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31
I get confused easily. I thought it took a year for Harlick customs to be made? Or is this not the custom pair?

Oh… it is still the same custom pair I ordered at the beginning of October 2022.   
I’d have posted photos here already.   ;)  Soon now though!
32
I get confused easily. I thought it took a year for Harlick customs to be made? Or is this not the custom pair?
33
My mother talked to Sophie at Harlick for me yesterday, because I can’t call from here, and my boots are supposed to make it to NY in time.  I’m really excited! 

Hopefully I can break them in enough to wear at the competition, but I’m not sure.  That’s a new experience to me to have brand new boots, and I was told by the fitter to expect a month… back when I was skating many more hours a week than I do now.   :-\  Perhaps I’ll just put them on for photos.   ;D
Coach Cheerful says she’ll help me with the break in during lessons while I’m there.  All I know is to wear them with guards at home, and it seemed like briefly doing some stick & puck was amazing for knee bend.  So, I’ll see if I can do that.


The new dream are skates modelled off of an Edwardian pair of that go farther up the calf and button for the upper half.  Saving up for those, but I guess it’ll be a few years…
34
The Pro Shop / Re: Pro-Filer Redirects to Wissota
« Last post by Query on March 02, 2024, 03:26:37 PM »
Perhaps the woodworking tools I was talking about using, which cost a fewl thousand dollars, are less available without high expense to the average skater than adequate quality 3D printers? Hard core woodworking hobbyists buy such tools, but perhaps few skaters.

I don't know is how accurate the types of 3D printer are that are widely available to the general public in public libraries. The 3D printer I saw used was consistent to a mm or two. But someone said that was poor.

A high end skate blade holder I've seen allowed adjustment of the blade height - which directly affects the centering of the wheel on the hollow - by 1/2000 inch. But I think that is overkill, that the tool need not be shaped that accurately. I doubt woodworking tools could do that well.

I use Pro-Filer by alternating skate or tool orientation every few strokes, to compensate for tool asymmetries and irregularities. And I use enough tape to fit the blade quite snugly, which locks down the geometry, so gravity doesn't matter, and I can hand-hold the tool at any orientation. I think it gives excellent consistent results, by feel, though I don't have the highest accuracy tools to check it.

Using those techniques, would library quality 3D printers do well enough?

Blademaster only offers 2 ROH's, 1/2" and 3/4", and their website suggests both tools are for hockey blades, which are much thinner.

If Kaitsu makes his specification files available to the public, and creates files for many different ROH's, maybe they could go to a public library and make their own tools in the desired ROH, that are good enough, for people who use those techniques. Or he could sell his tools to the general public?

35
Spectator Skating Discussions / Re: LiveBarn video privacy and safety issues
« Last post by AlbaNY on March 02, 2024, 06:26:54 AM »
There was a coach at my old rinks who really complained about it, and she didn’t like my filming very much either.  Otherwise it seemed accepted and even useful if a bit weird when thought about. 

I subscribed and used it to help remember choreography plans or to check on things out of view of my phone, but I did not find it as useful as my friend does.  She uses it all the time to catch clips of herself that she sends to me, some of her coaches, or puts on social media. 
Once it a while we (coach, myself, friend, and rink staff) did use it to eavesdrop on drama or to sort out what happened.  Like, one time a hockey team stole a trophy, and we could pinpoint who did it.

My coach’s mother made a point of watching my lessons and even practicing.  She was cute about it and just enjoyed being able to.

When I tested or competed I hoped to view from LiveBarn, but most of the time it was blacked out.  That really bummed me since I didn’t get to catch my very first competition.   :'(

The rink staff set it to black out the practices and such of certain hockey groups (youth,) and certain other times also out of some of the concerns that you mention.
36
The Pro Shop / Re: Pro-Filer Redirects to Wissota
« Last post by Query on February 26, 2024, 06:48:00 PM »
The problem was that my eyes are now full of steel dust and I can't see if the blades were scratched and if the scratches were on the mounting screws or which skates I even sharpened.

I hope you use protective goggles when sharpening with the powered sharpening machine, or working in a machine shop. Many people do. I admit I don't when using Pro-Filer but I've never had that produce dust that got in the air. I have used goggles while using a drill or saw.

tstop4me - but my concern is only on scratches that might conceivably add extra drag while skating.
37
The Pro Shop / Re: Pro-Filer Redirects to Wissota
« Last post by tstop4me on February 25, 2024, 04:43:17 PM »
No, not the chrome plated area, unless you wear down your blades a lot more than most people do before replacing them. Only the part of the blade that touches the ice matters.

But the concern about scratches that other skaters have addressed have been specifically on the chrome-plated surfaces.  Scratches on the chrome-plated surfaces are readily visible; whereas, those on the chrome relief are not (here we're talking about typical scratches picked up from a sharpening operation, not aberrant deep gouges).
38
The Pro Shop / Re: Pro-Filer Redirects to Wissota
« Last post by Kaitsu on February 25, 2024, 01:52:08 PM »
Thoughts, ideas for improvement?

Yes, I have a lot of thoughts. Please implement this ingenious plan of yours and come back afterwards to tell us how your wooden tool works and if you got within the 0.01 tolerance you mentioned earlier.

In the meantime, I'm going to the eye doctor. I did grind the blades with the tool I printed. Enthusiastic about the given tips, I printed a jig that holds the printed sharpener in place, with the groove facing downwards. I lie on the floor with a skate in my hand and move skate against the pro-filer above me. It was a bit difficult. The problem was that my eyes are now full of steel dust and I can't see if the blades were scratched and if the scratches were on the mounting screws or which skates I even sharpened.

When my eyes are recovered, I have planned to print Profiler type of sharpener which has same profile as the blade what I am sharpening. Means it has same lenght as the blade I am sharpening. I can tune the profiler so that I can do 3 or 4 sweet spots and many other cool things. Unfortunately I cannot describe how it works, but its going to be revolutionary.
39
The Pro Shop / Re: Pro-Filer Redirects to Wissota
« Last post by Query on February 25, 2024, 11:27:54 AM »
7. Recut the gap side so the gap is a little less high than the exposed height of the blade runner.
8. Use a hole saw with the ROH radius to cut out that circle, using a drill press with a vice to hold the block in place. The cut hole will be your sanding drum. It will fit the hole somewhat loosely, to make our tool.
8.5 Recut the other sides so the tool isn't too large.
9. On the side opposite that gap, near the center length use a self tapping screw to create a thread (or: can a tap and die kit cut wood?) deep enough to go just past the circle. Replace the screw with a bolt with the same thread. Use it to press the sanding drum against the side of the hole next to the gap, locking the sandpaper in place while you use the tool.
10. Cut sandpaper, loosen the bolt, and insert sandpaper. It should be long enough to extend most of the way to either side of the bolt. If it doesn't extend past the hole, the sanding drum won't center accurately on the hole. Tighten the bolt.
11. Cut tape that is a bit wider than the gap is high, to a length longer than the tool is long. I use Scotch tape on my Pro-filer. Pull tape taut, insert into the gap, touching the sanding drum so it aligns parallel, and pulled against the side of the gap to make it stick. Stick the extra tape to the ends and sides of the tool. Repeat on the other side of the gap. Briefly insert the blade and push against the tape hard on each side, to make it stick better. Add more layers until the blade slides through snugly.
12. Re-insert sanding drum and sandpaper, tighten the bolt, and sharpen a cheap discarded blade, like on the old skates that ice rinks throw away. The inside edge will be longer than the outside edge, or vice versa, because the gap probably isn't exactly centered on the hole.
13. So: Discard the tape and retape, using more layers to one side, iterating step 10 & 11 until it is properly centered.

Thoughts, ideas for improvement?
40
The Pro Shop / Re: Pro-Filer Redirects to Wissota
« Last post by Query on February 25, 2024, 11:27:33 AM »
Revised wooden version:

1. Take a 2x2 board (exact size not important), cut it to the desired tool length.
2. Use a bench circular saw, jig saw, or band saw, that has a fence accurately parallel to the blade. Set blade to be perpendicular to table. (A handheld jig saw with a fence or strip cutting attachment might work, would be less accurate.) Recut the sides and ends of the board to be perpendicular to each other.
3. Mark the center of the board on one of the ends. (The center is at the intersection of the two diagonals.)
4. Use a compass to draw a circle about that center with the desired ROH radius on that end.
5. Find the middle of one of the sides of the end, and draw a line with a pencil from it to the center, and to the other side.
6. Cut a gap centered on that line, as accurately as you can, from one side to the circle or a bit further. Use the fence (or strip cutting attachment) to keep cut straight. The blade should be slightly wider than the skating blade - which might eliminate the possibility of using a jig saw or band saw, if it isn't wide enough.
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