sanding it down to fit snugly in the hole with taps from a mallet; you don't want to mash something in there. Plastic plugs are fine if you have lots of clearance between holes; the closer spacing (even overlapping is possible) is where the wood plugs shine.
(Golf tees, trimmed to size, were often used back in the day.)

For epoxy, I mostly use a regular 2 part, slower set preferred. Get a good mix, and allow some quality drying time. A good wood glue will also work well. I dab just a drop or two in the hole, the aforementioned fitted hardwood plug provides the integrity, the glue is basically a sealant.

[corlay]

would some sawdust mixed with gorilla glue to form a “wet paste” work well for filling abandoned screw holes?

[fisheater]

would some sawdust mixed with gorilla glue to form a “wet paste” work well for filling abandoned screw holes?

For me, I keep epoxy on hand. That is what I would use. If I was right next to the new screw hole I would use a hard wood dowel. I’m sure polyurethane glue with sawdust would work, but it would not be my choice. It certainly should seal the hole.