can i reuse plugged holes?

[axelkeitz]

I probably wouldn't try this on an all wood ski but.....

i have a pair of 185 Motherships that have been drilled 1.5x and all holes plugged by a shop. (bought these from a friend) the holes were for a pivot style rossi. and i happen to have a similar pair.

is there any way to remove the plugs from the holes and reuse the existing holes? just so i can avoid another set of holes?

i was thinkin about drilling the plug with a smaller bit and cleaning out the holes?

any other ideas?

[Wooster]

I would say it depends how they put the plugs in. If they were larger than the minimun thread diameter and pounded in with a hammer or mallet, the material around the holes is probably too compromised to hold well, even with epoxy. But if they used a small plug and epoxied it in, you could probably get away with drilling out the plug and re-tapping the holes.

[D(C)]

You can reuse plugged holes for sure. It's a matter of whether the screws will go in tight after. If you have a spinner, you can use the usual avenues of epoxy/steelwool (for mild cases) or helicoil.

The best way I've found of removing plastic plugs without damaging the holes is as follows:

1. With a small diameter drill bit, drill a pilot hole down the centre of the plug - be careful not to go too deep. You don't want to drill into the ski.
2. Tighten a small screw into the pilot hole you made, just deep enough that the threads bite
3. Using the claw of a hammer, gently pry up the head of the screw, which will pull the plugs out with it

This is really easy and works really well.

[axelkeitz]

^^^ nice thats a good idea D(C)

thanks
will try.

[wooley12]

Helps if you put a 3/4" wood scrap under the claw hammer so the pull is closer to straight up. A drywall screw with it's coarse thread grips really well.

[Smails]

I probably wouldn't try this on an all wood ski but.....

i have a pair of 185 Motherships that have been drilled 1.5x and all holes plugged by a shop. (bought these from a friend) the holes were for a pivot style rossi. and i happen to have a similar pair.

is there any way to remove the plugs from the holes and reuse the existing holes? just so i can avoid another set of holes?

i was thinkin about drilling the plug with a smaller bit and cleaning out the holes?

any other ideas?

I just did this last week without any problems, I think. . .

Mine was on a pair of ON3P's with no metal, just carbon. I used the pilot hole method and then screwed in a sheetrock screw. First, be very very careful not to drill through the ski. I was very careful not making the pilot hole too deep and when I screwed in the sheetrock screw I kept my hand under it on the base. I felt a little pressure one time and backed out the screw. No bubble or anything, but if my hand hadn't been there it could have been a problem.

I actually found that it worked better not to drill the pilot hole. I just cranked in a sheetscrew, gave a tap on the head on each side to loosen things up a touch, and then back it out.

I didn't have a single one pop out cleanly and found I had to very carefully pry some additional material out with a very sharp climbing knife.

The entire process was a bit more tedious and nervous then I expected, but when I mounted the bindings they seemed to screw in very solidly. I had one slight spinner in the rear. Not really a true spinner, it just got pretty hard to turn but never impossible. I just left well enough alone and didn't keep torqueing on it because it was pretty damn tight.

There are several threads on this, one in particular that is very good. Search on google and you will have your best chance of finding it.

[XXX-er]

Helps if you put a 3/4" wood scrap under the claw hammer so the pull is closer to straight up. A drywall screw with it's coarse thread grips really well.

this ^^^ is what i would normaly do but last time I drilled thru the plug ,screwed the binding screw thru the remaining plastic of the plug instead of removing it because I figured there would be less chance of damaging the hole ... it worked fine

[hiplainsdrifter]

I have done this a zillion times with no issues. Go for it.

[Jim S]

Plugged holes? Helpful replies but maggots are losing their edge.

[Sinecure]

Someone just asked me about this for a pair of Bros I'm selling. My suggestion was to consider putting in some inserts from bindingfreedom.com, or using one of his mounting plates. Inserts would be a slightly larger diameter, I think.

[axelkeitz]

ha ha thanks jim! i was actually suprised there wasnt more flaming regarding the title...

[weasel1]

Yup, just re-drill carefully, with a regular 3.5 or smaller bit. You will see the plastic of the plug start to come up through the bit, stop and pull the bit out carefully. The rest of the plug will come with it. Never had an issue with this, except where the hole was already effed. In that case, just insert them.

[flipsRscary]

Someone just asked me about this for a pair of Bros I'm selling. My suggestion was to consider putting in some inserts from bindingfreedom.com, or using one of his mounting plates. Inserts would be a slightly larger diameter, I think.

I've pulled plugs and simply re-used holes on other skis without issue in the past, but with those Bros I had to resort to helicoils. Come to think of it, there's a good chance that the skis that that just worked on all had metal in them (trickle down race gear).

The issue with those Bros was that the some of the toe holes weren't in particularly great shape regardless of the plugs. However, no one claimed they were, and I knew I was gambling a bit going into this. Besides, it looks like I made it work without too much effort.

If I like how they ski (should find out later this week), I'll probably move to inserts for other reasons over the summer.

WRT the Motherships, IIRC, lots of folks liked them back a bit, and 2.5 mounts is still less than 3. So that's a fall-back as well.

[Jim S]

Heh heh....those skis are now in my hands.
Strange worlds

[riggs]

Anyone out there have actual experience mounting a binding freedom insert into a previously plugged hole?

This would be on a pair of DPS 112 Hybrids.




Jeezus. Writing that first sentence I can't believe this thread stayed as on topic as it has.

[wolfelot]

Good stuff in here to know for future reference.

[jondrums]

Anyone out there have actual experience mounting a binding freedom insert into a previously plugged hole?
This would be on a pair of DPS 112 Hybrids.

nice bumping an old thread. I don't see any problem - just remove the plug, redrill and tap for inserts. Epoxy the inserts in and go. I think this would be roughly equivalent to mounting an insert into any binding hole, unless there was water damage in the core.

[arild]

Anyone out there have actual experience mounting a binding freedom insert into a previously plugged hole?

This would be on a pair of DPS 112 Hybrids.




Jeezus. Writing that first sentence I can't believe this thread stayed as on topic as it has.

No issues doing that. you´ll have to redrill with a 6.5mm bit anyway for the inserts, so the plastic plug isn´t doing shit in any direction. Don´t worry, and good luck!

[bushman]

Plugged holes? Helpful replies but maggots are losing their edge.

Holy shit a #6 B/P with onboard oscillator, is the coke can a spacer?

[pfluffenmeister]

bumping this old thread as i'm selling some skis that have the appropriate binder/BSL combination of holes for a potential buyer.
the buyer, however, isn't completely sure that the holes will be reusable.

the holes in question are plugged with plastic plugs and Marine Goop.


additional opinions / experience?

[XXX-er]

YMMV but from my point of view if the holes are there use em so it just makes mounting faster/easyier ...buddy doesn't need to go finding jigs or drilling thru the base

I would use good slow set epoxy for reused holes, don't over tighten the screws and let the good stuff do its thing

[davieboot]

It may work, but using inserts is the sure-fire way to make sure it works. Go with that.

[pfluffenmeister]

YMMV but from my point of view if the holes are there use em so it just makes mounting faster/easyier ...buddy doesn't need to go finding jigs or drilling thru the base

I would use good slow set epoxy for reused holes, don't over tighten the screws and let the good stuff do its thing

^^^ my thoughts as well.

i've done that with success in the past, i just wanted to get some unbiased opinions (wait a minute, that sounds like an oxymoron).

[sethschmautz]

Bumping this thread, as I'm considering doing what has been suggested above - redrilling plugs that were epoxied in and putting inserts in place.

Anybody have any real world experience with this? As old Albert would say, "In theory, theory and practice are the same. But in practice they are not."

Thoughts?

Seth

[Tele 'til You're Smelly]

Once holes are plugged, I just treat them like the rest of the ski- if you want to drill out the same hole fine, or use different or overlapping holes- never had a problem doing that, and that's with tele mounts which puts more force on the screws