How To Put On ORings: O-Rings? Oh My!

Want to know how to change an oring? In this article we discuss different methods for putting on orings.

Are you tightening your shaft after every throw? Ever wish there was something that can help with this problem? Well I’m here to tell you there is! And it’s beautiful little things called an o-rings. In this article we will be showing you several methods on how to put an oring on your darts.

O-rings are small rubber rings that is placed in that open area above the threads and below the body of the shaft. When the shaft is tightened into the barrel, it basically acts as a seal (or gasket) between the thread and barrel. Hence, eliminating movement, some vibration and the issue of over-tightening your shaft. You only need to screw the shaft and barrel together-no need to wrench down with an o’ring. Something to note-it was common knowledge when putting metal to metal (like aluminum shafts to tungsten barrel) you would always need an o’ring. However, with the harder plastic and various hard materials shafts are made of now, most manufactures recommend using o’rings on these shafts as well. Keep in mind, by wrenching your shaft tight in your barrel, you run a greater risk of the shaft snapping at the barrel if your dart were to hit the ground.

O’rings are so useful but putting them on can be a challenge. It’s a lot like threading a needle except the needle is floppy and the yarn is stiff. I polled the crew here at Magic Darts and below are some methods of how we put on o’rings:

The Tuck n Roll – The tuck n roll method revolves around placing the o’ring onto the thread at an angle so that one side of the o’ring is above the first few threads. Once there, hold it into position with your finger. With the other hand stretch the loose side of the ring by pushing it to loop it over the shaft. Once it sits on the threads, simply roll it down over the threads to the shaft base.

The Knit n Roll – The knit and roll shares many of the base principals as the Tuck n Roll except instead of using your second hand you use the point of a dart. After the ring is held in position on one side of the shaft, place a dart point in the center of the o’ring and stretch the ring over the threads using the point. Once your ring has caught onto the threads, pull your point out and roll over the threads to the base of the shaft.

The Back Slide – The final method on how to put on an oring is the backslide. In this method you apply the ring from the other direction. Your shaft must be naked, meaning your flight and any stem rings have to be removed. Place the o’ring over the flight end of the shaft and roll it down the entire length of the shaft to its resting place at that empty section above the threads. This method we found to be the easiest however it does have its drawbacks: the o’ring can stretch or might tear and get caught in any cuts or grooves in the shaft. It’s trial and error if this method will work for you.

The Tool – If you find the methods above too challenging, we have a solution. After all, those little round suckers can be hard to manage! There are nifty tools available that look like bowling pins and are hollow on the bottom. Whit the tool you do not need to learn how to put on an oring, the tool does it for you! Simply place the hollowed bottom over the threads of the shaft, put the o’ring on the top of the tool and slide to the bottom of the tool. Once there, pull the tool back a little and slide the ring off into the empty resting space of the shaft. This is hands down the simplest method, and the one we recommend. There are different versions of tools on the market, even a handy one that is re-loadable;meaning you can store your o’rings on the tool ready to use when needed.

Gomu System – There is an alternative to o rings that accomplishes the same task and that is the Gomu by L style. It is another system that does not require you to know how to put on an oring. The Gomu shaft tightening system has three “Caps” that you place the thread from the shaft into. Then while the cap is over the shaft threads, you screw the shaft into the barrel of the dart. This system is fast and easy but one thing we have noticed is the seal becomes broken if you unscrew the shaft, where as with o rings you generally can unscrew and re screw multiple times without having to replace it.