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Shimming the gap between the blade and boot outer sole

Started by Kaitsu, August 10, 2022, 01:37:25 PM

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supersharp

I couldn't get the link to work, but I did find some info on their site:

https://skatesus.com/category/roller/roller-boots/

It looks like the Suono and the Ritmo have planar soles, but the Suono has been discontinued. 

Query

Quote from: supersharp on August 31, 2022, 12:42:45 AM
Shipping...see attached screenshot.  Yikes.

Why are shipping rates are so high to Juneau? I looked at the Juneau airport page, and it shows big aircraft, so I assume air transport isn't a huge problem.

Kaitsu, given the boot and blade costs, if I were you, before trying to reshape the boot and blade, I'd try making a shim by taping the underside of the boot with many layers of cloth athletic tape, though I've never tried that many layers - it's cheap. If that wasn't stable, I'd try making a hardened leather shim, which would also be relatively cheap. Both of those would be easy to reverse if they didn't work well. If neither worked, I would want to first try making similar amounts of shape change to a broken down used Edea boot if I could get one for cheap or free, and a discarded blade. Or trying the the epoxy filler. But I'm often cautious about such things - because I know I often make mistakes.

I guess your background gives you the confidence and knowledge to proceed less cautiously. Let's hope nothing breaks!

Then again, the Edea power wedges seem pretty cheap, if shipping isn't too high to your location. Maybe you could order two pair, in case one isn't thick enough. And it seems to have Edea's approval. BTW, The original link is working again. I assume you would still need to sand them to get the exact right shape, but that might be easier than crafting something from scratch. With the wedges in between, you might need slightly longer screws, but that isn't a big deal.

Query

Before shimming, I guess it might make sense to first decide whether the boots can be made to fit (and be comfortable for) the customer. E.g., if that upwards bend is too great, the customer might not feel comfortable in those boots, unless you do bend the sole.

As I posted here, Skates US (run by David Ripp), the US distributer for Edea boots, has a brief web page on David Ripp's methods of heat molding (he calls it custom shaping) Edea boots. It's not very detailed, but it might be better than nothing.

It does NOT describe bending the sole or footbed - nor are there traditional heat molding techniques I know of to bend them in other boots, but it does describe spot molding of the of some other parts of the boot.

It does note that traditional oven heat molding could damage Edea boots

QuoteWe strongly advise against utilizing an oven to shape the EDEA, as this softens the entire structure and shape in a way that is
harmful to the carbon type material. We use hair dryers, shoe lasts, and other tools to modify specific areas of the structure.
While this may not be incredibly difficult, it does require the proper tools and the knowledge of skating, the EDEA design,
and body alignment

I admit that suggests that if you bend the sole, as Bill_S describes, my suggestion that you warm it first, if taken too far, was a bad idea.


Kaitsu

Quote from: Query on August 27, 2022, 09:30:19 PM
He returned a lot of boots, and blades, that he felt were defective. Maybe 10 or 15%. He was a world class skate tech, with world class customers. But he did it for the low end customers too.

Can you guess where most of these returned boots and blades will end-up? To waste basket or to some other (poor) customer whom does not know so much about them? I do have my own doubts what happens to them.

Quote from: Query on September 01, 2022, 03:05:59 PM
Maybe you could order two pair, in case one isn't thick enough.

Quoting you, why would I want to do that? A waste of time and money.

AlbaNY

I was just on Amazon looking for an Edea product and saw the power wedges on there with cheap shipping, so I put in the Juneau zip code.  Shipping is $6.  https://www.amazon.com/Edea-Power-Wedges-Sold-Pairs/dp/B096MN6J5V/ref=sr_1_68?crid=3GL12TOKUPV0&keywords=edea&qid=1663052547&sprefix=edea%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-68

Isk8NYC

One of our local skate techs levels Riedells and Jacksons using a belt-sander.  Yesterday, I saw a post on FB where a pair of Edea boots had been "leveled" on a brand-new pair of Edeas by someone's skate tech. (Not ours)  It looks really strange.  *shrugs*  Apparently, the fitter did this to compensate for boots that weren't level. 

Frankly, quality control at the factory would be better.
-- Isk8NYC --
"I like to skate on the other side of the ice." - Comedian Steven Wright

Kaitsu

Another example picture from the Edea soles. They are not very flat as you can see. Most of the gaps will disappear when blade is mounted, but I would hope to see a bit less form errors.

Query

Quote from: Kaitsu on September 06, 2022, 11:18:36 AM
Can you guess where most of these returned boots and blades will end-up?

Sorry for the delay.

He told me he once was asked to deal with blades that he had previously returned to the manufacturer as defective - I.E., they had simply sent them on to someone else. I don't recall the details (e.g., manufacturer, though it was probably MK or JW) off-hand.

I don't find that surprising. Do you?

I bet a lot of manufacturers of a lot of types of equipment do that sort of thing, when retailers or end-customers return stuff, that they think they can get away with selling to someone else.

I wonder if some manufacturers give better prices to dealers who don't return too much - or at least give them more special discounts.

Kaitsu

Quote from: NiceIce on July 28, 2023, 12:34:52 PM
Edea's soles are very rounded at the edges leaving large gaps.

This thread is more is more close to this topic. I agree that Edea boots soles are often problematic, like we can see above. Here is another example. https://youtu.be/9VNT2BPDutQ

It helps a bit if you use heat gun to make boot softer while you mount the blades. However when blades are Wilson´s revolution series, I do not know how much they can withstand heat. Traditional steel blades can be heated pretty hot without damaging them. You will heat also blade while you heat the boot.

Revolution blades what you can see in the video are not mounted by me. They have been mounted by pro figure skate shop. Owner of the skates asked me to do new sharpening as pro shop sharpening was so terrible that she could not skate with them. Surface finish was more close to sandpaper than skates hollow. I didn't start to make any modifications to the blades mounting, because I do not want be one piece in the puzzle if blades breakdown. These kind of cases are skate techs nightmare.

Recently Jackson has started to promote that they monitor their boots and blades to avoid such a caps which may break blades. More of my thought you can read from the Youtube.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CukDRQksENb/?mc_cid=a58d7928fd&mc_eid=dfeeb821b6