Paddle Bearing/Bushing Modification

[Rich]

Has anyone modified their paddles to minimize the slop?  I find that there is roughly 0.4deg of play between pushing on the top to the bottom.  Also, this varies from paddle to paddle.

When I set the angle, say to 18deg, I use the low side reading at 17.8 +/- and high side reading at 18.2 +/-.

I was thinking of a bushing or bearing inserted in the top and bottom.  Unsure how tight the tolerance can be before binding becomes an issue. Also, I may be over thinking an issue that really isn’t an issue.

Thanks for your input as always!

[Marc H]

Rich, how old are your rods.  Wicked Edge is now making and using a wider rod that has lowered the tolerance and reduced the slop feel noticeably.  I switched to them not too long ago and have to say the accuracy with the digital angle device has improved also. The new rods have a distinctly different feel and sound to them too.  My older rods were three or four years old.  The new thicker rods are only$20/pair so it’s not a big expense to see if they help.

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Rich]

I do have the new rods and they are definitely better. I was just thinking if I can tighten up the tolerances more. Again, it may be overkill.

[tcmeyer]

A long while back, I added bronze bushings to all of my blocks.  It reduces the slop to nearly zero, but unless you have access to machine shop quality equipment, it’s hard to keep them true to the bore centerlines.  I have to use the Variable Stone Thickness Adapters to compensate for errors.  All that having been said, I wouldn’t go back.

I have the new, thicker rods with my Gen 3 Pro (2017) rig and it is a major improvement over the original design.

 

[Rich]

In your opinion, is it worth the effort to add bushings with the new rods?  I have to assume that your paddles with the bushings for the old rods do not work on the new rods given the new rods have a larger OD.   I checked with calipers, paddle ID – 0.264-0.267, new rod OD 0.254. I do have access to machine shop equipment.

[Marc H]

Rich, how well does your Wicked Edge Sharpen your other knives?  Are they sharp to your liking?

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[tcmeyer]

Rich wrote:

In your opinion, is it worth the effort to add bushings with the new rods? I have to assume that your paddles with the bushings for the old rods do not work on the new rods given the new rods have a larger OD. I checked with calipers, paddle ID – 0.264-0.267, new rod OD 0.254. I do have access to machine shop equipment.

I think that the conversion has more negatives than positives.  For one thing, I can’t use any of my modified or home-made paddles on the Gen 3 Pro rig without swapping out the rods and using the AngleCube and the micro-adjusts at every stone change.  This is because the Pro rigs aren’t compatible with the Variable Stone Thickness Adapters.  I’ve been chewing on an idea to add a new VSTA.

For what it’s worth, the 1/4″ bushings can easily be drilled out to the larger rod diameter.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Mark76

[Rich]

I’m going to try to find a larger diameter rod and see how that works. Seems much easier than measing with paddle mods.  Again, this may be an effort in futility.

[Marc H]

Marc H wrote:

Rich, how well does your Wicked Edge Sharpen your other knives? Are they sharp to your liking?

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Author]

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