goblue9280

Probably my favorite band/group... very sad... got to see them in 2004 at Cobo in Detroit and was hoping to see them again as they were expected to tour for Hot Sauce Committee pt II once MCA's health got better RIP!

Andrew Breitbart (43 years old) died today. Apparently he was out on a walk after midnight and collapsed.

I got an email response from blackstone. Basically the same stuff that has already been stated. The X01 is direct drive and runs at 5600 RPM, while the X02 is belt driven and runs at 7500 RPM. The X02 is more robust and meant for more than 5 sharpenings a week. I also asked about the differences between the child and adult holder and was told that if you have skates where the blade is 6" or under, you should go with the child holder. He also referred to the child holder as "universal" in that it can be used on goalie and figure skates. He also told me that the main advantage of the adult holder over the child for larger skates is stability. With that in mind, has anyone with the child holder had issues mounting/sharpening a large skate (adult 10.5 or 11)?

My guess would be that's why the direct drive motor on the X01 spins at 5500RPM, to get the surface/ft/min up. With the X02, I imagine since it's belt driven it's "geared" (excuse my ignorance on mechanical word usage) to allow the grinding wheel to spin at a higher RPM than the motor puts out thus increasing the surface/ft/min.

It's physics, velocity of an object in circular motion is angular velocity multiplied by the radius. So if you have a 4" grining wheel and an 8" wheel and both are on shafts that spin at the same rate, then the speed at the point of contact (where the wheel touches the blade) will be higher on the 8" wheel than the 4" wheel. So, if you want the cutting velocity between the blade and wheel to be the same, the RPM's of the smaller wheel needs to be increased.

That's funny, I just sent blackstone an email asking a bunch of the same questions... haven't recieved an answer yet. My limited undesrtanding with belt driven versus direct drive in other applications is that the belt helps to absorb vibrations leading to a more stable and quieter cutting tool. Also, (not sure if this is the case with these machines) but with a belt driven motor, if the motor dies, it can be easily replaced because it's essiential an independent part of the machine... whereas direct drive motors are often integrated into the machine in such a way that you end up having to replace the whole thing.

Prince Fielder is coming home to the Tigers! Woo-hoo!

The rest of the world finally finding out what kind of scumbag he is. This stuff has been going on since he was coach at Youngstown State... yet OSU and the rest of college football turned a blind eye to it while he released books on fair play and integrity. Can't wait for the SI investigative piece coming out today/tomorrow.

I didn't know him or his family, but a kid from my hometown passed away this morning after falling out of the bed of his friends pickup truck the other day. 15 years old, was suppose to report to the London Knights this past weekend after being selected in the 2nd round of the recent OHL draft. Way too young to go... Local News Article

Doesn't a depth checker cost like 5 times what his skates cost?

If it's roughly the same cost for the three different models, why would anyone pick the Flexlites? Maybe it's a stupid question, but can't any of the three be customized for just about any foot type... or would someone who fits a retail flexlite be better off going with custom flexlites over custom total ones?

I'm still a bit confused on how the custom fit process works. So your LHS has a generic form from Bauer to fill out? They do some foot tracings, take some measurements of your feet, record it along with any special options you want, and then send all this to Bauer? And then Bauer determines what size, width, depth you need? Or does the LHS make all the size determinations for you... in which case why would they then send the foot tracings to Bauer?

Debated whether to put this here or in the vent thread. The story is I haven't skated since before my 1st daughter was born (9 years ago)... a lot of it is due to a mental hurdle because of putting on so much weight since then. I've lost a bit in the past few months, so got up the courage to give it a go. I've gone to public skate a couple of times since the first of the year, but have yet to go out and help with my kids mite practices... until yesterday. So here I am, shocking all of the kids and parents as I walk to the ice... I go to hop on, take one stride and feel my left skate give out from underneath me... in front of 20 kids and parents. I land HARD on my left side just under the hip bone. Kids are all cracking up, and I'm dying of embarrassment thinking my fat ass just broke a holder. I look down and see I left one of my soakers on. I get up, laugh it off, and proceed to have one of the best days I've had in years. Absolute blast to be out there again. I felt infinitely more comfortable skating with a stick in my hands. I'm still a bit sore today, but it was worth it.

One thing I'm still confused on, does Bauer have options for increasing the volume of a custom skate?

For the X01 owners, do you have any feelings on the approximate sharpenings/week max that it can handle? Any regrets not going with the X02? I'm trying to gauge which would work better... Right now I have 2 mites and myself to sharpen for... but I have a feeling when I do buy a machine, I'll be sharpening for a few of their friends on the team. I'm wondering if I do 5-10 pairs a week, if I should jump up to the x02, or save the money for extra wheels/spinners/other accessories?

Question regarding the new holder coming with the x01/02... I see there is now an option to pick either the Childs or regular holder. Can the Childs holder also handle adult skates? I have a couple of mites... one is in a youth size 13, the other in a junior size 2 (and I have two more who will probably be skating in a couple of years)... I wear a 10.5... thinking about getting the x01 with my tax return and not sure which holder I should pick... or if I would need both holders.

What about a traditional roh recommendation? I'm also in the 3 bills club... just got back into skating after an 8 year absence. Had a 5/8" cut done, but wondering if I should go more shallow?

I'm pretty sure the pro shop (hockeydeals?) at the Chelsea Rink has FBV. I was there earlier in the summer and swear they had a FBV banner hanging up. I have never had skates sharpened there, so I can't comment on their quality.

So what does Blackstone say regarding dust collection? Do they have any info in the x01/x02 manuals? Has anyone called them to ask what they recommend for these personal sharpeners?

The only positive insight I can offer is to save up a grand and buy a X01 from blackstone. You're talking about putting together a piece of equipment that requires tolerances in the thousandths/ten-thousandths of an inch (I'm guessing) in order to properly funcstion.... just don't see how one could rig that up at home on the cheap.

My understanding (but no means an expert): No, it's not a fixed depth. The depth will be determined by the width of the blade, just like with a standard ROH sharpen. The angle of the edges on the FBV will not change, but the width of the angled edges will be determined by the wdith of the blade. As long as the blade is in plane with the sharpening wheel, then if the blade is not dead center to the wheel, you'll end up with one edge higher than the other... just like a standard ROH sharpening. This will be checked with an edge gauge and corrected if need be.

yeah, I was being facetious... I wouldn't sleep with her if I were you... a girl that has no problem breaking up her best friends relationship is definitely one you want to stay FAR away from. I'd in fact go a bit further and take a good look at your own girlfriend, because a girl who would become best friends with someone so manipulating is probably a little off her rocker as well.

mnpucker (or others), I read a few pages back that you are now using the upgraded x-series (tri-lie like?) holder... what is the smallest size skates you've used with this holder? Have you encountered any problems with a smaller skate? I'm looking at getting an X01 in the next 6 months with the main use being sharpening my kids skates... currently youth 11.5 and junior 2, but I have a 1.5 year old that will be skating in a couple of years. Worried from some previous posts in this thread that the holder will have issues with youth skates.

Next year break up with her before Christmas, and then get back together in early March. Is the best friend hot? Might as well sleep with her now if you're already paying for it.

You're being too pessimistic. Studies have shown that people spend more money when using credit cards for purchases rather than cash. I would bet that if you looked at your store records, you would see that the average amount per sale is higher for credit card purchases than for cash/check. With that in mind, I don't think a credit card restocking fee is worth possibly losing a customer over.