gLOVE making

My glove is in dire need of replacing. A few years ago I hand-made mine using a cloth dusting glove, layering latex over the top (using a combo of dipping my hand straight into the latex, and a syringe to apply to specific areas) to build up thickness. It resulted in a glove that fitted perfectly and was padded in just the right areas. The most important thing is to dry each layer with a hairdryer before starting the next, so it will adhere properly and last the test of time. This was a technique "pioneered" by Stew "Parko" Parkinson of Hobart. The bonus is you can add light-fast dyes to the latex to personalise it (mine was bright pink and purple of course!). Is there anyone in Victoria who would be interested in joining me in a gLOVE making session before the Nationals? I'll look around for some materials (used Shamrock Latex last time, found in art supply stores like Dean's Art in the city).

Not glove making session... I understand it is referred to as a "glove making PARTY" :wink:
Pizza: a must!
you'll need to cover any carpet and wear your worst clothes.

a couple (or 3) of ideas I have seen/done which seem to work very well, and you might want to try when making your glove:

1. a couple of days before the 'Party' pour into a baking tray, a 'good layer' of latex (dyed to your pink/ purple or complementary colour for the base of your glove.)
This will then be sliced (v. sharp blade required) into pretty, or jagged shapes, and glued onto your 'tacky' base glove, with more latex if required, and possibly more latex layers on top.

I think this is the easiest way to make a very pretty glove, which is normally very good to use.
(my last glove was of this type and I am pleased with it.)

Downsides of this: everyone has the same colour (really you want yours to be unique :wink:
2ndly, I am not convinced all padding comes from pure material. (you still might hurt your hand) I think alot of 'padding' is actually air spaces within a material, and unless you do something fancy while the latex is drying in the tray, it is just solid bits of latex. (would most of the energy absorbed by a hit be transfered quickly to your hand?) The next two techniques can get round this.

2. spread v. thin layers of latex out to dry.
(as part of making your base glove there is going to be some of this around anyway:
on the sides of the container,
on the bat you are holding whilst making the glove to ensure it dries with your hand in the right shape.)

Then ROLL parts of these thin layers and stick then to your glove in the right places (as before).
This results in a very UGLY, messy glove, but some people swear by them, because of the amount of air that is now trapped in it, serving as a very good shock absorber.

3. You can buy a thickener for the latex, and it is easier to colour small portions of this mixture (lots of variations :-) ). It can easily be applied with a syringe, (easier than just the latex which might 'run'), and shaken if you want to incorporate air bubbles, or spaces can be left when you are applying the mixture. 'You' can make very fancy gloves with this, (but "I" am not much use at it :wink: ) I never seem to make them thick enough, and the end result never matches the picture in my head that it was going to be!


Pizza - cos you only have one hand available to eat!
I would love to come+ visit, but would involve an expensive flight :-(

Did somebody say Party? Never been to a glove party!! I think a must, think we need some beer!
To bad on flights costs, we will have 1 in vic, nominate Alexandra place.
Cool

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Underwater Hockey Rules!

Hi Alex,

Here's a few tips to help... I've been using this type of glove for years (and many other people been using this for a very long time before Stew Parkinson even started playing). They were first used in WA about 1987 and many of the Australian team used them in the 1988 world champs in Holland.

A cotton dusting glove is very good for a 'competition' glove however is quite flimsy and has two main problems. First it takes longer to make a decent glove as it loses it shape easier and you have to keep it on your hand a lot longer. Second, the cotton will rot and the glove will begin to fall apart sooner because it doesn't have as much latex as a thicker glove.

A thicker polyester/cotton blend glove is easier and more durable, but in the first month or so, it is less flexible and takes a little time to wear in. After this you have a very good general purpose glove for training and general use. If you make a competition glove for worlds or nationals, you may choose to put a little less padding on it to make it lighter and faster.

To get a good coating on the glove and to get a good 'shape' coat your hand in baby (mineral) oil or 'Sorbolene'. Put the glove on your hand and dip into latex. You can use your other hand to force the latex into the fabric or use a cheap paintbrush to help.

Form a skin by drying slightly with a hair dryer whilst holding your stick, occasionally slip the stick out of your hand but still keeping the general "hanging onto your stick" shape of your hand.

Add more layers using the paintbrush. Be patient and add several thinner layers rather than a couple of very thick layers - you will get a much better result.

Once you're happy that you've got a gove that is a good general shape and fit, keep your hand in the gripping shape and begin to add layers of padding by applying latex from a syringe (the best syringe is one available from sports stores to inject a latex/rubber solution into soccer/footballs when the bladder has a puncture. The syringe is usually red and the plunger is white. These tend to be better than the medical syringes. Obviously just squirt out the origina liquid that was in it when you bought it and clean it out before using).

As with the initial latex, add the padding latex in small amounts and quickly skin (dry) with a hair dryer before adding more. If unsure where to apply your padding draw on your glove first where you want to apply the padding. Keep drying and drying. When you think it is dry enough to take your hand out, dry it some more. Then, very, very gently slip your hand out of the glove without stretching the latex/glove.

You should end up with a glove that stays in the shape of your hand whilst holding your stick.

You can add food colouring or latex paint tints to the initial latex.

The latex is called "mould latex" and is available in larger quantities from places such as RLH Polymers ( http://www.rlapolymers.com.au/index.html ) or similar polymer/adhesive companies. You will find this is generally much, much cheaper than from craft shops. Sometimes they will also mix it in thin, medium or thick viscosities.

Also note that do not leave it more than approx 8 hours between layers (if you decide to have a break and fall alseep or something) as the next layer of latex will probably not adhere to the previous layer. It may appear to, but will later begin to de-laminate when using it. Lastly, do not use the glove for at least 2 - 3 days after making it. The latex must 'cure' by drying for a couple of days or else it will once again begin to fall apart when using it in the water. The first time you put it in the water it will probably change colour from when you originally made it and it will go back and forward between getting lighter and darker over time depending on if it is very, very dry or is wet etc.

Sorry, this started out as a quick note, but turned into something much longer. Hope it helps.

Kelly

nice kelly.

the guide above is great, that pretty much covers it all, i only have a couple of little things you could also try...

mixing poster paint into the latex for colour generally works fine, but i'd keep it to small quantities, as too much seems to weaken the rubber, but essentially all it's adding is water, which is what thickeners add also... latex thats thickened just has more water in it and will need to take a wee bit longer to cure. least thats what some expert guy told me.

as an alternative to the syringe method, you can grab an old-school mophead with nice fat cotton rolls and chop the rolls into lengths... either soak the lengths in latex and then apply to the glove or... a better way i think is put a thin layer of latex on the areas you want to pad, then while its still wet or sticky press your cotton length on in your desired pattern. then add layers over the top of the cotton and it makes a latex tube with cotton in the middle. very easy to make webbing patterns etc similar to if you were using the syringe method. you can double up to make it nice and padded but it stays light and flexy.

makes very effective padding and can be done quite quickly if your in a rush.

i end up using a combination of techniques... i do a couple of early layers as kelly outlines for shape, then add some cotton mop-string padding on the knuckles, upper fingers and thumb for heavy padding, and use sparing padding on the back of the hand or syringe padding there as its lighter. i just use a few bits of crepe bandage on the lower fingers papier mache style to get some tough but thinner padding there.... or if i'm feeling really tricky i stick the crepe bandage to the lower fingers with latex but leave the outside unlatexed, and then later put a layer of silicone on, mushing it into the crepe to anchor it, as i find silicone a wee bit faster on the tiles and the lower fingers are where my glove contacts the tiles most. it seems to work, well enough for me to have done it more than once despite the extra effort.

those fingers only just last a worlds though!

liam

are you going to do a glove making session, if so when and were?
if not were would i get one of those gloves?

Thanks
Jordyn

Hey Jordon, you can bye pre made gloves on line in Australia,
go to
www.true-blue.com.au
they have bats, caps, gloves, finkeapers and more. I bye from them all the time.
Belle

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Underwater Hockey Rules!

Just a few things to add to Kelly's thesis on glove making.

I finally got around to making a new glove last night, something which I've put off for 12 months now, after keeping my old glove held together with the trusty electrical tape! I've been putting it off as I know it's something that can't be rushed if you want a good result and can take 4-6 hours if done properly.

I agree with Kelly on making light weight gloves using cotton gloves as a base, but as he said they do tend to desintergrate in the chlorine. I had previously used some lightweight synthetic gloves as a base which lasted very well. I got these in the UK and haven't been able to get a hold of them since. This time I used a slightly heavier glove as a base which is made out of Kevlar, which should stand up well to the chlorine. These are available from most safety supply shops. They are also a bit thicker which absorbs the initial layers of latex to give a good base.

The rest of Kelly's tecnique is pretty much the same as what I have used for the past 18 years. The only thing I do differently is as an alternative to using a syringe to built the padding I just dab it on with a paint brush. Just a different way to achieve a similar result.

Also the longer you can leave it to cure properly before use the better. I normally sit mine on the dash board of the car to use the heat for curing. You do get a lot of strange looks from other drivers though!

Yep, Gav is right. The best glove that you can use is actually the inner glove that is worn under the metallic-mesh boning/butchers gloves. They are lightweight, soft and seem to be quite resiliant to chlorine etc.

and also, curing properly is essential if you want the glove to last.

hand shoes make or buy?

Yes I have sometimes heard that complete teams will go an afternoon with their hand heigh to sit and make a glove. Unfortunately in the The Netherlands those teams hold all knowledge about making gloves and we in tilburg had to make our own design glove, we are at the moment with the fifth model busy. Also we are looking how to make those in serial. When we did test them past month in the competition, there came already 8 teams to our team or they simply could buy gloves of us. Ours glove have been made of a nylon or cotton glove and two components silliconen line underlayer and protection. In 15 minutes the glove is ready to use.

A short party maybe then?

some photos: