Custom BF-style plates

[cyborg]

EDIT: thanks to whoever moved this for me.


Has anyone tried making their own plates? I can think of a number of advantages, most of which have been discussed previously with the Bindings Freedom plates.

I was thinking about having a local machinist make me a few plates to fit my preferred bindings, and it seems like it would be a simple task. I'm not asking for advice on how to do it, mostly just curious if anyone has tried it themselves. The main advantages I see over inserts is that a) you effectively get a wider baseplate and b) you drill 8 or so holes in your skis and that's it (and you can save skis that have been Swiss cheesed already) instead of trying to figure 8 insert holes and worry about that mess.

I know the BF plates weren't perfect and add a little stack height, but it might be a worthwhile project...? Like I said, I'm aware this isn't complex or anything, I'm really just trying to do some preliminary research, see what others may have tried and maybe create a discussion so others can read if they're curious (and either get some ideas or realize how needless of a project this is...)

Oh, and I have searched pretty thoroughly, and couldn't find anything. If I missed something, my apologies. I'll take my JONG trophy and leave quietly.



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[Chugachjed]

Shit. Get yourself a piece of 1/4” aluminum flat bar either 3.5” or 4” and just lay a pattern on it. Drill the holes 2 bit sizes smaller than whatever screw you’ll be using and it will self tap nice threads into it. Golden.

[cyborg]

Shit. Get yourself a piece of 1/4” aluminum flat bar either 3.5” or 4” and just lay a pattern on it. Drill the holes 2 bit sizes smaller than whatever screw you’ll be using and it will self tap nice threads into it. Golden.

Thanks, I was thinking about that. I also figured, if I'm gonna put that much time into it, maybe I should just do it "pro" and make something in CAD and give it to the local machinist. Might try the aluminum flat bar first, see if it's something I like.

I'd still be interested to see if anyone else has tried something similar, just for reference. I know there are many on here who tinker more than I do.

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[Reformed]

I did a bit of a hybrid of the BF plates last year to mount my preferred bindings onto a loaner ski that was inserted for bindings that I didn't want to ski. I mounted the plates to the ski using the existing inserts and then mounted my bindings to the plates. Inserts in skis were for Dynafits. Mounted Tectons to the plates.
I initially tapped the holes in the plates for my bindings but ended up just mounting with normal binding screws as alu stock is soft and fine threads/less than machine shop tolerances lead to spinners with machine screws in a couple holes. I skied the skis for 15 or so days and had zero issues. Pics:

[North]

Did this years ago for a pair of skis that had lots of mounts.

Installed inserts for dynafit pattern, and made plates that mounted to ski with the dynafit pattern. Solly 916 pattern on the plates.

Ran Solly + plates during winter, switched to dynafits in inserts for spring b/c.

Worked pretty well, but it became a non-issue once I graduated and could afford a TGR-sized quiver. Still have the plates, fun project.

[galibier_numero_un]

This raises an interesting point for when we buy Swiss-cheesed skis and are uncertain of the mount. Multiple mount positions on the plate. Then again, we can use @Swissiphic's double sided tape strategy - at least if we're not slaying the gnar ;-)

Thinkin out loud ... for occasional use, second mount (a travel ski), I wonder if a plate made of UHMW with T-nuts would work? Same approach - main mount with inserts, thru holes in the plate to mount it, and T-nuts on the UHMW. Then again, if you're 4,000 miles from home, a cracked plate could be a real bummer.

... Thom

[carlh]

I recently made plates for Dynafit toes to adjust ramp delta and move the mount back 15mm. Flat head countersunk screws and m5 female threads. Work great and make the skis work bettor my style. I did use a CNc mill for precision

[1000-oaks]

With a quality M5 tap (buy from a machine tool supply, not Home Depot) and a tapping handle that can be positioned in a drill press for stability, there's no reason you can't make accurate and strong threads in aluminum flat bar. The thicker the bar the better of course, can't remember the thickness of BF plates but go at least that thick.

[SB]

Where is Dobish?

Also I need a sammitch.

[nick_B10]

I've done this a couple of times to avoid adding extra holes to skis. My current backcountry ski runs custom toe plate screwed into old G3 ion holes with a dynafit toe mounted. I used 1/4 inch aluminium plate, bought of ebay (I got a ~12inch by 8 inch sheet from a company that sells manufacturing off cuts for roughly $13 shipped). I tapped the screw holes with an m5 tap so i can remove the bindings easily. The ramp angle change improves the bindings, the only annoyance is the 50g per ski that my plates weigh. I have about 15 days on these with no problems. I anticipate they will outlast the ski. It probably took me an ~2 hours each to make these. Most of the work was sawing them with a hack saw, if i had bought a metal blade my power saw it would have been much quicker.

[nick_B10]

This raises an interesting point for when we buy Swiss-cheesed skis and are uncertain of the mount. Multiple mount positions on the plate. Then again, we can use @Swissiphic's double sided tape strategy - at least if we're not slaying the gnar ;-)

Thinkin out loud ... for occasional use, second mount (a travel ski), I wonder if a plate made of UHMW with T-nuts would work? Same approach - main mount with inserts, thru holes in the plate to mount it, and T-nuts on the UHMW. Then again, if you're 4,000 miles from home, a cracked plate could be a real bummer.

... Thom

For testing mount points you could get away with 3/8 inch ply or UHMW, and just use the binding screws, no need for t-nuts. For a travel ski, aluminium makes much more sense, its a few extra dollars and a little more effort, but you know it won't die 4000 miles from home.

[Chugachjed]

With a quality M5 tap (buy from a machine tool supply, not Home Depot) and a tapping handle that can be positioned in a drill press for stability, there's no reason you can't make accurate and strong threads in aluminum flat bar. The thicker the bar the better of course, can't remember the thickness of BF plates but go at least that thick.

I used to do it this way until I worked at an aluminum fab shop all last winter. Now I just drill the hole 1-2 drill sizes smaller than the MACHINE thread screw I want to use and i just run that shit in with an impact driver. Works at least as well as a tap maybe better.

[cstefanic]

Back in college I had access to a CNC mill and some software and made these plates to run the old Marker Comp bindings or Hammerhead tele. Worked well after a normal mount, and then tapped for M5 machined.