{"id":4236,"date":"2021-11-19T22:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T22:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/?p=4236"},"modified":"2022-01-17T22:26:19","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T22:26:19","slug":"4236","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/19\/4236\/","title":{"rendered":"He lets the good times roll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Nathan Edwards adjusts the cutting depth of his lathe as he prepares to restore a roller skate wheel in his workshop.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Story and photos by Mike Tripp, contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Edwards stood at his lathe by the window of his garage workshop in Harrisonburg, intent on his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my spare time, I cut these roller skate wheels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those wheels spun on the lathe as a cutting tool restores the rolling surface to a smooth, like-new state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A life-long skater, Nathan\u2019s own skates have a high-end set of precision wheels from Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomething happened at one of the rinks that I flat-spotted a wheel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201cflat spot\u201d refers to a badly worn section of the rolling surface resulting in a not so smooth ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A flat-spotted roller skate wheel.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something you can feel,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd for a discerning skater, it\u2019s something not nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought to myself, \u2018I need to fix this wheel.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The fact he already had his own lathe made that possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I repaired those wheels and ever since, I\u2019ve been cutting roller skate wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For six years he\u2019s been at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nathan Edwards demonstrates how the wheels attach to a pair of skates.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
He uses a press to install a hub into a vintage skate wheel.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like seeing all the different skate wheels and not just what\u2019s available today but from the past,\u201d said Nathan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His hand gestured to one of his work benches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of wheels sitting here on the table that are no longer made but are still a desirable thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A box in Edwards\u2019 garage workshop filled with wheels from old rental skates.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Holding one of the wheels, the skater-turned-craftsman smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou get to see a lot of different skate wheels, and I get to apply precision to something that most people would just say \u2026 \u2018It doesn\u2019t need to be that good. It\u2019s just a roller skate,\u2019\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like that. That\u2019s not my deal. I like excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Excellence is demanded.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

His mindset has earned him a reputation that has gained him customers from all over the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLas Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Kentucky, North Carolina \u2026\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do they find him? \u2026 Facebook and word of mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone will mention regrooving wheels or have pulled their old wheels out of the closet from back when they skated in high school and want to get back to skating,\u201d said Nathan.

And invariably someone he\u2019s done wheels for points that person in his direction.

\u201cWhat I do is address the rolling surface,\u201d he explained. \u201cFrom what they send, I find the smallest wheel and restore that one first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd the next ones all go down to that same size,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat way they\u2019re all the same size within a thousandth of an inch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing Nathan does is take wheels from the \u201840s, \u201850s and \u201960s that were long thought unusable and give them new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey used a different standard of (ball) bearing, they were called a \u2018loose ball,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThey had to drop the balls in their manually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considered unrollable today because no one sells a skate that will run a loose ball bearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I bore all of that out and install a precision hub that takes a modern standard bearing that everyone uses,\u201d Nathan explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo now that desirable wheel from the \u201840s that couldn\u2019t be skated anymore can now be skated again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A roller skate wheel from the \u201950s has been converted from a loose ball design to a wheel that now can use standard modern ball bearings.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

 Nathan can often be found skating at Funky\u2019s Skate Center where he likes to jive skate to the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Edwards laces up a pair of precision skates as he prepares to do a bit of jive skating at Funky\u2019s Skate Center<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n