Just read an interesting review on the Roller-Skid.  The new customer was very happy with the Roller-Skid after replacing the Solid Polymer Ariens Skid that he had on his machine prior.  The fact is, the plastic skids still wear down (possibly faster than the steel skids?)... which results in the height of the scraper bar dropping down! This now results in the scraper bar doing just what you don't want it to do on your nice driveway and walkway surfaces: SCRAPING!

We're pretty happy here at Raftery Design Today! We've just received word from our legal office that the Roller-Skids and the Universal Adapter Brackets have both been granted US PATENTS!

Visit to H.D. Reynolds

OK, this is what it's all about. Seriously... When I got into this "World of Snow Blowing" I knew next to nothing. So how did I become so damn smart? A lot of blowing snow... and YouTube!

Some of the coolest videos I hit on were cranked out by a very knowledgeable gentleman by the name of Jim Reynolds of H.D. Reynolds of Cheshire, Massachusetts. Thanks to Jim I first learned what a Scraper Bar was and how to get it set to where I wanted it. Pretty simple stuff, huh? Well, if you don't know what these things are, you can do a lot of damage to both your driveway and your machine. I have used some of the things I learned to draw up the Installation Sheet for the Roller-Skid.

I was so impressed with Jim's videos that I stopped to visit him in Cheshire, MA this week on my way back from Boston where I was visiting my daughter. Jim and I had a great time talking and I got a chance to show him the new Universal Adapter Bracket that allows any skid shoe to fit practically any snow blower. I use the term "practically" because I am not familiar with all the machines out there... yet. Jim in turn showed me a spray can of Fluid Film that he suggested might go a long way to help keep the Roller-Skid, as well as the auger box and chute from icing up. This stuff looks to be terrific... but man does it smell! It is made with a lanolin base and smells like a wet sheep in heat. Please understand that I am only guessing that this is what they smell like and have no personal experience to validate this claim. I can't wait to give this stuff a try! I may even try a shot of Fluid Film under my mower deck. I believe it's about $10/10.75 oz. can at your local Power Equipment Dealer.

Meeting folks like Jim is what makes this whole adventure worthwhile for me.

Universal Adapter Brackets

Jump ahead one year. It is now 2011... I have been through a full Winter and I am finding that the No.1 Complaint from my customers was that the Roller-Skid did not fit their machine. I figured I was being pretty clever by simply making the slots a little wider to accommodate both 3" (Ariens) and 2-3/4" (MTD) bolt centers... but I was still not addressing the John Deere and Husqvarna owners who had bolt centers of 2" and 2-1/2". To compound the problem, the inherent design of the Roller-Skid with a wheel in the center made it difficult to locate nuts and bolts in this area. That's when I started to work on a Universal Adapter Bracket that had infinite Center To Center (CTC) positions which would make it possible for the Roller-Skid to fit to any 2-Stage Snow Blower by simply rotating the brackets. What I wasn't anticipating was that because of its "Universal" nature it was also capable of mounting ANY skid to practically ANY snow blower! I use the word "practically" because I don't claim to be familiar with every machine out there (yet).


Another problem that the new brackets solved for me involved the new line of Sno-Tek Snow Blowers that Ariens introduced. The mounting bolts for this product were located 2" above the bottom edge of the auger box. Most machines are 3/4" to 1" above the edge. What this meant was that the wheel of the Roller-Skid just barely contacted the surface when it was adjusted fully down. But now, because of the new Universal Adapter Bracket it can be extended down with plenty of room for adjustment.

This product will be available in this Fall for about $15.95 retail. All of the attaching hardware is included.

OK, so now I've decided that incorporating a wheel into the middle of the skid is a great idea, but is cast iron the right material for my wheel? Fact is, I'm not only trying to make my life easier... but I'm also aware that by rolling over the surface, I'm not damaging the surfaces any more. I learned this by talking to some contacts I made at Ariens. (Great folks by the way!) They informed me that equally important, the roller-skid design I was working on would protect surfaces. This was becoming increasingly important with all the stamped, decorative concrete driveways and walkways out there. Back to the cast iron wheel. I found that the cast iron wheels still scratched my concrete when turning through corners so I became more convinced that a Nylon wheel was the solution. Even though it would be necessary to replace them from time to time I felt it would be worth it.

... to continue, I found that most of my exhaustion was caused because I was constantly fighting with the machine to keep it moving in a straight line. This was because the steel skids were scraping, grabbing and pulling me from side to side depending which skid was encountering the most resistance. This was because of areas on my driveway that had more or less snow covering the surface. Heaven help me if the right skid hit a bare concrete and the left skid was on ice.

The original fix I came up with was simply attaching a wheel where the skid was bolted onto the side of the auger box. This was great until I hit just ice and snow... and then I missed the skid! It was at that time that it occurred to me: WHY NOT HAVE BOTH?!

to be continued...

Putting On The Skids On

Just the OPPOSITE of "putting on the skids"...I'm ramping up for my second Winter of supplying my new Roller-Skid for Snow Blowers everywhere! Last winter (2010-2011) was my first year and it turned out better than I had hoped. To be truthful, I didn't really have any expectations, only an obsession to get these things out there so more people could blow snow! To make a long story short, I turned 60 and bought a snow blower thinking it was going to be like mowing the lawn. Wow, was I in for a surprise! I was faced with going back into the house after only half an hour and confessing to my wife that I just got my butt kicked. I was exhausted! That's how it all started. I spent the entire Winter mocking up quite a number of solutions that resulted in the Roller-Skid. As time permits I will share more about how all of this came about... and where it's headed. Please stay tuned.