I would really like to have some larger grips on some of my mass produced paddles - Viking, Werner etc.
Has anyone out there actually removed the factory grips and replaced them?
How did you remove them?
How were the new ones attached?
I was thinking a heat gun would loosen any glues and epoxy would glue things back together again but before I started, any actual experience do's and don'ts would be great.
Thanks in advance.
T-Grip replacement
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With wooden grips and plugs in carbon or FG shafts, sometimes I have just sawed the t-grip and stem down until I was left with a tenon, and then I made the new grip, including a mortise to fit the tenon.
If the original paddle has a plastic grip and plug, like a Norse, it may be necessary to extract the plug and then put in a piece of dowel. Being superstitious, I slightly taper the downside end of the dowel to avoid a sharp strain transition line. I have not ever tried to remove a plug by heating.
On a wood shaft paddle, you want to do like in my first paragraph, getting the original grip off (usually having to sacrifice it) while retaining a usable tenon.
On two occasions I had cut paddles too short (trying experimental grips that didn't work) and faced a need to lengthen each paddle again. In the more interesting case, I had to add 2 1/2 inches between the top of the carbon shaft and the bottom of the t-grip. I carefully drilled two holes in the top of the wooden plug in the paddle shaft, and then glued in two 1/4" hardwood dowels. While the epoxy was setting, I fudged these so they were aligned as if part of a tenon. Then I epoxied on the t-grip, a fairly large and asymetrical grip made of elm, again getting the alignment I needed before the epoxy set.
Obviously the two dowels, by themselves, would not have been strong enough to be part of the top of the shaft. But I mixed up a thick batch of epoxy and microballoons, throwing in some elm sawdust for color, and slopped it between and around the dowels, adding some Kevlar "tape" around the transition zones. (I clipped the "tape" from the border of Kevlar cloth.) I don't recall what proportion of food wrap and subsequent sanding was done to get a smooth final surface.
So, if you should shorten your shaft too much by heating or twisting it, there is still hope!
If the original paddle has a plastic grip and plug, like a Norse, it may be necessary to extract the plug and then put in a piece of dowel. Being superstitious, I slightly taper the downside end of the dowel to avoid a sharp strain transition line. I have not ever tried to remove a plug by heating.
On a wood shaft paddle, you want to do like in my first paragraph, getting the original grip off (usually having to sacrifice it) while retaining a usable tenon.
On two occasions I had cut paddles too short (trying experimental grips that didn't work) and faced a need to lengthen each paddle again. In the more interesting case, I had to add 2 1/2 inches between the top of the carbon shaft and the bottom of the t-grip. I carefully drilled two holes in the top of the wooden plug in the paddle shaft, and then glued in two 1/4" hardwood dowels. While the epoxy was setting, I fudged these so they were aligned as if part of a tenon. Then I epoxied on the t-grip, a fairly large and asymetrical grip made of elm, again getting the alignment I needed before the epoxy set.
Obviously the two dowels, by themselves, would not have been strong enough to be part of the top of the shaft. But I mixed up a thick batch of epoxy and microballoons, throwing in some elm sawdust for color, and slopped it between and around the dowels, adding some Kevlar "tape" around the transition zones. (I clipped the "tape" from the border of Kevlar cloth.) I don't recall what proportion of food wrap and subsequent sanding was done to get a smooth final surface.
So, if you should shorten your shaft too much by heating or twisting it, there is still hope!
in addition to above,
you can actually cut off a tee-grip, all the way around.... using a good wood chisel... without shortening...go with the grain first
one word of caution...when placing wood in a carbon shaft, coat/seal the wood to keep shaft from splitting due to expansion of wooden t-grip (plug) with water.... the original water sticks had this problem ...
personally I like uncoated natural wood for feel... but the part that goes in the shaft needs sealing
you can actually cut off a tee-grip, all the way around.... using a good wood chisel... without shortening...go with the grain first
one word of caution...when placing wood in a carbon shaft, coat/seal the wood to keep shaft from splitting due to expansion of wooden t-grip (plug) with water.... the original water sticks had this problem ...
personally I like uncoated natural wood for feel... but the part that goes in the shaft needs sealing
I have a Werner Bandit that was too long for paddling my c1 so i shortened it using the heating method you stated. I took the t grip out after heating it then it after cutting the shaft. Before you glue the grip back in though make sure you wipe the inside of the shaft and the t grip dowel so the glue sticks.
Cheers, Ben
Cheers, Ben