Binding Operation

Nordic skiing

Mounting bindings on cross-country skis is easy for anyone with modest mechanical skills.

However, my buddy, Wimpfoot, couldn’t get past the first step, which is to drill the three holes into the top of each ski for the screws that hold the bindings in place.

You must drill the hole about halfway into the ski. However, on his first attempt, Wimpfoot lined ‘er up, took aim with his power drill, and augered his way all the way through the ski and about half way to China. Such a hole is not desirable in a performance ski.

Too proud to take his latest pair of skis to a ski shop for mounting, he asked me to help. We had detractors observing, but we were sure that, together, we could do it.

We found the balance point of each ski by setting it on the edge of a knife and moving it back and forth until it balanced.

We marked the holes for the binding screws. Then I showed Wimpfoot how to wrap tape around the bit so we wouldn’t drill a hole all the way through his new skis. We took care to mark the binding so the skier’s toes are right over the balance point.

As I drilled the holes, Ms. Hardbody, one of the observers, stood in the background with her hands over her eyes.

Of course, I drilled the holes perfectly. We tapped the holes and screwed the bindings onto the skis, complete a dab of Elmer’s waterproof wood glue in each hole to hold the screws tight.

Wimpfoot could hardly wait to try his new skis, and put them down on the floor to see how they felt. They looked great.

“Aren’t the bindings supposed to point towards the tip of the ski?” Hardbody asked.