Anti-skate studs – A complete guide

Choosing the right anti-skate stud

It’s important to select the right tool for any job and anti-skate studs are no different. With a vast array of skate deterrents available, it can be hard to know which one is best for the job. This guide aims to lift the load and break down the key points to consider and features of the anti-skate studs available.

What is needed from an anti-skate stud?

The most pertinent question that needs to be asked is, what do we need the anti-skate stud to do? The answer to this question, generally, is to prevent those looking to misuse surfaces of street furniture, walls, railings, and installations from being able to do so. Along with this main concern they need to be non-intrusive for the rest of the public and at the same time look somewhat attractive and not out of place.

The next concern is quality, they need to be of sufficient quality that they don’t fall out of their installation point, rust and corrode, or are able to be removed through vandalism.

Anti-skate materials

The most common form of material used for manufacturing anti-skate is studs stainless steel. This is due to its hardwearing nature, weathering resistance, and impact resistance. Our anti-skate studs are made from the gold standard of stainless steel which is 316L stainless steel. 316L is marine-grade, meaning it has enhanced weather-resistant properties over cheaper stainless steel like 303 or 304 stainless. When installed in even the most extreme environments there will be very little in the way of corrosion over time, ensuring their longevity and performance. For more on 316L stainless steel, you can read our detailed summary here.

The key to a good anti-skate stud is a hardwearing metal as they’re going to be outdoors subject to rain, sleet, and snow, and will end up with carbon deposits on them if installed near roads. Anti-skate studs aren’t something that anyone wants to replace often, as over time the cost builds up and it will eventually weaken the surface they’re installed into if they are taken out and reinstalled frequently.

Anti-skate shape and key dimensions

The shape of the anti-skate stud is not just an aesthetic measure, it’s normally dependent on the type of surface they’re to be installed onto. For example, some studs feature varying internal radii so that they overhang a corner for increased stability and coverage of the area. There are multiple options for various radii and at that point, it comes down to personal preference on design. The elongated studs also help cover a larger proportion of the wall, again adding to that stability and coverage.

If we take walls as the primary installation surface and consider bricks and coping, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A brick will have a 90-degree angle (generally), but coping can have a wide array of external radii. This matters because when installing an anti-skate stud, we commonly want the stud to overhang and sit flush with the external face of the wall. This overhanging prevents the circumvention of the stud and ensures that the stud has a higher level of impact resistance.

Studs that feature an internal radius:

4mm Internal Radius – Bar Anti-Skate Stud
4mm Internal Radius – Torpedo Anti-Skate Stud
4mm Internal Radius – Sphere Anti-Skate Stud
5mm Internal Radius – Lozenge Anti-Skate Stud
20mm Internal Radius – Torpedo Anti-Skate Stud

There is also the option to use studs with no internal radii, these studs are more universal as they can sit on any wall, coping, or street furniture with very little issue. These may be called for if there’s anything blocking the overhang of radiused studs, there’s an uncommon radius to the wall or coping, or purely out of aesthetic preference.

Studs with no internal radius i.e., sit flush on a flat wall or coping:

Hemisphere Anti-Skate Stud
Sleeper Anti-Skate Stud

In terms of protecting handrails, we designed a stud to fit on most handrails currently in use. Our handrail anti-skate stud fits 50mm diameter handrails. The internal radius matches that of the railing for a flush fit, allowing it to blend seamlessly.

Another important aspect of the design of anti-skate studs is their rounded frames, they feature no sharp edges so that anyone who encounters them won’t get caught or injure themselves. They simply serve as a deterrent or buffer for anyone looking to grind along the wall edge. Their appearance alone is usually enough to prevent any attempts.

Anti-skate fixing methods

A vital part of selecting an anti-skate stud is how they’re to be fixed to a wall, coping, or handrail. It should be so secure that they’re not going to come away either due to time, or vandalism. Our preference for wall mounted anti-skate studs is through drilling and epoxy resin, as this creates a long-lasting hold that’s generally impervious to weathering. As resin fills cavities left behind by the drill it seals out the external environment ensuring that moisture won’t build up inside. We add M8 pins to our anti-skate studs for that extra purchase for the resin, as it increases the surface area the resin has available to bind onto. The small grooves make it nigh on impossible to pull the studs out of their fixing. Anti-skate studs are available with smooth pins, but our preference is in the M8 stud for that added longevity and security.

Our handrail anti-skate stud is fixed to a rail by drilling through the rail and inserting a security fixing. This security fixing possesses a six-lobe pin preventing anyone from removing it with a standard Philips head or flathead screwdriver.

Summary

The anti-skate stud needed is often dictated by the surface and situation it’s going to be installed in. Once the questions of where it’s going to be installed and the external radius of the surface have been answered the next step is assessing the inherent key features needed from the stud. With the vital points being longevity and material, the installation method, and the aesthetic. For our money, in the case of anti-skate studs mounted on walls, we recommend 316L stainless steel, and drill and resin, but the aesthetic is purely in the eye of the beholder.