Roller skate

“ The rubber-tired wheels of an old carpet sweeper can be used to advantage in making a pair of roller skates. In Fig. 1 is shown how an iron washer or two may be fastened to the wood with a piece of sheet metal to support the short axles of the wheels. The wheels are oiled through the holes A and B, Fig. 2. These holes should be smaller than the axles. The two side pieces are fastened together with a board nailed on the top edges, as shown. This board also furnishes the flat top for the shoe sole. Two straps are attached for fastening the skate to the shoe. ”

“ Can you fix it, Russ?"
Her brother shook his head.
"I don't guess anybody could fix that broken skate," he said.
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Rose.
"But," went on Russ, "I know how to make something that you can have lots of fun with; and so can I!"
"Can I, too?" asked Laddie.
"We all can," said Russ. "We can take turns."
"On what?" asked Rose.
"A skate wagon," answered Russ. "I saw a boy downtown have one—the day we went to the movies. You take a good roller skate, and pull it apart. Then you put two of the [165] wheels on the front end of a board, and the two other wheels on the back end." ”

“ The skilled roller skater moves by swaying the body rather than by pushing with the foot and leg. A kind of sliding step is taken, the weight being thrown somewhat forward, the step is repeated with the other foot, and so with sliding steps, one after another, the body swaying gently from side to side, as the weight is thrown on one or the other foot, the skater moves easily forward. ”

“ Somebody devises a new form of skate roller that makes roller-skating a good sport. We find it out before anyone else and in a few months the land is plastered from Maine to California with huge skating halls or sheds. Everybody is skating at once and the roar of the rollers resounds across the oceans. We skate ourselves out in a year or two, and then the roar ceases, the sheds decay and roller-skating is once [pg 235] more a normal amusement. Then someone invents the safety bicycle, and in a trice all America, man, woman and child, is awheel. ”

“ But the first efforts will, if she is wise, be made on roller-skates, for though the tide of fashion has set against this form of skating, and it is only in far-off Simla and a few scattered places that it still holds its own, it is unrivalled as a means to the end of skating on ice. On roller-skates the learner can follow up her study systematically day after day, independent of weather conditions, and can acquire the two primary essentials of successful skating, viz., balance and confidence. ”

“ The best floors are of long narrow strips of maple. Figure-skating on roller-skates is in some respects easier to learn than on ice-skates, the four points of contact given by the wheels rendering easier the holding of an edge ”

“ Some people will indeed advise you, when you [Pg 249] first put on your skates proper, to walk about a carpeted room with them, while others will tell you to make your first efforts on the ice itself. In this you will probably be guided partly by the age at which you begin the pastime—whether, that is to say, a fall is a serious matter or one to be disregarded with the smiling carelessness of youth—and partly by the degree of confidence you have acquired on the roller-skates. ”

“ He was very tired. The music grew fainter and fainter. He seemed to be again in the boat, listening to the water lapping its sides, and Graham seemed to be with him, reaching out for lilies; and then all faded, and Phil was fast asleep.
[to be continued.] ON ROLLERS. BY CHARLES LEDYARD NORTON.
For a number of years it has been more or less generally known that there were such things as roller skates. New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other large towns, have had their rinks, while here and there some enterprising boy with skates has made his appearance on the public streets. ”

“ The construction of these skates is simple, the frame being made of a board, 2 ft. long, 3 in. wide and 1 in. thick. Holes are mortised through the ends to admit the wheels. A small block, cut out on one side to fit the heel of the shoe, is securely fastened centrally, for width, and just in front of the rear wheel on the board. Two leather straps are fastened to one side of each board, to fasten the skate onto the shoe. The wheels can be turned from hard wood, or small metal wheels may be purchased, as desired. ”

“ The plain skates have no such groove, and are better adapted for those who have partially acquired the art, as with them the utmost velocity and elegance of movement may be performed. [4]
[4] Fluted skates, however, are dangerous for any but those of light weight, as the cut ice is apt to “ball” in the groove, and so to throw the wearer, if he leans on one side.
The iron of the skate, which lies under the foot, is called its blade; this varies in different kinds of skates, and the practised professor of skating will choose a high or a low bladed skate, according to the nature of the ice ”

“ By referring to the above table the skater can easily determine just what strokes are necessary to produce the figure properly.
Racing skates should be attached to shoes of special design either by screws or rivets. The most important thing is to have the blades carefully ground by an expert. They should be keen enough to cut a hair. To become a fast skater, practise if possible with an expert. Have him skate ahead of you and measure your stroke with his. By keeping your hands clasped behind your back your balance will not only be greatly improved but your endurance will be doubled. ”

“ On skates thus fastened anything may be accomplished.
Always put your own skates on, and put them on deliberately; for if you really mean skating in earnest, limbs, and even life, may depend on their running true, and not failing at a critical moment. The slope of the bank must be descended sideways—avoid [Pg 23] the stones concealed by snow, for they will destroy the edge of the skate. When within a foot or so, leap on, and the impetus will carry you some yards out upon the lake, clear of the shadow of the bank and the willows above, out to where the ice gleams under the sunshine. ”

“ To those who have visited the great rinks this street skating seems a rather awkward performance. The fact is, the notion of ice-skating has so firm a hold on the feet and legs of American youth that, unless they are told otherwise, they try to "strike out" as their fathers and grandfathers did before them, and consequently they lose half the fun of roller-skating, and make it awkward and laborious, whereas it ought to be one of the most graceful and easy of movements. ”

“ As one becomes more expert, lighter skates become more important, for in spins and turns on one foot the weight of the shoe and skate can seriously affect the balance and throw the skater into a false curve. ”

“ To-day I saw the swiftest skater I ever beheld; backwards and forwards he went like the wind, even leaping over large air-holes fifteen or more feet across, and continuing to skate without an instant's delay. ”

“ To learn the elementals of straight skating, start with the left foot. This foot slides forward on the flat of the skate, the toe turned out; the left knee is bent, the weight of the body is forward, thus giving momentum to the 80 slide. The right foot is back, raised a few inches. When the momentum is almost gone, then gripping the ice with the toe of the left foot, the right foot starts its slide. As the right starts, the left foot is lifted ready for the glide, and so on, skating straight ahead. ”

“ With this kind of unrestricted opportunity the skaters blossomed in all directions, inventing new leaps, jumps, spins and positions, in ways they only the truly artistically expressive can do.
When the time came for that year's Winter Festivals and Carnivals— virtually every prize was won by one of the "Winter Wonderlanders," as they had come to be known that year. . .those for whom a skating life was a joy. . .not work. . .those who wanted to skate more than they wanted the prizes or recognition. ”

“ It no more resembles a ramrod, when decently done, as every good English skater does it, than it resembles a coal-scuttle or a pince-nez, or what you will.
III. The unemployed leg, i.e. the leg of the foot which is not skating, must hang close to the employed leg. Again the reason is obvious. If four persons came into their centre with a waving{41} unemployed leg, they would hit each other. Also, if the unemployed leg is put out behind, the skater must lean forward in order to counteract its weight. He will then tend to skate on the forepart of his skate. ”

“ Start as for the inside circle backward; soon bring the balance foot forward and slightly past the skating foot so that it is close to the skating foot at the moment of the turn. The body, as in the case of all rockers, should be directly over the turn at the moment it is made. As the turn is made the balance foot is brought back sharply to the skating foot; the twist of 72the shoulders in position for the forward inside edge with a quick turn of the skate on the ice executes this difficult, catchy movement. ”

“ The stroke must be taken, i.e. impetus must be set up, not with a push of our skate-toe into the ice, but from the inside edge of the skate blade. The reason is obvious, for if a skater thrusts his sharp skate-toe into the ice he will make a hole in it, and damage the ice. ”

“ Also these turns teach him to hold his edges out after the turn, the tendency being to let the body rotate, whereby the curve curls in, and the skater soon finds himself in a position that it is impossible to maintain. But if he skates his turn, and then can hold an edge for 50 feet away from it afterwards, he may congratulate himself on the fact that he is beginning to skate his edges big and in the proper style. ”

“ The skater having got his impetus by leaning against the inside edge of one skate, launches himself on the other. Now there are two edges to a skate, namely, the inside and the outside. There is also the flat base of the skate. Both theoretically and practically, he never uses the flat of the skate in his actual progress. When he turns, whether the turn is a three-turn or a rocker, or a counter or a bracket, he comes up to the flat for a moment, but instantly leaves it again. He progresses on one edge, the inside, or on the other edge, the outside. ”

“ I am glad to hear that some of the American manufacturers are even making their hockey skates with a curved blade, so that the simple curves can be learned on that type of skate. There are several excellent models of skates now being made in the United States. ”

“ Some of the skaters eventually went back to practicing in locations of their own choosing. . .places that were either not suited to the vendors purposes or for other reasons not generally used.
They would skate in the moonlight at night, or bring candles to set on the ice, and would skate around them like faeries in the forest.
All in all, it was some of the most beautiful skating of all time— and anyone today would undoubtedly consider themselves blessed if a chance to see anything like it came along. ”

“ This ought to be done across the stone, so as to give the bottom of the skate so slight a concavity as to be imperceptible, which insures an edge whose angle is not greater than right. Care must be taken that one edge is not higher than the other; so that, when the skate is placed upon an even surface, it may stand quite perpendicularly. The wear of the iron not being great with a beginner, one grinding will generally last him through an ordinary winter’s skating on clean ice. ”

“ The most important things to have in mind as one skates the elementary figure are carriage, poise and deliberation. If the body is correctly poised a slight stroke will carry the skater in the right direction; no amount of straining or kicking will cause the skate to execute the right figures if the body over that skate is in the wrong position or wrong balance.
19My own skating as head of the ice ballet at the New York Hippodrome is fast and spectacular, I admit; it has to be so to be theatric, to catch the crowd, to startle the sensation seeker. ”

“ Pirouettes are done on the toes of the skates and imply extremely difficult balances. Jumps on to the toe of the skate are not so difficult, although they appear very difficult, are very effective for exhibition purposes and often form very pretty interludes to introduce into a skating programme. ”

“ The grooved or fluted skate, if ever useful, is of service only to boys, or very light persons, whose weight is not sufficient to catch the ice in a hard frost. It certainly should never be used by a person who is heavier than a boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age usually is, because the sharp edge too easily cuts into the ice, and prevents figuring. Fluted skates, indeed, are even dangerous: for the snow or ice cuttings are apt to collect and consolidate in the grooves, till the skater is raised from the edge of his skate, and thrown. ”

“ At all events, the skater should bear in mind that the skate must be fastened securely and firmly to the foot, by being well fastened to the heel and sole of the boot by means of the screw and points, and well, but not clumsily, strapped round the ancle, exactly so tight as to confine the foot without hurting it or impeding the motions of the ancle joints. ”

“ Given for new subscriptions amounting to $5.00; or for new subscriptions amounting to $3.00 and 75 cents cash additional.
This is a very fine ladies’ skate and will give thorough satisfaction. The foot plates, clamps and brackets of this skate are made from crucible steel; blades fine finish, russet leather trimmings, and nickeled heel bands. Skate is secured to shoe by a thumb screw at heel operating toe clamps, and by strap over instep. Sizes 8 to 10 inches. Price $2.50. Postage 30 cents extra, or sent by express at receiver’s expense. ”