How to Mount Tennis Shoes on Skates
You don't have to spend an arm and a leg on your next pair of roller skates; in fact, a fun, affordable idea is to mount a comfortable pair of tennis shoes on an inexpensive plate and start rolling. There's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to mounting skates correctly, but a glue mount keeps things light and a little bit simpler.
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Instructions
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Start out with a pair of comfortable tennis shoes with a bit of life left in them. Soccer shoes work well, but any pair of flat, smooth-soled sneakers do the trick.
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Select a pair of skate plates just 1 or 2 inches shorter than your sneakers; you can find used skate plates online for not too much money.
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Apply a strong adhesive to the top side of your skate plates; the top is the flat side that sits against the tennis shoe.
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Decide where to mount your skate plates; they should run through the center of the skate. More advanced skaters often prefer a "short, forward" mount -- where the plate is positioned toward the heel of the skate rather than toward the front -- for added agility. Novices prefer the plate mounted closer to the heel because it grants them greater stability.
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Glue each plate in place; position the plates the same way on both skates, or the skates won't be steady.
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Clamp each skate to its plate, and allow it to dry for 24 hours before attempting to test the skates.
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Tips & Warnings
Shoe Goo or Gorilla Glue are two types of glue that work well for this project.
You can opt for a bolt mount, but you need more supplies for this; besides, glue works better with most tennis shoes because tennis shoe soles aren't usually thick enough for a bolt mount.
Exercise caution when testing your new skates; if you didn't mount them right, they can break or separate from the sneakers, putting you at risk for bodily harm.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
