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Author Topic: Ice King  (Read 2245 times)
Ken
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« on: February 24, 2009, 07:41:08 AM »

Hey John, you're getting famous! Check it out.....

http://www.iceking.ca/New_Blades.page
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strathydoug
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« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2009, 08:57:19 AM »
Yes indeed kudos to John for being a reference on the Ice King page.

I was curling over the weekend (not at Perth, maybe in a couple of years  Cheesy ) and on an adjacent sheet heard no end of complaining about a "cutter mark" on the ice making much of the curling a bit of a lottery.

The sheet I was on was to say the least challenging but I'll let it pass, the ice was not that bad.

I digress, my point is about ridges on the ice running the length of the sheet.

My point is, does the width of the cutter blade create the so called ridges on the ice??

i.e. if the blade was an entire sheet wide would this eliminate the possibility of ridges appearing on the ice or are the ridges caused by something else?
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Doug
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« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2009, 10:10:28 AM »
Quote from: strathydoug on February 24, 2009, 08:57:19 AM
Yes indeed kudos to John for being a reference on the Ice King page.

Thanks, guys, I feel honoured. Now if only I could get paid for it!

Quote from: strathydoug on February 24, 2009, 08:57:19 AM
My point is, does the width of the cutter blade create the so called ridges on the ice??

No, it's not the blade at fault. Once a sheet of ice loses its level, usually through normal play (down the centerline) or poor pebbling, the blade will ride the high lines and dig into the lower areas and leave a scar. It takes great skill to keep a sheet perfectly level, and even greater skill to repair the high/low lines. Can be done, but difficult, so it is usually fixed by flooding the lot -- and closing the rink or sheets for curling!

A wider blade is an ideal, but it is really easier to work the sheet level every day with the 5' blade. Careful study of the cutting patterns will reveal why. But I must say again, keeping a sheet of ice perfectly level is a great skill, from start to finish throughout the season.
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Devils Advocate
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« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2009, 05:47:19 PM »
is there any preference to machines - between the ice king and i think ice boss is the other main one?
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strathydoug
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« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2009, 08:07:38 PM »
Cheers John

Your answer tells me a great deal about the ice in question, I just hope that I'm not playing on it tonight because there is no way it's been flooded.

 Embarrassed Shocked Huh
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Doug
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« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2009, 10:05:01 AM »
Quote from: Devils Advocate on February 24, 2009, 05:47:19 PM
is there any preference to machines - between the ice king and i think ice boss is the other main one?

Ice King has been in business for many years, if not decades. I believe it was Fred Veale who modernised the whole machine (he's a very competent engineer!) and eventually sold the firm, after which there was a slower patch and near bankruptcy. It now has new owners who should do it proud. But during this slow period the Boss was marketed with some success and took the lead, and we'll have to wait and see what Ice King develops into.

Preferences are personal and related to workload. The Boss has longer battery power, I believe, but it is also much heavier. I prefer Ice King because it is very light and manoeuvrable, but they have added some features that I don't like or need, mainly to compete with the Boss. The more gadgets, the more things to go wrong! Interestingly, since this thread was started by Ken I have (re)developed communication with Ice King and will be able to feed them our thoughts, hopefully for a better and more practical but simple machine. Yes, I am certainly an Ice King fan.
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« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2009, 03:37:36 PM »
Quote from: JohnMinnaar on February 24, 2009, 10:10:28 AM
No, it's not the blade at fault.

Just to clarify something, which we discussed briefly at the SCIG meeting today, regarding these cutter blades. It is often the case that a blade and box assembly bends a fraction between the workshop and the ice pad, causing the cutting edge to be slightly bowed. If this is the case and the ends become lower than the middle of the blade, then the blade will of course cut more in the lower areas and so leave cutting lines down the length of the sheets. Any competent technician will have a brace of some sort with which he can pull up the ends, and usually this adjustment will be done on a newly flooded and very level sheet of ice. I had assumed that the rink in question would do so too, perhaps wrongly, but yes, in such a case the blade can be at fault.

However, the damage caused by a bowed blade is significantly different to a sheet that has been poorly maintained or unevenly pebbled.
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« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2009, 04:05:21 PM »
In preparation for a report I must write on Cutting Equipment, I call on all ice technicians to submit their thoughts on cutting machines like Ice King and the Boss. If it is a general comment, don't name the maker, but feel free to speak your minds anyway. The purpose of the report will NOT be to compare different makes, but to emphasise the needs of ice technicians from cutting equipment, for the benefit of all makers and other ice technicians. Any tips, criticisms and other information will be most helpful.

If you prefer to comment privately, simply email me!
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« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2009, 03:34:51 PM »
The report on Cutting equipment has now been published on our website and can be found here:

http://www.scottishcurlingicegroup.org/reports/CuttingEquipment.pdf

As always, we welcome all comments.
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Ken
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« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2009, 07:08:42 AM »
Hey, John, that's a great report. I always said you knew your stuff! I like the box for the blade, really solves the problems and keeps the blade safe. Thanks mate!
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« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2009, 05:06:41 PM »
Thanks, Ken, but then there's the other side! I've had an email from a guy who says you don't need a proper box, and yesterday another email says "what does it matter, you've got what you've got and you have to use it"! True, maybe, but I thought the whole idea of learning is to improve things, not bury your head in the sand.

Give me a pound for every guy who has told me (usually behind my back) that you don't need something, just because he doesn't know what it is or how to use it......
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