You MUST remove the Ratchet Disc and Cartridge Receiver from the aluminum pieces prior to autoclaving.
All pieces of the grip must be autoclaved independently. DO NOT Autoclave the grip parts un-bagged.
The lifetime warranty will not cover grips that have been sterilized improperly.
ASSEMBLY
Once the pieces have been autoclaved and cooled you may reassemble the grip.
IMPORTANT: The grip may only be assembled one way, it is pertinent to follow the steps exactly in the order
outlined as attempting to assemble the grip out of order can cause misalignment of the grip and damage to the
components. DO NOT alternate the assembly steps.
1. Insert the Cartridge Receiver into the aluminum Grip Adjuster.
In order to lock into place, the shoulder will interlock with off centered grooves inside of the Adjuster,
so do not attempt to force the Cartridge receiver straight into the adjuster.
Holding the grip adjuster vertically (with the Darklab logo upright,) gently shake the Grip Adjuster with the
Cartridge Receiver inserted and the Cartridge Receiver will find it’s way into place. Once fully inserted the
bottom of the Cartridge Receiver should be flush with the bottom of the Grip Adjuster.
2. Gently insert the Ratchet Disc into the designated cutout in the Grip Guide; you may hear and feel a slight “click”
when the disc is locked into place. It is important to ensure that the Disc is fully inserted into the locking position.
3. With the grip adjuster remaining vertical, gently insert the Grip Guide over the Cartridge Receiver into the Grips
Adjuster until the Ratchet Disc is 1/4-1/2 way covered by the Grip Adjuster. Notice that the Cartridge Receiver is
not a perfect circle and has an oval shape, you may assist its positioning by softly rotating each part.
4. Gently turn the Grip Guide clockwise into the Grip Adjuster in order to engage threading. The Cartridge
Receiver will self-align with the Grip Guide as you gently insert with a twisting motion.
If you experience resistance do not force the grip or you may cause cross threading; gently back off the Grip
Guide to ensure that the ratchet is properly inserted and then try again to ensure you are properly engaging
internal threading.
5. Once the Grip Guide has been mostly inserted into the Grip Adjuster you may insert the assembled grip
over your machine’s drive bar to continue tightening the grip. In order to avoid jamming the threads do not
attempt to tighten the grip past its natural stopping point. When inserting the grip into your machine vise
ensure that the extended alignment indicator line (PICTURED) of the grip guide is aligned parallel to the
machine vise so that the cartridge will insert upright into the grip. For most machines of standard geometry,
you will insert the backstem fully into the machine vise until it tops off at the start of the Grip Guide, however,
for some machines with differing machine frame geometry and/or drive bar lengths it may be necessary to
adjust the Back Stem accordingly.
