A shop-built skate holder for sharpening with a Pro-Filer

[Bill_S]

Tstop posted some photos of his clamp to hold skates for hand-sharpening. In his design, he clamped skates horizontally. I prefer vertically, and for about 18 years, I've merely held the skates in position while sharpening.

I have to lay my skates down while I tend to tasks like rotating the sharpening stone, wiping swarf from the blade and stone, and re-applying oil to the stone between passes.  This is how most users do it, and it works fine.

With tstop's inspiration, I thought that I'd try spending a little time in my wood shop to make a holder for the skate. I began by photographing my skates and importing the pictures to scale into a drawing program. (I use CorelDRAW because that's what I'm used to.)

Here's a screen capture of partial plans for the holder. I didn't complete the top view because the other two views show me enough to get started in the shop.



I had some 1" oak given to me from a friend who had it cut from a storm-felled tree. I decided to use it for the clamp jaws, but used Baltic Birch for the rest. With the plans in hand, I spent time with the table saw. It's equipped with a shop-built cross-cut sled that makes this work easier, safer, and more accurate.



I decided to use dowels and glue to fasten the upright supports together. That will make a very solid unit once completed. Here's a shot of the dowel holes being drilled.



This is a dry-fit of the dowels holding the right-angle parts together.



And a check of alignment...



Continued in the next post.

[Bill_S]

I wanted a couple of hand-holds to be able to lift it from storage easily. I used long slots. After laying them out, I cut the ends using large diameter Forstner bits.



Then I used a jig saw to rough-cut the waste away.



The edges were cleaned up on a router table.



Then the sharp edges were radiused on the router table after changing bits.



Continued in the next post.

[Bill_S]

I needed a little vertical relief for loading the skate into the clamp. I cut away some material from the "foot" of the unit to provide nearly 3/4" more space. First is the planning by drawing on the part, then cut the inside curves using a Forstner bit, then using a bandsaw to cut away the inside material.





The outside corners were rounded freehand on a disk sander. I followed the pencil line from the planning/drafting step.



Continued in the next post.

[Bill_S]

I was in a quandry about how to attach the vertical support assembly to the foot and to the clamp. I decided to try pocket screws for the top because that makes it removable in the future.

Drilling pocket screw holes...



Done...



These will be hidden under the top, so are out of sight. I had planned to use them on the bottom too, but I thought that they looked too ugly for that. They would be easily visible down near the foot. I haven't decided on a method yet.

Continued in next post.

[Bill_S]

I've ordered some small screw knobs to do the clamping onto the blade. They will arrive on Tuesday. I prepared the oak for the knobs by installing 1/4-20 threaded brass inserts into the stationary part of the clamp.



These are installed a little below the surface so that they don't contact the skate blade. Only the oak will contact blades.

Here's how everything looks just stacked in a dry-fit this evening. I temporarily substituted plain bolts for the knobs just to see how everything fit.



It is my goal to avoid using a vice to hold the skate clamp. Just pull this out, clamp the blade, and go to work.

I have in the back of my mind that the interior space where the boot goes to be used also for storage of the Pro-Filer kit and materials. It will be a small box that nests inside, and is removed when you want to clamp a skate and sharpen. I'll get this part done first, then I'll work on enhancements.

I know that it isn't necessary to have something like this when using the Pro-Filer, but I'm just having a little fun.

Work will continue tomorrow.

[tstop4me]

Beautiful work, Bill.  I'm surprised, though, that, with all the power gear you have, you didn't get a power skate sharpener long ago.

[Bill_S]

I've considered getting the power sharpener (the Wissota 911 mounted on their stand), but there are a few reasons still preventing me from taking the plunge. First is space. My "shop" is very crowded now, and another tool will only make crowding worse. Second, I sharpen blades about 4 times per year on average. That makes it hard to justify a nearly $1500 investment especially considering my age and the number of future sharpenings.

But I want one!

The biggest reason FOR getting the power sharpener is that it can easily handle thinner dance blades and easily change ROH.

[Bill_S]

More work on the skate holder today. As I mentioned up-thread, I wanted to make possible a box that would nest inside this holder to store the Pro-Filer kit, and possibly a few more things. To provide one possibility for holding a box in place, I drilled small recesses and installed strong rare-earth magnets.



The magnets were epoxied into the holes.



The magnets will latch onto metal pieces in the box if I decide to build it later.

I put a coat of finish on the clamp parts.



Then I went to work attaching the "wings" on the upright using dowels and glue.



Here is the assembly after un-clamping and flush-trimming the little bit of dowel that stuck out. I also did a little round-over of the sharp edge.



Continued in the next post.

[Bill_S]

I did another dry-fit and stacked the parts temporarily. Enough is assembled now that I can clamp a skate in the holder to check how it might work.



The bolts seen in the following photo will be replaced with knobs. They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.



And a closer view of my Pro-Filer on the blade in the sharpening position.



I'm on the fence about finishing options. I might just put on a coat of shellac and call it done. I had originally envisioned painting the upright part a dark blue-gray color. I'll sleep on it.

[tstop4me]

I had originally envisioned painting the upright part a dark blue-gray color.

How about periwinkle?  :-)

[Bill_S]

Yeah, and I've got laces to match.

Oops! I gave them away.

[lutefisk]

Wonderful workmanship.  Sadly, I'm much to lazy to build a bespoke skate holder like yours.  But with my skate tech retiring next spring I might see if I can chock a skate blade underneath a Black and Decker "Workmate" table. Thanks for the idea.

[Bill_S]

Maybe I should be making a Shop Mate! They are handy.

Not much work to report today. I had to cut grass but had a grease fitting pull out of the mower's front wheel before I began. I did a quick and dirty repair and mowed. I made it back just before the sky opened up with a nasty series of thunderstorms.

The knobs arrived today from McMaster-Carr, and I tried them out. They work as planned.



I put some shellac on the plywood parts, and they are drying now.

[Bill_S]

I spent a couple hours on this today. Finishing is the most time consuming task that remains.

I thought that the Pro-Filer came awfully close to the clamp near the toe pick area, so I routed a rounded recess to allow space for it. This will do approximately what tstop's notch did in his holder. Routing a continuous groove will allow for clamping of the blade in either orientation - toe pick facing away from you, or close to you.



I decided that I wouldn't paint the wood, but instead finish it in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal oil-based urethane. The surface of the plywood had a nice chatoyance to it, so I decided to let the material show.



I realized that I could also clamp the skate on the top, and use the holder to keep things still while polishing the leather. Nice bonus.

[Bill_S]

I finished today. After a few coats of Arm-R-Seal, I assembled the unit today. The pocket screws were inserted to hold the top to the upright portion of the holder.



The bottom was attached using 1-1/2 assembly screws. They went through the bottom and into the plywood edges. It's not the best woodworking solution because end grain is very weak holding screws. In my favor was that a plywood edge is half end grain, and half side grain. But it will work fine in this application.

Photos of the finished holder are in the next post.

[Bill_S]

Here are the "cameo" photos of the completed unit.





Clamping a skate blade into the unit is easy as pie...



With the sharpener in position, ready to go to work. Plenty of clearance...



I can easily reach the area just behind the toe pick with the sharpener...



I can use the holder to clamp a skate upright. This might be useful when polishing the leather or for re-lacing. The skate is held very securely.



I might make some thin rubber feet for the bottom of the holder to prevent wood-to-wood contact in case I sharpen on a nice table. I will also get around to making a storage drawer (?) for stowing the Pro-Filer kit, tape, and maybe a package of latex gloves. It will fit in the cavity where you see the Pro-Filer kit in the previous photo. There's plenty of room.

[tstop4me]

Great job, Bill.  Aren't you glad now that you built your own, instead of buying the PBHE unit?

[Bill_S]

Absolutely. There's always satisfaction in doing it yourself.

[tstop4me]

Absolutely. There's always satisfaction in doing it yourself.

Yeah, and your unit is both more functional and more aesthetically pleasing than the commercial unit.

[Query]

CHALLENGE:

I'm not good with tools, and don't know what tools are available in the average home shop.

But here is an interesting challenge for you folks that are, especially if you are considering buying a powered skate sharpening machine:

can you use a home shop to improvise your own home-made powered skate sharpening machine? Say, using a power tool to turn an off-the-shelf grinding wheel?

it seems to me you are part-way there. You've created a smooth track for the blade to run through, right? So, if you can find a precision way to align the wheel along the center of the track... Maybe use a drill press, or a drill stand, to adjust the distance??

I suspect the hardest to make component of a powered sharpening machines is the diamond dresser, that grinds the ROH curve across the wheel. One way to do this is to move a diamond tip along a circular trajectory against the wheel, while the wheel turns. The tip could be moved at the end of an adjustable length arm (effective arm length = ROH) - except that the center of rotation is inside the grinding wheel - in fact it is midway through the thickness of the wheel. The obvious way to make that work is that The arm rotates about a center that is offset at right angles to the side of the wheel (typically, the wheel is horizontal, and the rotation center is offset vertically above the wheel; the arm has to be parallel to the shaft the wheel rotates on), and an second extension, at right angles to the arm, holds the diamond point. I think there are other ways of doing that, but I haven't seen them in detail. (I like the idea of using right angles because it is easy to find pre-manufactured items with right angles in them.)

An alternative is to take a sanding or grinding disk, or a mandrill, already shaped to the ROH, so it doesn't need to be dressed at home, and turn it across the bottom of the blade. Cross-ground edges tend to be uneven - but what if you take several runs, turning the disk, etc. in opposite directions on alternate runs, taking very little metal off in the final two runs?

Can you figure out an easy way to make one of these things work, without needing the services of a precision machine shop for working metal?

[Bill_S]

Somewhere in the archives, a former member who went by "Rusty Blades", posted about making a powered sharpener. She was an engineer with 40 years experience and had seen what poor "professional" sharpenings could do to a blade. Because of that, she built her own.

I believe that she was Canadian, and once posted about having to kill a bear that was becoming a big concern around her property. There were some real characters in the early days of this discussion board.

I spent some time this morning and found some of her posts from back in 2008, including mention of one of her shop-built sharpeners, but couldn't find the thread or photos about how she built it.

[Bill_S]

Let's start a new thread for this topic. It's pretty far from the content of this thread.

I'll call it "Powered skate sharpener alternatives - brainstorming".

[Bill_S]

I've extended the concept of the skate holder to include storage space for the Pro-Filer kit, some latex gloves, and Scotch Tape. Those are the items that I use to sharpen blades. I can carry the unit to a table, have all the supplies at hand, and go to work.

The magnets that I installed in the holder are now being used to hold the removable cover in place. The magnets are attracted to the mounting screws for the cover's handle.

Right now, the cover is just 1/4" hardboard in its native color. I suspect that paint is in its future.

[tstop4me]

I've extended the concept of the skate holder to include storage space for the Pro-Filer kit, some latex gloves, and Scotch Tape. Those are the items that I use to sharpen blades. I can carry the unit to a table, have all the supplies at hand, and go to work.

The magnets that I installed in the holder are now being used to hold the removable cover in place. The magnets are attracted to the mounting screws for the cover's handle.

Right now, the cover is just 1/4" hardboard in its native color. I suspect that paint is in its future.

This is becoming reminiscent of the portable kits that traveling shoe shine pros used to cart around :-). 

[Bill_S]

Maybe I'll toss in a couple cans of Kiwi polish and a brush, and make my dream of being an itinerant shoe boot shiner come true.

In reality, I'll certainly clamp my own skates on top for polishing them.