Fixing a broken pallet/buttcap...

[mtommer]

So, on one of my racquets I noticed the buttcap was starting to come off the end of the racquet. "Hmmm" says I. I took a look and the foam used to make the pallet had sheared completely around the handle, a clean break if you will, halfway into the buttcap and the staples were working loose. Here's what it looked like....

To fix it I applied some Seal All which can be used as a contact cement and then I stapled the inner most edge of the buttcap back into the handle (basically in on the handle more). I figured the staples would hopefully keep the buttcap from moving off the handle enough that the glue bond wouldn't break. Basically I don't know if the glue would hold up for long so the staples are, hopefully, insurance.

So I'm curious if anybody else has run into this problem and what you did if you found a permanent fix. Like I said before, I hope the glue itself will be a permanent fix with the staples hopefully preventing any stress on the glued join, thereby resulting in a permanent fix. Hopefully. The racquet is a Dunlop M-Fil 200 and the hard foam pallet looks like it's molded and shaped permanently to the racquet so I don't think there's a way to just put on a new pallet. I know some racquets like Head you can get the pallet off but I don't think you can with my Dunlop racquets - not without seriously ruining it anyway.

 

[Team China]

I fixed my friend's buttcap before but his was a wilson racquet. The buttcap completely came off and the pallet cracked in multiple places and came off(some stuck inside the buttcap). Luckily my friend saved all the pieces and the length of the damage wasn't more than a inch
I was able to glue back pieces with some super glue and some hot glue but I believe epoxy would have been better. I then wrapped the end with a layer or two of electrical tape. I then stapled the racket together not using regular racket staples but nails slightly shorter than width of the handle.

Thats what i did and it seemed to work out fine so good luck to you.

 

[Virtua Tennis]

For most buttcap repairs like that I use epoxy to glue it. If you don't know what epoxy is it's the stuff that comes in a twin tube syringe that you mix then apply. The bond is so strong you will never have that butt cap fall off anymore.

 

[rasajadad]

I have used contact cement successfully (on a PK Redondo) for both the pallet and the buttcap. I also staple the buttcap.

 

[Nellie]

I have only seen this from racquet abuse!

 

[Frost5541]

sorry for the bump, but my racquet pallet is broken. the solid foam handle which was used back in '07 by dunlop is pretty crap which is why they can be pressed and dented quite easily. any way i can mold one myself?