Skate Sharpening 101

[Monty22 821]

Thanks for the suggestion Monty. The unit I have is a Blademaster 850 which is three times the weight. I don't think I will be able to find a plastic tote that can support 70lbs but I've been on the hunt for a tool box that can. Do you sharpen with your machine at the rink?

No, I use the tub when the team I coach travels for tournaments. I would also take a look at Military surplus gar cases. Try Ebay or a surplus store if you have one near you. You should be able to get a case that will probably outlive the sharpener. I've seen some pretty beefy metal cases that should suit your needs. Should be significantly less costly than buying a Blademaster case . You'll just need foam to protect it from shifting around depending on the size of the case you go with.

[strosedefence34 175]

If the clamp sticks, I just loosed the screw and then tap the boot. That has always worked for me, though I have needed a second, and more firm, tap a few times.

and when that doesn't work? I think the owner just needs to buy new claps. We have 2 standard holders and 3 clamps and they all stick or don't lock.

[mickz 107]

Bumping this thread.

One of the shops I'm working in has an older Blademaster machine. It has finishing heads on the left and middle, standard cross grinding wheel (not the cupped type) on the right; no exhaust built into the table.

I wasn't there when this happened but one of the guys managed to cross thread the grinding wheel nut and the center bolt on one of the finishing wheels. It's an older machine so it's not reverse threaded like part #TSM960 in Blademaster's catalog. Are we SOL in this situation? All the other machines I've sharpened on are newer so I'm not even sure what parts are even available for older models.

[Vet88 673]

Buy a die set, recut the thread and fit an after market nut?

[b78lar 0]

A newbie sharpening question: i have a portable, single-wheel, blademaster sharpener, so cross grinding the blade is not an option. how do you guys center the witness marks for a skate that has some hollow on it. Depending on the old ROH (blade) and the new radius (wheel) it seems the marks will tend to hit the edges before having chance to touch the center of the blade. are there any tricks i could try? thanks!

[Vet88 673]

Other than a cross grind, the only decent option I can think of is to dress the wheel at a deep ROH, say 3/8, and then redress at the ROH needed once centered.

[b78lar 0]

That makes sense. Though I have to admit I was hoping avoiding dressing the wheel twice per blade. 

But I appreciate your advice  - thanks!

 

[Chadd 916]

5 hours ago, b78lar said:

A newbie sharpening question: i have a portable, single-wheel, blademaster sharpener, so cross grinding the blade is not an option. how do you guys center the witness marks for a skate that has some hollow on it. Depending on the old ROH (blade) and the new radius (wheel) it seems the marks will tend to hit the edges before having chance to touch the center of the blade. are there any tricks i could try? thanks!

make sure the steel is level and then as long as the marks are even, you should be fine. If the steel isn't level, a combination of eyeballing it and experimenting will get you there. It's actually good experience to experiment like that.

[b78lar 0]

Thanks. A follow-up question: bought an edge checker, one like this to keep myself in check with the edges . What is in your opinion the largest imbalance still acceptable? I read that .001 is about the answer, but the edge checker does not tell me that it has color-coded array of dots. On some blades i tried it shows almost perfect level, others have a slight tilt (like maybe 1/4-1/3 of the color circle difference). How much is too much? 

 

[mickz 107]

On 2016-04-29 at 11:45 AM, b78lar said:

A newbie sharpening question: i have a portable, single-wheel, blademaster sharpener, so cross grinding the blade is not an option. how do you guys center the witness marks for a skate that has some hollow on it. Depending on the old ROH (blade) and the new radius (wheel) it seems the marks will tend to hit the edges before having chance to touch the center of the blade. are there any tricks i could try? thanks!

 

The witness marks on a cross grinded blade vs a blade with a hollow in it will differ.  If the blade already has a hollow and the edges are uneven, the readings will be the opposite of a cross grinded/level blade.  Cross grinding is not necessary in most cases but if you are insistent on sharpening with the witness mark method, you can always dress your wheel to something flat like 1-1/4".  It won't be as flat as a cross grind, but on a single wheel machine this would work.

 

Since you already own an edge checker, I would recommend measuring the edges prior to sharpening  and pay close attention to how the sparks react during your pass.  Once the width of the blade has made contact; take the skate out of the holder, use the edge checker and adjust the jig height f needed.

 

[b78lar 0]

 

2 hours ago, mickz said:

 

Once the width of the blade has made contact; take the skate out of the holder, use the edge checker and adjust the jig height f needed.

 

I see! I will try this. It seems the edge checker can actually be placed on the blade even without taking the skate out of the holder. Thanks!

[b78lar 0]

On 4/30/2016 at 1:18 AM, b78lar said:

bought an edge checker, one like this to keep myself in check with the edges . What is in your opinion the largest imbalance still acceptable? I read that .001 is about the answer, but the edge checker does not tell me that it has color-coded array of dots. On some blades i tried it shows almost perfect level, others have a slight tilt (like maybe 1/4-1/3 of the color circle difference). How much is too much? 

 

Following up on my own question - guidance nowhere to be found on the net regarding edge-checker's scale. So I did some trigonometry and derived a formula for the edge difference when seeing an imabalance comparing the very ends of the levelling piece. The formula is: (skate edge height difference) = (level difference between tips of the level piece) * (width of skate) / (length of the level piece). 

For edge checker, the level piece is 3.5" long and the typical width of a hockey steel is 0.1142".

Now suppose for example the edge checker shows an imbalance of exactly one of row (one color), which happens to be 0.125", that would correspond to an edge difference of 0.004" . Some say 0.003 or less is not noticeable, others say 0.001 or less. So depending on how strict you are, the edge checker should not be showing more than 1/4 (0.001") to 3/4 (0.003") of a color-coded row. 

I am still puzzled why there's no accompanying guidance by whoever makes this product. 

[mickz 107]

It's me again bumping this thread with another question. 

Has anyone successfully taken apart and reassembled a diamond quill?  One of our quills has a part of the spring sticking out of the handle end.  When I give the knob a 1/4 turn, it advances the diamond closer towards the wheel instead of rotating it to expose a new face.  Many thanks!