TWEAKING 101
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Coaches,
I put this page together to help anyone who is having problems with the "new" bases. This is focused primarily on the Miggle product. Both the TTC and Rookie bases. But for the most part it will work on any base. This page is also directed at non-boiled bases, again some of these tips will work there as well.
Tools:
1 Hobby sized pair of needle nose pliers
1 Lighter
1 Nail clipper (straight/ blunt edged not curved)
1 Fine pair of tweezers
Fact Number One:
The reason that the Miggle bases do not perform up to par is simple. In the manufacturing process flash is left on the prong. This flash inhibits the bases ability to perform. If you look at any of the older Tudor bases you’ll notice for the most part how well the prongs are formed. Take a magnifying glass and examine a Miggle rookie or ttc base. You will see the flash that I’m talking about. The question here now is how do you remove it?
Flash Removal:
The easiest why to accomplish this is boil the base. Boiling will help to dissolve this flash. But remember here we looking at methods other than boiling. So what do we do?
Method 1:
1) One way of removing flash is to use a lighter.
2) What you do here is take a base and hold the lighter under it about one inch (experiment hear to see what works for you) away.
3) Position the lighter under one set of prongs (rookie base) or one prong (ttc base).
4) "Flick" the lighter on and off.
5) Let the prong(s) cool and inspect it.
6) See if the flash is removed. If not go to step 4 and repeat the process.
7) After you finish with the first set of prongs proceed on to the next grouping.
8) Repeat this process on the remaining sets of prongs.
9) Test the base
Method 2:
Get your straight/ blunt nose clippers
Take a base and clip off the very end the prong.
For rookie bases clip the two prongs at a time in each corner of the base.
Try to remove only a 1/32nd or less on each prong end. Just enough to remove the flash.
Cut all prongs straight!
Repeat this process on all remaining sets of prongs.
Test the base
Well if you followed the instructions above there is a good chance that your bases will be going anywhere but straight. But at least they will be moving. So let’s tune them up!
Take the needle nose pliers and a base.
Examine the base and "eyeball’ the prongs. Some will be shorter or longer than others.
Start on the back prongs.
Take the pliers and gently pull the prong from top to bottom.
The idea here is to stretch the prong out evenly. If you don’t the base is junk.
Slowly with very little pressure pull the prong from top to bottom allowing the pliers to slip down slowly as you pull.
This step will be repeated many times on each prong!
The goal again here is to stretch the prong evenly.
Another goal here is to try to even out all the prongs.
Work slowly and take your time.
Test the base until you get the desired result, a well moving base!
OK, I can hear you now. The base goes, but it doesn’t go straight! This is the next step in tuning.
All you have to do is remember, if a base is turning to the left the prongs on that side of the base are shorter.
Likewise if the base is turning to the right the prongs are shorter on the right side.
To fix this problem, just lengthen the prongs on the side to which the base is turning.
Always work on the one set of prongs at a time.
Always work first on the prong(s) that appear to be shorter.
Test the base after each pull until you get the desired results.
Be patient!
If you followed all the steps listed above you should have a fairly good running base. The trick now is to give it some strength or speed!
For Strength - Rookie Base
Pull both rear sets of prongs out a little more.
The base, when put down on a game board should be "jacked up" in the rear.
This will give the base more strength.
If you want more strength gently curl the front prongs on the very end of the prong. Use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
Also set the back prongs so that they look like this " \ " straight but angled. Again use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
The final step to get more strength is to flatten the rear prongs.
Take the pliers and squeeze the rear prongs until they’re flat.
On step 7 there are two schools of thought.
Flatten the entire prong or
Flatten just the last ¼"
Both will work and this is something you can experiment with.
For Strength – TTC Base (just a slight difference)
Pull both rear sets of prongs out a little more.
The base, when put down on a game board should be "jacked up" in the rear.
This will give the base more strength.
If you want more strength gently curl the rear prongs on the very end of the prong. Use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
Also set the front prongs so that they look like this " \ " straight but angled. Again use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
The final step to get more strength is to flatten the rear prongs.
Take the pliers and squeeze the rear prongs until they’re flat.
Remember to re curl the rear prongs after step 7 is complete.
On step 7 there are two schools of thought.
Flatten the entire prong or
Flatten just the last ¼"
Both will work and this is something you can experiment with.
For Speed – Rookie/ TTC Base
Pull both front and rear sets of prongs out a little more.
The base, when put down on a game board should be "jacked up" evenly.
This process will give the base more speed.
If you still want more speed in a rookie base cut out the inside prongs.
Also position the rear prongs in a more upright manor.
Final step here is to hit the base again with the lighter for a little more speed.
The Keys to Success!
Take your time.
Be prepared to ruin some bases.
Be patient.
Test after each step.
Be as exacting as you can be.
Experiment.
Don’t get frustrated and have some fun!
The best way to understand how prongs work is to think of them as shock absorbers on a car. The prong is there to absorb the vibration from the game board. By stretching the prong it makes the plastic more supple. Therefore it enables the base to maintain contact with the board and produce forward movement. This fact alone is why many coaches boil their bases as it produces almost the same result. It makes the prong soft and supple, a very good combination!
This leads us to how do you make a base stronger or faster. Start off by using either the pulling or boiling techniques on a base. If you are looking for strength you want to increase the friction between the game board and the prong. The simplest and most legal way is to increase the contact area of the prong. Take a set of needle nose pliers and flatten the bottom half of the prong by squeezing it. Work the back prongs first whether you are using rookie or ttc style bases. Make sure that the bottom edge of the prong is flat, as we want to have maximum drag. To do assure this you might have to trim the bottom edge of the prong(s) flat with a straight edge clipper. You can gain some additional strength by using this same technique on the front prongs but in many cases you will loose the bases mobility (it will be slowww).
To manipulate a base to gain more speed we need to decrease the contact area. Which again is between the playing surface and the prong. There are a couple of methods that can achieve the desired results.
Trim the lower edge of the prong with a clipper. That is to say cut the prong vertically so the prong contact area is reduced
Remove the inside prongs (rookie base). (This step can work with both items 1 and 3)
Shape the prong in the "pulling" stage. This is done by not only pulling the prong on the wide flat side but by the narrow side as well. This will allow you to shape the prong to have a very small contact patch.
So hopefully I either answered some questions or created more questions. If you not sure what the heck I’m talking about, read the Base Manipulation 101 post I put out a while ago (just use search). If you follow what I outlined there and use the steps above you should be well on your way!
Next time we’ll talk about how to make an unblockable wideout!
Here's a recipe guaranteed to dramatically improve you field presence. Prepare a thick cooking pot by filling it with about five inches of water. Pour enough Baby Oil on top of the water to coat top of the water about one half inch. Bring the water and oil to a steady boil, then dump your bases into the mix (If you're using TTC bases, put them together before placing them in the water). Turn down the heat until your have a simmering boil, and "cook" the bases for 12-15 minutes, stirring constantly to keep the bases from sticking together. Make sure you don't overload the pot with bases, give them room to swim. After 12-15 minutes of cooking, remove the bases from the pot and place them prong-side up on a towel for 10-15 minutes. Then give the bases a generous bath in soapy dishwater. Place the bases back on the towel, prong side up, and let them sit for two days. You can then "train" the bases by using a toothpick or exacto knive to curl the prongs. With rookie bases, curl the front prongs back (the bigger the curl, the greater the strength and slower the player. Push the back prongs backward, at a slant. ( Front = JJ Back = //) With the TTC bases, keep the front prongs straight and curve the back prongs to make them behave. It takes about two hours to boil and train 12 bases. Now you can do it yourself.
Boiling bases does improve the strength and speed of bases. It can also make a bad base good and a good base great. But there are a few things you need to know...
Here's what you do first gather your materials:
a. Rubber gloves, so you don't get burned
b. Hemostats to grab the bases from the water, available at any hobby store
c. Small needle nose pliers with no grooves on the inside of the pliers.
d. The bases you want to boil.
e. Get a timer.
f. Get baby oil. Baby oil is the secret ingredient! (No other kind of oil works)
Begin by:
1. Get a pot of water and set it on the stove. (Don't make it a big pot).
2. Pour baby oil into the water so that when it separates, you have a 1 inch layer of baby oil on top of the water. (water and oil separate and you will be able to see the oil on top of the water).
3. Bring the water/oil to a low boil, so that big air bubbles are slightly coming up to the surface. (if you bring it to a full boil, water/oil sloshing about, it will be too hot and melt the bases and also make a huge mess).
4. Put a TTC base in and let it boil for 10-12 minutes. Make sure the front dial is out of the base.
5. After 10-12 minutes, pull the base out of the water with your hemostats. Make sure you have gloves on as the base will burn you when you go to grab it. Take your needle nose pliers and squeeze the back prongs of the base so they flatten out and get wider.
6. Put the dial back in the base and put a player on the base. Set the base on a flat surface. Let cool and dry. After one hour, take the player off the base and set the base in the freezer overnight. Let thaw and rinse off with cold water.
7. You should now have one tough base!
Notes:
- I boil 4 bases at a time and I begin taking them out one at a time after two minutes not exceeding 6 minutes.
- Only squeeze the back prongs of the base.
- If you boil the base with the dial in it, do not squeeze the front prongs, they will become too soft and will collapse under the weight of the base.
- Squeezing the back prongs (wider and flatter) makes them stronger.
- You don't have to squeeze the prongs of every base. Some bases get faster just from boiling with no squeezing of the prongs.
- Dark green bases boil very well. Tudor Light green bases tend to melt the prongs if you leave them in too long. Rookie bases from the 70s tend to shrink when boiled. Be careful with rookie bases.
- The new Miggle bases, rookie and TTC boil very well.
wally jabs nyefl (giants)
I put this page together to help anyone who is having problems with the "new" bases. This is focused primarily on the Miggle product. Both the TTC and Rookie bases. But for the most part it will work on any base. This page is also directed at non-boiled bases, again some of these tips will work there as well.
Tools:
1 Hobby sized pair of needle nose pliers
1 Lighter
1 Nail clipper (straight/ blunt edged not curved)
1 Fine pair of tweezers
Fact Number One:
The reason that the Miggle bases do not perform up to par is simple. In the manufacturing process flash is left on the prong. This flash inhibits the bases ability to perform. If you look at any of the older Tudor bases you’ll notice for the most part how well the prongs are formed. Take a magnifying glass and examine a Miggle rookie or ttc base. You will see the flash that I’m talking about. The question here now is how do you remove it?
Flash Removal:
The easiest why to accomplish this is boil the base. Boiling will help to dissolve this flash. But remember here we looking at methods other than boiling. So what do we do?
Method 1:
1) One way of removing flash is to use a lighter.
2) What you do here is take a base and hold the lighter under it about one inch (experiment hear to see what works for you) away.
3) Position the lighter under one set of prongs (rookie base) or one prong (ttc base).
4) "Flick" the lighter on and off.
5) Let the prong(s) cool and inspect it.
6) See if the flash is removed. If not go to step 4 and repeat the process.
7) After you finish with the first set of prongs proceed on to the next grouping.
8) Repeat this process on the remaining sets of prongs.
9) Test the base
Method 2:
Get your straight/ blunt nose clippers
Take a base and clip off the very end the prong.
For rookie bases clip the two prongs at a time in each corner of the base.
Try to remove only a 1/32nd or less on each prong end. Just enough to remove the flash.
Cut all prongs straight!
Repeat this process on all remaining sets of prongs.
Test the base
Well if you followed the instructions above there is a good chance that your bases will be going anywhere but straight. But at least they will be moving. So let’s tune them up!
Take the needle nose pliers and a base.
Examine the base and "eyeball’ the prongs. Some will be shorter or longer than others.
Start on the back prongs.
Take the pliers and gently pull the prong from top to bottom.
The idea here is to stretch the prong out evenly. If you don’t the base is junk.
Slowly with very little pressure pull the prong from top to bottom allowing the pliers to slip down slowly as you pull.
This step will be repeated many times on each prong!
The goal again here is to stretch the prong evenly.
Another goal here is to try to even out all the prongs.
Work slowly and take your time.
Test the base until you get the desired result, a well moving base!
OK, I can hear you now. The base goes, but it doesn’t go straight! This is the next step in tuning.
All you have to do is remember, if a base is turning to the left the prongs on that side of the base are shorter.
Likewise if the base is turning to the right the prongs are shorter on the right side.
To fix this problem, just lengthen the prongs on the side to which the base is turning.
Always work on the one set of prongs at a time.
Always work first on the prong(s) that appear to be shorter.
Test the base after each pull until you get the desired results.
Be patient!
If you followed all the steps listed above you should have a fairly good running base. The trick now is to give it some strength or speed!
For Strength - Rookie Base
Pull both rear sets of prongs out a little more.
The base, when put down on a game board should be "jacked up" in the rear.
This will give the base more strength.
If you want more strength gently curl the front prongs on the very end of the prong. Use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
Also set the back prongs so that they look like this " \ " straight but angled. Again use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
The final step to get more strength is to flatten the rear prongs.
Take the pliers and squeeze the rear prongs until they’re flat.
On step 7 there are two schools of thought.
Flatten the entire prong or
Flatten just the last ¼"
Both will work and this is something you can experiment with.
For Strength – TTC Base (just a slight difference)
Pull both rear sets of prongs out a little more.
The base, when put down on a game board should be "jacked up" in the rear.
This will give the base more strength.
If you want more strength gently curl the rear prongs on the very end of the prong. Use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
Also set the front prongs so that they look like this " \ " straight but angled. Again use the fine set of tweezers to do this.
The final step to get more strength is to flatten the rear prongs.
Take the pliers and squeeze the rear prongs until they’re flat.
Remember to re curl the rear prongs after step 7 is complete.
On step 7 there are two schools of thought.
Flatten the entire prong or
Flatten just the last ¼"
Both will work and this is something you can experiment with.
For Speed – Rookie/ TTC Base
Pull both front and rear sets of prongs out a little more.
The base, when put down on a game board should be "jacked up" evenly.
This process will give the base more speed.
If you still want more speed in a rookie base cut out the inside prongs.
Also position the rear prongs in a more upright manor.
Final step here is to hit the base again with the lighter for a little more speed.
The Keys to Success!
Take your time.
Be prepared to ruin some bases.
Be patient.
Test after each step.
Be as exacting as you can be.
Experiment.
Don’t get frustrated and have some fun!
The best way to understand how prongs work is to think of them as shock absorbers on a car. The prong is there to absorb the vibration from the game board. By stretching the prong it makes the plastic more supple. Therefore it enables the base to maintain contact with the board and produce forward movement. This fact alone is why many coaches boil their bases as it produces almost the same result. It makes the prong soft and supple, a very good combination!
This leads us to how do you make a base stronger or faster. Start off by using either the pulling or boiling techniques on a base. If you are looking for strength you want to increase the friction between the game board and the prong. The simplest and most legal way is to increase the contact area of the prong. Take a set of needle nose pliers and flatten the bottom half of the prong by squeezing it. Work the back prongs first whether you are using rookie or ttc style bases. Make sure that the bottom edge of the prong is flat, as we want to have maximum drag. To do assure this you might have to trim the bottom edge of the prong(s) flat with a straight edge clipper. You can gain some additional strength by using this same technique on the front prongs but in many cases you will loose the bases mobility (it will be slowww).
To manipulate a base to gain more speed we need to decrease the contact area. Which again is between the playing surface and the prong. There are a couple of methods that can achieve the desired results.
Trim the lower edge of the prong with a clipper. That is to say cut the prong vertically so the prong contact area is reduced
Remove the inside prongs (rookie base). (This step can work with both items 1 and 3)
Shape the prong in the "pulling" stage. This is done by not only pulling the prong on the wide flat side but by the narrow side as well. This will allow you to shape the prong to have a very small contact patch.
So hopefully I either answered some questions or created more questions. If you not sure what the heck I’m talking about, read the Base Manipulation 101 post I put out a while ago (just use search). If you follow what I outlined there and use the steps above you should be well on your way!
Next time we’ll talk about how to make an unblockable wideout!
Here's a recipe guaranteed to dramatically improve you field presence. Prepare a thick cooking pot by filling it with about five inches of water. Pour enough Baby Oil on top of the water to coat top of the water about one half inch. Bring the water and oil to a steady boil, then dump your bases into the mix (If you're using TTC bases, put them together before placing them in the water). Turn down the heat until your have a simmering boil, and "cook" the bases for 12-15 minutes, stirring constantly to keep the bases from sticking together. Make sure you don't overload the pot with bases, give them room to swim. After 12-15 minutes of cooking, remove the bases from the pot and place them prong-side up on a towel for 10-15 minutes. Then give the bases a generous bath in soapy dishwater. Place the bases back on the towel, prong side up, and let them sit for two days. You can then "train" the bases by using a toothpick or exacto knive to curl the prongs. With rookie bases, curl the front prongs back (the bigger the curl, the greater the strength and slower the player. Push the back prongs backward, at a slant. ( Front = JJ Back = //) With the TTC bases, keep the front prongs straight and curve the back prongs to make them behave. It takes about two hours to boil and train 12 bases. Now you can do it yourself.
Boiling bases does improve the strength and speed of bases. It can also make a bad base good and a good base great. But there are a few things you need to know...
Here's what you do first gather your materials:
a. Rubber gloves, so you don't get burned
b. Hemostats to grab the bases from the water, available at any hobby store
c. Small needle nose pliers with no grooves on the inside of the pliers.
d. The bases you want to boil.
e. Get a timer.
f. Get baby oil. Baby oil is the secret ingredient! (No other kind of oil works)
Begin by:
1. Get a pot of water and set it on the stove. (Don't make it a big pot).
2. Pour baby oil into the water so that when it separates, you have a 1 inch layer of baby oil on top of the water. (water and oil separate and you will be able to see the oil on top of the water).
3. Bring the water/oil to a low boil, so that big air bubbles are slightly coming up to the surface. (if you bring it to a full boil, water/oil sloshing about, it will be too hot and melt the bases and also make a huge mess).
4. Put a TTC base in and let it boil for 10-12 minutes. Make sure the front dial is out of the base.
5. After 10-12 minutes, pull the base out of the water with your hemostats. Make sure you have gloves on as the base will burn you when you go to grab it. Take your needle nose pliers and squeeze the back prongs of the base so they flatten out and get wider.
6. Put the dial back in the base and put a player on the base. Set the base on a flat surface. Let cool and dry. After one hour, take the player off the base and set the base in the freezer overnight. Let thaw and rinse off with cold water.
7. You should now have one tough base!
Notes:
- I boil 4 bases at a time and I begin taking them out one at a time after two minutes not exceeding 6 minutes.
- Only squeeze the back prongs of the base.
- If you boil the base with the dial in it, do not squeeze the front prongs, they will become too soft and will collapse under the weight of the base.
- Squeezing the back prongs (wider and flatter) makes them stronger.
- You don't have to squeeze the prongs of every base. Some bases get faster just from boiling with no squeezing of the prongs.
- Dark green bases boil very well. Tudor Light green bases tend to melt the prongs if you leave them in too long. Rookie bases from the 70s tend to shrink when boiled. Be careful with rookie bases.
- The new Miggle bases, rookie and TTC boil very well.
wally jabs nyefl (giants)
