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Garage mount your Silvretta Pure Model Series Backcountry Skiing Bindings

Disclaimer: By using these mounting instructions and templates, you agree to not hold Wildsnow.com, its owners or associates liable for anything. There is no warranty for these instructions, and no support. You are on your own.

Backcountry skiing bindings based on the "plate" design, such as the Silvretta Pure model series , are easy to mount at home. Take care to locate the binding in the correct for/aft position on the ski, be sure the binding is centered left/right, position the heel unit correctly -- and you're good to go.

Silvretta Pure backcountry skiing binding.

To mount your Silvretta Pure backcountry skiing bindings at home, follow the directions below and use our carefully designed mounting template you can download here. Note the Silvretta Pure was vastly improved for the 04/05 season. Do not buy or use the older model, as it had durability problems. Silvretta Pure model identification details here.

(Warning: After downloading and printing template, compare to screw hole patterns on actual binding, as printing can sometimes distort the layout. If it doesn't match, tweak printer settings such as scaling, which should be set to 100% or possibly "no scaling.")

The keys to success with home binding mounts are careful measurement, going slow, and using the binding and paper template as a substitute for the mechanical jig used by a shop. Also, if you're new to ski work consider doing a dummy mount on a pair of dumpster skis or a wood 2x4.

What I'm presenting here is one of many ways a craftsman could achieve a good binding mount. If you're comfortable with tools and measurements, you'll probably figure out a few variations along the way. Whatever you do, remember the idea is to center the bindings left/right on the ski, and locate the boot so it matches the boot location mark on the ski.

How to do the deed:

First, you need a good workbench or kitchen counter with a straight outside edge. Cover your counters with something liked taped butcher paper, but leave the outside edge exposed. Tools and materials needed:

• carpenter's 24 inch framing square
• handheld screwdriver with pozi-drive bit to fit screws that come with the binding (with care you can use a jumbo philips bit, but pozi is much better*.)
• electric drill with sharp 5/32 inch bit*
• electrical tape and clear office tape, and of course some duct tape
• sharp center-punch, with associated hammer
• long straight steel ruler (wooden yardstick is not straight enough)
• tape measure
• fine point Sharpie type marker
• 1-hour epoxy
• paper templates
• scissors and paper punch

Step 1 Make sure you know where the mounting mark (aka "sole midpoint") is on your boots. It's usually a small vertical line, arrow, or triangle molded into the side of the sole about midway between heel and toe. If your boot doesn't have it: Most of these marks are simply half the distance between toe and heel, just locate it by measurement. Enhance the mark with your Sharpie so you can't miss it.

Step 2 Align your skis so they are parallel to the edge of your work bench. Taking care and moving slow, lay both skis on your bench next to each other, touching at tip and tail, approximately parallel to the edge of your bench. Align tails with a straight edge pressed against the tail protectors (so the skis are truly next to each other), then measure from the points where the skis touch each other, to the edge of your bench, and arrange skis so the measurement is exactly equal at tip and tail. The idea is that an imaginary line drawn down the center of the skis would be close to parallel to the edge of your bench. Double check that the skis are exactly next to each other in length, by again holding a straightedge against the tails. When you're happy with your arrangement, draw some small reference marks on the skis and bench so you'll know if they get moved, perhaps tape the skis to your bench with duct tape.

Bear in mind that because the skis are are narrower at tail, they will not be perfectly parallel to the edge of your bench. In my experience, setting the skis this way works so long as the tips are not ridiculously wide compared to the tail. Nonetheless, if you're in doubt, simply make center marks on the tip and tail of the skis, and locate these marks equidistant from the bench edge, so you have them close to perfectly parallel. Don't obsess on this, however. The idea is to be able to use a carpenter's square to make a reasonably perpendicular mark across the ski, as shown in photo below. In the old days, on "straight" skis with minimal sidecut, you could just hold the square against the side of the ski to make such marks and they were close enough, but with today's deep sidecut skis, such marking can end up somewhat off. Hence this somewhat complicated way of making a simple little mark.

Some skis may have such a useful boot location mark such as this, if so, you won't need to enhance it. ("3.5" indicates recommenced metric drill size for this ski).

Step 3 This is the payoff for aligning your skis with the edge of your workbench.

Find the boot mounting mark on the skis; usually a small triangle or line that's at the approximate midpoint of where you'd imagine a boot would sit on the ski.

Be sure you get the right mark -- if in doubt ask a shop rat, or call the seller. Grab your 24" framing square (now you're a carpenter).

Using the edge of your workbench as a straightedge for the square, draw a set of nice black lines across the boot mounting marks, so you have a good visual reference. Now you know why the ski centerline needs to be parallel to the edge of the bench. The idea is that by using the edge of the bench for the square, you can scribe lines on the skis that are close to square with the long axis of the skis. (If your skis already have a good boot location mark, you may be able to skip this step.)

Step 4 Continue doing layout marks. This time, make a nice long tip/tail center mark on both skis. THIS IS IMPORTANT, as our whole method of mounting depends on these marks being accurate. Measure across the ski and make left/right center marks a few inches ahead and behind the actual binding location. Connect the marks with your long steel ruler, then ink in a nice long tip/tail center line using a fine point Sharpie. You'll use this mark to align the paper templates. Do it well!

Use your long steel ruler to mark a tip/tail center line that extends well beyond front and back of binding. You'll use this mark to align paper templates, so make it perfect!

Step 5 Grab a Silvretta Pure backcountry skiing binding, adjust it for your boot, then snap boot into binding.

Step 6 Set the binding/boot combo on a ski, and align the mounting mark on the boot over that on the ski. I usually eyeball this. If in doubt, make a small square out of cardboard and use it to reach up from the ski to the mark on the boot. Again, take care that you get this exact to the nearest millimeter or so.

Step 7 On top of the ski, near the edge, carefully mark the for/aft location of the binding's front screw holes. You'll use this mark to line up the paper template.

Step 8 Using the same technique you used to mark the boot location, make accurate lines on your skis showing the for/aft location of the binding's front screw holes.(Before doing this, triple check that your skis are still parallel to the edge of your bench, as you want this line to be exactly perpendicular to the long axis of the skis.)

Step 9 Cut out the toe portion of the WildSnow paper template, leaving plenty of paper in front and behind screw marks, so you can line up tip/tail center marks accurately. Cut paper from either side of screw holes to make template slightly narrower than ski. Place paper template on ski with center marks aligned, and front screw mark aligned with screw mark/line you drew on ski. Tape template to ski once it's perfect.

Front portion of paper template on ski. Template has been cut so it's slightly narrower than ski, but long enough to show plenty of the left/right center location line.

Step 10 Now the first moment of truth. Grab your sharp center punch, and dimple the exact center of the screw marks. Remove the paper template.

Step 11 Ahhhh, now, power tools! (But remember: measure twice = drill once, so triple check that your screw hole marks are spot on.) Chuck that sharp 5/32 bit in your drill. (Using a sharp drill bit prevents the bit from wandering sideways while you drill.) Place a screw in the binding (with the plastic shoe that goes under the toe unit) as if it were already in the ski, and use the protruding screw as a gage to to figure how deep you will drill. Tape a depth stop to the bit by wrapping tightly with electrical tape to create the stop. Drill your center punch marks with minimal pressure, so you don't mash the bit through a ski.

(If you do totally klutz it and drill through a ski, it's actually not that big a deal (repair with epoxy and P-tex), but it's considered poor style -- to say the least -- and is none too good for your kitchen countertop. By the way, if you got the brakes for the bindings, put them on after you've done the mount, as they make it harder to work with the bindings.)

Step 12 Screw the binding to the ski using the front screws. Torque with care as not to strip the screw hole (don't use a power drill to torque screws unless you're a tool ace). Start by gently tightening one screw, then check how the rear of the plate lines up with your tip/tail centerline. Continue to tighten screws will checking alignment. If you're confident about your mount, place epoxy in the screw holes before inserting screws. Otherwise, do a "dry mount" first and only gently tighten screws. Once you're sure you've got it right, pull the screws, then re-insert with epoxy.

Next -- Mount Silvretta Pure Backcountry Skiing Binding Heel Unit

*(Drill bits: Ski shops use special drill bits for drilling skis, usually 4.1 mm for skis with metal layers, and 3.5 mm for skis without metal. If you mount a lot of skis, it's a good idea to buy some special drill bits from an outfit such as Slidewright, but it's okay to use the slightly larger 5/32 inch drill bit as suggested above. If you do so, especially with non-metal skis, just be careful as you twist the screws in so you don't over-tighten them and strip the holes, and always use epoxy in the holes. Pozi screw driver bits are also available from Tognar, and highly recommended, as are special drill bits for binding screws.)