I am skatepark mad and whilst building proper ramp skates, I have been skating with my dear old derby skates. Looking at the plate (Powerdyne Arius size 4), I thought that I could easily fix some plastic on it to help to protect the plate and get me grinding. This is what the plate looks like without the sliders. Handy holes there for fixing the sliders on.
I tested them at the park quickly today (it started to rain) and they feel OK, although I only got to test them for stalls. I will report back once I have tested them properly for grinds! I haven't done any grinding before as I haven't had grinders so it's going to be interesting, ha ha.
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| Powerdyne Arius plate |
How to make the sliders/grinders (grind blocks) for Arius plate
- Buy a chopping board (cost 80p)
- Cut a slider template from cardboard
- Trace 4 shapes on the chopping board using the template
- Cut the shapes (an electric jig saw works fine)
- Clamp the cut shapes together and sand them even (electric sander is useful!)
- Mark the holes on a shape
- Clamp two shapes together and drill through both
- Get two bolts, nuts and four washers - and fix the shapes on the plate!
I took about 40 minutes to make these. The chopping board plastic cuts very nicely and does not melt when sawn but goes powdery.
I made the shape with a shallow V, but they could be made any shape. They feel really solid. There is not much space on the plate for them to sit on, but I hope it's enough.
There is a wide enough gap and the chopping board is think enough to give some sliding surface.
