Attaching T-grip

[Gary B]

What sort of adhesive are folks using to attach a T-grip on a paddle. Wooden dowel to wooden shaft which I will pin with a smaller dowel. I have some west system 105..

[ezwater]

I've used West 105 for that. I'm not sure what you mean by pinning with another dowel. I've had Norse t grips come loose without a pin, but wooden grips on wooden shafts with West 105 are so strong, they've never needed pinning.

[Gary B]

Thanks. What I had planned was to put a 1/4" dowel thru the t-grip and paddle shaft after the adhesive had set up. Sound like that's overkill... But there are 1/4" holes in the in the t-grip.

[ezwater]

Predrilled in the T-grip? Haven't seen that. I carve my own T-grips.

[Gary B]

What I was doing shorting a 60" paddle to 58". I removed the existing grip and had to drill out the 1/4" dowel that was holding it on... I decided just to reuse it, rather making a new one.

[chriscanoe]

Gorilla Glue works well also, and is easier than epoxy. Be sure to wet the areas to be glued. You will also have a little "foam" to trim when it has set. A utility knife works good for this.

[ezwater]

Once you have West epoxy, either 105/205 with pumps, or G-flex which mixes 1:1, there is nothing more difficult about using it than using any urethane. And there are many things that epoxy does that urethane "Gorillas" don't do.

[bcmcmillan]

J B weld has worked way better for me than gorilla glue on wood to wood and wood to fiberglass.

[philcanoe]

(guess different results for different folks)

...my only complete failure of tee-grip, was wood to carbon using JB weld.

However now days after epoxying, I always drill and put a stainless steel screw through. Followed by cutting both sides off real (real) close, and then flattening both ends smooth( bradding) by hammering lightly up against another hammer, anvil, or steel. That way I can hook anything, with out fear of tee-grip failure. Like to lower a boat, a wayward kayak, (appreciative) boater, or the bank.

[B-rad]

Would epoxy be the way to go for wood to aluminum as well? I'm putting a t-grip on an old broken kayak paddle, to see how it works...

[Larry Horne]

I like Phil's method. I think I'll steal that next time if that's ok with you.

If there is no pin I don't trust it.

[ezwater]

B-rad----- on glueing wood to aluminum..... Ideally, the aluminum surface should be prepared by acid etching. However, West says their new G-flex epoxy holds so well that it can be used with aluminum. You can get small bottles of G-flex resin and hardener for about $16. It mixes 1:1, and the ratio is not that critical.

[zappaddles]

I use a Dremel to carve a shallow indentation around the top of the shaft and carve a matching indentation in the grip to l ine up with the indentation atop the shaft. Never had one come loose and don't have to deal with expansion and contraction of different materials or wood grain direction.

[drrpm]

I've used West epoxy and never had a failure.

[mahyongg]

I've used Cold Cure Epoxy and some others, just recently even glued wood using water-soluble contact cement. works until now.. its also just a branch cut off and drilled to fit the shaft - with the bark left on for grip!

;D