How to Put Dart O Rings on Your Dart Shafts: O Rings? Oh My!

Are you tightening your shaft after every throw? Ever wish there was something that could help with this problem? Well I’m here to tell you there is, and they are beautiful little things called dart o rings. 

In this article, we will be showing you several methods on how to install or change dart o rings on your dart shafts.

In this video, we give you a quick how-to tutorial on installing dart o rings onto your dart shafts so they never get loose again.

Dart o rings are small rubber rings that are placed in the open area above the threads and below the body of the dart 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 dart o rings.

Something to note: It was common knowledge that you would always need dart o rings for putting metal to metal parts, like aluminum shafts to tungsten barrel. However, with the harder plastic and other hard materials dart 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.

Don't shoot with a standard 2ba threaded shaft or barrel? No problem! There are a few other options for unique thread types like the smaller Gt/M3 and the One80 R2 Interchange system where you can purchase extra O-Rings just for these specialty points (see both options below).

Dart 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. We polled the crew here at A-Z Darts and below are some methods of how we put on dart o rings:

The tuck 'n' roll method revolves around placing an 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 your 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 base of the shaft.

The knit 'n' roll method 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 final method on how to put on dart o rings is the backslide. In this method, you apply the ring from the other direction. Your shaft must be naked, meaning your dart flights 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. 

We found this method 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.

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 specifically for dart o rings that look like bowling pins and are hollow on the bottom. With the tool, you do not need to learn how to put on an o ring – 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 it to the bottom of the tool. Once there, pull the dart o rings 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 for dart o rings on the market, even a handy one that is re-loadable; meaning you can store your dart o rings on the tool, ready to use when needed. 

There is an alternative to dart o rings that accomplishes the same task and that is the Gomu system by L Style. It is another system that does not require you to know how to put on an o ring. 

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 it is for one-time use only, where as with dart o rings you can generally unscrew and rescrew multiple times without having to replace it. 

Tightening loose dart shafts and ensuring your shafts do not become loose are the most common applications for dart o rings. The coolest thing about these little rings is that you can use them for many different things!

Similar to dart shafts, you can use dart o rings to ensure that your dart points don't come loose on your dart barrel. This includes conversion points that turn soft tip barrels into steel tip and regular soft tip points. Just install the o ring using one of the methods shown above the same way you'd install an o ring onto a dart shaft. 

Using dart o rings for Add A Grams, which add extra weight to your dart barrel for a heavier feel, falls under the same concept. Every Add A Gram has threading where the dart o rings can be applied nicely just like dart points and shafts.

Many players still working on their throw will use dart o rings as guide markers on their dart barrels for their hand placement. This helps ensure that the player always has the same grip in the same place on the barrel to improve their consistency and accuracy. Because dart barrels can be much wider in diameter than most dart shafts, you may have to be extra cautious when rolling the dart o rings onto your barrel to prevent tearing.

We hope you found this article enlightening! We can't stress enough how huge of a benefit dart o rings are to ensure that piece of mind while you throw. The next time you need to re-up on darts supplies, throw a 6 pack of o rings into your cart for less than $1!