Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[psulion22 402]

17 hours ago, Santos L Halper said:

*nods*

Yep.  Lowering the wheel one click reduces the upward pressure by the grinding wheel on the blade, which will absolutely help reduce burrs.  

To me, that whole "grinding wheel height adjustment" thing is still the biggest piece of voodoo with the Sparx - how high is too high? And...in the same breath, how low is high enough?  

 

15 hours ago, colins said:

 

I find that listening to the pitch of the sound made by the wheel contacting the steel is a great way to tell. If it's consistent and not chattering or changing pitch as it travels left to right and right to left, it's at a good height. Of course very damaged blades are going to cause pitch variations, but for touch ups or final passes the machine should make a nice consistent sound the length of the blade.

Also, for tall steel like LS3 or Step, I still prefer to use the goalie risers. I just find they make it easier to use the height adjustment to hit the toe where I want and not have too much pressure to vary the pitch of the sound... I may be crazy but that's my preference after a year plus sharpening the 4 pairs in my house every couple of skates.

 

colins

I agree here.  That's what was the giveaway to me.  The pitch was changing in different parts of the blade, and I felt that was being caused by too much tension.  It's almost a slipping sound which you'd think was caused by not enough pressure on the blade, but it's the opposite. I've thought about using the riser for my Tydan steel to give the carriage a little more freedom of adjustment.  I may do that now.

4 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

Interesting.  Be interested to know what the actual depth of hollow is with less pressure.  A certain amount of pressure is required to make the hollow that is on the wheel. 

I don't have the tool to check hollow depth.  But I can tell you anecdotally that reducing the pressure actually created a sharper, stronger edge.  I'm sure there's a tradeoff point to where it's not getting enough force, but going down one click wasn't a problem.

[218hockey 50]

22 hours ago, psulion22 said:

 

I don't have the tool to check hollow depth. 

What tool?

 

So when you put a 1/2" wheel on how do you know it's giving you a 1/2" hollow?

[psulion22 402]

Just now, 218hockey said:

What tool?

 

So when you put a 1/2" wheel on how do you know it's giving you a 1/2" hollow?

There's a tool, I forget what it's called, that checks the depth of the hollow on the steel.  Not Sparx specific, it can be used on all skates.

What you're talking about is different.  1/2" is the radius of the hollow (or more accurately, the wheel), not the depth.  If you didn't apply enough pressure to the wheel when sharpening a skate, you wouldn't remove the steel across the entire radius and the hollow wouldn't be deep enough.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

HDI. 

[218hockey 50]

4 minutes ago, JR Boucicaut said:

HDI. 

Yes. Hollow Depth Indicator. Thank you.

[218hockey 50]

1 hour ago, psulion22 said:

 

What you're talking about is different.  1/2" is the radius of the hollow (or more accurately, the wheel), not the depth.  If you didn't apply enough pressure to the wheel when sharpening a skate, you wouldn't remove the steel across the entire radius and the hollow wouldn't be deep enough.

 

No, that is what I'm talking about. The depth will determine that radius. My sharpener, when discussing roh, always speaks in thousandths of an inch.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

http://blogs.sparxhockey.com/testing-edge-height-why-precision-matters 

[psulion22 402]

7 minutes ago, 218hockey said:

 

No, that is what I'm talking about. The depth will determine that radius. My sharpener, when discussing roh, always speaks in thousandths of an inch.

The depth would only alter the radius if you didn't apply enough pressure.  If you were to push too hard, you'd take off more steel, but still have a 1/2" radius.  The wheel is 3mm thick and contoured to a specific radius.  As long as you push hard enough to make the whole wheel contact the 3mm blade, the radius won't change.  Depth of hollow (or edge height) would be measured in thousandths of an inch, and be relevant in edge squareness, not radius.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Sparx doing 20% off this weekend. Seriously tempted to get the travel case I've been dreaming of... 

[psulion22 402]

3 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Sparx doing 20% off this weekend. Seriously tempted to get the travel case I've been dreaming of... 

20% off accessories, and $100 off the sharpener

[218hockey 50]

On 5/24/2018 at 1:46 PM, psulion22 said:

The depth would only alter the radius if you didn't apply enough pressure.  If you were to push too hard, you'd take off more steel, but still have a 1/2" radius.  The wheel is 3mm thick and contoured to a specific radius.  As long as you push hard enough to make the whole wheel contact the 3mm blade, the radius won't change.  Depth of hollow (or edge height) would be measured in thousandths of an inch, and be relevant in edge squareness, not radius.

I don't care if you "push hard" on the wheel or not. The edges are even and the blade width does not change so of course the depth will change with the radius.

[218hockey 50]

How do you get the sharpener for $799? I have it in my cart on the website and it's $899 with one wheel.

[mc88 160]

8 minutes ago, 218hockey said:

How do you get the sharpener for $799? I have it in my cart on the website and it's $899 with one wheel.

Looks like a coupon code at checkout: SUMMER100

https://m.facebook.com/sparxhockey/photos/a.782614348490638.1073741828.678362545582486/1723060991112631/?type=3&source=48&ref=page_internal&__tn__=EH-R

[218hockey 50]

Thanks.

A guy wouldn't know that just going to their website.

[mc88 160]

Also, unless I'm using the wrong code, doesn't look like there's a "20% off accessories". 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

22 minutes ago, mc88 said:

Also, unless I'm using the wrong code, doesn't look like there's a "20% off accessories". 

ACCESSORY20

[salibandy 21]

11 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

ACCESSORY20

Where do I find more information about this discount code? My items don't seem to work with this.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

8 hours ago, salibandy said:

Where do I find more information about this discount code? My items don't seem to work with this.

It’s in the email they sent out a couple days ago. Contact them if it’s not working.

[psulion22 402]

On 5/26/2018 at 2:42 PM, 218hockey said:

I don't care if you "push hard" on the wheel or not. The edges are even and the blade width does not change so of course the depth will change with the radius.

Ah yes, I see what you are saying now.

[salibandy 21]

Hey guys, does anyone know of someone with a Spare sharpener in Melbourne?

[Leif 161]

I had a sharpen from a Sparx machine in the U.K. and it was a very good sharpen. The owner of the machine might end up being the U.K. distributor/retailer for Sparx, so I hope you guys sort out all the details soon as I am tired of driving 25 miles to the good sharpener. 

[hockeyrules 0]

Has anyone had any experience with the new commercial Sparx sharpener the PS 100?  I have owned the original one for a couple of years now and there's a few issues that the commercial one may solve.  I don't do a ton of skates or operate a shop or anything, I estimate I do around 175 pairs per year mostly of people I skate with and kids' teammates.  Biggest issues I have with it is the number of passes it takes to sharpen a pair skates, the company states that it should be an average of 4 cycles per pair but I'm finding an average of 8 is more like it.  For my skates and my kids skates who get them done regularly, 4 is fine but most of the skates I do are more beat up than that and it's not uncommon to have to run 10 - 15 cycles.  Since I only sharpen for people I know, I'm only charging a modest $5 which is cheap for our area but at the cost of those grinding rings, I'm sure at times it's costing me money to do a pair skates.  The new machine offers a cross grind ring that may help in this regard so I guess I'm looking for feedback on anyone experiencing the same a me and if they tried the new machine.  Another issue that recently popped up is that the carriage is sticking during the cycle and leaving a pit in the blade.  I have to stand by the machine ready to cancel when it occurs or else it could ruin a blade.  Error codes suggest that there is an obstruction and when I give it a good cleaning with a shop vac it seems to solve the problem but recently it's happening more frequently to the point where I may need to clean it in the middle of sharpening a pair of skates.  I've always maintained it well and changed the filter so I'm not sure why it's acting that way.  With the new machine, there is a vacuum attachment which I think would help in that regard because there would be less dust, so again just looking for feedback.  I will say though that I like the machine, I think it does a great job sharpening skates and have no complaints in that regard.  

[EJB 488]

Does Sparx do the discounts fairly regularly?  

That SUMMER100 & ACCESSORY20 could save a person a chunk of change.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

3 hours ago, EJB said:

Does Sparx do the discounts fairly regularly?  

That SUMMER100 & ACCESSORY20 could save a person a chunk of change.

About every 6 months or so from what I’ve noticed. That said, anyone with a Sparx can give you a referral coupon code that will save you some cash AND earn them a free grinding ring. 

[ryanmonty 35]

do the rings ever go on sale?