Freeskate ice-surfer questions

[barryb]

I saw some photos on downhaul.com of some guys building their own freeskate ice-surfers a few years ago. I want to whip one up in the next few days.

I can figure out most dimensions / materials, but was wondering what type of skateboard trucks you used. Are they anything special? Heavy duty bushings? I'm guessing they need to be fairly stiff.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Barry

[Coach]

I've got an old Freeskate I'll sell you... Needs the blades sharpened, and hasn't been ridden all that much over the years. It's in great shape.

Make an offer... m a r k [a+] b l u e e a r t h [d0t] n e t

-Coach

[jradtke4]

Barry, I have a deck you can have. It's home built, concave and convex, pre drilled. I used the trucks of of a mountain board that were 15 inches end to end. For the blades I used the cold rolled steel from home depot. Each blade was 16" long with a 2mm rocker. I also user a threaded rod inside of a aluminun tube as additional support between the blades. The baldes were sharpened to 45 degrees using a homemade jig, a grinder and a belt sander. The proect might take an afternoon to complete and is rather inexpensive. I could build you one using the deck mentioned above for $150.00
jradtke4@conmcast.net

[barryb]

Thanks for the offers to sell one and build one for me, but I'm going to fire up the tools and see how it goes. I've got a lot of scraps and hardware from other ice sailing contraptions lying around. Freeskate-type rig looks like the answer for glare ice...

Thanks for the build tips JR.

[Terry Dunklee]

hi Barry

I've inherited a rig made by Mike Martindale and Judd. Per Judd the geometry of the axles in relation to the running surface of the blade is critical in getting the blades to track and turn appropriately without sliding or skidding sideways. The front axle is positioned at the mid-point of the the running surface but the rear axle is mounted at the junction of the forward third with the rear 2/3 of the running surface of the back blade. You might want to look at several and get some measurements and feedback before you start drilling holes. Threaded rod covered with smooth tubing and locknuts inside and out the blade make good adjustable braces to insure your blades are parallel

[duke]

Coach,
Is the Freeskate still available for sale ?

Duke,
an old mountaineer

[JRN]

Duke, I tried to buy Coach's 'skate years ago, but he already sold it. I have one that Mike Winter built from an old directional snowboard, skateboard trucks, and blades from a shear-press. It still works great! They used to show up on e-bay now & then...Good Luck, JRN

[duke]

Thanks for the info JRN !
Duke