Sounds like you two have really thought things through. Wonderful!
This has gotten way off topic.
Back on topic, I'd still like to know all the uses a boot holder is good for.
But briefly back off-topic:
It never occurred to me to shim or insert skate screws with washers. Cool idea! Among other things, it probably keeps continuous pressure on both the surface and the screw, so they are less likely to gradually "creep" loose. I knew an electrician who sometimes used washers on screw terminals for precisely that reason. (He preferred to double-nut, but there may not be space to do that on skate mounts.) It makes complete sense, and I should have thought of it.
tstop4me, I don't even know exactly what center punch I bought. I honestly didn't know there was more than one type. I just went into a hardware store, Peope's Supply Company in Hyattsville, MD, that catered to the construction trade, and asked what to use. I think it was made by Stanley, and it was $8 retail, 1 or 2 decades ago. It's the same idea as these:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/3-Pieces-Center-Pin-Punch-Automatic-Center-Strike-Spring-Loaded-Window-Breaker-Drilling-Marking-Tool-Yellow-with-Cap/109470280?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101075122https://www.rightonwithjoncrane.com/toollistI can't think of any reason why the tools with an external spring instead of an internal spring are any worse. But I haven't used one, so am not sure.
Of course you don't want a tool that you can't hold vertical and straight next to the runner in the blade. The fat ball handle in the first link above might make that impossible. It was easier on the old Matrix I blades I still use, because I could remove the runner, giving me extra space to work. I so wish that sort of thing had been standardized and was in use by all brands. Or maybe the way it is (was??) done in some speed skates, where the blade holder is built into the sole of the boot, and is easily adjustable for orientation and offset. (Short and long track speed skaters also use it to
deliberately warp their blade - unlike us - because they always go CCW. Maybe low end public skaters in crowded sessions that always go CCW should do that too...)
I know you realize that you should NOT assume that I use the best tools for the job. I have no training to even know what they are. And as I said, I've had to learn from making mistakes - very often.
It is also my impression that people who have a lot of experience using tools, from childhood, can often make do with simpler tools than I can. E.g., a lot of people can hand-hold a drill, and drill things in almost perfectly centered and at an almost perfect right angle.
They can hammer in a nail at an almost perfect right angle too, in just two strokes - one tap to set the angle and position, one strong stroke to drive it slightly under the surface. (The electrician showed me that.
If I tried to do what he did, not only would I mess it up, but I might hit my finger. I've sometimes done silly things like drill holes in a piece of wood, and cut the wood through the center of the holes, to make a two piece nail stand. Then I put the two pieces of wood together again, insert a nail in the appropriate size hole, and hammer it in several tapes until it is near the wood surface. Then remove the nail stand, and hammer it in the rest of the way.
But, now that I think of it, a pilot hole might be a better approach to setting a nail orthogonal to the surface.
How do you do it, for nails? However you were trained, it is probably better.
It's been talked about in this forum before (Bill_S provided links to the good stuff) but I think an equally important thing is to use excellent grade stainless steel screws. NOT plated (e.g., galvanized) screws, that rust very fast, even if you carefully dry and maybe even oil them after skating - which you should do anyway. (Based on kayaking and roof racks, in or near saltwater, which might apply to people who skate on salty or polluted lakes, even the best marine grade stainless steels, and aluminum, eventually corrode, to the point you have to do things like use a drill bit extractor, or even a tap and die set, to remove a screw or bolt, by creating a new head, or drilling into the interior of the screw or bolt, and cutting a new reverse thread on it. I needed help to figure that out too.)
I try to treat ice skating as a water sport, that needs water and corrosion resistant materials and treatments, like salt water boating.
You all know this, because you all have more experience than me with tools, but it is so easy to over-tighten a screw in a leather outsole, to the point of stripping the threads. If I were an engineer, perhaps I could list the ideal torque. Instead I have had to learn by feel what works. It is somewhat less likely to strip if I push hard with the screwdriver as I screw it in. I push as hard as I can with control, but perhaps an engineer could say exactly how hard to push too. I still sometimes mess up. Sometimes I need to use a different hole, or fill a hole with Shoe Goo or a wooden dowel before re-using it. That also works if you drill a hole a little off-center from where it should be, and you need to redo it.
Anyway, let's get back to the boot holder, and what it is useful for.
Topic: A Simple Boot Holder for Maintenance (Read 5899 times)