Fixed another cracked racket today ! 100% fixed / stringable !

teachingprotx

teachingprotx

Legend
Man. I can’t believe how many rackets I’ve seen on my stringer that I’ve had to tell people she’s
UNSTRINGABLE :(“
Personally I too have thrown away a few sticks myself due to a crack . And just a couple years ago too.
Heart breaking rossignol f200 jr frame I searched for years to find . Finally got one too. But the second time I strung it the string caved in thru the grommet channel .
ughhh it was awful .
Had to toss it .
Damn!
If I only knew then what I do now I could have saved it , along with many others .
If ya don’t know the deal. It’s easy .
Take fresh cheap super glue spread it on the crack . Sprinkle liberally some baking soda and watch the magic it brings the material together and creates a very impressive bond. I do it on layers .
Usually 3 layers of glue , then b soda. Repeat 3 times . Sand it flush with the frame. Done .
It really does work .
And it’s super easy . You tube has a few vids too for guitars but it’s the same procedure.
Save a racket ! It will make ya feel good ! Plus it passes time nicely too!!
much love to all !
Teaching pro Texas
 
Neat...I have filled in worn spots with super glue but never did baking soda. What does the baking soda do thats so great?
 
https://imgur.com/1Gp86V0
Well crap . After I took the pic it doesn’t really help anyone .. darn .. sorry you need a before and after but this is the finished product .
I used a white lighter to kinda point at where I did the mend.. between the two grommet holes . It would have been white after the job . But it was bugging me so I used a black magic marker on the spot , and now you can’t even see it , literally I had to ask my wife to point it out . So anyway. Hope this may help someone .
 
Sodium bicarbonate reacts catalyst to to it and chemically reacts and becomes CEMENT!
Wow . Damn ... cement !?
Supposedly that’s what it turns into a type of cement .
Which to me cement on a tennis racket sounds like a terrible idea . Perhaps they mean the catalyst creates a “ cemented bond”.
Which to me makes more sense of what I’m seeing and feeling after .
it’s after your finished with it , it is also totally sandable, and paintable as well! 2 big bonuses for us racket painting hobby geeks :) which I am ! And damn proud of it !
 
I've repaired cracks successfully using flowable unfilled and filled composite resins, and even flowable glass ionomer materials. Some I use a narrow spectrum 400-500 nanometer LED curing light on if the material I use has a light activated catalyst. The material I use depends on a few factors - most of the time I'll use a clear filled composite resin material. Then I take my handpiece and finish, polish using a variety of small burs. On all the repairs I've done, most seem to hold up just fine! I'm a dentist by the way, so that gives me access to some interesting tools and materials :giggle:
 
Dansan said:
I've repaired cracks successfully using flowable unfilled and filled composite resins, and even flowable glass ionomer materials. Some I use a narrow spectrum 400-500 nanometer LED curing light on if the material I use has a light activated catalyst. The material I use depends on a few factors - most of the time I'll use a clear filled composite resin material. Then I take my handpiece and finish, polish using a variety of small burs. On all the repairs I've done, most seem to hold up just fine! I'm a dentist by the way, so that gives me access to some interesting tools and materials :giggle:
Click to expand...
Dansan you old dog you ! This not fair ! Man !!!
Your so lucky to have that at your disposal. Few years back I purchased a light activated perma-bond pen...it was the sAme basic fundamentals of which you use . Ie not as sophisticated but it still did the job quite well.
Matter of fact I still have a frame that I did some work on using that light pen. And the racket is still playable today .
And it was BAD.
QUICK brief synopsis, I paint rackets a lot. I sand down the frame . On my first sophomoric attempts I took the sanding a bit too far and DEEP. WENT completely thru the frame in one spot. Used the light pen applicatior and it worked like gangbusters .
I eventually ran out of the pens resin glue so I was looking for alternatives and that’s how I found the glue trick.
 
smboogie said:
Ahh the only repair is the trash can at this point. Good Luck ;)
Click to expand...

It actually doesn't appear as bad as the picture tells.

It was actually 100% intact/fully strung with Syn Gut before I cut it out (I hit with it once, didn't feel like it affected the playability of the racquet). It MIGHT even be able to handle another string job. I'm going to at least try OP's method. Bought this Pro Staff 6.1 Classic for $4 at goodwill, didn't notice the crack at the time. Have to try and fix it haha.
 
BurnNotice said:
It actually doesn't appear as bad as the picture tells.

It was actually 100% intact/fully strung with Syn Gut before I cut it out (I hit with it once, didn't feel like it affected the playability of the racquet). It MIGHT even be able to handle another string job. I'm going to at least try OP's method. Bought this Pro Staff 6.1 Classic for $4 at goodwill, didn't notice the crack at the time. Have to try and fix it haha.
Click to expand...
Good Luck! I still have 2 PS6.1 Classics in my bag, more for nostalgia than play.
 
- @teachingprotx def. like the bonding idea/notion of the superglue and baking-soda
- while i do agree that it holds!! (like cement- as you put it), i would still like to know if after a few days, you felt arm discomfort??
-ive hit with broken sticks before, and that was the reasoning to trash them, the arm discomfort after a few days of the vibration getting to my arm
 
1HBHfanatic said:
- @teachingprotx def. like the bonding idea/notion of the superglue and baking-soda
- while i do agree that it holds!! (like cement- as you put it), i would still like to know if after a few days, you felt arm discomfort??
-ive hit with broken sticks before, and that was the reasoning to trash them, the arm discomfort after a few days of the vibration getting to my arm
Click to expand...
Personally when the frame gets first cracks “ stress fractures I think that’s when the frame feels it’s absolute best . Kinda like a string that’s getting ready to go at any time ,usually feels spot on .
I have not yet felt any arm discomfort after I have mended a frame . I have however tried to fix frames that were just too far gone with the crack .. and the frame reverberated too much and had to trash it..
the trick is really to know that every crack is different .ones that seem terrible can be fixed with great success while others seem harmless but are too far gone . Trial and error .
Obviously paint cracks are the easiest .
Next level is first layer graphite crack . Easy fix
Next second layer graphite still no problem
3rd and 4th totally depends on the nature of the lay up and orientation of how it was laid out .
Your best bet for when the crack goes down deep is follow the same process as before just sand deeper .
What I do is locate the crack .
Sand down the crack and area around to make it flush .
A lot of times you will be able to simply sand the crack away like magic .
But when you sand you must be careful not to sand too deep . This would be very difficult to do but if you have an electric sander and use a ton of force and just hold it there it will eventually cave thru the wall.
Again it’s not easy to sand down that far . But it is a warning
....
So yes , sand the affected area down . If you still see a crack after you Smad the area then stop .
use the glue and spread out in the direction of the crack make sure the glue gets in the crack and surrounding area , Doesn’t need to be neat and tidy . You can go back later and fix all that . once glue is down immediately sprinkle the soda on the crack liberally amounts of soda. It will dry on contact .
Blow off the remaining soda . Then repeat if necessary.
I do this at least 3 times .
 
I found cracked Vcore 100 on court and decided to make ad experiment and repair It

I cut out broken graphite filled this place with fiberglass and epoxy resin. Then wiped off with sandpaper. I tested durability of the frame by standing on It with my whole weight (68 kilos) and moving up down. It didint break so i gonna string It this week and try how it play. If playability gonna be good i will custom paint It. Maybe i sandpaper It to bare graphite and only paint yonex logos in some crazy neon colour

Unfortunetelly didnt take photos when It was broken
IMG-20250224-143022.jpg

IMG-20250224-143110.jpg


IMG-20250224-144420.jpg
 
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teachingprotx said:
Sodium bicarbonate reacts catalyst to to it and chemically reacts and becomes CEMENT!
Wow . Damn ... cement !?
Supposedly that’s what it turns into a type of cement .
Which to me cement on a tennis racket sounds like a terrible idea . Perhaps they mean the catalyst creates a “ cemented bond”.
Click to expand...
Hey sarge. We found him in the bottom of the lake. His hands were tied and his feet were tied to a tennis racket.
 
Unlike the racquet's carbon fiber/resin structure, super glue/baking soda is very brittle with high compressive strength, but low tensile strength and little ability to bend under stress.

In other words, super glue and baking soda is much more of a cosmetic filler than a true structural repair of a cracked frame.
 
eric42 said:
Unlike the racquet's carbon fiber/resin structure, super glue/baking soda is very brittle with high compressive strength, but low tensile strength and little ability to bend under stress.

In other words, super glue and baking soda is much more of a cosmetic filler than a true structural repair of a cracked frame.
Click to expand...
Would using a sheet of fiberglass and super glue + baking soda be better? (similar to surfboard repairs)
 
onehandbh said:
Would using a sheet of fiberglass and super glue + baking soda be better? (similar to surfboard repairs)
Click to expand...
Fiberglass and carbon fiber composites obtain their strength by having their fibers bound within a more flexible medium - resin. Using a fiberglass/super glue composite would still result in a very brittle patch with little ability to flex along with the natural racquet frame.

Fiberglass with epoxy is normally how fiberglass is used and would be much better than super glue/baking soda. In the modeling world, baking soda is often used to make a non-structural hard fillet. You pack the soda, then drop water thin super glue onto it which totally wicks into and saturates the baking soda and quickly cures into a very hard (but brittle and fragile) material which can also be sanded to shape if needed. It for sure has practically zero structural value for cracks in tennis racquets.
 
Superglue (cyanoacrylate) is the problem b/c it's so brittle. Epoxy is relatively flexible. In the surfboard world, epoxy resin is known to be more flexible than polyester resin.
 
ey039524 said:
Superglue (cyanoacrylate) is the problem b/c it's so brittle. Epoxy is relatively flexible. In the surfboard world, epoxy resin is known to be more flexible than polyester resin.
Click to expand...
I repaired Yonex Vcore (some posts above) with fiberglass and and epoxy resin same way we did It with windsurfing boards and yachts back in the 80s 90s.
For better efect i cut.of a couple mm of the frame to create better contact point for filament.
 
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Racquets are very repairable. It is best to actually use carbon and epoxy though. Just like repairing a cracked carbon bike frame.

Many people agonize over how the original layup was done but a braided carbon sleeve pretty much covers all bases.

It's half art, half science.
 
teachingprotx said:
Man. I can’t believe how many rackets I’ve seen on my stringer that I’ve had to tell people she’s
UNSTRINGABLE :(“
Personally I too have thrown away a few sticks myself due to a crack . And just a couple years ago too.
Heart breaking rossignol f200 jr frame I searched for years to find . Finally got one too. But the second time I strung it the string caved in thru the grommet channel .
ughhh it was awful .
Had to toss it .
Damn!
If I only knew then what I do now I could have saved it , along with many others .
If ya don’t know the deal. It’s easy .
Take fresh cheap super glue spread it on the crack . Sprinkle liberally some baking soda and watch the magic it brings the material together and creates a very impressive bond. I do it on layers .
Usually 3 layers of glue , then b soda. Repeat 3 times . Sand it flush with the frame. Done .
It really does work .
And it’s super easy . You tube has a few vids too for guitars but it’s the same procedure.
Save a racket ! It will make ya feel good ! Plus it passes time nicely too!!
much love to all !
Teaching pro Texas
Click to expand...
Can we see a photo of the finished product?
 
Racket plays pretty normal.... Only problem is i have to add 30 gramm to it ;) Well see if repair last heavier hitting

1740767206955-1
 
Last edited:
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