In a message dated 3/13/99 7:35:35 AM Pacific Standard Time, rcline_at_onramp.net writes: << Lightning Paddle. It stuck together. I couldn't get it apart...now the paddle is stuck. >> I believe it is principally salt crystallization that causes most of the problems. 1. Poke the button inside as mentioned already, just to let water inside. 2. Soak it in the pool or other fresh water for a day, then try the 2-person / blades-under-the-armpit twist method described by Richard. 3. Soak it in vinegar as suggested. Wrap a rag around the joint and button and keep it saturated with vinegar (white cider probably cheapest -- flavor optional) for several hours. Or fashion a cup around the shaft with duct tape and a cut-up plastic bottle, then fill the cup with vinegar to cover the joint. Do the twist. 4. Still nothing? Yikes - now the scary one. Heat the female side of the joint to try to expand the tube, breaking the bond and winning a (very) slight clearance. You can try pouring boiling water on it, use a heat lamp, or (and this is the dangerous one) use a torch. This works best on aluminum shafts, but can work on glass or carbon shafts. The idea is to heat the outer tube quickly, before the inner tube can also warm, so heat-soaking doesn't do it. Hopefully someone will pitch in with info on how hot the composites need to get before they soften or catch fire. Be gentle. Good Luck, and no -- I won't buy your smoking, dripping epoxy-carbon paddle. :-) BTW - if you do get it apart, _never_ use any lubricant on the ferrule except perhaps a very light coat of silicone spray. Any oil-based product will gum up like crazy in salt water (can someone tell me why)?. If you already used the old 3-in-One oil, you may need to do like Clyde and turn it into a one- piece. Oh, of course you could also send it to the manufacturer and have them restore it for a fee. Hank - what say you? If you are listening, you must have some better suggestions than these. Harold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Mar 15 1999 - 08:05:52 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:05 PDT