Anyone wear slide plates?

[NJDev803]

I think im gonna for 2 sheets of 36"x12" UHMW plastic from McMaster Carr....the widest section ill be covering is the calf-wings, and they are only a little over 9 inches wide...i figure if i mess up somehow then i can use the left-over plastic length-wise (from top of the knee wing to the very toe of the pad is 27 inches)...so i should have enough scrap plastic in case of any screw-ups


and its only gonna cost 10 bucks per sheet!! cant go wrong with that!


EDIT: im also thinking about getting some durable nylon cord from this site as well...any advice on which kind of cord to get? type in cord in the search and theres so many options its insane!

[Marauder31]

Dev - Sounds good, I can't wait to hear feedback when you have finished them and after you play.

For the cord, I can look at what I bought (I can't remember the gauge) I will look when I get hom (not until tomorrow night) and get back to you.

Seth

[NJDev803]

Originally Posted by Marauder31

Dev - Sounds good, I can't wait to hear feedback when you have finished them and after you play.

For the cord, I can look at what I bought (I can't remember the gauge) I will look when I get hom (not until tomorrow night) and get back to you.

Seth

Thanks man..ill definately post pics and a review when im all done with this

and about the cord: the only real specification that im not sure about is the cord diameter. im sure whatever material type and/or fiber construction i pick will be strong enough for what i need it for (right now i think im set on getting nylon with twisted braid construction (the best resistance to abrasion)


i just dont know what diameter to get! anyone know the diameter of a shoelace? that size seems about right to me...anyone??

[NJDev803]

Ive been weighing my options for what cord to order with the plastic, and ive decided to get a nylon cord for good abrasion resistance, but still dont know what diameter to get...

i'm leaning towards 1/8" - would that be too thick? if so, what about 3/16"? i figure something the diamete of a shoelace would be good

anyone have suggestions? i need to order this stuff soon cause my league starts first week of june

thanks

[Marauder31]

I just checked, I use:

2.75mm Its 100% non load bearing nylon

Sorry for the delay.

Seth

[NJDev803]

wow...2.75mm?? isnt that really really thin?

[Marauder31]

I went to a local Eastern Mountain Sports and looked at their wide selection of nylon climbers cord. I took a sample piece from an old glove with me. This matches almost exactly the thickness of lace you would find on a Vaughn (or any other brand) catch glove.

Seth

[NJDev803]

i ordered my supplies from McMaster-Carr at 4:00 yesterday afternoon and i got the stuff at 4:30 today!

ill probably get started tonight and finish up over the weeked attaching the plastic to my pads...im gonna be really careful when doing it though because theyre brand new pads that i dont want to screw up!

[c0nquistad0rian]

Originally Posted by Marauder31

Hey Boss,

I selected a Ultra Hi Molecular Weight Polyethylene Plastic 1/16" thick.

It is the same stuff that Battram uses.

Thanks.
Seth

I've also been considering slide plates for a while and emailed Scott Battram to ask what he uses. This is what he said:

I am not going to be of much help on the types of materials to use,
we just use simply 1/8" polyethylene plastic on our plates and they
have been reported to work well.

Are you sure that you used 1/16", Marauder31?

Maybe soulpatch could chime in to tell us how thick the plates on his pads are.


The advantage to the 1/8" is that it comes with a static dissipative quality that doesn't seem to be featured on the 1/16". However I guess that the 1/8" would be a bit harder to cut and mold than the 1/16". Do you think that the 1/8" would be able to be cut with tin snips?

Thanks.
-Dorian

[soulpatch]

um yea I guess I can measure them when I get home.

[soulpatch]

if my plates are 1/8" (will verify when I get home from work) than yes you would be able to cut them with tin snips I think. I would probably jut use and exacto knife (razor blade meant for thicker materials) to cut it though.

static dissipitive quality eh.........um ok......it is plastic. I dont think I have ever really had plastic build up static on me.

[c0nquistad0rian]

static dissipative: what can I say? I'm electric in the crease

No, the idea behind the static dissipative is that it reduces friction, and thus, would make for a better slide.

[soulpatch]

Forgot to measure last night. My bad. I will get it tonight.



Seriously have you ever had static issues in the crease? Your jersey ever stick or anything? I know I hadnt so I dont see the point in that really. If it doesnt cost extra cool otherwise I see no point.

[Marauder31]

I am pretty sure that I used 1/16". I will check the paperwork I have from McMasterCarr and even measure my plates tonight.

From experience with Scott's plates I can say that the ones I built are exactly the same.

As far as the dissapative quality of plastics...I think its a non issue. But hey if you try it and it works well I will look into it.

[ScottBattram]

You guys all know that you are copying my and Nick Vittucci's ideas and the patent enforcement police will be hunting you down! haha In all serious, the stuff I use is just plain old polyethelyne plastic... I have been doing the plastic on the inline stuff for about 10 years now, it started out as sewn on strips of plastic that Vittucci (he had the original idea to put plastic onto the pads to help him slide in RHI) had on his pads when he played in Buffalo, then the design evolved into actual plates that were user removable throughout the years. The problem with the stitched on plates was that if they came off, there was really no way to get them back on.

Some nice "do it yourself" work on the plates though!