Sharpening Table

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Shop-Vac is a good start. Also, just throw all of the dust on the floor. So many guys throw it back into the machine - it just clogs your filter.

It was something I was thinking about a couple of days ago - how about magnets?

Make a panel which is removable that would attract the dust. Just a thought...

[AnthonyJTa 0]

Those videos were great.. I've been dying to learn, or even spend more time at the shop to just pickup on stuff like that. So on that one handed final pass, are you listening, or is that something you just feel? (ie: wheel on blade), because you're not even looking.. haha. To the layman like myself, that's impressive. Pardon my curiousity.

[VakarLajos 5]

Shop-Vac is a good start. Also, just throw all of the dust on the floor. So many guys throw it back into the machine - it just clogs your filter.

It was something I was thinking about a couple of days ago - how about magnets?

Make a panel which is removable that would attract the dust. Just a thought...

We use a small magnet to get into the hard to reach spots on the machine. A strip of removable/replace magnets might help.

[theWB 2]

Took JR's advice on the process of cleaning your sharpening table. It definatly makes a difference. Previously was just vacuuming off the table, cleaning with windex, then using slick-it. Now clean it with the stainless steel cleaner, then polish with mop-n-glo (substituted for gel-gloss), then use blackstone teftopp. Don't know if the teftop works better than the slick-it(anyone have any thoughts there?) but it feels like it does. It isn't that the table is significantly slicker right when you finish but I feel like the surface stays faster much longer then before. Now to get my hands on some graphite powder.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

It's more of starting fresh with a stripped table that is giving you most of the difference.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Those videos were great.. I've been dying to learn, or even spend more time at the shop to just pickup on stuff like that. So on that one handed final pass, are you listening, or is that something you just feel? (ie: wheel on blade), because you're not even looking.. haha. To the layman like myself, that's impressive. Pardon my curiousity.

Feel.

[lb33knight 0]

Those videos were great.. I've been dying to learn, or even spend more time at the shop to just pickup on stuff like that. So on that one handed final pass, are you listening, or is that something you just feel? (ie: wheel on blade), because you're not even looking.. haha. To the layman like myself, that's impressive. Pardon my curiousity.

Feel.

You peeked a few times :P And magnets do work. The studs in my walls are magnetic and attract the skate dust. I got spots all over the walls of my shop.

[LkptTiger 1]

Magnets work really well; we've got a couple we have on the side of the sharpener next to the wheel. You have to be REAL careful when you're taking the Shop-Vac over the machine and moving things around - they can be a bitch to get off of the table without gouging it.

[Gummer12 134]

would the magnets from a tru-level be strong enough? I've got a few old ones lying around, perhaps consolidating a bunch of those onto one level bar would be sufficient....sounds like a slow time project.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Magnets work really well; we've got a couple we have on the side of the sharpener next to the wheel. You have to be REAL careful when you're taking the Shop-Vac over the machine and moving things around - they can be a bitch to get off of the table without gouging it.

Does it pull it off the table and collect on the magnet?

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

Magnets work really well; we've got a couple we have on the side of the sharpener next to the wheel. You have to be REAL careful when you're taking the Shop-Vac over the machine and moving things around - they can be a bitch to get off of the table without gouging it.

I was talking to JR about that last night... i would have been worried about gouging the table, too. How strong of a magnet are you using? They make magnets coated in teflon that might help out with that.

[LkptTiger 1]

would the magnets from a tru-level be strong enough?

I don't think so. We have two magnets - one is relatively weak (still, significantly more powerful than your average refrigerator magnet) and is pretty much useless. The more potent magnet is much better, but it's literally impossible to pick-up if it gets dropped onto the table - we have to use a screwdriver as a lever when it happens.

Magnets work really well; we've got a couple we have on the side of the sharpener next to the wheel. You have to be REAL careful when you're taking the Shop-Vac over the machine and moving things around - they can be a bitch to get off of the table without gouging it.

Does it pull it off the table and collect on the magnet?

The magnet keeps the stuff off the table in the first place. The magnet is usually stuck to the side of the machine to the left of the wheel, so the majority of the sparks get shot right to it. Instead of bouncing off the side-wall and covering the table right in front of the wheel, the steel shavings collect on magnet. Basically, the magnet just keeps the table cleaner, longer. The magnet collects a coating of dust almost an inch thick between cleanings...dust that could just as easily have collected on the table and caused problems a lot earlier.

The tag-team of the magnet and the vent makes our lives easier, as it isn't necessary to vacuum as much as we otherwise would have to.

[Gummer12 134]

k, so how do you clean it once it becomes too packed to attract? Will a Shop Vac do the trick right off of the magnet, or can you just brush it off into the side bin (if applicable) and vacuum from there?

Where did you get your magnet, what size etc...and where exactly did you place it? We have a Three head {- | - (shrp X-Grind shrp)} Blademaster. Any suggestions for a spot?

[LkptTiger 1]

Just take the Shop Vac to 'er when everything else gets messy (there will still be some skate dust that gets to the table...though not as much) as well as the shit that gets shot everywhere when you dress the wheel. Good as new.

I'm not sure where we got it - it's been there since I started. I'll ask some of the longer-tenured employees and see if I can get an answer for you. It's probably about 6-inches wide, 2-inches and 2-inches deep. It might weight 2.5-3 pounds or so.

We're on a Fleming Gray - set-up like yours (sharp, x-grind, sharp), but we don't use the sharpening wheel on the right-hand side since it can be awkward and creates clutter...we actually keep the towel with the stones, levels and wax right infront of it). We slap the magnet up on the inside of the metal "sidewall" of the machine just to the left of the sharpener we use - that way the majority of the sparks get shot right at it.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Shoot me a pic.

[LkptTiger 1]

I'll swing into the shop tomorrow after skate and get a shot for you.

[Gummer12 134]

Yeah, either throw it on here, or send one to me too.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Just take the Shop Vac to 'er when everything else gets messy (there will still be some skate dust that gets to the table...though not as much) as well as the shit that gets shot everywhere when you dress the wheel. Good as new.

I'm not sure where we got it - it's been there since I started. I'll ask some of the longer-tenured employees and see if I can get an answer for you. It's probably about 6-inches wide, 2-inches and 2-inches deep. It might weight 2.5-3 pounds or so.

We're on a Fleming Gray - set-up like yours (sharp, x-grind, sharp), but we don't use the sharpening wheel on the right-hand side since it can be awkward and creates clutter...we actually keep the towel with the stones, levels and wax right infront of it). We slap the magnet up on the inside of the metal "sidewall" of the machine just to the left of the sharpener we use - that way the majority of the sparks get shot right at it.

No offense, but you guys must not get enough volume to just use one head. Hell, I sent my left head to Blackstone for repair on Thursday and we've been dying ever since.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

here's a link of a place to get strong ass magnets, for fairly cheap.

http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/

pick the shape on the left hand side, read the descriptions, they've got the pull force on there. some of them can get pretty nasty, so I'd handle them with care.

I's suggest using block or disc shape.

[LkptTiger 1]

None taken, JR. lol.

We're just a small pro-shop, so we're not always packed...but we have our days/nights. It's not terribly uncommon for there to be a 20-30 minute wait on skates, especially if there is a tournament or something going on (which is when it's especially frustrating when people give us the "I'm on in 5 minutes" routine). We have Nationals coming in a few weeks - having played at Nationals a couple times, I know what we're in for and I know we're gonna get smoked.

We go as the rink goes, though. The building was dead last night...and the shop was pretty much empty, so we cleared room at the front of the store and set-up a net, and I got dressed-up in some tendy gear and played goal. The other guys had a little 2-2 game going, and whenever someone came-in (usually to get their skates done), I yelled "GAME OFF!" Someone did the skates and the other guys rested while I let some of the kids running around the rink take turns ripping shots at me (after making about 20 saves in a row, one father asked me how long I'd been a goalie...I looked at the clock and said "About a half-hour now.").

Highlight of the night was probably when I stuffed Matt Barnaby Jr. and he hacked at my glove...so I threw my helmet, glove and blocker off and picked him up by his ankles and shook him upside down for awhile while he screamed "This isn't very nice, Rob!" I was wearing a goalie jock and his hands were nowhere near my hair, so he was pretty much powerless against me.