Anyone wear slide plates?

[c0nquistad0rian]

Cal, very inventive (and brave)! Your drill-through method seems like it would really only work on a set of RBK's as they have a rounded inner gusset, while most pads have a flat one, which really wouldn't leave you much area to drill through without hitting any vital stitching.

You also did a great job in cutting out your plates to fit your pads well, particularly around the pad strap slots. I personally would have just drilled more holes in the plastic and used some nylon cord to "belt loop" the pad straps to secure the rear portion of the slide plates. It would have been a lot less work and it eliminates the potential for the plates to wear down and cut through the pad straps.

Getting back to the cutting your plates to fit well, it's important to note that you angled the calf plate upwards, to allow room for the pads to flex normally at the boot (although, I don't know how much RBK's flex at the boot).

Also, I find it a bit interesting to see that you came up so high on the boot, cutting a slit for the boot strap flap. For as high as you came up, you could have easily extended the boot plate down over the toe corner of the toe binding, and bending the plate around that. I find that little bit is still enough to catch my plates on sport court, and is really the only source of wear on my pads.

Aside from the rounded inner gusset issue, like you said, drilling through your pads may not be the preferred method for those of us who use our pads for both inline and ice, both due to the potential risk to the pads, and based on the fact that it would be a real pain in the butt to have to lace/un-lace those slide plates on a regular basis (and require a tool to do so).

And like you said, people should make sure that they have the proper tools for this job. You obviously used a drill, heavy duty scissors, dremel, and a lacing needle (very important!). Without any of these tools, the job would not have been easy.

Maybe you could post some more details, like which drill bits you used, what other tools or methods you might've found useful, etc.

Thanks for posting, and great job!

[Cal28]

Thanks c0nquistad0rian, I was pressed for time and could not elaborate on the details. I will do my best to explain the whys and why nots...

I am very particular/ picky with equipment. The slightest equipment malfunction can throw my game off. So I made sure every precaution was taken prior to the final design. As you noted, I left enough space to allow for flex above the calf plate and above the boot as well. The slot-thru design is not only aesthetic but functionally very secure. It was a pain to feed the boot strap through but it came out exactly as I hoped. I thought about the potential for the plates to cut or wear through the straps. After 20 plus games there is no evidence of such. I extensively traced and retraced prototype plates for each section before arriving at the final design.
When working with the boot gusset area, I did not want to fold any material under. I did this for two reasons 1) No sharp edges that can "catch" and 2) Zip ties snap. So I intentionally kept the edges of the plates just slightly above the binding in that area. IMO, the nylon I sewed over the lower binding keeps the area looking stock while being functional.

For those who do try, a heavy duty set of scissors is enough to cut your plates from the sheet. Once they are in their raw form, you can use a course sanding drum attachment on your rotary "dremel" tool to clean up and radius the rough corners.

• Use a (3/16ths) drill bit. Drill close to the edges but no too close that there isn't sufficient material to withstand the stresses exerted from sliding around.

• After each plate is cut, align them over their respective section. Optimally, each plate should be the same size or a tad smaller than the area it is to cover. Pay close attention to the area above the calf wrap and above the boot gusset. Now is the time for tiny corrections; remember to allow for flex.

• Once they are to your liking, place them on the pad and mark the holes for drilling. *to make the boot and calf slits for the straps to pull through, I drilled the two outer points as such
  O____O then used an Exacto knife to "connect" the two.

• When drilling into the pads, make sure to drill with speed and press down hard enough to go about one inch deep. If you don't use enough torque, the drill bit will "grab" the synthetic leather and twist a hole. (possibly even tear the pad so test somewhere inconspicuous, inside the pad maybe.

• "Feel" your way through the pad with the lacing needle until you see it about to poke through the desired area (just between the calf wrap and the binding of the back of the pad) Mark that and drill. Now lace through and anchor on the other side with the anchor discs/washers.

I pretty much just combined the best of what worked from everyone who posted pics and details of their slide plates over the years. That being said, I must thank all those pioneers before me who provided me with the invaluable research needed to facilitate this mod.
If anyone has more q's feel free...

[ScottBattram]

Perhaps my legacy in this business will be that I was the person who invented the modern day slide plate! hahah Well, at least what eventually evolved into the modern day slide plate, as the first ones we did for a goalie named Nick Vitucci who asked to have plastic strips sewn right into the sides of his roller pad, then I took that idea to come up with something that was unique and changeable by the user.

[Raptor]

Cal28, that is incredible workmanship and ingenuity. Well done!

Can you tell me what kind of plastic you used, and how much you needed?

After using this for a few games, how do you find the effect? I noticed you mentioned that there was no damage or fraying, but you didn't comment on their actual performance, could you let me know how well they're working out?


Very tempted to pick up a pair of 6ks and do this myself. Even though I'll probably end up with a broken drill and a mangled pair of pads

[Cal28]

Good day Raptor and thanks, I used UHMW plastic ordered from McMaster-Carr and it's listed as part number 8752K421 - Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene 1/16" (.0625mm) thick, 36"x 36" (914.4 x 914.4mm). You can get away with a 24"x24" sheet but I wanted to toy with several ideas and have enough to make another set. * btw, I did not have to heat the plastic. I merely curled it with my hands around the contour of the pads. No problems there.

Performance review: My first time playing with the plates was so much fun. After about 10 minutes I forgot they were even on. By that I mean there was no interference with either pad rubbing/ catching against themselves nor with the tiles on the Sport Court and Roll-On rinks I play at. Their benefits became apparent immediately. For example, I could slide my pad back to the far side post so much easier on wrap-arounds or when the play is behind the net. When retreating on break aways using the inverted "Y", I actually slide several inches with my momentum, albeit not like ice, but just enough to make a difference.

While in the butterfly, I am not down and out after a rebound. In other words, I can shimmy with much less resistance whereas before I used to hop to maintain squareness to the puck. Backside butterfly pushes are not impossible but do require serious leg strength. (still working on those ) After 20 plus games I am extremely pleased with my plates. They have elevated my game immensely. After games I often have the other goalies come over to ask how I was able to move like that or make a particular save look seemingly effortless. I just point to the plates as they smile and say "no wonder".

Here's a pic of my first set of roller specific pads (circa. 1996) courtesy of a one Mr. Scott Battram. The founding father of today's modern day Roller pad!

[Raptor]

Great, thanks for the info I might pick up a pair of those Rbk 1ks for 100 euro and try this.

[Fmy5hole]

ok everyone. i finally finished my plates and put em to use last night. I did it basically just as suicidekings did his since we have the same pad (ref. page9) . I used the uhmw polythene which i got from Grainger. Grainger is just like mcmaster but i found out there was one about 20 minutes away so i just went and picked it up. A 2' x 4' sheet at 1/16 thickness ran me about $33. I went with industrial strength velcro purchased from Home Depot which had diff packages from 4'x2" or a 15'x2" originally i got two of the 4' rolls and came up just short. That really depends on the pad though. I also used Loctite super glue ( the blue bottle) which is made for glueing to leather along with the adhesive on the velcro already.

So far so good, I have a game in 2 days at a different building so on monday ill post pics if in fact they keep holding up.

p.s. also it was about 102 degrees in the building last night and everything stayed in place...except maybe my stomach...i hate the heat

[ratmonkey]

Here is a suggestion that someone may want to try. try installing plastic rivets on the slide plates you guys are making. If you look at most seat belts they have a plastic rivet on the belt to keep it from sliding thru. if you want to know what I am talking about. you can buy these in all shapes, sizes, thicknesses, lengths etc. They are easy to install and dont easily come apart. then the plates would conceivably act like the nubs on a roller puck. Less surface contact=less resistance. You could experiment with which shape and patern works the best.

[c0nquistad0rian]

Originally Posted by ratmonkey

Here is a suggestion that someone may want to try. try installing plastic rivets on the slide plates you guys are making. If you look at most seat belts they have a plastic rivet on the belt to keep it from sliding thru. if you want to know what I am talking about. you can buy these in all shapes, sizes, thicknesses, lengths etc. They are easy to install and dont easily come apart. then the plates would conceivably act like the nubs on a roller puck. Less surface contact=less resistance. You could experiment with which shape and patern works the best.

My initial thoughts are that like the nubs on a roller hockey puck, these things would be more likely to wear and break than the slide plates themselves. Also, depending on the backing of the rivets, I might be hesitant to put them on. Those backings would be coming into direct contact with the PU leather on your pads and could possibly put pressure/wear points on your pads.

[soulpatch]

Bad ideas with the rivets. You might be reducing your contact with the court and seemingly increasing your lack of friction HOWEVER you are also highly increasing the stress on your plates. You are reducing the contact zone and instead transferring all force of the impact to generalized regions. Sure the plate will come in contact a split second later but all of those drops will eventually stress the plates to point of cracking. Not a wise decision. You really gain nothing out of it......

[suicidekings]

Pics of my new lace in plates:









Thanks to c0nquistad0rian for all the help and ideas. I took the pads to a leather repair shop to have the medial roll sewed on, (It doesn't look very good but the stitch work is superb and the tabs are very secure. The only area of wear would obviously be the nylon lace but that is easy to replace. In regards to this, is there some king of cement or something that I could apply on the exposed lace that could harden it to prevent fraying. Any ideas?

[c0nquistad0rian]

Originally Posted by suicidekings

Thanks to c0nquistad0rian for all the help and ideas. I took the pads to a leather repair shop to have the medial roll sewed on, (It doesn't look very good but the stitch work is superb and the tabs are very secure. The only area of wear would obviously be the nylon lace but that is easy to replace. In regards to this, is there some king of cement or something that I could apply on the exposed lace that could harden it to prevent fraying. Any ideas?

They look great!
Your boot plate looks HUGE. I could see you having to trim that bottom edge down due to interference with your skate when you butterfly. Better to be to big than not big enough, however. And I like that you were able to wrap the plate around that inner corner.

You're right that the only wear will be on the nylon cord. I've been using slide plates on sport court with this lace in method on my pads for about 3 years and have never once had to replace the nylon cord. If you're playing on sport court, I don't think that fraying will be an issue. And Minor fraying can always be truncated by with a lighter.

[johnyrotten]

in another thread goalies that play on concrete said that thy put epoxy on the outer edge lacing on their trapper to prevent wear thru, this may be an option if your interested

[avatarkava]

Originally Posted by johnyrotten

in another thread goalies that play on concrete said that thy put epoxy on the outer edge lacing on their trapper to prevent wear thru, this may be an option if your interested

I'm in the process of trying a wide variety of lacing options.... I'll make a post in a month or so once I go through all of them, but my main problem has been durability. The laces hold up fine on SportCourt but the IceCourt I play on shreds them.

So far I've tried:
- 100lb test rope cord (purchased at a climbing shop)
- 80lb test leader line for fishing
- titanium trimmer wire (for a weed whacker)

Epoxy might be a good idea, but I'm not sure if my problem stems more from fraying or tensile strength of the lacing I'm using.

Any better ideas?

[c0nquistad0rian]

Originally Posted by avatarkava

I'm in the process of trying a wide variety of lacing options.... I'll make a post in a month or so once I go through all of them, but my main problem has been durability. The laces hold up fine on SportCourt but the IceCourt I play on shreds them.

So far I've tried:
- 100lb test rope cord (purchased at a climbing shop)
- 80lb test leader line for fishing
- titanium trimmer wire (for a weed whacker)

Epoxy might be a good idea, but I'm not sure if my problem stems more from fraying or tensile strength of the lacing I'm using.

Any better ideas?

you shouldn't be looking for tensile strength. That'd be load bearing strength. Think of it in terms of a tug of war and how much strength you would need to basically tear the cord in two parts.

You should be looking for abrasion resistant. That would be how much wear and tear the cord can take from something coming into contact with it.Those laces are being worn through, not pulled apart. I've used standard goal pad 3mm nylon cord, which I think is called double braided. I've also used 3mm diamond braided nylon cord, which also flattens under load. I think that this may help because it shows some 'give' in the cord.

Next, I'm going to try solid braided nylon cord, which doesn't flatten under load but is supposed to be more abrasion resistant than either of the other two.

Although, I do have to point out that I'm just using what's available to me. I haven't had any problems with wear-through.