Theories and Principals Behind Adjusting the Blade Wheel: Part 2
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Here is part two of Theories and Principals Behind Adjusting the Blade. In this video I will continue on some key ideas regarding how to set your blade. This includes the feel of the machine, reading the ice, and ways to build confidence in your blade adjusting ability. I will also cover how to scrap your blade on the ice while adjusting the blade wheel in order to set the blade properly.
I added in some “pro tips” as well as general thoughts on becoming a better driver.
Again thank you to wolvbill for the topic suggestion. As well as a thank you to Mr. Green and burnuts007 for contributing in the comment section.
Questions and comments are much appreciated.
Thank you for Watching!
Your Local Ice Man
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Great vid. Thx for your time.
*Principles ; )
Great video!
Adding to this............usually on my evening shift, the first group on the ice is the 18AAA kids..........they are as hard on the ice as a minor league or D1 team. What I mean by that is during one ice make, you will still have a lot of deep cuts on the ice, even if you fill the snow tank. Something to consider for newer Zamboni drivers. Most of the time, you wont be able to do a dry cut, then a wet cut between sessions. My theory is this.....on your higher level hockey players, try to get a minimum of 3/4 of snow in your tank, remember to use your wash water to help fill in some of the deeper cuts in the ice. Another theory on how much water you are laying down.......if you have done 2 laps and look over at those laps and there is still a lot of water standing, back of on your water valve a little, do a lap and see how long that takes to freeze. Especially during a game where you are doing an ice make in between each period, the last thing you want is for the teams (and angry refs, ha ha) to have to wait for the standing water to freeze otherwise the pucks will stick on the ice during the warm up. Just my 2 cents on that. Thanks Ice Man, I enjoy your videos and feel I am always learning something new.
What side to turn the wheel to higher?Or lower lower blade
We have a rippling happening...im on my second season of ice maintenance, self taught. I'm wondering what the best pattern for scraping would be to get the rippling out
In my experience at our rink this is caused by going too fast on the ice. If you slow down and get other drivers to slow down you should get rid of the ripples through cutting normally
A few things. Like already mentioned. If you drive too fast or have a dull blade. Also shaving too much at once. You may need to replace the leaf springs and lift bushings on the conditioner. Do the horizontal bears too. I have a video on that process.
Big kids, little kids haha. Just easy way to put it. Nice ice. It's a job if you're doing it well. Is a very prideful thing. I think I make the best ice. I work with all my drivers. To become better. Don't be afraid to screw up. Just don't do it twice. I'd like to see an edging video. Never been really trained on nothing. Just reading stuff, videos, complaints/asking ppl what they want and old drivers. But, never seen much on edging. Probably kinda hard video to do by yourself.
I am working on a edging video and was almost done with it then I started second guessing myself. Trying to cover it all and present it in a structured way is a challenge.
"Don't be afraid to screw up, just don't do it twice". Great line. That should be a quote on our board. 🙂
Idk if you’re still active on this but I’ve been driving for about a year now and our rink has had constant issues with the blade digging in on the ends of the rinks and leaving like 1/8 inch semi circles behind the creases. We have an Olympia and when we put new blades on we don’t have a leveler and can’t seem to find any to buy right now but the blade will be around 10 degrees and still not cut a full strip. Once we put the blade down with the wheel, the blade leaves deep marked the entire way down the ice on the edges of the blades. My guess has been that our rink is really uneven and if one’s sides high the other side is going to dig in because the conditioner is uneven. Been trying all sorts of things but would appreciate some outside help.
Sorry for the late reply. Yes I think you need to find a way to make sure the blade is level with the runners. I am unfamiliar with how the Olympia's set up but I use a big washer to level the blade with the runner.
I would also look at the leaf springs. If they are more than 5 years old I would look to replace. Readjusting the down pressure could also be a good idea.