how to do a ice to roller conversion

[zfyfe 0]

1.The first thing you want to do is remove the inserts from the ice skates so you are looking at the rivets

2.Next you are going to want to take a pair of needle nose pliers and hold a punch with them, I used a 3/32 punch

3.Next you are going to want to put the punch in the rivet making sure the boot is well supported, hammer out the rivet

4.A few good wacks should knock it right out

5.Repeat that process until you have knocked out all the rivets you can reach

6.The remaining two I thought were a little tough to get out, there might be a better way but what you want to do is place your skates in a secure place

7.Now I filed a flat spot onto the rivet for a flat surface then hit it with a punch to put a divot in the center (as shown in following picture)

8.Then you will want to begin to drill the head of the rivet with a drill. Go slow to start, the drill will want to spin off the rivet, you will want to drill until

it wont let me add the second part of the steps

[fatwabbit 93]

Good stuff!

[zfyfe 0]

9.After drilling take a ½ inch chisel and knock off the head of the rivet

10.After you remove the head of the rivet you want to knock out the remaining portion of the rivet with a punch and hammer. Repeat this to the remaining rivets

11.Now for the brass ones there is a few ways to do this, you can drill them out or do like I did and file them down a bit then pop the washer up with the chisel. Then grab them with a pair of pliers and pull the washer off. Then push the remaining portion of the brass rivet through the hole with a punch.

12.After removing the remaining brass rivets you can pull the chassis right off.

13.Now for the measuring of the boot… I measured the widest part of the heel and then the widest part of the toe.

14.Using those two marks I drew a line down the center of the boot, this is your center line for your new chassis.

this is my first walkthrough let me know how it turned out i hope this helps

thanks zach

[fatwabbit 93]

Hey Zach, thanks. Just to add, you can pop all the rivets at the rear off first, then the front ones come off easier. I've found that if you have the remaining two near the toes with all the other rivets off, you can pull the chassis off by hand. The rivets at the front would come off pretty easy after that.

[crazy-luke-finch 0]

can anyone now finish this off, showing how to attach the chassis to the boot?

[chilaxin12 2]

once you add the rest, how to install using T-nuts or whatever this could be one of the best DIY thread's and possibly could be stickied to the top of the RH forum?

[crispy92 14]

the line doesnt look centered around the arch. does it matter as long the line is straight from center of the heel to center of the toe

[_HSB_b345t 0]

the line doesnt look centered around the arch.

Obviously. Your foot isn't symmetric.

[Makoto 3]

Very informative thread. Great work with the camera and text. I will definitely not hesitate to pull a chassis or blade holder by using this thread as a reference. Thanks.

[zfyfe 0]

the line doesnt look centered around the arch. does it matter as long the line is straight from center of the heel to center of the toe

i thought the same thing when i did it, but i checked the line with a level

once you add the rest, how to install using T-nuts or whatever this could be one of the best DIY thread's and possibly could be stickied to the top of the RH forum?

im going to be doing the rest of the conversion when my new chassis comes in on monday and i should have it posted by tuesday for everyone

Hey Zach, thanks. Just to add, you can pop all the rivets at the rear off first, then the front ones come off easier. I've found that if you have the remaining two near the toes with all the other rivets off, you can pull the chassis off by hand. The rivets at the front would come off pretty easy after that.

that is another way to do it, i just did it this way because i was saving the ice skate chassis for another skate. But thanks for adding that!

[fatwabbit 93]

Thanks for the thread Zach, I think a lot of people are going to benefit from this thread. I've actually got pics of the tnuts mounted on the boots, but have them on my home computer.

[ahbroody 1]

This thread is the best in the top 5 most informative and benefical threads I have read on this forum.

The pictures make it awesome. Seems sometimes around here people are quick to make comments like its easy, or if you dont know how just take it to a shop.

I got an old pair of nikes I am going to practice with.

X2 on the tbolt installation. I have a 3 yr old with very paricular feet. going to be using this in future for finding matching ice boots for ice and roller that work

[zfyfe 0]

the whole thing over all was easy it took about 25 mins. a boot, i would much rather take the 50 mins to do this on my own rather than pay someone else to do it for me!

[Bender 0]

once you add the rest, how to install using T-nuts or whatever this could be one of the best DIY thread's and possibly could be stickied to the top of the RH forum?

+1 for the sticky, very nice idea for a thread

[crazy-luke-finch 0]

can't wait for the rest to be posted up!

+1 for the sticky.

[fatwabbit 93]

cant really see very well, should have taken more photos when I was doing it last month.

pic of tnuts installed in the boots:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/f...it/DSCN4855.jpg

normal screws used from outside to screw into the tnuts:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/f...it/DSCN4856.jpg

Pics of washers used to shim the rear of the boot, wanted to give a little more aggressive lean forward:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/f...it/DSCN4859.jpg

finished:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/f...it/DSCN4858.jpg

[haNes 0]

I think the washers between chassis and boot aren't very good for the boot. the whole weight will pressure on this little spot. Why are you putting them under their? because your screws are too long or just as an heel-lift? for an heel-lift cut out some plastic which is as big as the heel part of the sprung chassis. (you can take some plastic from an old hockey pant and use more layers if it is to thin.) but I think it's really bad for the carbon of the boot!

But over all a pretty nice job!!!

[crispy92 14]

Fatwabbit are the 2nd and 3rd wheel touching. might be the pic

[_HSB_b345t 0]

Fatwabbit are the 2nd and 3rd wheel touching. might be the pic

The axles aren't installed yet in that picture.

[ahbroody 1]

Needs to have pics linked into thread and sticked.

Think I know what I will be screwing around with tonight.

[fatwabbit 93]

Yea, I didnt bother with the axles as these were going to be my backup pair of skates.

haNes, you're right on both accounts about the screws being too long, and the heel lift. I still dont think it would be an issue, but thanks for the response. Anyway with tnuts and bolts, its really easy to swap back and forth. I first mounted these the normal way, but was just thinking of adding the heel lift. Took me a good 10 min to add the lift, and would be even fast to go back to the original.

[ExitTwoEighty 7]

how do you determine how far forward you should mount the chassis?

[haNes 0]

When I started mounting chassis on ice boots I had the same problem withe the length of the screws and aswell with the t-nuts. But than I found the screws from Graf, they got 3 different length of screws and tnuts, and both of them in really high quality!

the t-nut got little "wings" for keeping straight when you are screwing, and the screws are really tough... Therewon't be a problem with the length anymore.

-> but again to the washers, why don't you put them between the head of the screw and the chassis, than the chassis will be flat on the boot.

[Ray 0]

When I started mounting chassis on ice boots I had the same problem withe the length of the screws and aswell with the t-nuts. But than I found the screws from Graf, they got 3 different length of screws and tnuts, and both of them in really high quality!

the t-nut got little "wings" for keeping straight when you are screwing, and the screws are really tough... Therewon't be a problem with the length anymore.

-> but again to the washers, why don't you put them between the head of the screw and the chassis, than the chassis will be flat on the boot.

Where do you order that Graf hardware? I ended up with some stuff from Mcmaster, but I was trying to find the Graf stuff. I got standard off the shelf 6-32 Tee nuts and some 1/2" and 3/4" screws with hex heads. I think Graf uses torx.

[haNes 0]

yes, that's right, graf uses torx. Try to order it from : www.grafskates.com

I'm from Germany so it's much easier for me to get it from switzerland.