I've mentioned in the past about tungsten putty and how it's quite beneficial for players wanting to add weight or change the weight balance of a steel or soft tip dart.
Say you have 21g darts and find the 23g version has the same exterior dimensions as your 21s. You can often bring your 21g's right up to 23g's depending on how much your dart is drilled out.
Let's say you have a front heavy soft tip dart that you want the tail to land flatter...again, adding weight in the rear will often correct this issue.
First of all, where to purchase:
Tungsten putty can be found in hobby shops (used for pine car derby's) or fishing stores (used for adding weight on a line).
Doing a quick google search will give you tons of online stores that carry it.
Example...
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Tung-Fu-T...744209.uts
You don't need a lot for darts. A 1oz container = 28 grams. That's plenty for numerous sets.
Characteristics
It comes in a dart grey blob. At first it may feel slightly hard but you can break off a piece and rub it between your fingers to make it easily pliable. It can then be formed to various shapes and fill tight spaces (like the drilled out section inside a dart). It also leaves no residue on your fingers or your darts. If you've ever used silly putty, it has very similar physical characteristics.
It's also non-toxic and environmentally friendly...no lead, etc..
How to use it.
First you need to realize this stuff IS surprisingly heavy for even a small piece. Then you need to figure out your goal.
For soft tip players, you can often add a small piece in the cavity behind the soft tip point threads. You may have to experiment to make sure you don't add too much so your soft tip points are unable to fully thread tightly. Even a small amount will affect the balance since it's at the very tip of the barrel.
For steel tip, all you can do is add it behind the stem threads. Before ordering, make sure your darts have room with a decent drilled out section. A set like Barnevelds that have only a small amount of space beyond the rear threads won't benefit since there won't be anywhere to add putty without interfering with the stem threads.
Here is an example of the small size of a piece of a putty and how much it weighs. I put it next to a stem ring for size comparison.
Broken links removed
First test: Soft tips
I'm going to add some weight to a set of Trinidad Gomez soft tip darts. The added benefit of using tungsten putty on soft tips is you can use it on both sides of the barrel.
Here is the original weight of the barrel with no putty...
Here you can see how much this dart is drilled...both steel points have standard Unicorn tips.
[image removed...stupid host changed the image.]
First I'll just add some putty to the nose area behind the soft tip point.
Roll a tiny bit
Pack it in the nose of the barrel using the back side of a drill bit that's slightly smaller than the barrel cavity.
Use a point and poke around to make sure you got all of the air bubbles out.
Pack it one final time with the drill end to flatten it out inside.
Now screw in a soft tip point to see if you have enough room. At this point you can add or remove just tiny pieces to get a perfect space for the tip to screw into. For small pieces I use a point and just dig up a tiny chunk, discard it, and pack the remaining back in.
Looks great!
Now let's see how much weight was gained just by adding putty just in the nose.
Not bad. As you can see, that's almost .50 grams just from the small cavity behind the tip. That will definitely give the dart slightly more front loading.
Time for the rear section. This dart has a decent size drilled rear area.
Again..small pieces at a time. It's the exact same process as above.
-add small pieces
-use the back of the drill bit to push them down
-use a dart point to poke out any air bubbles
-push the drill bit in one more time.
*repeat until you've built up enough so it's near the threads*
Do a test fit with a stem.
Again, use a point to remove an excess and then flatten it one final time with the flat end of the drill bit.
Perfect!
Now for the final weight with tungsten putty in the front/rear.
Not bad! That's barrel only too...that's 2 more grams added. With the dart, soft tip, stem/flight, you're looking at a 20gram soft tip dart.
Now let's try it on a steel tip.
I'm using John Part Golden Hero's. They're a very narrow dart....6.10mm wide and 50.80mm long.
Here is the original weight...
It has a small cavity but at a huge disadvantage due to the narrow width.
Again, same process.
With a narrow dart, you may want to use smaller pieces. That way you can get all of the air bubbles out and make sure you're filling up the space completely. It's much easier to accidentally leave pockets if you're rushing and trying to add too much at once....and with a narrow dart it just compounds the issue.
Same steps again.
Roll up a small piece...
Push it in....
Use the point to remove air bubbles.
(forgot to take a pic of this...same as the soft tip)
Repeat until you're near the threads.
Now for the stem test.
Perfect!
And for the minor weight addition?
1 gram isn't bad for such a narrow dart. I found this dart balanced a lot better for my type of throw...it felt more like a Barneveld which makes sense since his darts are barely drilled out.
Removal
Two ways of doing it. Using a dart point or the blade side of a drill.
At first it can be a semi-pain...but after a few times, it's easy.
The dart point is a good way to start...you use the tip to just dig out small sections. The trick is to pull out the pieces slowly in order to get larger pieces at once.
The drill trick is the fastest. Just put the drill inside and twist firmly by hand. The putty will thread right up the drill blades and can be removed easily with no residue.
If you want to be fast, you can hook up the bit to a light household drill and the tungsten will come out in a few seconds.
Checking inside...all clean!
So that's how you use this stuff. Again, how much weight you're able to add depends on your darts. A hollow dart like a 14g Hankey definitely can add 2-3 grams....but a shallow drilled dart might give you .50 grams which isn't much.
PM me if you feel like trying it and have any questions.
Good luck.
Say you have 21g darts and find the 23g version has the same exterior dimensions as your 21s. You can often bring your 21g's right up to 23g's depending on how much your dart is drilled out.
Let's say you have a front heavy soft tip dart that you want the tail to land flatter...again, adding weight in the rear will often correct this issue.
First of all, where to purchase:
Tungsten putty can be found in hobby shops (used for pine car derby's) or fishing stores (used for adding weight on a line).
Doing a quick google search will give you tons of online stores that carry it.
Example...
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Tung-Fu-T...744209.uts
You don't need a lot for darts. A 1oz container = 28 grams. That's plenty for numerous sets.
Characteristics
It comes in a dart grey blob. At first it may feel slightly hard but you can break off a piece and rub it between your fingers to make it easily pliable. It can then be formed to various shapes and fill tight spaces (like the drilled out section inside a dart). It also leaves no residue on your fingers or your darts. If you've ever used silly putty, it has very similar physical characteristics.
It's also non-toxic and environmentally friendly...no lead, etc..
How to use it.
First you need to realize this stuff IS surprisingly heavy for even a small piece. Then you need to figure out your goal.
For soft tip players, you can often add a small piece in the cavity behind the soft tip point threads. You may have to experiment to make sure you don't add too much so your soft tip points are unable to fully thread tightly. Even a small amount will affect the balance since it's at the very tip of the barrel.
For steel tip, all you can do is add it behind the stem threads. Before ordering, make sure your darts have room with a decent drilled out section. A set like Barnevelds that have only a small amount of space beyond the rear threads won't benefit since there won't be anywhere to add putty without interfering with the stem threads.
Here is an example of the small size of a piece of a putty and how much it weighs. I put it next to a stem ring for size comparison.
Broken links removed
First test: Soft tips
I'm going to add some weight to a set of Trinidad Gomez soft tip darts. The added benefit of using tungsten putty on soft tips is you can use it on both sides of the barrel.
Here is the original weight of the barrel with no putty...
Here you can see how much this dart is drilled...both steel points have standard Unicorn tips.
[image removed...stupid host changed the image.]
First I'll just add some putty to the nose area behind the soft tip point.
Roll a tiny bit
Pack it in the nose of the barrel using the back side of a drill bit that's slightly smaller than the barrel cavity.
Use a point and poke around to make sure you got all of the air bubbles out.
Pack it one final time with the drill end to flatten it out inside.
Now screw in a soft tip point to see if you have enough room. At this point you can add or remove just tiny pieces to get a perfect space for the tip to screw into. For small pieces I use a point and just dig up a tiny chunk, discard it, and pack the remaining back in.
Looks great!
Now let's see how much weight was gained just by adding putty just in the nose.
Not bad. As you can see, that's almost .50 grams just from the small cavity behind the tip. That will definitely give the dart slightly more front loading.
Time for the rear section. This dart has a decent size drilled rear area.
Again..small pieces at a time. It's the exact same process as above.
-add small pieces
-use the back of the drill bit to push them down
-use a dart point to poke out any air bubbles
-push the drill bit in one more time.
*repeat until you've built up enough so it's near the threads*
Do a test fit with a stem.
Again, use a point to remove an excess and then flatten it one final time with the flat end of the drill bit.
Perfect!
Now for the final weight with tungsten putty in the front/rear.
Not bad! That's barrel only too...that's 2 more grams added. With the dart, soft tip, stem/flight, you're looking at a 20gram soft tip dart.
Now let's try it on a steel tip.
I'm using John Part Golden Hero's. They're a very narrow dart....6.10mm wide and 50.80mm long.
Here is the original weight...
It has a small cavity but at a huge disadvantage due to the narrow width.
Again, same process.
With a narrow dart, you may want to use smaller pieces. That way you can get all of the air bubbles out and make sure you're filling up the space completely. It's much easier to accidentally leave pockets if you're rushing and trying to add too much at once....and with a narrow dart it just compounds the issue.
Same steps again.
Roll up a small piece...
Push it in....
Use the point to remove air bubbles.
(forgot to take a pic of this...same as the soft tip)
Repeat until you're near the threads.
Now for the stem test.
Perfect!
And for the minor weight addition?
1 gram isn't bad for such a narrow dart. I found this dart balanced a lot better for my type of throw...it felt more like a Barneveld which makes sense since his darts are barely drilled out.
Removal
Two ways of doing it. Using a dart point or the blade side of a drill.
At first it can be a semi-pain...but after a few times, it's easy.
The dart point is a good way to start...you use the tip to just dig out small sections. The trick is to pull out the pieces slowly in order to get larger pieces at once.
The drill trick is the fastest. Just put the drill inside and twist firmly by hand. The putty will thread right up the drill blades and can be removed easily with no residue.
If you want to be fast, you can hook up the bit to a light household drill and the tungsten will come out in a few seconds.
Checking inside...all clean!
So that's how you use this stuff. Again, how much weight you're able to add depends on your darts. A hollow dart like a 14g Hankey definitely can add 2-3 grams....but a shallow drilled dart might give you .50 grams which isn't much.
PM me if you feel like trying it and have any questions.
Good luck.
_______________________________________________
Tungsten Putty Tutorial: How to add weight to your darts
Darts keep falling out or not sticking? Guide to scuffing your points
Stem Rings/Flight Punch Guide: Keeping the flights on your stems
Tungsten Putty Tutorial: How to add weight to your darts
Darts keep falling out or not sticking? Guide to scuffing your points
Stem Rings/Flight Punch Guide: Keeping the flights on your stems
![[Image: drUF6Pb.png]](http://i.imgur.com/drUF6Pb.png)
![[Image: 1fbJnZW.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1fbJnZW.png)
![[Image: Adyds3t.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/Adyds3t.jpg)
![[Image: 87L1RR5.png]](http://i.imgur.com/87L1RR5.png)
very thorough and we'll thought out tutorial
