One thing about freak accidents .... they can happen. I'll mention the statistic that more people die falling off toilets than are killed by Great White Sharks. But if Steven Spielberg made a film about falling off toilets as his second film, we wouldn't have had Jurassic Park
I don't know how to respond to that. Awesome? I've played some more wall-y, and done some more torsion/bending tests with my hands, no signs of cracking. I suppose the real acid test would be to lend the racquet to my opponent, so I'll do that. So far that's ONE report of a snapped shaft being fatal. I read about a racquet separating at the shaft - no reports of any injury. I also let go of a racquet once when playing (don't ask) and no injury, although the other guy did some nice face defence with his racquet as mine cartwheeled across the floor. SO the odds are good at least.
really too bad, i do not have the humour some of you possess, i could have used that when i last saw that guy's brother some twelve years ago. anyways, carry on...
Round 2 is here. Pictures to follow but there's apparently an inner and outer core to the shaft. The outer is in pretty bad shape. Unsure if the inner has a longitudinal crack, and whether to remove the outer to investigate or just repair. And epoxy or gorrilla glue. I think epoxy. Jetspeed 9. Destined to be a very nice 3/4 length junior racquet I feel.
No inner and outer core, just shredded carbon. My daughter loves the colour so I'm cutting it down to a shorter shaft, add new handle. Sorted.
Update: I tried to buy Frankenrev back to be on the safe side. Owner said no. I showed him how it was flexing too much around the 'fix' and to let me torsion test. No. So i begged he not play with it. No. In sort, the screw snapped. Luckily he smashed the head on the floor, no one was hurt. The owner was happy with the amount of extra court time he got with the fixed racquet. Me, not so much. The JETSWORD used a thinner screw (40x4mm) so that project will not see court time. I cant seem to separate the fecker though and its not even close to full cure time. I'm looking for carbon rods in place of the screw before I continue testing.
A source for carbon rods might be broken fishing rods. They have a gradual taper so you could find a section that fits inside your racket. The metal screw creates a hard point, a stress riser, which concentrates the stress at one point. I'd also sand down the outside of the shaft beyond either side of the break, and use a thin epoxy resin and carbon fiber cloth or carbon fiber strands, to wrap the shaft with, tapering it down on the ends. Epoxy resin will allow more flex than epoxy putty such as JB Weld, and will also soak into the fibers better.
Nice info thanks. The screws were too brittle and snapped. I got some 3mm and 4mm rods from ebay for peanuts. I used jb weld but think gorrilla glue to join carbon will be preferable. If I can source some carbon wrap I'll have to get some. @Slade needs a donor racquet to 'test'
I do Epoxy resin would be superior to Gorilla glue IMO. Rough up the bonding surfaces with coarse sandpaper to give them some "tooth" for the resin to grab onto. You can get some of those 2 part syringes at the hardware store, get the 30 minute type so you have enough working time, and make sure it's clear resin, not putty or gel.
I should point out that Gorilla Glue also has their own brand of 2 part epoxy, but that's not the same as their original single part Gorilla Glue which is polyurethane based.
