Regular ski poles are used for roller skiing. The lengths of the poles for winter and summer are the same. Mostly roller skiers use light, hard top poles with a high carbon content. In Russia, the most popular poles are from One Way, Swix, and KV+. Sometimes you can find Leki, Exel, etc. Instead of winter “feet” in the summer you need to install tips for rollerballs, from now on we will call them “pins”. All ski pole manufacturers produce them.

Not all brands of pins have good characteristics. Some suffer from bad plastic that either breaks in half (and you are instantly left without a tip) or gradually deforms (and the metal tip falls out over time). Some have a soft alloy metal tip, causing it to become dull almost immediately after you start training. I tried all the models that are present on the Russian market, and selected only two for myself: Leki and Vauhti. They are available with mounting diameters of 8 and 10 mm. For my One Way poles (9 mm) the “ten” is suitable.

How to install a pin on a stick?

I offer step-by-step instructions. The whole process takes 15 minutes.

1. Pour hot tap water into a small saucepan (to save time on heating it) and place it on the stove. We immediately connect the heat gun to the network:

A heat gun can be bought at a hardware store (200-300 rubles). A hot-melt adhesive rod is inserted into the hot-melt gun. Such rods are usually sold in sets in the same store as the heat gun:

It is necessary that the diameter of the hot melt glue rod matches the diameter of the hole in the hot melt gun. The most common diameter on sale is 11 mm.

1. After a few minutes, the water boils, you need to lower the ends of both poles with a ski foot (or with an old pin that you want to replace with a new one) and two new pins that you want to put on. In order for the paw/pin to expand and the hot glue inside to soften, you need to keep it in boiling water for 30-60 seconds.
2. Take one stick out of the pan and remove the foot/pin with your hands (wearing a glove or using a rag so as not to get burned). Use a dry rag to wipe off any excess old hot-melt glue from the shaft of the stick. If the glue is difficult to remove, place the rod in boiling water again for 20 seconds and wipe the glue off again with a rag.
3. Make sure the heat gun is hot. This usually takes 8-10 minutes after the device is connected to the network. To do this, pull the trigger and check that the glue begins to be squeezed out of the nozzle of the hot-melt gun.

Important: the following steps need to be done very quickly, you have only a few seconds:

1. Take a regular table fork and use its tip to fish out one pin. Pour water out of the pin. Next, take it in your hand and blow it strongly with your mouth once to remove the droplets of water that are present inside the pin.
2. Apply hot glue to the end of the stick shaft (1.5-2 cm) around the entire circumference. You need to apply in sufficient quantities, the excess will still be squeezed out later. It is undesirable for voids to remain inside the pin. This will impair the reliability of the rod fastening.
3. Place the pin on the rod in such a way that the pin is at least approximately aligned with the handle of the stick. The metal tip should point forward (if we are talking about the direction of movement of the athlete with these poles).
4. Carefully, holding the pin with your hand so that it remains in a stationary position, wipe off the excess glue with a rag with your other hand to make it aesthetically pleasing.
5. Take the stick in your hands with the tip facing you and look at the light along the stick, checking the alignment of the pin relative to the handle of the stick. If necessary, slightly tighten the pin around the axis to ensure perfect alignment.
6. Do the same steps with the second stick.

The above applies to poles with a high carbon fiber content. Cheap (not top-end) sticks basically have a lot of paper and using boiling water can render them unusable. In this case, it is preferable to use an oven or hair dryer. As a last resort, if there is nothing other than boiling water, you need to place the stick with the pin in a sealed plastic bag before lowering it into boiling water. But the warm-up time, for obvious reasons, will not be as short as without the package.

Alternatively, instead of a heat gun, you can use a hair dryer, as shown in this video:

If you have a stick that is too long and you need to adjust it to your height, then you have to cut off a piece of the rod that is located under the handle of the stick. Under no circumstances cut off the bottom of the rod! In this case, you will be left with a rod of such a large diameter that not a single paw or pin will fit on it.

If the handle of your poles contains a cork, then to remove the handles, use boiling water to place them in a bag. But the most effective is to use an oven (150-200 degrees) or a hair dryer. It is very important not to melt the plastic parts of the handle (especially where the trap is inserted and secured). Therefore, do not rush to increase the oven temperature. Start at 150 degrees.

Important: Before using an oven or hair dryer, be sure to remove the trap, as it contains synthetic materials that will inevitably melt! Also, do not leave the wedge-shaped plastic peg in the handle that secures the trap.

Hold the stick in your hands so that it does not touch the hot metal surfaces of the oven. The oven door will be half open. It may take several minutes for the handle to warm up. Periodically remove it from the oven and try to pull off the handle (naturally, using a glove or rag so as not to get burned).

After removing the handle, cut off the extra centimeters of the stick shaft with a hacksaw. Lightly sand the sharp edges of the rod with sandpaper or a file. Before placing the handle onto the stick shaft, reheat the handle in the oven. Next, apply hot melt glue as indicated above.

Important: You need to be especially careful when working with a hair dryer! It produces a very high temperature, and the handle is very easy to damage (melt).

I strongly do not recommend using materials such as electrical tape or adhesive tape to attach handles, paws, and pins. There have been many cases where the tab/pin with this type of fastening has slipped off the rod very easily during training/race. I also do not recommend using glue, which will then prevent you from removing the tab/pin (epoxy, poxypol, supermoment, etc.). I know that some pole manufacturers, after complaints from racing skiers, began to use some serious adhesives that made it very difficult to remove the feet. Personally, I have a negative attitude towards this. I think hot melt adhesive is a reliable and convenient tool. It has never let me down.

How to sharpen pins?

Pins and claws are sold unsharpened. Many athletes only think that they are imprisoned. But that's not true. They have a so-called “platform”. With such a platform, grip on asphalt will not be ideal. But if you don’t need to carry out any additional manipulations with the ski paws, then the pins for asphalt need to be sharpened, even if they are straight from the store.

The working angle of the tip should be quite sharp. Take a look at the picture. For convenience (so as not to clutter the picture), the corners on the outside of the tip are marked on it. But we are interested in internal angles. From your school geometry course, you should remember that the angles between two straight lines on both sides are congruent. Now compare angles 1 – 3:

Angle 1 – new tip with a platform (from the store).

Angle 2 – the tip is sharpened with a sharpener.

Angle 3 – the tip is very angled, and this angle does not allow it to reliably cling to the asphalt at the moment of impact.

Why is there no need for a platform? Why does it need to be grinded down right away?

There was once a debate on this topic on the Internet. Some users believed that the platform was needed. They just couldn’t explain why. And they even recommended sharpening the tips in such a way that this area would be recreated each time. The following picture shows that their position is untenable:

Let’s simulate the grinding of the tip on the asphalt during training and draw a line with a pink marker. Outside this line there will be what is worn off on the asphalt. Now let’s see what area of ​​contact with asphalt will be obtained in three cases. Obviously, the largest area is on the rightmost picture. Next - on the very left (where there was a tip with a platform). The smallest area is in the central figure. This tip (of the three available) will cling to the asphalt the best.

Therefore, tip angle is a key factor in ensuring reliable grip on the pavement throughout your training or race. To maintain this angle, you need to sharpen the pins before each workout. The main tool is a sharpener with a diamond wheel:

The working surface, literally a few mm wide, is located on the outside of the circle (at the very edge). Our industry does not produce such ready-made sharpeners. But there are craftsmen who make such a useful device from some 12-volt engine removed from a car.

An additional tool is a diamond-coated file:

It is also possible to use a diamond-coated needle file, but I do not recommend it, because due to its small size, it is inconvenient to work with: the file constantly jumps off the tip.

Before one workout I use a sharpener, and before one or two subsequent workouts I just sharpen it a little with a file. Why? Because after one or two sharpenings with a file, the angle of the tip is no longer optimal. It is difficult to get the correct angle with a file, but a sharpener can do this easily.

You need to sharpen the tip on both sides - on the inside and on the outside (in the direction of movement). Why? Because sometimes, due to accidental scraping of sticks on the asphalt (at the moment of placing the sticks), chips appear on the metal on the inside. The inner side must be leveled, and then the sharp corner must be re-drawn from the outer side.

I do not recommend using a sharpener without diamond coating. You won’t really sharpen the pobedite alloy of the tip, and the tip and plastic will overheat, which will lead to damage to the pin.

And change the pins in a timely manner! Here is the extreme level of pin wear:

Treat pins as consumables, not as something that lasts forever. Do not try to stretch the use of one pair of pins over several seasons. At best, one pair lasts me 1 month. That's why I immediately buy several pairs before the season.

In conclusion, here is a photo of well-sharpened tips. I note that these specimens are not new and have survived more than one sharpening:

So-called “crow’s feet” under the eyes appear in women at a young age. Over time, they become deeper and more noticeable, and therefore almost all representatives of the fair sex, having reached the age of 30, begin to wonder: how to remove crow’s feet under the eyes and is it possible to do it at all? Of course you can.

But before we tell you how to do it, let's talk about why these wrinkles appear.

Expression wrinkles and crow's feet appear as a result of:

1. Lack of sleep. If you don't sleep well and don't get enough sleep, it has a bad effect on your entire body. Lack of sleep for the body is stress, and it affects all processes, including those that occur at the cellular level. As a result of their violation, the skin does not receive adequate nutrition and hydration and becomes dry and flabby. The result is the appearance of wrinkles.
2. Cosmetics. Women always want to look chic, and therefore most of them don’t even go to the grocery store without makeup. But cosmetics contain a huge amount of chemicals that block pores, thereby preventing the penetration of oxygen to cells, and lead to disruption of metabolic processes.
3. Crow's feet and wrinkles around the eyes can also form as a result of excessive facial expressions. If you often laugh or squint your eyes, small grooves will appear on your skin over time.
4. Sharp weight loss. If you went on a strict diet and lost a lot of extra pounds in a short time, this can also cause crow's feet. The thing is that with sudden weight loss, the skin does not have time to tighten and sags, as a result of which it becomes wrinkled and flabby.
5. A deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the body can also cause premature aging of the skin and the appearance of crow's feet near the eyes. In this case, taking vitamins for the skin is required. But they should be taken only after prior consultation with a doctor.
6. Lack of fluid in the body. Skin cells constantly need hydration. If you don't drink enough water, your cells simply begin to dry out, which is why wrinkles appear. Remember, in order for your skin to remain young and tight for many years, you need to drink at least 1.5 liters of liquid per day.

And before using products that will help remove crow’s feet from your face, you need to establish the exact cause of their appearance and, if possible, eliminate it.

Modern methods for eliminating crow's feet near the eyes

How to remove crow's feet around the eyes? You can turn to modern cosmetology for help. She offers many tools that will help solve this problem. For example:

1. Botox. This is the most common procedure for eliminating facial wrinkles. Botox injections are administered under the skin. They help relax muscles and moisturize cells, as a result of which wrinkles around the eyes are smoothed out. The disadvantage of the procedure is that it is quite painful.
2. Microcurrent. This is a modern hardware procedure for facial rejuvenation, which involves the impact of microcurrent on the lower layers of the epidermis, causing contraction/relaxation of facial muscles and activating skin regeneration processes.
3. Laser facial resurfacing. During this procedure, the top layer of the epidermis is removed, which leads to the launch of regenerative processes and cell division. As a result of this effect, facial wrinkles are smoothed out.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine also tells us how to remove crow's feet under the eyes. In the fight against expression lines, she suggests we use the following means:

• Aloe. This plant has a regenerating, whitening and rejuvenating effect. It is used as follows: squeeze the juice from the leaves, soak cotton pads in it and apply them to the eye area for 15-20 minutes. To enhance the effect, you can add oil vitamins A and E or olive oil to aloe juice.
• Olive oil. An excellent product that helps moisturize and nourish the skin. As a result of regular such exposure, metabolic processes are restored in skin cells, collagen production is normalized and the skin takes on a healthy and toned appearance. How to remove crow's feet around eyes using olive oil? Everything is very simple. The oil should be slightly heated in a water bath and a little lavender or grapefruit essential oil should be added to it. After this, you need to moisten a gauze cloth in an oil solution and apply it to the eye area for half an hour. It is worth noting that gauze can be placed on the entire face. This will also smooth out nasolabial folds and improve contours.

• Oily vitamins A and E. They activate skin regeneration and restore the collagen framework. They are used as follows: vitamins are taken in the amount of ½ tsp. and mix 1 tbsp. any vegetable oil (you can use apricot, almond or coconut). After this, the resulting mixture must be heated and a compress made according to the same principle as in previous recipes.
• Sour cream and cream. Natural dairy product contains a lot of useful substances, among which is vitamin K. It helps retain moisture in skin cells and improves its tone. Using sour cream or cream is easy. They need to be applied in a thick layer to the area under the eyes and left to act for 15-20 minutes.
• Honey. Quite often used in anti-aging mask recipes. It can be used in its pure form, like sour cream or cream, or mixed with other ingredients, such as olive oil, egg yolk or oatmeal. Honey masks usually last no more than 20 minutes.
• Laminaria. These algae deserve special attention. They contain a lot of iodine, which miraculously transforms the skin of the face. They are sold in dried form in pharmacies. They are crushed to a powdery state, filled with water in a 1:1 ratio, a little olive oil is added and the resulting mixture is applied to facial wrinkles. It is worth noting that algae can provoke a burning sensation and an allergic reaction, so they should be used very carefully. Keep the algae-based mask on for no more than 10 minutes.

Now you know how to remove crow's feet under the eyes. Which of these methods to use, modern or folk, is up to you. All we can do is wish you good luck in your difficult task and always remain beautiful and young!

Video with a recipe for a mask against crow's feet

In this tutorial we will look at how install the presser foot in the machine.

One of the reasons for a needle to break is when it hits the foot. If you were sewing normally, and suddenly the needle began to hit the presser foot, then this can happen in two cases: either the fastening screw has loosened and the presser foot has changed position due to vibration, or you have used a different presser foot.

I encountered this problem when I started filming a video about the capabilities of the Podolsk straight-stitch sewing machine. When changing the paws, despite all their visual similarities, it turned out that all the special paws seemed to be rotated along an axis and were at an angle to the gear rack. In addition to the fact that this defect will interfere with the quality of the stitching, the needle, with a small slot in the foot, hits the foot and breaks, that is, the sewing process is simply not possible.

What to do if the needle gets into your foot?

Let's look at the presser foot mechanism. It includes: foot, rod, spring, foot lift bracket and lever, threaded bushing, thread trimmer (optional) and mounting screws.

In this situation, you need to remove the front board (we remember that the fastening screw does not need to be completely unscrewed, but just loosened). Before us are two mechanisms: the needle bar in front, and behind it the presser foot rod. That's what we need. We loosen the fastening screw (do not unscrew it!), turn it with the foot installed so that the foot is parallel to the gear rack. Having set the foot in the desired position, fix the screw.

When installing the “native” foot, the process will have to be repeated in the opposite direction. It's not difficult, although it's not pleasant to make unnecessary movements.
Speaking about the presser foot mechanism, I would like to draw your attention to the foot itself. It must be handled with care. You cannot sew on a machine with the foot down without fabric - the sole of the foot will be damaged by scratches. The nickel will be stripped and not only will the fabric move more poorly, but thin fabrics may also develop puffs. In addition, if you handle the machine this way, the rack teeth will become dull.
You should also pay attention to humidity when storing the machine and feet. If the foot is rusty, then fresh rust can be easily removed by dipping it in a 0.5 liter hydrochloric acid mixture. and 50 gr. strong decoction of St. John's wort or celandine for twenty minutes. Then rinse with cold water and sand with felt. Deep rust cannot be removed. The foot will have to be replaced.
So prevention is always better than cure. Take care of your machine and you won't need to put in extra effort.
In the lesson we looked at “how to install the presser foot in a machine” in relation to the Podolsk sewing machine. But this lesson applies to any sewing machine that has access to the presser foot mechanism.

If the article was useful, share it with your friends on social networks, I would be grateful for your likes. By subscribing to the news, you will not miss new lessons, and will also receive a useful book as a gift "Sewing machine for home use."

With love, Olga Zlobina

When you sew a multi-layered fabric on a sewing machine, the layers of fabric often move relative to each other and creases form. Why does this happen? The lower layer of fabric moves the lower conveyor, which is located below the needle plate, while the upper layer moves by inertia and its speed is lower. At the same time, excess fabric on the top layer leads to creases. To avoid this, you need to move all layers at the same speed. The upper conveyor can help with this.

Every car, even the oldest one, has a conveyor. It moves the fabric, adjusting the stitch length. If the fabric is very thin and slippery (silk, viscose for example), its layers usually shift. Because of this offset, it is especially difficult to sew fabrics with large patterns, since it is not always possible to accurately match the pattern. The upper fabric conveyor helps to avoid displacement. It is designed in such a way that, being fixed instead of the upper foot, it is able to move the fabric from above. Since the layers of material in this case move at the same speed, no shear occurs.

Conveyors are divided into two types. Built-in (or active) conveyor Can be used with any foot. It is installed on Pfaff sewing machines with the Integrated Dual Transporter system and on Janome Memory Craft 6600 machines. This conveyor is quite convenient to use, which is why these machines are in great demand.

Other sewing machines have removable (passive) conveyor, which is placed instead of a presser foot, and is therefore called a walking foot. Quilting guides are available for machines with a horizontal hook (Janome type).

How to install the walking foot?

To see the seam better, you need to use the left or right stitching guide.

1.Remove the presser foot and standard holder from the machine.

2.Place the double feed foot on the rod. If the needle fastening screw fits into the fork on the presser foot, secure the presser foot with the screw.

3.Raise the teeth of the fabric feeder and set the presser foot pressure to 2.5.

4. Select a straight stitch for sewing. It's best to test different seams on a piece of fabric first. With the dual feed foot open, you can create a variety of decorative stitches, including ones that look like handmade stitches.

Double feed foot with right and left guide.

The guide on the presser foot should be positioned parallel to the seam or fold.

1.Mark and sew the first seam.

2. Move the left or right guide in the recess on the double feed foot. If the seam is to the right of the needle, use the left guide; if on the left - the right guide. The next seam must be sewn so that the guide is parallel to the first seam.

kairina5454(Kayumova Irina Fedorovna)

Replacing handles, feet, adjusting the length of ski poles are common procedures for skiers. Replace tips from winter ones to roller tips, change a worn-out handle, saw off ski poles - we’ll talk about all this in our article.

How to shorten ski poles?

Tools for cutting sticks:

1. Construction hair dryer or boiling water
2. Hot melt adhesive
3. Hacksaw
4. Masking tape or electrical tape

Trimming ski poles always done from the handle side. Under no circumstances should you saw the stick from below, as it will narrow there and the foot may not fit into place.

To cut sticks correctly, measure the length of the poles with the handle on and decide how much you want to shorten. Why with the handle on? Because each handle has its own seat and some handles sit deeper, some a little higher.

To shorten ski poles you need:

1. Remove the handle. The handle “sits” on hot-melt adhesive, it needs to be heated and the handle can be easily removed. To do this, you need to heat it with a hair dryer or put it in boiling water for a few minutes. Before putting the pen into boiling water, you need to wrap it in a bag so that the water does not spoil the cork material of the pen. When heating with a hairdryer, do not hold it at one point, constantly move the air flow and rotate the stick so as not to melt the handle.
2. Cut off excess length. A metal hacksaw can be used to cut a stick from any material. To prevent the stick from delaminating, you can wrap it with masking tape or electrical tape at the sawing site.
3. Put the handle back. Apply some hot glue to the stick and attach the handle. If the glue hardened before you could install the handle, you need to warm it up in the same way as when removing the handle.

How to change handles on ski poles?

Tools:

1. Hairdryer or boiling water
2. Hot melt adhesive

The procedure is the same as in the previous paragraph.

How to change tips on ski poles?

Tools:

1. Hairdryer or boiling water
2. Hot melt adhesive (not always needed)

The principle of replacing the paws is the same as replacing the handles. With paws it’s even a little easier. They do not need to be packaged and usually do not require additional glue. The tips fit very tightly and the remaining glue on the stick will be enough in most cases.

Video: trimming poles, replacing handles and replacing feet on ski poles

All procedures are clearly shown in the video from the Skate&classic channel. Thanks to Alexander for the good video instructions.

Video from Skistart.com channel. Replacing tips without boiling water and hot glue gun.

Play sports, move, travel and be healthy! 🙂
If you find an error, a typo, or you have something to discuss, write in the comments. We are always happy to communicate :)