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 Before you or your students throw their first practice rock, you must "clip" the pebble, ("break" the tops.) You should never, never throw practice rocks on new pebble. By the time you throw 32 rocks to knock the pebble down, you are mad because not one rock went right. So, you learned bad habits. New pebble can slow the H-H time by up to 3 seconds and will destroy your practice.  Two Rock Delivery Method Before you can do comparative brushing, you must learn the two rock delivery. The two rock delivery is the ONLY way to match rocks. Matched rocks are absolutely necessary to study COMPARATIVE brushing. The Thomps'on precision ground Tilesert rocks are absolutely matched and will stop within inches of each other EVERY time. The only PROBLEM we have found is : After 6 month's of use, the curl decreased from a start of 3 feet of curl to 9"(with the exact same pebble and ice temperature). The rocks still curl and travel precisely the same but now curl less! I hope Thomps'on can tell me why? I do have a very compelling (now in test) reason why the curl decreased! It may be difficult to throw two rocks at a time without the brush crutch but this is the only true method of comparing rocks (besides doing a running surface "profile" analysis). The two rock delivery is identical to the one rock delivery so assuming you can now do it, we will move on to brushing one rock vs. the other.  Picture of INLINE -push/pull brushing technique (over rock). Note use of 6" out to out wool covered (duffel) brush. The old rule book says your not supposed to brush with the handle over the rock. BUT this rule seems to have been deleted or is simply not enforced. By the time I released the rocks and then slid ahead with my brush, the brushing started about 30' beyond the hogline. Since I was wearing a slider, I also could not apply full power brushing. The results: I found that with the duffel covered brush in this longitudinal inline push-pull 4" stroke that I could extend rock travel by 4 feet . The ice had 3 pebbles and was 13 sec. H-H. I don't mind admitting that I am strongly biased against the value of inline brushing ESPECIALLY with the hair or nylon brush. |
The Reason? Since either of these brushes "hold" little if any accumulated frost on the face (the hair brush holds massive junk up in the hair body to deposit in front of the rock when pressed open and who washes a hair brush?). I feel as you push- pull the hair brush cycle and accumulate some ice crude and frost you then neatly deposit same in front of the rock. More tests are needed. When I find brushers that are a bit strong and little bit smart, I'll do more tests! A test with a hair and nylon brush is in order. With my wool covered brush, the face is coated with frost and ALWAYS has a "pick" on it. I collect picks AFTER the same line has been brushed 6 times with hair and nylon brushes! 3 years experience with the wool covered brushes positively proved to be the best brush cover. In my two-rock tests, I have extended rock travel by up to 8' (one brusher and part ways down sheet). This, again, using a slider and catching up to the rock after delivery about 1/3 sheet. On the particular day of the above test, 90degree brushing extended rock travel by 5' - 6"vs.4' for the over top inline brushing method.  Pictured is the 90 degree brushing technique. Note upright no-strain brushing stance in which it is possible to apply maximum pressure with minimal muscle tension. The bones are in compression with no strain on the muscles (muscles work in tension so as you step back from the rock and bend over, your muscles must do the work in tension. Note the slider instead of gripper on sliding foot since I just released the rocks at the top 12'. I always brush with two grippers to maximize pressure with minimum strain. Two grippers allow the brusher to apply maximum pressure. This technique is a semi-45 degree technique. Why?: As you move forward the brush cycles back and forth and FORWARD at the same time. With high cycles, the brush actually moves in a 45 degree arc because the brush is moving with the rock! This revelation is why I do not like the true 45 degree brushing technique used by EVERYONE but me. In fact the 45 degree brushing method is a semi- inline technique and deposits ice crude in front of the rock on the back swing!!! Brush perpendicular to the centerline. How many times have you watched the pros on TV get a pick the moment they apply 45 degree brushing? Now you know 45 degree brushing IS "inline" brushing and since hair and nylon brushes will not "hold and retain" all "pick" material, they neatly deposit the accumulation in front of the rock. Brushing for distance: The rock travel of one rock vs. the placebo rock turned out to be (on average) about 5' 6"for the 90 degree vs. 4' for the in-line method. Again. We need more tests to substantiate this finding. Tests using hair vs. nylon would substantiate which brush is best to gain distance and stop curl. Of course the small width wool brush controls curl and one vertical power brusher can extend rock travel up to 8+ feet. Go home:  |
