DIY: Sliding Gloves

 by capn
Featured
Don't feel like paying $50+ for a pair of pre-engineered sliding gloves? Want to gather up your own parts and personalize your own glove?

Good news!

I have an intructable that will show you how!

if you are unfamiliar with "sliding" as referred to in skateboarding here is a vid to help you out.

here is a link that shows how some real hardcore guys do it (sliding that is).

 
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Step 1: Decide what to get.

Before we acquire all of our materials we have some important decisions to make, some easier than others. First off we need to consider what sliding matrix we want to choose, there are many different options and it all will come down to price and availability and how far you want to slide. One of the design considerations for a puck is how you will use it, if you will make a lot of really crazy long lasting slides then a really slick material is great, but you give up some stopping friction. On the other hand if you just want to do some casual slides and other stuff then an intermediate CoF material will work great giving a nice compromise between stopping power, wear, and how long you can slide.

**if you already know what material you are going to slide on you can skip the following as it contains a lot of material description.**

The Sliding Matrices:
UHMWPE- aka Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene; This slider is one of the cheaper and better materials to use IMO. It has a cost of about $10-$15 per square foot in 3/8" thicknesses(cheaper when its thiner), and it is has one of the best coefficient of friction out there. I won't wax on about the chemistry here but I will say that due to its cross-linked chemical structure it is one of the toughest materials for the job.

Corian- Acrylic with aluminum oxide filler. This material is used as a counter top material with great abraision resistance and great wear life. The great thing about corian is that it can be had for free at some home depots or Lowes. They give out little 1"x1" tiles as samples and whatnot they also have a lot of neat "rocky" colors. The downside is that if you can't find it for free you have to buy it, and because of its nature being a filled material it will be a bit more costly and harder to get in small quantities.

Acrylic- as the name says it is a base polymer for Corian but it withstands abrasions and heat fairly well, acrylic is also what plexiglass is made out of. Acrylic will be cheaper than corian and more readily available at smaller quantities, but its not as durable as its cousin, corian.

Delrin -This a a very commonly used polymer for sliding gloves it has a good CoF and decent abrasion resistance, and is competitively priced. It's downfall is that it does tend to wear much quicker than the materials mentions above. I have not personally used Delrin just because when it is processed (ie Extruded) a full face mask is required, because the material will off-gas producing nauseous gases similar in effect to formaldehyde. Personal hang up I know but decent material.

Polypropylene - You guessed it, another polymer! This plastic material is generally used in applications that require more durability and toughness than a standard polyethylene. its structure is very similar to polyethylene but it has a higher melting temperature and is tougher than STANDARD PE. This material does wear down faster similar to delrin, but its a great price point material, it can be had at your local mart in the form of cutting boards.

Nylon - more polymers I know I know. Nylon's CoF is great and only rivaled by UHMWPE, yet it is harder and tends to wear slightly faster than UHMWPE. Nylon can also be found in the form of a cutting board but it is sometimes rare. Nylon may not be a great choice just because of its chemistry, its a condensation reaction polymer. A condensation reaction polymer is one that when synthesized its waste product is water (where the condensation comes from). So what this means is that given enough heat and moisture the product will degrade and return to its base "mers". For a short lived sliding glove this probably isn't that big of a deal, yet it is wise to take note of.

Polycarbonate - you may recognize the name, its the formulation for bullet proof glass. Some may say Lexan instead, although lexan is a Dupont trade name and has many different formulations. It will probably be the most expensive of the plastics to get a hold of. Its redeeming properties are having a super high melting point (300 C) and really great abrasion and impact resistance. The downside to polycarbonate is that it can sometimes be brittle, and its much harder than other materials and wont be a soft impact compared to PE or PP. Since there are so many applications of PC it is hard to find the one that will work for sliding, some are hard and brittle and will shatter when used; others are softer and will actually chunk a little and stick to the road. Its a tricky polymer to play with but some people really prefer it.

That concludes the materials section, out of the whole list here UHMWPE has the best CoF and price point for me. at $15 square foot I was sold; a square foot of any material will be enough to make a backup set of sliding pucks. Another selling point for the material is that it is very chemical resistant and used as a low friction matrix in hip implants.

The next thing is where to buy these fancy plastics? I purchased mine from Piedmont Plastics located in Charlotte NC. They have a bunch of different branches throughout the US and are very friendly this is their site Here.

SO now that you have decided on sliding matrix you can move to the other parts, gloves, velcro, and way to consolidate the two. For me it was a quick trip to Walmart and Hobby lobby; I picked up a nice set of workmans gloves for $12. I then proceeded to Hobby lobby for the velcro, I purchases two packs of sew on velcro for $.99 each and then some self adhesive velcro $3.19. I wanted to sew my velcro on just because it seemed better and more reliable than using some contact cement. It also helped that I had a spool of Kevlar laying around. You can use whatever thread you want but I just thought kevlar was cooler because it has a tensile strength five times that of steel.

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Alex-95__ says: Feb 25, 2012. 5:15 PM
just wondering if anyone knows how to stick the spikey half of velcro to the pe pucks that i made out of a cutting board because apparently nothing sticks well to pe?? thanks guys
Tasmanian in reply to Alex-95__Jan 9, 2013. 2:41 AM
heres what I do, i take some left over pieces of grip tape and place on the puck and then glue the velcro using a contact cement. works a charm.
tdawber-mandeno says: Sep 9, 2011. 12:27 AM
what are these for
gl0rious in reply to tdawber-mandenoDec 11, 2012. 3:37 PM
sliding around on a skateboard
pkörffer says: May 6, 2012. 10:34 AM
Ok, this was a nice one.

I decided to change one thing: I glued the velcros to both glove and poly. And I used a cutting board from IK..A instead of the complicated instruction about work pieces.

For german readers, a (slightliy modified) short translation:

Ich habe 2 Sachen geändert, ansonsten ein Tippitoppi Instructable. Die Näherei habe ich mir gespart und stattdessen mit Heißkleber die Klettverschlüsse aufgebracht. Und die fast schon wissenschaftliche Diskussion, was denn nun der beste Werkstoff unter den Polys sein könnte, habe ich mithilfe eines anderen DIY-Forums runterbrechen können... ich habe einfach ein Schneidebrett von I..A genommen. Das Ding kostet 4 Euro ;-) und den Bauhausbesuch konnte ich mir sparen (ist eh Sonntag heute).
Alex-95__ says: Jan 28, 2012. 12:26 AM
just wondering how you sew through a thick glove and velcro without putting your hand inside....could you please tell me??? thanks man, professonal looking!
capn (author) in reply to Alex-95__Feb 13, 2012. 9:12 AM
To start the needle you would pierce the velcro and the glove simultaneously. You have to make sure you only go through the front layer of the glove. With the needle about a quarter of its length in, turn the needle so it points to where you want it to exit. Push the needle through the front glove layer and velcro, that should do it.

Did that make sense?
Alex-95__ in reply to capnFeb 13, 2012. 11:05 AM
haha yea sort of man.....thanks
alex19 says: Jan 17, 2012. 2:47 AM
this is sick, slide gloves are one of the best parts of longboarding
i can't wait to make more videos now


Frame Grabber
hturba says: Sep 26, 2011. 9:10 PM
i did pretty much the same thing here except i used the other side of velcro on the gloves and instead of sticking the velcro to the plastic i just melted the plastic onto the gloves with a blow torch. you get a very solid fit that way. cant take off the pucks once they are on but you just melt new ones onto the old ones when needed.
zcbaker says: Sep 8, 2011. 8:32 PM
I spend a ton of time on my computer or riding my bike and I am confused so I probably missed something somewhere. What are these gloves for???
capn (author) in reply to zcbakerSep 9, 2011. 3:28 AM
These gloves are used to hold a friction media on ones hand while performing "sliding" maneuvers on a longboard, to act as an outrigger to stabilize yourself.
zcbaker in reply to capnSep 14, 2011. 6:16 PM
Oh. OK, thanks. I have never long boarded or skate boarded so your reply helped me a lot.
GlueyMcGee says: Jun 28, 2010. 4:12 PM
is uhmwpe available at walmart, home depot, etc places like that?
capn (author) in reply to GlueyMcGeeJun 28, 2010. 6:56 PM
Not specifically. UHMWPE is more of an engineering material, specialty plastic warehouses will carry it. But Walmart carries cutting boards which are regularly made from Nylon, or other crystalline material which are suitable for slide pucks.
masterochicken in reply to capnFeb 13, 2011. 2:23 AM
Another material that I have found to work extremely well is acrylic, though it can be a bit fragile.
cowscankill says: Jan 16, 2010. 6:50 PM
Do I see a new sport forming---?
Possibly sliding gloves and shoes... sliding around various places sounds fun.
isaac! in reply to cowscankillDec 12, 2010. 3:34 PM
the gloves arent slippery, they are more as armour for your hands on the road. they only slide when you are longboarding at speed.
cowscankill in reply to isaac!Dec 12, 2010. 3:55 PM
Oh, okay, thanks for clarification. My cutting board is kind of... greasy feeling from the plastic type so I assumed the slickness of the material would allow people to slide around.
masterochicken in reply to cowscankillFeb 13, 2011. 2:21 AM
You actually weren't far off at all. Technical longboard sliding has been going on for a while now. However newer puck materials are provding extremely slick and fast slides.
zs says: Feb 3, 2011. 11:23 PM
just a thought on cutting the plastic, i think a hole saw would give a move aesthetically pleasing look. and be more like the pucks you would buy online.
stitches22 says: Aug 5, 2010. 8:50 PM
my gloves made with some cheap $5 gloves i found in home depot, as well as the same velcro you used for $2, and some random cutting board i found in my local foodtown for $5 = $12 gloves! and when i used them i very soon learned the importance of the thumb puck, so i cut out pucks for the thumb, but i need to buy more velcro as i ran out. overall this whole project took about 10 minutes to put together, the velcro sticks perfectly well to the gloves, no need for sewing!
gloves.jpg
stillfatbuthappy says: Jul 29, 2009. 8:36 AM
Does the velcro have to be industrial strength ?
darthdarth4 in reply to stillfatbuthappyJul 29, 2010. 5:47 PM
Yeah it kinda does. I tried the wimpy stuff and the pucks just came off when I was sliding. Not fun at all. I bailed and hit the curb pretty hard. So best go with the industrial strength :D
Zaphod Beeblebrox says: Oct 3, 2009. 5:26 PM
could you make pucks out of wood or steel ?????
cdawg14 in reply to Zaphod BeeblebroxApr 4, 2010. 10:52 PM
 Yes but wood will wear down extremely fast and have a very uneven slide. Steel will heat up and burn your hands. Also steel will be insanely heavy and loud.
vanpaun says: Jul 1, 2009. 2:36 PM
A few notes you should add: UMWHPE is readily available as Marine Lumber, in the form of plain flat sheets, in black and white, in various sizes and thicknesses. Instead of sewing the velcro, witch is challenging, I would recomend a product called jewlers glue. This stuff is 10X stronger, and actually bonds the materials (my gloves got very hot after I stuck the velcro on). All in all, great instructions.
Zaphod Beeblebrox in reply to vanpaunOct 27, 2009. 11:20 AM
were cn u get that glu?
Clayton H. in reply to vanpaunAug 12, 2009. 6:28 PM
is it like Mighty mend it?
vanpaun in reply to vanpaunJul 1, 2009. 2:41 PM
  • Marine lumber from West Marine
ethdem says: Jun 27, 2008. 1:42 PM
Hey, thanks for the help! Here's what mine looks like:
26-06-08_2036.jpg
Zaphod Beeblebrox in reply to ethdemOct 3, 2009. 5:28 PM
looks like cheese...
quesoman in reply to ethdemJun 22, 2009. 9:01 AM
no offense but ur material looks like soap. :-)
capn (author) in reply to ethdemJun 29, 2008. 6:49 AM
wow, holy thick material! looks good!
nomooremr.niceguy says: Jul 16, 2009. 12:56 PM
I know I'm a complete poser, but would this work on a ripstick? Also, it's been mentioned that some people would like convex sliding pucks. You can buy solid acrylic domes from www.usplastic.com . They are sold under the name clear acrylic cabachone (Half-Balls). I just thought I'd trow that out there for anyone who is interested. I think they are pretty cheap, but look at them and let me know.
Zaphod Beeblebrox in reply to nomooremr.niceguySep 4, 2009. 5:57 PM
probably it would work i ripstik
Cann0n says: Aug 14, 2011. 6:01 PM
I made mine out of cutting board, work gloves, and epoxy. It was pretty much free. I had everything I needed. Just rough up the back side f the puck before you epoxy it down.
100_16810.jpg
TYL3RWOLF says: May 16, 2009. 2:42 PM
extremely good job, but I recommend making the finger puck about half that width or maybe make 2 circular pucks and velcrow them on to the index/middle and then another on the ring/pinky...and then also try making the hand puck also a circle and another circular puck on the thumb(it would probably make it easier to pick your board up) but you still did a really nice job......I'm still just gunna buy one though=]
stoopynoonoo says: Jan 2, 2009. 8:28 PM
haha very nice 'ible! following your KISS idealogy, wouldn't it just be much more simpler and practical to just hot glue the pucks? my gloves have a square puck on the palm and individually sanded oblong finger pads(from cutting boards)
capn (author) in reply to stoopynoonooJan 3, 2009. 11:52 PM
I wanted the pucks removable; and I didn't have a hot glue gun, my KISS ideology meant using what I had. Only thing I really bought was the UHMWPE and the Velcro, the other things I had lying around. That and UHMWPE doesn't stick too well to hot glue unless the glue is a special high strength one. And on top of that it would have required some sanding and prep work on the UHMWPE. So no, it wouldn't have been simpler for me.
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