Stupid Newbie Questions: Separate shaft/blades

[technophile 0]

Okay, so up until this year I mostly played roller hockey, never seriously. Now I've moved into ice hockey and I'm getting to the point where I could actually play in a league.

Coincidentally, to this point I've always played with the "Mall Sports Store Special" sticks -- you know, the ones that your local department sports store sells for $15-20, the wooden Sher-Woods and whatnot. These held up pretty decently for roller hockey, but ice hockey seems to kill the blades much faster, probably due to the water getting into the blade. I know I can tape and wax the blade to protect it somewhat, but to be honest I'd like to just buy a decent stick that I won't have to replace as often.

On the downside, my funds are kind of limited, so I can't just go off and spend $200 on a nice OPS. I'm kind of leaning towards a two-piece setup, so that I can relatively easily try out different blade patterns and figure out what works for me.

My question is, how exactly does this two-piece stuff work? I know the shaft has a plug in it that you insert the tang of the blade into, and the blade comes with glue on it. The glue is apparently heat-activated, right? So what, you throw the new blade into the oven for a while, pull it out, and stick it into the shaft? Or do you need actual equipment for this (something that a LHS would have)? I'd just go to my LHS and ask them all this stuff, but, well, decent LHS are kind of hard to find in Austin. ;)

Also, how do you get the blade back out of the shaft? Heat it up again? The stick won't fit in the oven, so how do most people manage it?

Thanks in advance for not mocking the newbie too badly. :P

[Jason Harris 31]

Most pro shops use a heat gun, which can be purchased at Home Depot/Lowe's. I've heard of players using a hair dryer or over the flame of the stove top.

I haven't done it too often, but I believe most people heat the glue on the blade, and maybe the end of the shaft to get it to expand slightly, then put the blade into the shaft and let it set for five to ten minutes to harden. Then they will wipe off the excess glue around the blade.

To remove the blade, they'll heat the shaft about four to six inches from the end to get the glue to start melting, then pull it out.

[ktang 34]

If you ever break the blade so that it is flush with the end of the shaft, you can screw in a wood screw, heat the shaft, and then pull on the screw with some pliers to get the rest of the tenon out of the shaft.

[technophile 0]

SalmingUSA, thanks for the clarification. I think the two rinks that run leagues have standard hockey gear, they're likely to have heat guns.

ktang, excellent pointer, thanks.

Another question: If I were to buy, say, an Easton Ultra Lite shaft, am I limited to only Ultra Lite blades, only Easton blades, or only non tapered blades? I assume that generally a senior non-tapered blade will fit a senior non-tapered stick; is that a safe assumption, or do some blades not fit some sticks?

[SR27 0]

Tapered blades will only fit tapered shafts. Standard shafts accept only standard blades. Usually blades of all manufacturers and basically all shafts have the same inner dimensions. In some case you come across a blade that due to manufacturing is slightly too big or small for you particular shaft. I those cases you will want to shave down the part that is inserted into a shaft to make it fit or in case it is loose in your shaft you add some tape over the glue to make it fit. Some shafts tend to get wider the more often you change the blades so you might need that tape "trick" later on anyway. To heat it up your best bet as already mentioned is a heat gun because open flame will cause damage to the shafts structure much quicker. Heat up the shaft and blade likewise for 30 secs to 1 min depending on the shaft and the amount of glue and afterwards let it cool down for +/- 5 min. If you need it quicker you can run some cold water or ice over it and you´re good to go.

Probably your best set up would be a mid to high end shaft with some wood blades to start. Wood blades are cheaper and you can try a couple of different manufacturers and patterns without spending too much. Once you found a pattern that does the job for you you can still go into OPS I´d say.

Edit: Try to move the heat gun evenly around all sides of the shaft and up and down a little because otherwise it will throw bubbles (due to shafts usually have at least two layers of fibre). This has happend to me with one of the older brown Ultra Lites. I didn´t pay attention for a couple of seconds and it was already too late. The bubble cracked later on and the outer layer of kevlar/graphite started to peel resulting in breakage a couple of sessions later.

[Hooah4 12]

Ultra light s will only accept a standard blade. Smae with Z bubble, etc...

TPS R2, Synthesis accept tapered blades.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Also, if you use an open flame dont put your stick right on the flame, put it up high enough so just the heat from the flame is getting to it. sounds obvious but I've seen a buddy of mine put his shaft right on the flame from the oven. Personally, my moms got a pretty decent hair dryer, and i just use that to heat up the shaft or blade to get the glue melting. It takes a little longer but it gets the job done. And, if you do buy a new blade from a shop, take your shaft and they'll surly swap blades for you for no charge. No hockey in Austin? So much for applying to the University of Texas for me! :-p

[technophile 0]

No hockey in Austin? So much for applying to the University of Texas for me! :-p

There's hockey, just not as much as up north (and by "up north" I mean "everything that's not Texas". ;))

There are two different rinks that both run A, B, and C level rec leagues, hockey classes, drop-in games, etc. At least one of them (Chaparral Ice) might have a semi-decent hockey store; I've never been there (it's all the way across the city from me) but so I've heard.

LHS are really where it hurts; you pretty much have to order online if you want any kind of selection, which of course means no trying things on, difficult returns, and shipping charges. :(

Kinda makes me wish I'd gotten into ice hockey when I still lived in St. Louis. :P

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

If you're going with a shaft and blade combo, be aware that wooden blades will fall apart the same way wooden sticks do if you don't tape and wax them. You could try an ABS blade for better durability (doesn't absorb moisture) but the feel isn't too good. Other options are carbon fibre blades, or wood/abs blades, which either have an ABS strip along the bottom of a wood blade or a section of wood inside an ABS blade to improve feel. Of these, I'd recommend the CCM v-40 (or V-60 if you can find them). It's not as good as wood, but they're relatively cheap, and you don't have to look after them like wood.

[technophile 0]

That CCM v40 looks like a decent starter blade; I might try that. Thanks for the recommendation.

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

The V-40 seems to be the same blade as the V-60 that preceeded it, which I used for a couple of seasons when I was using the same stick for both ice and inline. I actually preferred that blade in my CCM V110 shaft over my Mission M1 OPS and my Franklin Sceptor OPS, but I've since found the TPS XN10 and Andrenaline OPS's to be better again on ice!

[dez 0]

hi,

Can anyone tell me what kind of glue I should use to put a blade into a shaft (the blade will be pulled out from another stick and not enough glue on the plug)?

Thanks!!!

[Project_2501 0]

Any old arts & crafts heat-activated glue will work.

[jibby93 0]

hi,

Can anyone tell me what kind of glue I should use to put a blade into a shaft (the blade will be pulled out from another stick and not enough glue on the plug)?

Thanks!!!

Check with ur LHS most of them carry easton glue sticks you can purchase which is used on all their blades.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Just go to any store and buy the craft glue...it's like $3 for a bag of 50...

[koivulchuk 1]

Just go to any store and buy the craft glue...it's like $3 for a bag of 50...

Are you talking about those sticks for little plastic glue guns? Is it the same glue that hockey shops sell, only smaller?

[whbd18 0]

Yep,thats the stuff.Its the same exact thing as those Easton Glue sticks. You can get a bag of 100 at Wal-Mart for $0.89

[Chadd 916]

Yep,thats the stuff.Its the same exact thing as those Easton Glue sticks. You can get a bag of 100 at Wal-Mart for $0.89

I prefer the ones that are alittle longer and about half the diameter of a dime. They seem to work well and still last a while.

[Reaper 0]

Just go to any store and buy the craft glue...it's like $3 for a bag of 50...

Are you talking about those sticks for little plastic glue guns? Is it the same glue that hockey shops sell, only smaller?

You want the high temperature glue when you buy them. If you buy the low temperature glue it has a tendency to set up too much before you get the blade in the shaft.