Arnie,
You da man!!!
Normally, I just cut grips off. Almost everybody does. Makes sense too;
there's too much hassle in trying to save the grip. Occasionally, I'll blow
one off that I really want to save, using a bicycle pump; I'm good for
about 3 out of 4 when I do that.
But yesterday I had a bunch of grips I wanted to save.
* I was reshafting a club I had just built for a friend. The club had
only existed for two range sessions, and it had my friend's favorite grip
on it. I didn't have any more of them, so was strongly motivated to save it.
* I was also lengthening a set of my own irons with butt extenders. Those
grips were still fairly new and in great shape. (Star Grips seem to hold
their tack and suppleness really well.) It would be worth it to save them
if I could without too much hassle.
I dug around in my mail folders, and found Arnie's instructions for
removing grips with a compressor. (If you've lost your copy, I just noticed
it's on the resource page:
http://www.clubmaker-online.com/arnie.gripblow.html) I own a few
compressors, but the big ones are in the garage, and my golf club workshop
is in the basement. The compressors are portable, but only in theory. Then
I remembered the little car-battery-operated compressor I picked up at a
yard sale last summer for a buck or two. (It's a lot like
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47807) I
have a husky power supply on my workbench, so I set it for 12vDC and
connected the compressor. Everything seemed in working order. The
compressor does not put out much volume, but it can boost the pressure well
over 50 pounds if you keep things sealed long enough.
My last order from Harbor Freight, I got the compressor accessory kit on
sale.
(http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42716)
It's still on sale at $7.99 from $9.99, but last summer it was $4.99. It
includes a tapered pin that's perfect for stuffing the hole at the end of
the grip.
For the "protector", the midsize grips didn't fit the shaft tubes I had on
hand. So I cut a 12" length of PVC pipe from a 10-foot section in the
garage -- it was 1 1/4" ID. Worked fine.
OK, I was set. I followed Arnie's instructions pretty much verbatim, and
soon the grips were in a neat pile on the workbench -- 100% saved. And
almost as quick as cutting them off. Besides that, the old tape on the
shaft was soaked with solvent, so they were easier to remove than if I had
cut. Mission accomplished!
But there was more to Arnie's instructions, and I wanted to try them as
well. Let's see if we can blow the grips BACK ON, with no solvent or tape.
After the epoxy cured on the reshaft and the extenders, I went ahead with
the tapeless regrip. It went OK with three exceptions. (Two of them would
have been avoided if I had followed Arnie's instructions to the letter. But
I wanted to see for myself what was necessary and whether it could be
improved. In short -- it couldn't.) The problem grips:
(1) The GolfPride Tour Wrap Midsize went on fine, but the last 2" at the
butt never gripped the shaft properly. I was still able to twist it back
and forth in that section more than 6 hours afterwards. So I blew that one
off again and just regripped it conventionally.
Maybe it would have worked with a new grip of the same model. I suspect
the grip had been stretched enough that it couldn't hold by compression and
friction alone.
(2) The Star Grip web site says you can blow on Star grips DRY. So I tried
on one club. I eventually succeeded, but it was a major hassle. Won't do
that again.
(3) On one grip, I tried wetting both the shaft butt and the mouth of the
grip. (Arnie says mouth of grip only.) It went on very easily, maybe more
easily than the others, and that WAS the idea. But it took hours more to
dry so it could be played without sliding around. Took 5 hours, compared
with under 2 hours for the other clubs. Not fatal, but if you're antsy to
get out to the range and test 'em...
Because of the low volume from the cheap compressor, I didn't have to worry
about timing the burst of compressed air; I just turned it on and left it
on without any worries. If I were using a GOOD compressor, then I'd have to
use the timed burst that Arnie describes.
The actual working time to grip 9 clubs was probably about half what it
would usually be, even better if you count cleanup time. And I didn't use
any grip solvent, double-sided tape, or paper towels. (If I did this all
the time, my wife might eventually notice the increase in dish detergent
usage -- NOT!)
Anyway, this is about to become my standard modus operandi for putting on
any grip that works with compressed air. And since I'm using more Star
Grips and less other grips, that is promising.
Thanks, Arnie!
DaveT
Hi Dave, Arnie, and all,
Please note that Arnie and Dave mention a "PROTECTOR".
When you look on the Star web site they show someone with their hand directly on the grip, this should NEVER be done on removal if you value half the skin on your hand as you do run the risk of loosing it as someone I know did.
Also, I know it goes without saying but it would be a good idea to use eye protection when using solvent or detergent and compressed air.
I don't mean to be negative but I sure do not want to see any body get hurt.
David
