Repairing My Stick and Patching Fiberglass

[Iron Mike 1]

So, my (2-piece fiberglass) Easton Synergy Si-core (75 flex) is pretty cracked and deteriorated from the bottom of the shaft and up 2 in. First, What I plan on doing is inserting the blade into the other end of the shaft, so that the blade doesn't crack through the shaft on a shot. So, I'm wondering if the design/construction of the stick would still be effective if the shaft was upside down. E.g., is the shaft designed to flex at a certain points on shots, and having it this way would mess up the flex points?

The next step would be to prevent the same deterioration from happening again. I don't know how long it was used for, or how the deterioration progressed because I bought it used for $5 ( in its day it was pretty top of the line I think, so I thought it would be sweet to repair and use it ). The cracks run horizontal and vertical on the shaft (the cracks only affect the outer layer of fiberglass. Where the cracks are, the surface area right around them is raised, almost as if the insert of the blade was too big for the shaft. So I'm wondering if the blade insert is sometimes too big or if it's probably because it was went through a lot of slappers. If the insert of the blade was actually to large at those points, I bet I could just sand them down with some 80 sandpaper. Here are the pics:

http://picturepush.com/showformat.php?format=800ℑ=11893251

http://picturepush.com/showformat.php?format=640ℑ=11893314

I still want to fix the part of the shaft that's cracked because I have to use an insert of the top of the shaft because the previous user of the stick cut it down to his shorter height. I've broken wooden inserts on the top of the shaft before, so I know I exert pressure there. Since the cracked end of the shaft is up there, I don't want to break through it. After doing lots of research online, I've decided that the most quality way to fix the stick is to cut away the cracked fiberglass and replace with fiberglass layers using fiberglass cloth and epoxy ( since many sticks, including this one, use fiberglass layers I think it would be good). I searched a lot for methods of fixing sticks on your own and no one mentioned this idea, but I think it would be best (though I'm still not sure if it's feasible). I saw some people tried fixing this part of the shaft with just epoxy. I imagine that would do a fair job for a while, but I think adding more layers of fiberglass and epoxy would prevent cracking much better and give more strength. At this point, I'm finding it very difficult to find fiberglass cloth and epoxy that are designed to work together and create the type of fiberglass that would be good for a stick. The cloth at hardware stores is basic, but it might work, though from my research I think it's important to use the cloth only with epoxies that are designed to work with a given cloth (and I doubt the epoxies at these stores will work with cloth, it seems there are many different types of epoxies) . I can't find any info on fiberglassing to make small surface area repairs. In truth, I can't find anything about epoxy and the cloth being used together except for boat repair/ covering (the fiberglass is used as the skin of the hull etc. to keep water out and protect). So, I'm going to start calling boating stores once the work week starts. But, I thought someone here might have input on this part.

Thanks for reading my book

[Chadd 916]

Flipping the shaft will make the stick perform differently, due to moving the kickpoints. Reinforcing the stick could also have the same effect as it wouldn't allow the stick to flex as it normally does. Some people will notice, some will not.

[Buzz_LightBeer 974]

Easy Answer; you're trying to save an 8 year old shaft. Look for a new shaft with the flex and proerties you're after and move on.

shafts are manufactred using resin and high pressures. unless you have the means of replicating that, i dont see how you could repair a cracked/broken shaft effectively.

What length/flex shaft are you after? A retail Si-Core shaft wouldn't be all that dissimilar from an SE16 shaft

The technology of the Si-Core was in the blade, so you're not losing anything there.

[Iron Mike 1]

@Chadd: If you flip a low kickpnt stick it's not going to work well I imagine b/c the kickpoint would be by your hand. If you flip a mid kickpnt stick it would still render the kickpoint useless right? Isn't the avg mid kickpnt ~18" from the bottom of the shaft?

@Buzz: My process would use resin. It would also use adding fiberglass layers, though I don't know how often that is still used. I've seen pro stick repair sites use epoxy resin, which is what I would use. Given I would just use it as reinforcement in this case, I think it could work. Also, epoxy is flexible. I think it wouldn't totally mess with kickpoints.

I have the si-core blade in good condition, is that worth using? or is it pretty crappy at this point?

I'm still figuring out what stick's right for me, so no big purchases at this point. Just got an eq30

[Vet88 674]

I haven't dealt with fibreglass for a long time (ex surfboard repairer) but recently I have looked at carbon fibre repairs for hockey sticks. The SRS system (srshockey.com) is a carbon fibre repair process for hockey sticks and gives you some idea of what they do.

If you want to see a carbon fibre repair in operation have a look at carbonmods.co.uk. They are repairing a fishing rod but the principles remain the same, a secure join and the flex is retained.

[x-track 8]

Thx for the link !

[Chadd 916]

@Chadd: If you flip a low kickpnt stick it's not going to work well I imagine b/c the kickpoint would be by your hand. If you flip a mid kickpnt stick it would still render the kickpoint useless right? Isn't the avg mid kickpnt ~18" from the bottom of the shaft?

It depends on what kind of "mid kick" the shaft actually is. If it's a tapered stick, like a si-core, then it isn't really a mid kick stick. It just isn't as low as something like a Vapor. If you're talking about something like an Ultralight or AK shaft, then you can flip it without as much of an issue.

[Jasonwff 0]

I have fix several sticks using two part epoxy and Kevlar fiber cloth. The fixes work, but change the properties of the stick dramatically.

I have also tried flipping the stick around and inserting the blade there.

I messed around with repairing stick shafts and blades for a year.

The best solution I found was buying a new stick.

Simply pit the performance is better ( even if I am a lower level player I notice the differance)

I finally found a stick I liked, I bought three from a store that sells old stock sticks. Good price. Easton ST.

[coryroth24 15]

A roll of this should do the trick. If you get three skates in with that stick and a roll of tape, you've gotten your $5 bucks worth on it.

Seriously though, find a new shaft...

[Iron Mike 1]

@Vet: The SRS puts carbon fiber in the shaft where the break is, and solidifies it with epoxy correct? Thanks for the link, I'll have to check that out.

@Chadd: I'm confused because my Si-core is definitely not tapered. It's a wide shaft (in fact, the si-core blade I have didn't fit in my z-bubble):

Here's the orig. pic posted: http://picturepush.com/showformat.php?format=800ℑ=11893251).

I wanted to take another pic of it next to my z-bubble, but you can see that it's wide.

Is there a non-tapered Si-core?

Also, a general question about kickpoints. Is there a special construction in a certain part of the shaft that makes the kickpoint in a certain spot (the dual kick point stick comes to mind that would support this idea)? Or, is it just the thickness/strength of the shaft as a whole? Hence, tapered shafts have a lower kickpoint.

[Iron Mike 1]

@Jason: I haven't looked into Kevlar much. I have read that it's more difficult to work with than fiberglass. Also, I think that repairing with fiberglass could interfere a lot less with kickpoints. Here's something I read: "E-glass (aka fiberglass), perhaps "3610" triaxial has a multi direction strength. KEVLAR doe's not. KEVLAR has a strength at the direct point of impact only, not mutidirectional (thehullthruth.com)."

Another way to think of kevlar's flex is with armor. It's absorbs the impact of a bullet, and flexes - spitting the bullet back out. It can only flex in this one direction though. I think (though I haven't done the research) there's a small amount of kevlar in a stick, due to it's flex problems (I know this in true in boats - lots of fiberglass, vry little kevlar and only in certain spots).

I do think you guys are right that the ideal solution is getting a new stick. However, due to the price of the game, and that I have a lot of hockey ahead of me, I would love to learn to repair sticks well enough to get more use out of them and learn something (and I do think it is doable to get the stick back to a decent state).

Reference:

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/265423-sell-me-kevlar-vs-fiberglass-2.html

[Chadd 916]

@Chadd: I'm confused because my Si-core is definitely not tapered. It's a wide shaft (in fact, the si-core blade I have didn't fit in my z-bubble):

Here's the orig. pic posted: http://picturepush.com/showformat.php?format=800ℑ=11893251).

I wanted to take another pic of it next to my z-bubble, but you can see that it's wide.

Is there a non-tapered Si-core?

The original Si-core was a Synergy with a slightly different blade. What you have does not sound like that. I don't recall seeing anything like that when they were new, but that was 7 or 8 years ago.

[Vet88 674]

@Vet: The SRS puts carbon fiber in the shaft where the break is, and solidifies it with epoxy correct? Thanks for the link, I'll have to check that out.

I'm not 100% sure about how the SRS system works but knowing what I do about carbon fiber repairs then I'd say yes, they would wrap the carbon fiber around the join whilst brushing each layer with epoxy (although how they do cracks in blades is a mystery to me at the moment). Have a look at the carbonmod link I provided, the video is an end to end demo on how to repair a stick with tremendous flex back to as new condition using carbon fiber.