Making reversible grip change.

[EVC]

Hi.

I own an INNO and a Sebastien Flute. I have shot both with the original grip but now I want to try customize them to (hopefully) suit me better.

I would appreciate hints on how to apply the epoxy putty or whatever is good for the job in a way I could remove it later without damaging them (I fear the wooden SF in particular could be prone to it) and could clean them up if I regret or decide to sell them.

TIA.



Elder.

[wingate_52]

Just buy a Jager grip.

[geoffretired]

Cling film over the area to be covered, before you add the body filler or putty, etc. If there are holes in the handle section beneath the grip, these can part fill with the filler which makes it difficult to remove the grip later. If that is the case, I would cut out some shapes from stiff card or plastic sheet (take away food dish)to cover the holes and put them in place after the cling film and before the filler.

[wingate_52]

Milliput and car body epoxy are often used to build up a wooden or plastic grip, if racquet tape is not the answer. Unfortunatly if you want to remove the build up,these items stick firmly to the original plastic/wood grip. Wooden grips are easy to make from either a large block of hardwood, or a triple laminate of wood. The shaping is the problematic part. I have built my own grips and altered factory issued ones. Buying the Jager grip worked for me. Not as individual, but a really good fit and performance .

[DivingBirdie]

The Jager isn't for everyone. I for one, have hands too small for it and it doesn't feel as good as when I customize my own one, which I have already done

[archer_thom]

I would go with Geoffretired on this one, that's the best thought out method I've seen. I would also strongly discourage racquet tape unless your issue is hand cramps. (Sparkling Jules wants me to point out that the towelling stuff goes... "minging" I think is the term she used. She's right.)

[EVC]

An update on the matter. I follow the cling film suggestion and it worked superbly (too much actually - more on this later.)

I was lucky that I made it right on the first shot. I just needed to file the epoxy putty a little to fix the shape and improve the finish. Here is the finished grip:






I have shot some sessions with it and it is working so well I regret not having done it long ago: the bow hand just slips to its position.

My only concern is if/how long the putty will stay in place. I thought I would easily take it off after it dried and then I would glue it with silicon glue. But it got stuck so far (350+ shots). I wonder if there is any chance it gets loose (Murphy comes to mind.)

Thanks and

Elder.

[geoffretired]

Glad you have had some success. As for getting the filler off, it looks like a fairly simple shape so I would have expected it to feel loose already. As it is tight, I guess the two surfaces are so closely matched, they are almost vacuuming themselves together. Perhaps the epoxy, when mixed, reached a temperature that caused a hole to melt through the cling film and adhere to the original.
Gentle tapping, without breaking the epoxy, might break any contacts sufficiently to allow you to remove it.
I have tried gently easing off using a butter type knife. Sometimes you hear the "seal" breaking and you know you are winning.
Occasionally, the epoxy breaks into a couple of large chunks, then comes away. Araldite the bits together and replace it on the grip.
You might ofcourse want to leave it in place as it is stuck so well; so long as you are happy that it won't fall off when you least want it to.

[John (OSF)]

I just tape shaped bits of wood (sometimes several at one time ) onto the existing grip as it's very fast to do and easily removeable. I find it the fastest way to experiment with new shapes.