Author Topic: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?  (Read 10585 times)

PonoBill

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #15 on: February 04, 2016, 07:50:22 AM »
Still not a good idea, even if you know what you're doing. The wide kerf means lots of carbon particle tossed around, the blade exiting the material can pull fibers from the matrix. The recommended approach for cutting carbon shafts from manufacturers and every other source I know of is a hacksaw. cutting along a guide--I prefer a few wraps of tape. With minimal pressure on the forward stroke, none on the back stroke (opposite to usual hacksaw technique), rotating the shaft as you score it and going slightly deeper with each rotation until the shaft falls apart. I've used motorized thin kerf abrasive blades and don't like the result--less control, more chipping, more crap in the air.

Don't discount the crap in the air part, carbon shards are wicked, even microscopic. As nasty as asbestos.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2016, 07:52:08 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Bean

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2016, 09:10:04 AM »
A while back someone posted that they had success cutting paddle shafts with a wet-saw.  That might make some sense, but only if you clean up the saw and tub before it dries and the fibers become airborne.

I have personally used a 10" miter saw with a 60 tooth carbide blade, clean and square but apparently not so healthy...

Next time, I'll try my tile saw.

Wetstuff

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2016, 11:49:15 AM »
Bean,  This little bugger is really great.  The 6" blade is <3mm wide.   HF item#61659 about $44.




I don't think I could get a cleaner cut with anything else I have used the last couple of decades.





Handles: I am a little odd. Things like socks that slide, scratchy labels, suits-n-ties and many things normal people probably take for granted can make me twitchy. SUP handles can be as annoying as a stone in my shoe.

I have medium-manly hands and many of these handles are not wide enough to suit me.  The worst was an adjustable version of the Methane where the adjuster was a cable clamp in the center of the handle.  It was child-sized. I hope the person who bought it along with the Olivetti typewriter at Good Will had a better use for it.





The paddles didn't cooperate well when taking this shot, but the Methane and KN are ~4" wide ..which I find is great because I can fully top-control the twist of the shaft/blade.  They are quite similar in their top-view front/back offsets.  What I find more comfortable about the Methane is a straight top line.  .. but both divide your fingers, contacting the shaft, when you grip it.

The Rivera also has a rounded head like the KN but that is somewhat offset by it being nice and thick front-to-back
~1-7/8" vs the KN ~1-3/8s

The Aqua Bound plastic* and Werner handles have deep finger ledges. It gives me the feeling of a much more secure grip.  (as much as I flounder out there... I need something I can control!)

*they must share the shaft contractor with KN.  They're remarkably similar (same..to this eye) both having that spiral, traction surface where you don't need any wax, etc ...a nice detail.  Werner's shaft has a knobby surface texture when dry ..I don't remember if it got slippery-when-wet..   

Anyway: 'Horses for courses'.  Cheers.   

Jim

Atlantis Mistress .. Blue Planet MultiTasker ..   Atlantis Venom

PonoBill

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2016, 02:44:56 PM »
Actually more a matter of manufacturing technique rather than manufacturer, theough it may well be the same manufacturer. the spiral ridges are formed from wrapping mylar tape onto the shaft to compress it onto the mandrel. Like vacuum bagging without the vacuum or the bag.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

PonoBill

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #19 on: February 05, 2016, 12:37:33 AM »
That's a pretty darn clean cut. Looks like a nice tool to have. 44 buck, my, my. Might have to score one of those when I get back to Harbor Freight Land. Nothing like that on Maui.  Wear a mask when you cut though.
« Last Edit: February 05, 2016, 12:39:07 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Wetstuff

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #20 on: February 05, 2016, 01:42:02 PM »
I think I owe Ke Nalu an apology for my rant..  I had a conversation with Creek today where he mentioned a KN 'second'.  Hmmm.. likely the cheapest b-tard posting here, I think I bought a 'second' 18-24mos ago...  That would explain the extra weight; it was likely out of spec. 

To sell off-spec goods, or not, is hard choice for a small business.  As my stuff has lived/died in public for 37yrs.. I attempt to trash a bad item before I complete it, and if it gets out the door ..and I hear about it, replace it quick. The reaction mill is 100X more vocal these days.  If I needed to sell seconds, I'd etch it 'Second'  ..to remind the bugger he got a great deal it.

Jim
Atlantis Mistress .. Blue Planet MultiTasker ..   Atlantis Venom

PonoBill

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #21 on: February 05, 2016, 09:26:16 PM »
That doesn't really explain it. The seconds are just finish flaws. Ke Nalu paddles are not clearcoated--they come out of the mold finished except for trimming flash. the seconds have some flaw that gets sanded and then the blade gets clearcoated, or the graphics slip. Nothing that would add more than a few grams of weight. there are no seconds for shafts or handles, just blades. At least that was so when I was a partner in the company, and I doubt that's changed.

There's something wrong.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

TN_SUP

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #22 on: February 06, 2016, 11:55:18 AM »
FYI, I weighed my Kenalu Konihi 95 blade while switching shafts and got 231g or 8 1/8 oz. With carbon 90 shaft and extended handle: 552g or 19 3/8 oz total.
'13 SB Sprint, '15 SIC X-14 ProLite, RH Coastal Cruiser, Think EZE Ski, Kenalu Konihi 84  & Mana

johnysmoke

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #23 on: February 11, 2016, 08:51:20 AM »
I've seen these used along with a hack saw to get a nice even cut, but I'm too cheap to pony up for one, instead I use a miter box I already own. Have to be a little more careful to get a square cut.
http://www.parktool.com/product/threadless-saw-guide-for-carbon-composite-forks-sg-8?category=Frame%20&%20Fork
« Last Edit: February 11, 2016, 08:54:47 AM by johnysmoke »
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Bean

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #24 on: February 11, 2016, 11:21:21 AM »
JS, Park makes the best bike tools, but in this case you could get the same results by simply attaching a ViseGrip to the discard end of the steerer tube and letting the jaws act as a saw guide.

APPST_Paddle

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Re: Anybody cut/shorten a Werner paddle?
« Reply #25 on: November 15, 2019, 06:22:17 AM »
Any update to this, I'm thinking about cutting my Werner Rip Stick down from 1" OH to 1" below. I've cut a ton of KeNalu's but never a Werner, and it's epoxyed together (I asked too late to get it hot glued instead).

Any tips?
7'6" JL Super Frank Lean
8'2" JL SuperTech 
10'1" JL Black and Blue
14' BIC WS Tracer
6'5" JL Flying-V/GoFoil Maliko 200
Kenalu Ho'oloa 95, Werner Rip Stick 79

 


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