ANH Grip Problems - How to get the t-track to stay in place??!?

[engineer3.14]

I'm having a heck of time keeping the rubber t-track grips in place on my Graflex ANH build. I put them on straight, with the 3M tape, but without fail, even with careful use, they start to shift out out alignment.

Anyone have ideas on this? I'd rather stay away from a ESB build with the screws.

Would love to find a different/better adhesive or other option. Makes my saber look lame as everything else is original and tight...

Thanks in advance!!

[alcadude]

There are templates you can print out that have proper alignment

[Silver Serpent]

Templates won't assist with keeping them on the saber. He's asking for adhesive methods.

I don't have any experience with those particular grips. The last time I did something similar, I used rivets to hold them in place.

[engineer3.14]

alcadude- thanks, I've used the templates. Silver Serpent is right, looking for a way to manage how things move after the fact.

The 3M adhesive is like a rubber cement compound that tends to shift over time.

[rlobrecht]

I see E6000 mentioned a lot on the armour build sites. I don't know if it would stick rubber to aluminum, but it might be worth checking out.

[alcadude]

Is it possible to take that adhesive off and replace it with a stronger one???

[Greenie]

Have you cleaned the hilt with soapy water to remove any grease build up? It may help(?)

[engineer3.14]

alcadude - Yes, it is possible. Looking here for other adhesives or methods people have tried

Greenie- Yep. That would be my standard procedure

E6000 might be an option, I wonder if anyone else is having this problem with graflex builds?

[Sevinzol]

Have you tried roughing up the surface and using epoxy?

This is the other Idea I came up with:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Grip-Style-1-P556.aspx
"These grips where designed to be installed from the inside via milled slots."

I thought there was an extension with the slots cut but it looks like its a custom request, unless I missed it.

[pillbot]

The tape on those grips barely holds on a shelf saber, much less one that is handled.

I tired JB weld once and, with heavy use, the grips still popped off.

In the end I used just plain, old fashioned superglue. Done this on 2 sabers now and both hold up to heavy use. Just sand off the supplied adhesive first and work neat. That stuff gets everywhere.

[Shiblon Vars]

One idea you could try is take off just enough material beneath the grips so that they have something to sit-up against. This should keep them moving around and still use the the standard adhesive methods. My guess would be to use etching to achieve this.