trying to fix a split blade

[heatley15 5]

well i have had my s17 for 2 months and it was a return because i got it when my elite broke in 2 weeks. so the blade has a crack running from 1" from the heel to 1" to the toe and for about 3" in the middle of the blade it opnes when flexed or applied pressure so i was wondering if anyone has fixed anything like this or what you guys have used to fix it because i want to see what i can do to it before chopping off the blade.

thanks for the help

[Ital79 0]

5-to-1 Epoxy & a small cheap watercolor paintbrush should be an ok band-aid. Just be aware, 5:1 epoxy is based on weight & not volume and often times needs 24 hrs to cure. Mix up the epoxy and use the paintbrush to push as much epoxy into the crack as possible & wipe away excess. When you think you're done, wrap the blade in aluminum foil along the crack. Now here's the important part - tape the stick or wrap it in plastic wrap as tight as you can. This makes the crack as small as possible and aids the epoxy to flow into parts of the blade it didn't get into with the paintbrush. Place the stick blade up in a corner for 24hrs+, the warmer the area the better.

[if you have any sort of clamps in your toolbox, you can use those to squeeze the blade instead of foil & tape/plastic wrap]

After the blade is cured, take whatever you wrapped the blade up with off & peel off as much foil as you can. Some will stick, a pocket-knife or razor blade will take the excess off easily.

[if you used clamps - a fine sandpaper (600 grit or higher) will be fine to clean extra epoxy]

If you want to add some friction resistance to the bottom of the blade so the heel lasts longer & doesn't allow in moisture; whip up another small batch of 5:1 epoxy and add dry graphite lube to the mix. Put in enough so that it's a dark gray but not so much as the consistency of the epoxy mix is chunky. You can find the epoxy & graphite lube at any hardware store.

Graphite added to epoxy is very slick and will make the bottom of your stick much more durable to being dragged on crappy ice.

Hope this helps.

[IniNew 51]

Graphite added to epoxy is very slick and will make the bottom of your stick much more durable to being dragged on crappy ice.

Hope this helps.

Think this will improve blade durability on smooth concrete roller hockey? Or will it wear off just as fast?

[fatwabbit 93]

Graphite added to epoxy is very slick and will make the bottom of your stick much more durable to being dragged on crappy ice.

Hope this helps.

Think this will improve blade durability on smooth concrete roller hockey? Or will it wear off just as fast?

Did that epoxy thing for my blades when I was playing outdoor... blades lasted me a good 6-8 months before I changed it due to the nicks on the other parts of the blade.

[Too Old 1]

I'd also strongly consider drilling a small hole just past each end of the crack before applying epoxy. This will help keep it from growing further.

[Ital79 0]

Graphite added to epoxy is very slick and will make the bottom of your stick much more durable to being dragged on crappy ice.

Hope this helps.

Think this will improve blade durability on smooth concrete roller hockey? Or will it wear off just as fast?

Graphite is one helluva lubricant. Friction between the bottom of the blade and whatever surface it's moving across causes wear. The higher the friction - the faster the wear / the lower the friction - the lower the wear.

The epoxy/graphite trick works in any condition to reduce friction. The real trick is making this batch of resin stick to the blade well. A used stick, like the OPs, will have some surface deformities that new resin will be able to bond to. A virgin blade is going to be smooth & the new epoxy batch will simply peel off. So you can either sand it to get things a little rough for the epoxy to stick -or- wait until the bottom of the blade has some wear to it.

Beware of regular fiberglass epoxy resin kits though. Those things are crap, somewhat difficult to really get the proper amount of hardener in the resin, and are very thick. While these traits might be ok for repairing house siding, a crappy bass-boat, or whatever - it doesn't and won't work with a hockey stick.

5:1 epoxy is the best OTC resin/hardener you'll be able to find locally. It's much thinner, easy to work with, and is solid as steel. If you're really anal about the way your blade looks (why? I dunno) 5:1 epoxy can be wet-sanded & polished to a mirror-like finish quite easily with the same stuff you would use to do some auto body work.

It's neat stuff & I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the OTC 5:1 epoxy is nearly identical to most Mexican/Chinese made carbon OPS & shafts.

.......................................................

I worked with this stuff almost daily at my last job. We used it for encasing carbon samples prior to x-ray tests and for carbon fiber structures when we were too cheap & lazy to fab-up some pre-preg & fire up the EZ Bake.

[heatley15 5]

alright thanks for the help ital79, im going to try that in the next couple days. but my dad was wondering how j-b weld would work in this situation anyone know?

[Ital79 0]

alright thanks for the help ital79, im going to try that in the next couple days. but my dad was wondering how j-b weld would work in this situation anyone know?

JB Weld is an epoxy...but very thick and will not get into the tight spots like 5:1 will. Also, JB Weld does not flex...your blade does. So after 1-2 hard shots, the JB Weld will probably just fall off b/c it doesn't give & take like a 5:1 epoxy does. It'll also be a poor choice to mix with graphite as would any 1:1 epoxy glue/putty.

Stick with 5:1

[Too Old 1]

Z Spar Splash Zone A-788 is good stuff as well.

[heatley15 5]

alright thanks for that ital79. he was just wondering because he has some around so ill just tell him that we are better of to stick with the 5:1 epoxy

[tamtamg 12]

probably a stupid question, but would 5-1 epoxy fix a broken shaft?

[IniNew 51]

Just finished applying the epoxy and the epoxy/graphite mix to the bottom. Roller is more than 24 hours away so it should be at full strength by then.