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Wooden Skates: Twin Hardwood Runners Under a Strapped Board (Boy Mechanic, 1915)
F. E. Kennar's wooden skates from The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 (1915), made "to take the place of the usual steel-runner kind" and to prevent sprained ankles: two hardwood runners nailed under a 4 in board, held apart by blocks and bolts, with corner pieces to locate the shoe and straps to hold it. Make two alike.
Beginner
About 3 hours
Instructions
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1
His sizes in centimetres
His sizes in centimetres
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2
Read The Boy Mechanic, Book 2
Read The Boy Mechanic, Book 2
"Skates that will take the place of the usual steel-runner kind and which will prevent spraining of the ankles, can be made of a few pieces of 1/2-in. hardwood boards."
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3
Cut the runners
Cut the runners
From 1/2 in hardwood, cut four runners 2 in wide at the back and 1-1/2 in wide at the front, each 2 in longer than the shoe. Shape the front ends as in his figure.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Board1 pieceTools needed:
Hand Saw
Coping Saw
Hand Plane
Pencil
Tape Measure4
4
Assemble each skate
Assemble each skate
Nail the top edges of a pair of runners to the underside of a board 4 in wide, at its edges. Fasten a block 2 in wide between the runners at the rear and one 1 in wide in front. Bore the runners and put two bolts through, one just behind the front block and one in front of the rear block.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Board1 piece
Nails1 piece
Carriage Bolt2 piecesTools needed:
Hand Saw
Hammer
Hand Drill5
5
Fit the corner pieces and straps
Fit the corner pieces and straps
Fasten four triangular pieces on top, one at each corner, so the heel and toe of the shoe fit between them; if you like, nail a crosspiece in front of the heel. Attach straps to the sides to fasten the skate to the shoe. Make the second skate the same.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Board1 pieceNails1 piece
Leather Strap2 piecesTools needed:
Hand SawHammerHand Drill6
6
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Wooden skate troubleshooting.
Flow
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7
History and honest limits
History and honest limits
From "Skates Made of Wood" by F. E. Kennar, in **The Boy Mechanic, Book 2**, Popular Mechanics, 1915 (Project Gutenberg 44585; checked on the archive.org scan boymechanicbook200chic2, p. 30). The scan says hardwood boards; the Gutenberg text drops "hardwood". He gives no sizes for the bolts, straps or corner pieces. The tools and metric figures are ours.
Materials
4- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 2 piecesPlaceholder
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