As a skateboarder, you know the importance of having a smooth ride. Unfortunately, many cities install skate stoppers – barriers meant to stop skateboarders – to deter them from doing their thing. This article will discuss how to remove skate stoppers so you can get back to rolling.
Skate stoppers are a standard installation in cities across the United States. Responding to complaints from citizens, many cities have built them under benches and on ledges at popular skate spots. They’re cheap to make and easy to install. But, unfortunately, they can ruin a day of skating for guys who want to practice their tricks or ride with friends.
Things You’ll Need
- Lighter
- Skate stopper
- Screwdriver
- Pliers or lighter tongs (if needed)
A Step by Step Guide on How to Remove Skate Stoppers
Step 1: Determine
There are many different kinds of skate stoppers, but most of the time, they can be removed very easily. How you choose to remove your skate stopper will depend on what kind it is, if you lost the screw if there are more screws or not, and how strong your hands are! It’s also helpful to get someone else involved, especially if you have no idea what type of skate stopper you’re dealing with.
Step 2: Preparing the Skate Stopper
If no screws hold your skate stopper in, but rather a nut on the bottom of your skateboard deck, you can skip this step. If you have lost all or most of the screws but are still stuck in the skater’s board, try using pliers to squeeze it out. If that doesn’t work, you can use a pair of lighter tongs with the flat edge facing the direction towards which the screw is making contact.
Step 3: Use Your Hand or Heat the Nut
If screws are holding one side of your skate stopper, you should be able to unscrew them with practice manually. After a couple of tries, you’ll get pretty good at it. If you have trouble getting the first screw out, use a screwdriver first or have someone help you! Be careful not to damage anything around your board when taking off your stoppers.
If you’re not strong enough to remove it with your hands, you can use some lighter tongs and grab it with the flat edge facing the direction where the screw is making contact. Make sure they aren’t too hot, or you might melt your board!
Step 4: Use the Lighter!
If all else fails and you can’t get your stopper out by any other means, this is the best way to do it. Heat the nut or screw with a lighter and take it off as soon as possible. If using a screw, twist it until it comes loose. Ensure you’re wearing protective gloves and that the lighter’s flame isn’t directed towards any flammable materials!
Step 5: Watch It Pop Off!
If there’s only one screw on either side of your stopper, this is the part where you take the screwdriver and manually unscrew one side to release the tension. Then have someone help you or place your hand under the skateboard deck so that when you pull up on both ends simultaneously, the stopper should pop out.
If not, use a lighter or any heat source similar to melt it free from its position. You can also try picking at it but be careful not to tear apart your board just yet! It may take you two minutes now, but once you’re good at taking them off, it will only take ten seconds!
Step 6: Do Not Damage Your Board
When removing your skate stoppers, try not to damage the board. How you clear your stoppers will determine how much pressure is brought to bear on the deck. If you’re using pliers, do it cautiously and don’t squeeze them too hard!
If you’re heating any parts of the skater’s board, make sure that your hands are protected with gloves, or else they might get burnt if the stopper/nut gets too hot. Once everything has cooled down enough to touch, inspect your board for any signs of melting caused by direct exposure to heat.
Suppose screws are coming out of the skateboard deck (which there shouldn’t be), then take it easy when taking off your stoppers because these screws hold pieces of your board together to prevent it from coming apart. If you’re not careful, you might have a broken board!
Step 7: Prevent Skate Stoppers From Coming Undone Again
The easiest way to prevent skate stoppers from coming undone is to set them in place after putting on most of your skater’s equipment, such as wheels, bearings, grip tape, etc. Then, after they are set in their position, apply a small amount of super glue or any adhesive in the nut to keep them from undoing. In some cases, you can also use nail polish to help hold it down, so when you take your skate stopper off, you have to add a tiny drop on top and set it back in place!
Step 8: Finishing Touch
After a few tries and practicing your technique, it should be much easier to remove skate stoppers in half the time! If you’re still struggling, try getting someone more substantial than you to help. Once everything’s done, inspect your board for any signs of wear and tear before taking off on your new set of wheels!
And that’s all there is to it! You can now proceed to remove your stoppers whenever necessary and store them safely for future use. Be cautious when dealing with fire or electricity because if you don’t know what you’re doing, they could lead to severe injuries. Work smart and always remember the above instructions to make quick work of things in no time at all! These steps will help in how to remove skate stoppers.
You Can Check It Out to Hockey Skate Vs Figure Skate
Precautions
- Make sure that your skate stoppers are not damaged. Damaged stoppers should be replaced. Also, make sure that the boards are stationary before you begin removing your stopper. It is also considered dangerous for kids or anyone unfamiliar with this task to take off their stopper without adult supervision.
- Use the right tools when removing your stopper. If they are not entirely removed yet, you should use a screwdriver or other sharp objects to cut through the bolts.
- Screwdrivers should be used carefully only on the bolts sticking out of your stopper; avoid putting any pressure directly on the skate stopper’s body because it may get damaged. However, this may also be inevitable due to blunt screws, which you can’t remove if you intend not to damage your board.
- The top of the stoppers (where it attaches with the mounting boards) is made from plastic; if you would like to see how much strength these plastics have, try standing on them while wearing high heels one time, and you will get what I mean. It’s just not made to support your body weight so pay attention to this fact when removing the stoppers.
If you would like for your board to stay clean, cover it with a plastic sheet or anything that will prevent scratches while removing the stopper.
How Do You Know if a Skate Stopper Is Good or Bad?
Several indicators can help you determine if your skates are equipped with excellent or bad stoppers. The first indicator is the skate stopper itself. If it has lost its ring, then it’s terrible. A good skate stopper will have soft housing, which will allow it to contract and expand without breaking.
To test this, take your finger and press down on the base of the molded ring where it meets the ice; if there’s any give (or lug), then your stop is not firm enough to grip well unto the ice surface. Skating over roughened areas like pebbles or gravel can cause wear on a stop quickly, so avoid these types of surfaces when possible. Likewise, skating over debris like rocks can soon wear down the finish.
The second is how smooth the stopper’s edge is. A good skate stopper will have a sharp edge that will act as an additional grip on the ice; if it has dull or rounded edges, it probably isn’t doing its job of gripping well onto the ice surface.
Lastly, you should also check if any dents in your metal stoppers touch each other along the bottom blade. This might seem insignificant, but these dents help keep your stops working correctly. When you pressure them to move forward or backward, these dents allow the stop to bend slightly so that it does not have to slide across the ice. Skates with metal stoppers that don’t have dents in them may cause skaters to slip when they move forward.
Conclusion
The experiment results were that people had a hard time removing skate stoppers from their shoes. So, in conclusion, if you have any shoes with laces or eyelets, then it is best to be careful when placing your feet on top of these obstructions. This will save you some pain, protect your shoes, and give them an extra life span. We hope you find this how to remove skate stoppers helpful.
You may also read: How to Gift Wrap a Skateboard
