The new -2017- CAST touring system thread

[grinch]

Thanks for the info. I got a second ski kit, 'problem' is one of the skis are already on inserts. The second skis are from gear swap already drilled with a paper template, which is not optimal. Eyeing them up, it should be ok if I redrill with a jig and the larger diameter insert drill. I have no other option besides inserts really. Will report back on how they turn out, casts are in the post and should arrive soon.
Merry Christmas.

You mught want to do the Thom xxxer combo technique. Remove inserts ez as with Thom tech then marine epoxy and fibreglass pieces in the holes a la xxxer tech and redrill the skis proper for pivot/cast

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[scandy89]

If I want to get a cast system to run two separate skis, I’d need inserts correct? I ordered the 2nd ski kit and toe pedestals (to save $$ and I’ll get the tech toes later) as far as I can tell the heel piece has to be permanently mounted to the ski, but you could swap the toe piece between skis. So you’d need either inserts or multiple sets of heels? Having a cast system an p18’s I could run on anything would be 👌

[snoboy]

Read the last few pages, but yes, plate and posts (2nd ski kit) for the toe on each set of skis, then inserts for your heels.

[galibier_numero_un]

You mught want to do the Thom xxxer combo technique. Remove inserts ez as with Thom tech then marine epoxy and fibreglass pieces in the holes a la xxxer tech and redrill the skis proper for pivot/cast

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Here's the thread: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...reedom-Inserts

Good stuff from the usual suspects (@spyderjon, @1000-oaks)

... Thom

[Skeeze]

Does anyone have working tech toe pieces that I could either buy or rent for the next month from you? My gray toe pieces no longer work (pins won't engage the boot at all despite full snow clearing, pulling up on the toe piece, every other possible fix) and I have a trip to Europe in 5 days that I need the bindings for.

[nyskirat]

Does anyone have working tech toe pieces that I could either buy or rent for the next month from you? My gray toe pieces no longer work (pins won't engage the boot at all despite full snow clearing, pulling up on the toe piece, every other possible fix) and I have a trip to Europe in 5 days that I need the bindings for.

I've tried to get in touch with CAST but am operating under the assumption that they won't be able to get me warranty replacements in the next 5 days.

Where you located/when you coming back to the states?

[Skeeze]

Located in the SF Bay Area, get back to the states on 1/20


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[Cozzey]

I’m considering mounting my Amplids and G3 Carbon Empires with a second ski kit and maybe inserts on the heel piece but the brakes are fitting for the 126mm waist so may be too big for the 115 waist. I can figure that out later though.

My question is whether you would recommend searching the used market or if the new CAST system is that much more efficient and easier to use with the second ski kit? I wouldn’t mind saving a few bucks and having some more hassle if it’s possible to do it through gear swap/CL/fleabay. But, if it is that much harder I can just commit and get her done quickly from the site.

[madriverfreeride]

Well the second ski kit as they currently sell it will only work with the cast 2.0 (grey home made tech toes) or cast 2.1 (purple home made tech toes), the cast 1.0 system with the plates won’t work with your second ski kit, I have seen a few of the newer systems for sale or trade in Jackson but not many and they’re hardly bellow retail prices so I’d probably just order the set from Cast.

[banzai]

RE: inserts

What size(length) screws did you use?

[east or bust]

Anyone experience problems with the tech toe not fully engaging due to contact with pedestal(s)?

To follow up, I was finally able to look at these closer on a proper bench and I‘m sure my issues are resulting from a fucked up mount. Like, can’t believe the shop let them go out the door as is mount. Yes, insert ‘mount your own fucking bindings thread’ here. Usually I’m under the position that a shop with a jig is more suited to mount bindings than me, with a tape measure and paper template. But this experience will probably have me doing all future mounts. I’d rather fuck something up myself than have some dumbass do it for me, live and learn I guess.

Anyway now that I’ve successfully vented my frustrations.. I’m basically looking at grinding the tech toes or trying to bend the metal retainer pieces that hold the toes on the front pedestals when engaged. My problem is stemming from some of the pedestals not being drilled straight, possibly a couple mm off to boot. Not really an issue for the alpine toes as I can finagle them onto the pedestals and forward pressure does the rest. Think bending the retainers will not only be easier but also yield better results. Open to suggestions though.

[bthomson22]

To follow up, I was finally able to look at these closer on a proper bench and I‘m sure my issues are resulting from a fucked up mount. Like, can’t believe the shop let them go out the door as is mount. Yes, insert ‘mount your own fucking bindings thread’ here. Usually I’m under the position that a shop with a jig is more suited to mount bindings than me, with a tape measure and paper template. But this experience will probably have me doing all future mounts. I’d rather fuck something up myself than have some dumbass do it for me, live and learn I guess.

Anyway now that I’ve successfully vented my frustrations.. I’m basically looking at grinding the tech toes or trying to bend the metal retainer pieces that hold the toes on the front pedestals when engaged. My problem is stemming from some of the pedestals not being drilled straight, possibly a couple mm off to boot. Not really an issue for the alpine toes as I can finagle them onto the pedestals and forward pressure does the rest. Think bending the retainers will not only be easier but also yield better results. Open to suggestions though.

I had a similar issues with the metal retainers on my tech toes. I would just jam my pole end into them a couple of times until they finally had enough clearance. No issues thus far.

[retirwntm]

^^^Russian space station fix


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[SirVicSmasher]

Use alpine toe as hammer.

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[SirVicSmasher]

I would just jam my pole into them until they finally had enough. No issues thus far FIFY.

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[east or bust]

Big ass C clamp seemed to work on the one clip I tried it on. Should have more time today to fiddle after work

[galibier_numero_un]

... My problem is stemming from some of the pedestals not being drilled straight, possibly a couple mm off to boot.

Re-drill for helicoils. The challenge here lies in keeping the drill bit from wandering in order to shift the hole location.

For bindings with a metal mounting base, I've used the toe piece as a guide - screw the binding in by one screw, drill the 2nd hole, screw that one in and repeat with the remaining holes.

I haven't played with the CAST plate, so I don't know if you can apply this technique.

This has worked for inserts because the size of the toe piece holes has been slightly smaller than the the size of the bit for the inserts. Once drilling the nearly large enough holes on center, it's a simple matter to use the larger bit to drill the insert holes. I don't know if this translates to helicoil size drill bits.

Also, if using the toe piece (or CAST plate) as a drill guide, a trip to the hardware store for a near-exact sized drill bit is a worthwhile exercise.

Of course, if you're @1000-oaks, a drill press and mill are your friends.

... Thom

[snoboy]

RE: inserts

What size(length) screws did you use?

Just got a chance to measure.
Binding heels 4 x 10 mm + 4 x 20 mm - NB the "20 mm" ones measured out about 19 mm and look like I may have ground them down a little.
Riser block 4 x 15 mm (These are for Cast 2.0, not sure if 2.1 has changed that. Doubt it.)

This jives with BF's screw length suggestions: https://www.bindingfreedom.com/cast-touring-system/

[Cozzey]

Im having some issues with my newly mounted toe pieces. Ill attach some pics but the jist is that both of the pivot 18 toes pieces slide on without an issue and on one ski the tech binding goes on without any issue, photo attached.

On the other ski that isnt the case, the pin toe piece seems to be hitting the bottoms of the shoulder bolts, not letting it slide in all the way. It also looks like there is an extremely small gap below the pin toe piece when sliding it on, not letting it sit flush with the plate.

Any ideas?

[Cozzey]

[madriverfreeride]

Does the other tech toe fit on the same ski? And does that tech toe fit on the other ski? Basically narrow it down to either the tech to or the shoulder bolts on the one ski.

[lucknau]

Anyone experience problems with the tech toe not fully engaging due to contact with pedestal(s)?

Yes. One of them didn’t and the other did. I mic’d them and found that one was 3/10mm thicker than the other. I ground the thicker one down (on the top surface) a little at a time with a Dremel until it slid under the posts with minimal resistance and clicked in.

I chose this course of action because three out of four pieces slid onto the posts perfectly and I knew that this piece would eventually cause some vertical play to manifest for the rest.

I sharpied the de-annodized billet aluminum black after grinding, because it looks cooler that way.

[banzai]

So with the help of my buddy @aanev , everything went to plan and we managed to salvage the botched mount by redrilling for inserts. He is far more knowledgable than me, and since I was just an assistant in the procedure, Im sure he will chip in and correct me if Im talking bs.

The plastic jig is crap. We redrilled (insert drill) with a jig at a shop. The owner was kind enough, after a bit or persuation, to let us monitor and help, since the redrill had to be perfect. He didnt let us use the jig ourselves, but the job was done in the end. We had to secure the plastic jig with extra clamps in place to get the job done properly. Perhaps a few of the reported problems here might be from drilling with the plastic jig. There is an all metal jig available that looks far more reliable, so it might be worthwile to find out what jig the shop is using, before handing them over the precious.
Pics of both jigs side by side: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ook-Rossi-Jigs

Tapped, glued and mounted the inserts. Front plates went on, mounted the pin toes and let the glue cure for 24 hrs with the pin toes attached. Both pin and pivot toes slide in and release nicely.
Correct insert screw sizes imo are:
Front - 16 mm (flatheads, full length measure)
Riser block - 16 mm (lowhead, thread lenght measure)
Rear-front - 10 mm (lowhead, thread lenght measure)
Rear-rear - 18 mm (lowhead, thread lenght measure) - we measured the 20 mm screws, but they protruded ~7mm, which is too much.

Voila:

Sexy as F.

Edit: I have since switched to mounting the alpine toes for the 24hr glue cure procedure.

[Eluder]

I’ve mounted 10 pairs of these now, the first and last being my own all with a factory jig. The first one was with a plastic jig before the new metal one showed up. You can’t just shoot and go with these mounts. Extra care is a must. I have found the biggest culprit for bad fitting toes is volcanoing. No matter the ski you have to tap then clear the holes. I have had 100% success as long as I do this. They are not profitable mounts for the shop at standard rates so keep that in mind when asking and explaining what you want done. It’s also a good idea to screw the toe screws on with the toe plate in place. It seems to help align. My best mounts have been really tight operation for the first several cycles, like I struggle to get the alpine toe off. It’s to the point where if it’s easy the first go I’m worried. It’s possible for the alpine toe to cycle easily and for the tech toe to go on easy but it wont fully clamp on to the toe of the boot. In a marginal mount the silver half moon shield piece can run into the shoulder of the toe screws not letting the toe pins fully engage. Keep a tight ship and it will go, mount like a typical alpine binding and you could be dicking around.

[snoboy]

Good tips, I am waiting for parts to do my third mount of these and will certainly be integrating as much as I can from what has been shared here.

I am a little concerned about an issue I have been experiencing. Occasionally, I will take my skis off, pick them up, tap the tails lightly on the ground, and one toe piece will fall off! I'm not worried about this when skiing, but I fear that I may release one day and find myself digging for a toe piece. Or worse yet, have them strapped to the sled and find myself short a toe with no idea where to look. Any one else experience this, and did you figure out what is up?