Corey Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Disclaimer - this is a terrible idea. Negative side effects may include spiral fractures of one or both legs, weight gain, a rekindled love of 80's EuroPop music, loss of teeth, loss of ability to please your mate, and other stuff too terrible to write on a public forum. Do this at your own risk. I bought a Skwal USA 171 without bindings. NoBoard's Skwal kits are supposedly still in development, so I had a binding wish list: 1. Step-in. Non-debatable. I ride a tiny hill, step-ins get me more runs in a day. 2. Toe/heel lift. I like it on my alpine boards, I liked it on the demo I bought. 3. Ability to increase stance width somewhat. 4. Low profile on sides of boots to reduce boot-out. 5. Ability to shift feet laterally as well as turn them a bit. I decided to make my own using some TD3 toe/heel pieces I had from converting a pair to Sidewinders. That's the hard stuff already done, right? Start with a plan: Big pic, click to see full version. Excuse the mixed units. I used whatever gave me an easier thing to measure to. Corey don't do 64ths of an inch... OMG, I had to do trigonometry! SOHCAHTOA. I targeted about 5-degrees of pure toe/heel lift, but knowing my manufacturing (ha!) methods I knew my accuracy would be laughable. Materials needed: TD3 toe/heel blocks 1/4" aluminum plate (I recall scavenging this from some off-cut somewhere, finally found a use for it!) 3/4" x 4" x 30" UHMW Polyethelyne block from Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=32045&cat=3,43576,32045 M6 x 1.0 x 35mm long, class 8.8 hardware from Home Depot (or somewhere better if you have access!) Tools needed: Vise to hold stuff Drill and bits (A drill press is preferred, I don't have one) M6 x 1.0 tap and holder (buy a full set, this opens many options for DIY!) Ruler/Tape measure Bandsaw to cut poly (thanks to a good friend!) Sawzall to cut the Al plate - use a bandsaw if you can, this sucked and caused more finishing work later Metal file to shape/smooth aluminum Surform file for poly Shop vac to clean up the big mess Patience Drilling/tapping the holes: http://i57.tinypic.com/adkfpv.jpg Test fit on board before making the poly lift blocks: http://i60.tinypic.com/2ep6oms.jpg Note the oversized holes to allow for some shift/rotation/etc. You don't need much on a Skwal! Cut the poly blocks at a 5-degree angle on the bandsaw. Curse a lot as the blade deflects from a little too much pressure. Keep the offcuts to make the top piece, as they match the angle of the blocks. Use the Surform file to shape the blocks so they're flat. On the board: http://i60.tinypic.com/n5ifxu.jpg http://i59.tinypic.com/2icadz4.jpg http://i60.tinypic.com/5lqusz.jpg They're not pretty, and are unfinished. If they work out, I'll round some corners, polish the aluminum, clean up the poly, and drill some lightening holes. They'll never look like TD3s. ;) I may increase the size of the holes in the aluminum baseplate as I can't shift the boots quite as much as I wanted. I have $34 in these, for the poly and the hardware. If I paid myself for my time, it would have been cheaper to buy something else. But, I had fun making these! The test ride is on Sunday. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Slot those mounting holes and you have something no other binding can provide. And you were baby sitting at the same time ? impressive ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Been there, done that. Feels pretty good, no? As to appearance, write 'test' on them with a sharpie, and they'll look just fine to the casual observer. Maybe go with fender washers between the bolt heads and poly. What you have there will probably dent the plastic with use and loosen up. Edited February 20, 2015 by Beckmann AG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 DIY is infectious! You spent too much time in my company during SES! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 if you radius the bottom of the lift blocks, you'll probably get small camber/decamber compliance without boot transmission. nice bodging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokkis Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) For me this is more plate that just bindings, currently playing with softer dampers. And i still stupid due can not copy paste anything to this new sw Edited February 20, 2015 by pokkis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Haha, my daughter wanted to help - for the first 3 minutes or so. "Where's dad?" <drilling/filing sounds> "Oh." Geez, you guys make mine look so amateur. I considered getting a local shop to laser the baseplates, but that would triple the cost. I then though about leaving the raw saw-cut edges for the test day, but just couldn't do it. Good call on the fender washers. I should do it now instead of after the bolts pull through the poly. The original plan was to make those top wedges out of aluminum, until I saw the offcuts sitting there in exactly the right shape! Less sanding for me! If you look real close at http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=n5ifxu&s=8#.VOcktkZOLCQ, you'll notice that the front and rear edges don't contact the board. They're flat with rocker on either end. It just felt right to do. I think I'll call them Ketacs. They're the opposite of Cateks: non-adjustable, not sleek, no website, and yet easily available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 SOPWAMTOS. Corey, Back around '95, made a set of risers for the Burton race plates out of 3/8" sandwich board. If memory serves, the material had a 'deadening' effect on snow feel. Alan, Looks like your riding has improved. Keep up the good work. Pokkis, Can you describe the 'in-use' effect of your 'micro plate'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokkis Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 When riding with or without plate difference is how i feel crud on my legs and how i get board cut. Weight is slghtly less than with normal F2 setup.Those bushings give nice absorbtion. Now need to play with different hardness to get understanding when use harder and when softer ones. Next plan is to make one with 5mm carbon and modify center pilar, current one is not what i planned but usable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Beckman we "do it your selfer's" are filing a protest. Rotary table on a milling machine is stepping over the line in the DIY rule book ! Band saw and file are the only tools allowed for cutting profiles and radii. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Beckman we "do it your selfer's" are filing a protest. Rotary table on a milling machine is stepping over the line in the DIY rule book ! Band saw and file are the only tools allowed for cutting profiles and radii. Don't forget a felt pen! Success starts with the felt pen. SOPWAMTOS - nice! I don't make many things anymore. Time is at a premium, this project was a luxury that got me a big eye roll from the two females in my life. I make a few custom tools for odd jobs and the odd bracket for mounting car parts. I wish I could weld better, that would open many options! The Lee Valley metal bender (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=32011&cat=1,43456,43407) is the best DIY tool for making small brackets! You are limited by how deep your vise opening is, but it's still worth it's weight in gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Day 1 was a success! I did use larger diameter washers on top of the poly wedge. No cracking of the poly in -33C (-27F) conditions this morning. I did need to retighten the bolts once the whole assembly cooled off to that temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Looks allot like the Bomber ski board bindings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhD Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Now you need to make an isolator plate to ensure purity of the flex pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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