Sawing, sanding, sealing
Once we’d measured and marked the right spot, it was time to break out the angle grinder. The edges and sidewalls were easy to cut through, and for the final shape, we switched to a jigsaw. Just a heads-up: some skis have a titanium layer inside—so make sure to check that in advance and use the right saw blades!
Next, we had to seal the freshly cut ends. The goal: stop moisture from seeping in, swelling the wood, and compromising the screw hold.
Our solution? First, we scorched the wood with a Bunsen burner. Later, I learned that lightly charred wood can actually absorb more water because the cell structure gets damaged. But if you char it completely—think charcoal—it can become water-repellent. That was the theory, anyway.
In the end, we found a can of spray varnish and simply sealed the ends that way.
A more durable option would’ve been to coat everything with epoxy resin and let it cure properly. But our quick-and-dirty method has worked just fine so far—no swollen ends, no loose screws.
Installing the binding - the easy way
The only thing missing now was the binding. You can find a detailed article on mounting ski bindings in our equipment section.
We used an old "BigFoot" binding - one-piece, no fiddeling around with two binding parts. We aligned them by eye, then marked the drilling points, pre-notched them with a punch and finally drilled them. We removed wood shavings from the holes and filled them with glue before mounting the binding.
Curious: The screws poked through the coating on one Figl, but not on the other. However, the problem was quickly sanded away with the Flex.
The finishing touches: style is a must
Finally, the spray can was used again. A little paint and our chic one-off was finished. The Figl have already survived several sessions including front flips and crashes - and still work perfectly.
