DIY Gear Repair / Restore

[MThockeydad 469]

This was going OT from the DIY roller chassis thread, so I'm starting a new post.

I pulled a broken Supreme TotalONE LE stick out of the trash at the local rink.

I tore out the inner plastic mold release liner and scuffed the inside of the shaft with some 60gr sandpaper so the epoxy would have something to bond to.

I cut a piece of camping pad foam to press the CF against the inside of the shaft. The foam was cut to the inside dimensions of the shaft. One piece was too thin, so I hot glued two pieces (1/2 x 1.25" x 4" long) together to get it thick enough. Wrapped that with the dry CF and then wrapped the cf with some cheapo sewing thread to compress it smaller than the hole in the shafts. I then saturated the CF with epoxy and brushed some more inside the shaft and stuffed the plug in. Once it was in both halves, I snipped the thread, which unraveled and let the foam press the CF against the shaft. I clamped it straight and let it cure overnight.

I also had pushed plugs of the same ethafoam into the shaft so the epoxy wouldn't run away from the CF before curing.

I DID NOT want a thick plug of resin inside the shaft--it would have made the shaft stiff there and made a spot where the non-stiff shaft might have broken next to it. I wanted the shaft to flex evenly--both for strength and for performance.

The outside was easier--ground into an hourglass shape so the CF was tapered and so the original break wasn't a clean line (more of a ramp--reduce the "stress riser") and wrapped the outside with CF, then wrapped it tightly with electrical tape.. Sanded smooth and another topcoat of epoxy.

The Carbon Fiber was some scraps I had scrounged from the composite materials lab at my university 18 years ago.

REALLY heavy triaxial (0/45/-45) with the 0 parallel to the shaft.

US Composites 635 thin epoxy with medium hardener--leftover from some boatbuilding projects.

http://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html

It's not "pretty", but it's tough. Triax isn't pretty like woven, but it's a lot stronger.

Flex might not be PERFECT but when flexing it, it's neither a weak spot (too much bend) or a flat spot (too strong).

Figured it would be a good backup stick. It turned into my go-to stick. :)

Here's a sketch of what I did:

[PinkApe404 4]

This is fantastic ! I have about 3 Broken APX2s laying around collecting dust.... time to order up some CF / Resins / and get my twigs back in working shape.

Totally agree - I think it is psychological when you restore / repair something you become emotionally connected so subconsciously you feel a huge boost of confidence when using it.

A+ for the description and pictorial overview.

I am awaiting some feedback from the guys at composites talk forum on their best suggestions on the components to use in these type of repairs but if you say the flex is not compromised ( which I totally believe) - I will try and put together a "where to get" guide one this type of set up you have invented.

[MThockeydad 469]

if you say the flex is not compromised ( which I totally believe) - I will try and put together a "where to get" guide one this type of set up you have invented.

So it likely isn't perfect, but it isn't significantly compromised.

It was an 87 before. Maybe it's a 90 now. It definitely didn't make it a 100 flex or give it a big flat spot. I'll snap some pics of it flexed.

If you have a $200 stick and the options are a $15 repair or making it a donor for a piece of hockey stick furniture...it's worth attempting the repair. :)

I can mail you 3 sticks worth of CF if you want to try it. The shipping on the epoxy is probably going to cost you nearly as much as the epoxy. Almost everything you will find at the hardware store is thickened. You want thin laminating epoxy with no additives.

Do not use polyester resin for making auto body repairs. It only sticks to itself and to the cf or fiberglass. Epoxy sticks to almost everything.

Epoxy is glue. Stickum. It doesn't have any torsional strength to speak of. It only bonds the CF to the substrate and the CF fibers to each other.

More carbon fiber (as long as it is wet), is good. More epoxy is just stiff and heavy. The least amount of epoxy needed to saturate the CF is best.

Oh, another trick I just remembered--the edges of the broken shaft are rough and will snag the CF/foam plug when you push it in. I put strips of tape inside the shaft and folded them over to the outside so there was a smoother edge. They were a bit of a pain to get back out. If you try this, just put ~1/4" to the inside--just enough to cover the rough edge.

I also trimmed the roughest parts by 1/4" on each side. The stick is probably 1/2" shorter than original.

Composites are REALLY messy, especially when you're first learning them. I had built 4 boats, a dozen paddles, raft oars, etc. and it was still REALLY MESSY getting the wet CF inside the shaft.

If you live near a shop that does SRS hockey stick repairs, the $40 is worth it. If you are an inveterate tinkerer, this repair is worth the learning experience.

Lay out newspaper to protect your work surface.

Vinyl/nitrile/latex gloves are your friend.

Epoxy doesn't stick to most tapes--blue paint tape, electrical tape, packing/shipping tape are your friends.

Same with plastic grocery bags, saran wrap, and trash bags.

Use spring clamps and a strong, straight stick to clamp to, to keep it straight.

[Mimizk 114]

Great!

I'm also enjoying cycling though, I've thought probably there are similar persons who do carbon work for icehockey.

I hope to see your original stick if you can...

[notquitedeadyet 13]

I had worked out a similar system a few years ago using surgical tubing inflated inside the shaft to press the carbon fiber against the walls.

[Nealoc187 10]

very cool. i love fixing stuff. i think i've found a reasonably durable solution for repairing the chipped toe of my stick blade, and now i'd like to try this on my beloved synergy II that a broke a couple months ago.

thanks for posting this.

[MThockeydad 469]

I'm also enjoying cycling though, I've thought probably there are similar persons who do carbon work for icehockey.

I hope to see your original stick if you can...

I looked through my phone and my digital camera---sorry, I don't think I took any before or progress pics. :(

I had worked out a similar system a few years ago using surgical tubing inflated inside the shaft to press the carbon fiber against the walls.

Duh. That's awesome. I was trying to think of some sort of balloon solution, but couldn't think of how to inflate it.

Surgical tubing would be a lot more durable and long enough to inflate from the top.

Did you perform the repair? I'll bet it worked great.

very cool. i love fixing stuff. i think i've found a reasonably durable solution for repairing the chipped toe of my stick blade, and now i'd like to try this on my beloved synergy II that a broke a couple months ago.

That's a spot where a small amount of JB Weld would be a lot better than nothing. Glue the fibers back together and give the stick a new wear surface. That's not a good spot for CF--it's strong, but brittle. Fiberglass is good, Kevlar even better. Epoxy with no fiber (but some thickeners) wouldn't be much worse than epoxy/cf.

There's a common resin thickener called silica fume (or Cabosil) that is finely ground silica. Don't breathe it, but it makes epoxy super hard and non-sag. It is very abrasion resistant.

[romdj 26]

awesome topic, definitely love to learn about composites through hockey breakages/fix.

This already existing post is also a good read:

http://modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/64649-stick-starting-to-crack-near-the-heel-can-i-repair-it/?hl=%2Bcarbon+%2Bpowder#entry981555

It'd be worth merging the 2.

Looking forward to read your diy projects! :D

[Nealoc187 10]

I looked through my phone and my digital camera---sorry, I don't think I took any before or progress pics. :(

Duh. That's awesome. I was trying to think of some sort of balloon solution, but couldn't think of how to inflate it.

Surgical tubing would be a lot more durable and long enough to inflate from the top.

Did you perform the repair? I'll bet it worked great.

That's a spot where a small amount of JB Weld would be a lot better than nothing. Glue the fibers back together and give the stick a new wear surface. That's not a good spot for CF--it's strong, but brittle. Fiberglass is good, Kevlar even better. Epoxy with no fiber (but some thickeners) wouldn't be much worse than epoxy/cf.

There's a common resin thickener called silica fume (or Cabosil) that is finely ground silica. Don't breathe it, but it makes epoxy super hard and non-sag. It is very abrasion resistant.

what do you think is the best option, at least the best option that the general public/non-carbon fiber industry people have, to fix chipped blade toes in various stages of breakage/chipping? i actually have 3 examples of the same blade that I'd like to post pictures of tomorrow to get your thoughts, and to illustrate how these blades tend to break down. one has like 75 or 100 games worth of play on it, one has probably 30 or 40 games worth, and one has only like 4 games worth.

So far i've tried a) doing nothing - that didn't work well lol. b) i've tried sort of filling the void (by void i mean the space between the front and back face of the blade that becomes more and more hollow as material breaks away over time) with superglue (it was handy and i don't know much about epoxies and resins) and that helped maybe a little, but quickly broke down again. c) i've actually taken to filling the void with hot glue from a generic arts and crafts hot glue gun lately. it helps to prevent minor chipping and fraying from board play and faceoffs, but obviously isn't strong enough to provide real protection against hard impacts.

i've got mcmaster-carr near me so i can probably get some moderately specialized stuff if necessary, definitely more than simple hardware store/home improvement store selection of epoxy and resin and whatever else might fit the bill.

i'll post the pics up Tuesday.

[MThockeydad 469]

Check out the link in romdj's post above.

You need to use a resin that is compatible with the original blade--an epoxy or styrene. Superglue is strong, but not tough. Hot glue is tough, but not strong.

Once the fibers start chipping, you need to replace them, so glue alone won't do it.

Once the inner core starts breaking down, your stick is probably shot, so fix it early.

The stick with 4 games worth of damage can probably be fixed with some 2-part epoxy and graphite powder.

The stick with 30-40 games worth of damage probably needs some extra CF fabric over the damage (as long as the core isn't spongy).

The stick with 75-100 games worth of damage probably can't be fixed* if the core is spongy.

If I had one with that much damage, I'd consider cutting off the whole bottom to expose the core, steam bend some ash or oak to lay in for a tougher inner core, and wrap CF or fiberglass around the bottom to tie it to the original outer fibers.

Another option to try would be Styrofoam pellets or glass microballoons mixed into epoxy with some graphite powder or silica fume. Straight graphite powder or silica fume plus epoxy is hard and somewhat heavy. The glass balloons or Styrofoam beads create some tiny voids in the matrix while the epoxy/graphite/silica adds rigidity between the faces. The strength is in the outer CF sheets, but you get strength from both if you have a core that keeps the two bridged--so you can realize strength from both when you take a hard hit**--instead of just the face contacting the puck.

*Yes, you can probably fix it, but you'll spend more in time and materials than it's worth. If you want to learn, go for it!!!!!

I would do it because I like the challenge--but if you have a big game coming up, get to the LHS and buy a new stick!!

**It's a monococque structure. Google it if you want to learn more.

Please do post pics! :)

[MThockeydad 469]

SRS video:

[Nealoc187 10]

I took pics yesterday but cell phone doesn't have a macro mode so the pics were mediocre, taking more pics today (after work) with my camera and I'll post them up.

[Nealoc187 10]

Pics of Reebok 11K blade (toe specifically) in various states of breaking down. Rest of the blade is still solid as hell (I know that's hard to believe looking at the condition of it, but it is true). disregard the fuzz on the toes of the blade, that's carpet fuzz sticking to old adhesive (i tape the entire toe).

Pic of the interior of the blade.

Length comparison of 3 different Reebok 11K blades. the most torn up blade probably has 75-100 games on it. the second most torn up with the "hot glue" toe has probably 35 games on it. after the deterioration of the previous blade I elected to tape the entire toe even when the blade was brand new. after this one started chipping significantly i started filling the "void area" with hot glue and completely taping the toe. this has helped somewhat as you can see, but the hot glue is not very strong. it flexes too much and after probably 5 games or so the hot glue "plug" will break away and I'll need to reapply it. in the meantime that flexing compromises the CF and foam a little bit more each time. the 3rd blade has 4 games on it i believe, and has just (as of last game) really become compromised, with a small crack developing and a tiny bit of void area underneath (by tiny I mean probably 1.5mm by 3 or 4mm by 2mm deep)

I would dearly love to find a way to head this deterioration off at the pass and keep my 4 game blade from deteriorating as quickly as the 35 game blade has. I understand that these things will not last forever, but the heel of these blades stays 100% strong while the toe just chips away, and eventually I end up with a blade that is an inch shorter than I am used to and it's borderline unusable at that point, can't toe drag, stick handle, shoot as i would like, poke check, etc).

More pics of the 75-100 game blade.

another pic of the 35 game blade with hot glue plug:

Below is my newest blade with 4 games on it. Crack and chipping of the CF has commenced. Tiny void area underneath there. I want to fill it with something, and if necessary cover it as well.

It's pretty clear that the 75 game blade is too far gone, hell it's missing an inch and a half of its length at the bottom part of the toe, but the 35 game blade i feel like i could repair at least somewhat (better than the hot glue) and get a lot more use out of it. The 4 game blade I plan to use for a lot longer after i determine a direction to go with repair/prevention.

[MThockeydad 469]

I just looked at what US Composites has in stock.

http://www.uscomposites.com/shortroll.html

Any of the 5.7oz fabrics would work fine.

Go for one of the 3k tow fabrics. The first two--plain weave or twill.

The 12k fabrics just have a wider thread and won't conform as well on the tip of your blade.

You might also consider fiberglass. Fiberglass isn't quite as stiff or strong as carbon, but it is a lot tougher.

Kevlar is tougher yet, but it's a pain to work with. It's difficult to cut or sand because it is so tough.

I like the 635 thin epoxy with 3:1 Medium Fast cure hardener. The 16oz resin/5.3oz hardener will be PLENTY.

For $25.50 for a yard of carbon and $15 for 20+oz of epoxy, you have enough for a lifetime of stick fixes.

Try fixing the 75+ game blade first. What do you have to lose?

Then fix the 35 game blade.

then do just the tip of your new blade.

Sand both faces of the stick with 60-grit sandpaper to rough them up and give the epoxy more surface area to bond to.

You might try the hot glue as a replacement for the foam. Fill the void, shape it out with hot glue, use a sharp knife to carve/trim it after it's cooled.

A piece of softwood would be a bit stronger. Could even be lightweight like cedar or poplar.

Cut a piece of CF about 4" x 4". You will fold it in half.

Put on some rubber gloves and mix up a half ounce of epoxy. The little clear cough syrup measuring caps work great.

If you bought the 3:1, mix 3/8oz of epoxy with 1/8oz of hardener. Put it in the microwave for 5 seconds. This will warm it slightly and thin it so it wets faster. It will also cure faster.

DO NOT GO 10-15 SECONDS. Epoxy curing is exothermic. Want to make a smoking pile of gooey foam in your microwave?

Wet out the blade 2" back from the tip.

Fold the CF over the blade. Wet it out. You don't want it dripping, but you do want it all wet.

Put the tip of the blade in a plastic sandwich bag. Take off your latex gloves and work out any air bubbles through the plastic.

Sandwich the tip in a towel and between a couple of books. Let it cure 3-4 hours.

When the epoxy is firm (not runny, but can be dented with your fingernail), trim the cf with a utility knife. If you pull fibers out of the epoxy, let it cure more.

When it's hard (overnight), sand it.

Let it cure in a warm place a few more days, tape it up, and go play hockey.

SRS blade repair video:

They aren't doing anything magical that isn't possible in the composites world--they're just making composites accessible and repair possible in the hockey world.

[Nealoc187 10]

I just looked at what US Composites has in stock.

http://www.uscomposites.com/shortroll.html

Any of the 5.7oz fabrics would work fine.

Go for one of the 3k tow fabrics. The first two--plain weave or twill.

The 12k fabrics just have a wider thread and won't conform as well on the tip of your blade.

You might also consider fiberglass. Fiberglass isn't quite as stiff or strong as carbon, but it is a lot tougher.

Kevlar is tougher yet, but it's a pain to work with. It's difficult to cut or sand because it is so tough.

I like the 635 thin epoxy with 3:1 Medium Fast cure hardener. The 16oz resin/5.3oz hardener will be PLENTY.

For $25.50 for a yard of carbon and $15 for 20+oz of epoxy, you have enough for a lifetime of stick fixes.

Try fixing the 75+ game blade first. What do you have to lose?

Then fix the 35 game blade.

then do just the tip of your new blade.

Sand both faces of the stick with 60-grit sandpaper to rough them up and give the epoxy more surface area to bond to.

You might try the hot glue as a replacement for the foam. Fill the void, shape it out with hot glue, use a sharp knife to carve/trim it after it's cooled.

A piece of softwood would be a bit stronger. Could even be lightweight like cedar or poplar.

Cut a piece of CF about 4" x 4". You will fold it in half.

Put on some rubber gloves and mix up a half ounce of epoxy. The little clear cough syrup measuring caps work great.

If you bought the 3:1, mix 3/8oz of epoxy with 1/8oz of hardener. Put it in the microwave for 5 seconds. This will warm it slightly and thin it so it wets faster. It will also cure faster.

DO NOT GO 10-15 SECONDS. Epoxy curing is exothermic. Want to make a smoking pile of gooey foam in your microwave?

Wet out the blade 2" back from the tip.

Fold the CF over the blade. Wet it out. You don't want it dripping, but you do want it all wet.

Put the tip of the blade in a plastic sandwich bag. Take off your latex gloves and work out any air bubbles through the plastic.

Sandwich the tip in a towel and between a couple of books. Let it cure 3-4 hours.

When the epoxy is firm (not runny, but can be dented with your fingernail), trim the cf with a utility knife. If you pull fibers out of the epoxy, let it cure more.

When it's hard (overnight), sand it.

Let it cure in a warm place a few more days, tape it up, and go play hockey.

SRS blade repair video:

They aren't doing anything magical that isn't possible in the composites world--they're just making composites accessible and repair possible in the hockey world.

Re: filling the void in the 35 game stick (I'd probably practice first on the 75 game stick though) what do you think about using raw carbon "fibers" like the kid did in this video mixed with epoxy into a sort of carbon/epoxy slurry? Or the epoxy/graphite powder you mentioned in an early post. Superior or inferior in your opinion to using hot glue or soft wood to fill out the void?

As for the stick with only 4 games and the tiny void it has, I was thinking I'd just fill the entire void with epoxy (seriously it's like 2x3x4mm). Just drip some in there if it's thin enough (hot glue is too viscous for use in the small of a space) and a little extra on the outside, wait for it to set hard, sand back in to shape.

[MThockeydad 469]

Fibers is a great idea.

I was going to say that you DO NOT want a big blob of rigid epoxy (hence I didn't recommend JB Weld), because you'd have a super stiff spot next to the old core (flexy spot) and it could crack off right at the edge of the old core.....but seeing that SRS is using some thickened epoxy to bridge the gap in a broken blade, it must work.

Microballoons or foam dust would still be good (with fibers).

[Nealoc187 10]

how thin is that 3:1 mix of 635 Thin and Medium-Fast hardener?

[MThockeydad 469]

It's almost exactly like honey--completely depends on temperature. Keep the components at room temperature.

When you warm it up, it's like water. When it's cold, it's like...well..cold honey!

I've literally got gallons of the stuff. If I can find a couple of small containers that would definitely not leak in shipping, I'll send you a small kit.

[Nealoc187 10]

I've sent liquids through the mail before (motor oil samples for analysis) and one plastic screw top jar inside of a ziplock bag inside of another larger plastic screw top jar has always been more than sufficient for UPS/USPS usage. I thank you for the offer and I'll PM you.

[MThockeydad 469]

A couple new projects:

Warrior stick with a cracked blade. Owner taped it tight and played it for several sessions so the core was mush. I pried open the crack and filled it with epoxy. I then sanded it to roughen the surface so that the epoxy would stick, and laid over the 0º/45º/-45º carbon fiber and a layer of 6oz woven glass over that (glass was a sacrificial "sanding" layer). I wet out the fabric and put it in a bag, covered that with a piece of foam, then used thin plywood and clamps to clamp the glass/fiber sandwich under the foam. The foam helps press the fabric tight to the stick, and the excess oozes out the sides--you want only enough resin to saturate the glass, otherwise you're resin-heavy and resin alone adds only weight, and practically zero tensile strength.

I forgot to take an "after" photo. I handed it back to the owner last night. He snapped the shaft of his new stick, so he was glad to have this backup--so now I have another to fix! He noted that it was quite a bit heavier than the original. That stitched mat fiber is probably 24k or more, so it does add a lot of thickness (and with it, resin weight). I had asked him if he wanted a "permanent/heavy" fix or a "pretty good/lightweight" fix--and I'd only have used thin glass or fiber. It's not heavier than a wood blade, but I wrapped the fabric under the blade edge and 3/4" up the back to add external stiffness since the core was shot. If I'd have gone thin, I could have controlled the crack, but with a shot core, the blade would still have flexed enough to eventually die there again.

Here are a couple other fixes on kids' glass sticks. Fixed the same way as the first post in the thread. I thought I'd add some detail on how I put the core in.

Used unidirectional stitched glass for a sleeve.

A scrap of blue camping mat foam to hold the fiberglass sleeve against the inside walls of the stick.

Sanded inside the stick with 60-grit to rough it up.

I then wrapped a scrap of glossy magazine paper around the glass/foam and pushed it halfway inside one half of the stick.

Hold the glass in place and pull the paper out, and voila! It's inside the stick. It's nearly impossible to push it inside the stick with its rough edges without the paper wrap messing up the glass.

Wrap the tape around the other half, there will be a taper in the paper due to the thickness of the stick. This is ok!

Push the glass inside the other half of the stick. I had to pinch the paper to make sure I didn't press it deeper into the first half.

Pull the paper out, and the two halves line up again:

I then mixed about 1/4oz of epoxy and poured it into the crack to saturate the glass. I clamped the stick straight and let it cure overnight.

Then proceeded the same way as the first post in the thread--sanded both sides to a taper and wrapped glass around the middle. I then wrapped that tightly with tape to squeeze the resin out and compact the glass and let it cure. Sanded and painted and it looks like this:

(repair was right below the E in XLITE)

[Nealoc187 10]

Awesome. I got the supplies you sent BTW, not sure if I ever thanked you. I haven't used them yet because of lack of available work space at home, and not wanting to do extended stuff in the warehouse at work, but I'm moving in to a new place in the next couple weeks and will be trying out some fixes on a couple blades, and perhaps a broken shaft i saved just for this.

Thanks for keeping this alive and giving updates and additional info on supplies and technique. I love this stuff.

[MThockeydad 469]

I did the glue-up on my kitchen table since my garage is cold. Lay down some newspaper and go to work.

I did do the sanding out in the garage, but you could do it outside. :)

I realized I forgot to send you those graduated mixing cups. Still need them? Same size as the ones on top of a cough syrup bottle.

[jonesy9020 77]

Considering repairing the tenon of an APX2 replacement blade that collapsed in the rear and wondering if anyone has advice about materials to use to reinforce the tenon. After I remove the blade, I plan to heat up the tenon a bit and push it back out to its original shape using a screwdriver or something similar. Wondering what I should fill the hollow tenon with to reinforce the cracked area. Foam? Epoxy? Hot glue? Wood? CF wrap on inside first, then fill with something else? This thread has been super helpful but wondering if anyone has advice on this particular application.

Of particular concern to me is (a) maintaining the size of the tenon as closely as possible, and (b) picking a material that can stand up to another application of heat to re-insert it into the shaft.

[MThockeydad 469]

I don't know that heat will help. The resin used to lay up the blade in the first place would have been a thermoset plastic (sets once, that's it), not a thermoplastic (melt/soften/set multiple times).

I'd probably sand off all the old paint and then build it up with carbon fiber.

Hot glue has no compression strength, and comparatively little tensile strength.

Epoxy has great tensile strength, but not much compression or torsional (twisting) strength, which is why it's used as a matrix for cf or glass.

CF on the very inside has little strength as well--a CF toilet paper tube would have far more strength and stiffness than a solid rod of 3/8" CF .. if they were the same weight for their length. You only need thickness for toughness, but distance from center gives strength and stiffness--even if thin.

Epoxy is not great for withstanding heat. You would want to postcure (heat it up) it for a complete cure, then when you reheat it for hot glue, don't get it hotter than you did when you postcured it.

[cnaples 0]

If you want the best way to repair your stick check out Integral Hockey and see if there is a franchise in your location. I have gotten several sticks repaired from the Northern New Jersey franchise and they have been awesome. I have gotten blades and shafts done and I have a had been using those sticks for over 4 months now.