I was wondering what kind of blade you guys have used to make clean cross cuts on your carbon shafts? I’ve got a reasonably fine Japanese pull saw I was going to use, and I’ve masked off the area to be cut with tape. I want to see if anybody has a better technique before I go hacking into a carbon paddle!
I’ve used…
a std. power miter saw (chop saw), taped the shaft and it worked fine.
Masking Tape Is A Big Help
to prevent chipping and cracking. If you have a band saw, that works really wel for a clean, plumb cut. If not, a fine tooth hack saw or your Japanese saw will do. Just make sure you have a guide of some sort. It’s real easy to start going in straight and then veering off into an angle.
Good luck with surgery.
sing
That’s exactly what I’m worried about
The main thing I am worried about is winding up with a cut that isn’t straight across all axis’. I’ll probably have to rig up some sort of jig to assure a straight cut. Something like a rigged up miter box for my little pull saw. Either that or see if I can bum a little time on a band saw with a fine blade.
Use A Miter Box
stick the shaft in and then filled the other side with styrofoam to keep the shaft from shifting around and messing up the cut.
Of course, 30 seconds on a band saw works best. 
sing
If it’s a Werner…
You may run into the indexing around 10cm and have to take a little of the male end.
Better to make a 5cm cut, try it, then make several smaller cuts until you hit the indexing then trim a little off the male end to get a good fit.
Mark the hole reference lines on the tape before you cut.
I have cut them with …
a table saw, a band saw and a hack saw,
and I prefer to do it by hand with the hacksaw.
The finer the tooth blade you use, the smoother the cut will be.
Cheers,
JackL
The best tool for cutting carbon fiber…
– Last Updated: May-24-05 10:56 AM EST –
...is an abrasive cutoff saw, but not many people have access to them. Don't use your pull saw, as you'll dull the blade. Carbon fiber and fiberglass are easy to cut, but they're hard materials that dull common steels quickly. For band saws and hacksaws, you should use a bi-metal blade. In a miter saw or table saw, a carbide tipped blade is best and the more teeth, the better.
If you're going to cut it by hand, wrap the shaft in masking tape and scribe a cut line around it. Use a fine (~32TPI) blade in a hacksaw and cut as close to the line as you can. Deburr the edges with sandpaper and slip it over the other end of the shaft. Mark any high spots and sand them down gradually until you get a nice, tight fit. Once the fit is good, you can drill the hole for the locking button.
If you email me, I send you some instructions I wrote for shortening a paddle.
Make The Cut
I agree with Jackl, by hand with a fine tooth hacksaw. Be brave, but do watch the indexing. I cut my 230 Camano down to 220 and it fit back together real snug. Don’t go out and buy some $230.00 dollar lazer guided crosscut saw. Put that money into another paddle instead. As there have been posts on this website before, “shorter is better” and you will not regret the cut. And after all if you screw it up there’s alway REI and your charge card.
Thanks for the replies!
This is actually a one to two peice conversion, rather than a length reduction. I held off on the cut, and I think I’m going to go in search of a fine tooth hacksaw blade tommorow. I’ll let you know how the whole process goes, should be a snap.
I used
a fine tooth hacksaw, in a padded vice (no pressure). I wanted to drop 1" from 218-216. I kept working the ends down on a belt sander & when I got close, slipped both ends over a 7" carbon insert & finshed with a file & hand paper. Without magnification, most can’t tell it’s not a one piece shaft. I always use Devcon epoxy. The hardest part was hand sanding down the carbon insert to fit inside the shaft (30min with 50 grit for each end of the insert). Good luck!