Skate build III (and how to make improved sliders)

My Nike trainer skates were nice but as you can see, I have gone and swapped the boot to a ice hockey boot. I got too precious about my toenails and tired of bruised ankles and lower shins, so decided to go for a hard boot. I got these ice hockey skates from a junk shop in Finland for 2 euros (you get four pints of milk for that money). I pried off the blades and was left with a nice sturdy boot, made in Czechoslovakia. They were old but comfy. I later on swapped them to another pair of hockey boots (Bauer Rocket Vapor, 6,50 euro) as this pair turned out to be too small after all. 

You will see that I improved the design of the sliders too because they broke (as some of you had suspected might happen!). I am happy that I solved the pivot cup problem as well. 

The boot - and old ice hockey boot with the blade ripped off

The centre line - I noted where the blade had been installed so the centre line was easy to find

I noted that the blade was higher at the back and so I would need to add a heel to the build. I used some of the left over chopping board to make heel shapes.

I used Ikea chopping board (cost 80 pence) and an electric jigsaw, using a slim blade. The nylon plastic cuts very nicely.

It was loud so popped on ear defenders!

The heel risers all cut and shaped up with a file. The material is a pleasure to file. Very easy to shape.

Testing the mount with large amounts of tape. More details of this fast (and rough but good enough for me!) method here: http://theblizzard54.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/centering-plates.html

Holes drilled, bolts tightened, plates fitted! These were fairly easy to drill and fit as the tongue is wide and comes down very near the toe box. My Nike trainers were a pain to mount compared to these - easy and pleasant!

The painful bit. The pivot cups... I took a long while to figure out how to get them right. I tried various things but this is the answer (I think.... so far so good...) The Penny trucks' pivot rod is slightly thicker and shorter than the standard Probe truck that goes with these plates. It is also in a slightly, very slightly, different angle. I fixed this but drilling these hard pivot cups with 9mm drill at a slight angle. Now the pivot rod sits in them nicely and should not pop out (as it did a couple of times before)! 

So this is what went wrong with my previous design for the sliders. The angle was too sharp and created a weak spot. The previous post is here: http://theblizzard54.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/how-to-make-sliders-for-probe.html Check it out for further details regarding the installation,

I designed a new, improved shape, eliminating any sharp bends that would create weaknesses, and returned to the originals shape I used for my Bonts with Arius plate. See post here: http://theblizzard54.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/how-to-make-sliders-for-arius.html 

For interest: The original shape I came up with - very strong.

New shape - just fits. I made it as wide as I could without it touching the trucks. I used the original holes I had drilled for the earlier slider design. 

Rough shape cut with a jigsaw, ready to be filed into the final shape.

Final shaping with a file.

I added wooden blocks to go between the plastic sliders to add rigidity and eliminate any movement that could weaken the plastic.

  

Sliders fitted with M5 40mm bolts - just right length to go through.

Then I popped the little square wooden block between the sliders to give it some rigidity, and drilled through.

Final bolt in place through the sliders. Nice!
Ta-dah! Skates in action! (Yep I swapped the boot once more, and changed the wheels, otherwise the same.)

In action! 

Here they are :)