Vet88

I have a welder, grinding wheel, milling machine and access to a lathe and cnc machine. Fabrication isn't the issue, time is. This is a hobby for me as opposed to a must have or business related going concern, I could buy a purpose built machine or have the fun of building the ps3 into something different, just because I can. As to those who asked me why bother? There are a number of reasons, besides the clamp mechanism the ps3 machine is actually well built and the way it is built means I can make many adaptations to it. And it has one huge advantage over all of the other automatic sharpeners in the lower to mid end of the cost market - minimum electronics. AND - the sharpening wheel isn't controlled by the machine. Besides Prosharp supplied wheels, I have also sourced a range of traditional stone wheels and when the right stone is used for the type of blade in the machine I get a sharpen as good as many hand sharpens I have had. I still have to remove the sharpening wheel to dress it (pita atm) but I'm going to add the pencil into the case next month and make the electronic adjustments I need so I can spin the wheel to dress it but the wheel carriage doesn't move. I'm also thinking of removing the existing front of the case and replacing it with a door so I can get quick and open access to the inserted blade and sharpening wheel and adjustments. Then I can add polishing passes and, with some other stone wheels I have coming, play around with wet and oil sharpens.

Issues with the sp3: - if the blade holder on the boot has any damage to it that affects the way it sits in the V (eg a small cut where the plastic may sit a little proud), the alignment will be out. Instead of a V they should have just had a flat surface. You must religiously check the holder every time and double check how the boot is sitting in the machine, every time. - the clamp that holds the blade is too small, in my experience a lot of blades have slight curve in them so if you want a straight edge on anything bigger than a junior size you need to remove the blade from the holder and put it into a separate holder that will hold it straight. - the clamp itself should be made from hardened steel. Instead its made from a soft steel that wears quickly (remember this is supposed to be a commercial version) where it runs around the clamp alignment bearings. You end up with different wear on each side of the clamp which starts to throw the clamp alignment out. Not only does the alignment move out on one side but it also moves out from front to back ie it slightly twists so the blade will be more left at the front and more right at the back. - now you have to realign the clamp to take care of minor wear in the clamp. wtf, it's actually not designed to be realigned, even by a few thou. You can do it but because of the way they have designed it, the bearing is meant to center the clamp and be located in just one place. But the bolt that secures the alignment bearing can float by 1/2mm in the securing the channel. 1/2mm one one side in the front bearing and 1/2mm to the other side in the back is up to 1mm deviation, f**k. Now you have to manually align it over and over with no way to move the bearing securing bolt in any controlled manner. Yes, a new clamp mechanism fixes this but I'm talking about very minor wear here and the alignment starts to go out. - the overall design of how the clamp bearing alignment bolt is secured is really piss poor (this would be my biggest complaint). They use a really thin shim to help secure the bearing where it sits over a channel. The shim gives way (the shaft of the bearing pushes the shim into the channel) and the bearing securing bolt gets loose, oh f**k, now I'm having to realign the F*****G machine again. JFC!!!!!! - You have to move the sharpening wheel forward by about one inch to access the sharpening wheel adjustment nut. wtf, all they had to do was cut the opening into the machine further to the right so you could easily access the alignment wheel without having to move the sharpening wheel, morons. And if you forget to push the start button just right so it moves the wheel for adjustment instead of a sharpen, bugger. Now it runs up the device and the sharpening wheel takes chunks out of the blade alignment clamp. I've done it, I've seen 5 of these machines where everyone else has done it, what a cluster f**k. So when these things get any wear in them, they are stuffed. This is why they end up sitting under a bench, every time you realign them and you think its ok, the alignment goes out after a few sharpens. You can't run a sharpening business with this device unless you are prepared to replace the clamp mechanism and associated parts every few months (in a commercial or rink setting) and getting support from Prosharp, what a joke (my experience and other rinks I've talked to). What I have done to fix this (if you know the machine you will know what I am talking about) - made the clamp from high tensile steel. Made multiple clamps that are longer to better hold blades straight. Changed the way the clamp is held to the arms, instead of rivets I now use a nut and bolt and miniature bearing. Modified stand offs to fit the clamp alignment bearing (so I didn't need the shim and when I secure the bearing in place it doesn't lock the bearing and stop it from spinning). Changed the clamp alignment bearings so the center spigot was bigger. Added high tensile steel flat bars that perfectly fit the channels the clamp alignment bolts go into. The bars are machined from high tensile solid steel and include a machined pin the clamp alignment bearing sits onto. This allows me to secure the clamp alignment bearing from the top instead of a nut at the bottom in the channel. I can change the clamp quickly without worrying about the clamp alignment bearing moving so the clamp alignment always stays the same. At the other end of the bar are 2 additional holes that securing bolts go into to hold the bar in place. One the bar is secured the bearing cannot move and can be perfectly centered in relation to the other 3 bearings. Added to the end of the locking bar is a tube, I can insert a threaded rod into the tube and use this to move the locking bar and therefore the clamp alignment bearing by thousands of an inch to help realign the clamp when wear occurs. I've cut openings in the side of the machine and attached some digital laser beam measurement devices that take measurements (both sides of the blade) back / middle / front of the blade. Once the machine is properly aligned, these measuring devices can be zeroed to the distance of the blade. Now every time I put a blade into the machine I can instantly check that it is centered to the wheel and centered along the length of the blade. My next project on it is to make a locking mechanism that will hold template profiles and the blade. I also have to modify the pin that holds the sharpening wheel on (add a bearing to it). Now I will be able to do profiles on the machine. I will have to take the blade out of the boot holder to do the profile but I'm ok with that.

All vertical skate mounted machines that secure with a 2 sided clamp are supposedly "self centering", once they are set up and maintained properly. Wear and tear on the clamping mechanism components is the biggest cause of uneven edges in these machines.

Looks like a complete redesign, imho it was necessary due to the many many problems with the Swedish model. I have a prosharp skatepal pro 3 (which is built on the same platform as the home version) that I am gradually modifying to fix the cheap build sh*t issues.

Anyone tried this? https://g8rskin.com/product/ice-hockey-g8rskin-ppe/

You can test the length yourself with the pencil test. Get an HB pencil. Take the laces out of the skate, this is important to prevent the skate and tongue from binding on the foot. Pull the togue right out, put your foot into the boot and push your foot forward until the tips of the toes are lightly brushing the toe cap. Now bend forward slightly in the boot and see if you can slide the pencil down the back of your heel. If you can slide the pencil down between your heel and the boot then the skates are at least a 1/2 size too long for what is considered an optimal fit.

Often injuries makes your pronation worse but it can also be a standalone problem. Unless it was debilitating, typically we don't rehab an ankle injury, once we are mobile again the ankle recovers on it's own. Yet the injury has stretched tendons and ligaments and these don't return to their original range of motion. So your lateral range of ankle movement is now greater and you don't have proper muscular control over this increased range of motion. In general life this isn't a problem but put your feet into ice skates and now it causes an issue. Do the exercise, it will help to fix this.

@Sniper9 covered a few things, here I'll try and cover the rest. Answering issue 1: the only reason your tongue twists off center is because your foot is moving / rotating in the boot. For an outward twist - as you put pressure down on the ice the foot turns inwards in the boot, as you lift your foot off the ice the foot straightens up in the boot and it drags the tongue with it ergo tongue twists to the outside. The reason why your foot turns inwards? Pronation. Answering issue 2: Again, your foot is rotating inward in the boot and as part of this rotation the inner ankle bone presses hard against the side of the boot. If the ankle bone is not sitting in the ankle pocket then its pressing against the shell of the boot instead of a cushioned pocket. The easiest way to fix this is to get the boot punched in that spot. Get some lipstick, put it on your ankle where the damage is, put you foot into the boot and press the ankle bone against the side of the boot. The lipstick will transfer to the boot and now you can take the boot to a pro shop and ask them to punch right there where the lipstick mark is. Could the tongue be causing it? It's possible if it is bunching at the edge and causing a hard point that the ankle bone is resting on but the damage is on the underside of your ankle bone and that is where the bone will rub against the side of the boot as the foot turns inwards in the boot. There can be multiple reasons why you are experiencing these issues in these boots but you may not have had the issue before. I suspect fit is a big point, earlier boots may not have had as much volume as these so there is more room for the tongue to move. Or a much thinner tongue. Or previous boots had softer rear quarters so the pressure on the ankle bone was less. Or the holders may be mounted more to the outside of the center line of the boot causing you to pronate more (the foot rolls inwards more) - the difference in the holder placement can be as little as 1mm to create a big difference in pronation. The superfeet are higher in the heel and this can push the ankle bone out of the pocket, it's the one downside to superfeet especially if your ankle bone is not sitting in the mean average spot of most scanned feet in the manufacturer's database. (those of us with narrow feet often suffer from this). Or the boot overall is slightly wider, you just don't notice it due to the different new padding but as this padding compresses your foot is getting more room to rotate / pronate. Or a mix of any of the previous points. Can I fix it? Yes but there is no simple fix everything cheap answer. - Simplest fix is to get your skates punched for your ankle bone and tape your tongue in place. This addresses the issues but not the root cause, pronation. Over time your skates will break down quickly because your foot is rotating in the boot. - The next fix is to go and get fitted for high end skates. The extra stiffness in the side walls will provide the ground force resistance needed to help keep the ankle straight and reduce your pronation. Punch the ankle pocket if needed. Your tongue will still most likely twist to the side slightly. if this really bugs you you can get lace guides glued / stitched to the top of the tongue that you thread the laces thru and this helps to keep the tongue straight. When your boots start to go soft and open up on you, and they will because your pronation is causing the ankle bone to press heavily against the inside of the boot, buy new skates. - If your skates are a perfect fit you can try mechanical interventions to reduce your pronation - shims, wedges, posts, orthotics and or holder movement. But again, the boots have to be a perfect fit otherwise none of these will work very well or not at all. Downsides to this approach is cost, transferability and effectiveness. You can't just swap it all to a new boot, each boot basically needs to be another custom fit and a new set of costs. And whilst all of this will help you for a straight line glide and a mild edge (aka figure skaters), none of it will help when you get deep on a turn under power or accelerating hard (aka hockey players). - Or my approach, fix your pronation thru a simple off ice exercise, commit to it over time and as your pronation reduces all of these issues go away and your skating gets much better. I've done a post in this forum about the exercise, link below. I've also done a comprehensive doc about the exercise and pronation in skates but it's too long to post here so message me if you want it.

An issue that often doesn't get covered with bent steel is the sharpening. In general, when using a hand sharpener the holder will straighten the steel. Depending on the design of the holder this could happen all the way to the toe and heel or at least 90% of the blade will be straight. However with the popularity of automatic sharpeners such as Sparx and Prosharp Home and Prosharp Skatepal Pro, the blade holders in these machines are much smaller. They clamp the middle portion of the blade which allows the toe and heel to bend away. It's why a lot of shops will check the level in the middle of the blade but not at the toe or heel, they know it's bent but it just isn't worth the hassle to explain the how and why to the customer (or an employee). I come across bent blades all the time and have built a clamp for my Skatepal Pro to hold bent blades straight as I sharpen them.

There are a number of known resellers of Chinese sticks (outside of the major brands) in the market, all black hockey sticks is just one for example. You will find there are many loyal purchasers of these sticks. However every clone I have tried (and I would try 3 or 4 clones from different manufacturers every year) is, at best, only equivalent or worse to a mid range stick from one of the 4 major brands (Bauer / CCM / Warrior / True), there is just no comparison to a Hyperlite 2 / Trigger 8 pro / Super Novium / Hazard PX. Yet speak to the Chinese seller or the local importer and the sticks are claimed to be from the factory that makes a major brand stick and or just as good as a top of the line stick.... You get what you pay for, if you can 1: try one on the ice and you like the feel and your shot comes off ok and 2: get them at a 1/3 of the price of what you perceive to be a similar quality brand name stick - then buy one. If it lasts then you have got a good deal. If it doesn't then it hasn't cost you that much and you can chalk it up to experience.

You could try this, see link below to my post. I have done this to fix lace bite (I've laced up for the first time in about 5 years and am skating lace bite free!!!!!!!!!) but you could use this to get a better wrap. I haven't baked the boot but I think you could fit the extensions, heat the boot, lace up and when the boot is set then remove the extensions.

If you want to fix lace bite then here is a solution. Anyone should be able to do this and you can experiment with different designs and heights. The theory is simple - if you can extend the height of the facing so your laces aren't putting pressure on your tendon then you should be able to lace all the way up, TIGHTLY ...... AND skate lace bite free. This isn't a new idea, just using an old idea (eg the Flex 55 solution) and concepts in a different way. See the photos in the link below. I made the extensions from 4mm thick belt leather. The holes match the eyelets on the boot, the smallest extension gets fitted first and is just wide enough to wrap over the top of the facing by around 4mm. Each subsequent extension is 4mm wider so that they always wrap over the top of the facing. I created a small hook curve shape on the bottom of the extension, this helps to hold the first lace over in place on the extension. I used football laces to tie the extensions onto the boot, starting at the bottom eyelet, threading outside in and then going up thru each eyelet (see 1st pass photo) and then threading back thru the eyelets so that there are now 3 places to lace thru (see 2nd pass photo, you lose one lacing place compared to the boot) and you can now tie off (make sure the lace is flat inside the boot) at the bottom. I thread my skate laces thru before tying off, just makes it easier. Material needed - thick enough leather, suitable scissors to cut the leather, a drill to drill the holes, pair of laces cut in half. Admittedly I used a laser machine to cut my leather but simple basic tools will also work. To make the template I suggest you take a photo of your boot then import the photo into a drawing package (I used Corel Draw but a free package like Gimp would do the job). On your boot, measure the distance from the top eyelet to the 4th eyelet. In the drawing package, size the image so the measurement is the same. Now overlay round circles where the eyelets are and then draw an outline of your template. To make additional templates, copy this and then extend the copy by 4mm (or whatever is necessary depending on the thickness of your leather) and repeat until you have the number of extensions you want to make. Print them out and now you have a template/s to make your extensions. Is it worth it? The wrap is just amazing, it's as good as any boot I have tried including custom Trues. The extension creates pressure on the top of the facing and pulls the top of the facing around your leg. Maybe it shouldn't work with AS3 pros but it does and it works well, no abrasions at all. As to lace bite and forward flexion, 2 months in and I'm still lace bite free and skating every day. I only use the bottom 2 slots to lace thru, I don't need the top one and have never tried it. Even with the boot wrap the forward flexion is amazing, admittedly this will be based on the number of extensions you have fitted. In the pics I have 5 extensions fitted each side, this was me trying an extreme scenario that gave me 2cm's of lace lift above the facing on each side, even at this height it still works fine. I actually use 2 extensions each side. If you want to have a lace lock scenario, go outside in with your skate laces. The lace lock works really well but loosening wet cold laces is harder. Pros - NO lace bite, fantastic wrap, variable height above your ankle so can fit all shapes of foot, great ankle support with amazing forward flexion, there is no additional pressure on the eyelets so no damage to the boot, there is no pressure on the extension (other than the downward pressure from the laces) so they will last a long time, cheap to make, easy to fit, easy to remove, long lasting, can be made to fit ANY boot you may own now and in the future, you can do it yourself. Cons - Maintenance, over time the lace I use to fit the extension to the boot and lace thru might (most probably will) break, you should carry spares and do regular maintenance. My inner ankle bone never fitted in the ankle bone pocket in the first place but it never bothered me as I didn't lace up the top 5 eyelets, with the wrap I was forced to punch the boot so the inner ankle bone had a pocket to fit in otherwise I could not have used the extensions, the pain on the ankle bone was brutal (took me 2 punches to get right). It's a mod, you may get some comments, I couldn't give a rat's arse, after 5+ years of skating with the top 5 eyelets unlaced, I'm now laced up and lace bite free! Any questions, just ask. I hope this will help someone somewhere someday to deal with lace bite yet still be able to lace up and take advantage of all the technology that the boot offers. https://imgur.com/a/C3zVFiC Update:- after 4 months of every day solid use, still lacing up and still lace bite free, and have now helped a number of other players fit them to their boots. I doubt anyone needs any more than one extender on each side, this is what I now use and have fitted to everyone else. The answer is really simple, by doing this you are raising the height of the lace above the ankle where it causes damaging pressure on the tendon. And this primarily happens because the lacing pattern is effectively an "outside outside" pattern. Forget that inside outside lacing bs, you have to get all of the lacing pattern to the outside of the facing. So this is what this enables, each leather piece gives you another 4mm or so of elevation (if it overlaps the top edge of facing) but the main reason this works is because of the "outside outside" lacing pattern. So for most skaters out there with lace bite, you could probably use any shaped template as long as you can tie it to the boot and use the slots to lace thru. You may even not need a template, just use laces to create the lace thru points. For the sake of couple of dollars and an easy do at home solution, you could be lace bite free. I've also stopped threading the boot lace "outside in" thru the slots, it's just too hard to undo once the laces get wet and start to freeze when it's really cold. Maintenance - other than checking the tie off laces for wear, none. Wear to extender - none. Wear to boot - none.

Trigger pro 5, 6 or 7. Don't care which one, my shot has significant more pop (confirmed by radar gun) using these compared to any other stick I have used / tested / still own (and that's all of the top of the line sticks from CCM / Warrior / Bauer/ True / Sherwood / STX over the last 4 years).

A short update on bladearmor. Basically it's 2 layers of stick tape with a thin plastic looking strip sandwiched in the middle. The strip is as wide as the thickness of the blade so when you tape it to the bottom of your blade it covers the bottom of the blade. The failure of the stuff is that they use stick tape for the layers, and thin stick tape at that. I put a strip on the bottom of my blade and hit around 40 slap shots. Examining the strip showed the top layer of the tape had worn away exposing the protective strip. Played a game the next day, at the end of the game most of the top layer had worn away and where the wear was more pronounced (heel area where the stick is on the ice during a game) the top layer had worn away exposing the protective plastic looking strip which had come loose and twisted to the side of the blade. Durability - 1/10. So whilst the idea may have some merit, the implementation isn't good. The problem is the tape they use, it is too fragile to stand any use. Save your money and buy decent stick tape, tape up well and regularly. I can post some photos if anyone is interested.