# How to repair a crack



## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

This slingshot was sent up to Alaska from Mexico. I've been shooting it on my porch in extremely dry and temperatures down to -22 degrees farenheit. Anyways, the crack wasn't there when I got it, but it's there now. Bad picture and my search function isn't working. I'm not a slingshot builder at all so I don't know all the tips and tricks. I doubt the integrity is compromised because of the direction the crack is running but I am proud of my slingshots and would like to permanently cover up or mask this crack. If you know the "trick" please, I'm all ears


----------



## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

You can cut down the crack and glue color paper and glue it back together and sand down.


----------



## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

ghost0311/8541 said:


> You can cut down the crack and glue color paper and glue it back together and sand down.


Do you mean cut down the crack to make it bigger? Then stuff it with brown paper along with glue, then sand it Down?


----------



## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

Personally I would leave it be, adds character, but if you so choose you can fill it up with epoxy resin mixed with some color pigment


----------



## JonM (Aug 17, 2013)

:yeahthat:


----------



## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

What can I use for color pigment? This is a very nice slingshot, and It looks a lot better without the crack, thanks for the suggestion tho


----------



## TheNewSlingshotGuy (Oct 11, 2014)

What I do is I buy school chalkboard-chalk in a color pack(sidewalk chalk would work to), and u take a sharp knife and ever so gently I scrape downwards, with the edge of the blade angled toward you. Basically you are dragging the knife along the length of the chalk to create very fine dust. Then you mix that with a slow setting epoxy or resin so you have time to mix it and then press it in the crack. Let dry, then sand it down. You could also buy "photoilluminescent powder" from amazon to make it glow in the dark.


----------



## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

Yes cut down the crack where you have 2 pieces and glue it back to together with color paper it a will fill the space and give it a cool look with what ever color you use.


----------



## devils son in law (Sep 2, 2014)

I've done the chalk and epoxy thing too. I gently rubbed the chalk over very fine sandpaper, it doesn't take very much dust to get a good solid color.


----------



## Susi (Mar 3, 2013)

I make SSs out of Eucalyptus forks and it is pretty crackey wood. I don't mind at all actually and fill the cracks using a needle and regular clear 30 minute epoxy. You can use commercial wood filler as well. You can buy some wood stain and color the filler with a drip of it so it blends in better with the surrounding wood. The crack goes with the grain and doesn't harm the strength of the SS. A recent post in the gallery section, a fellow filled a crack with turquoise colored resin using copper sulphate as the tint powder. So you can add a bit of color contrast if you like. It's legal. LOL. It's hard to completely hide a crack anyway and not necessary...a natural fork is a natural fork is a natural fork and cracks are expected. It sort of makes it more wood like in my humble opinion. After the filler or epoxy has set/dried and if you put a little more than you needed to sort of mound it up a bit, you have some to sand down to the wood surface, and refinish with polyurethane or whatever it was finished with originally so as to make the repair less noticeable. In my case, Eucalyptus wood is an ivory color and making canes out of it, I use black dye in the filler resin and it makes a cool contrast with the ivory...but of course any color that floats yer boat is fine.

Since the crack doesn't harm the strength of the fork at all, your imagination is the limit...doesn't make any diff what you use really and the suggestions above are certainly viable. I just use epoxy for it's fast and simple. 5 minutes eposy is fine too and permits sanding in about two hours (even tho it says it's 5 minutes). I wait over night to sand ANY epoxy no matter what the "minutes" says. The minutes really refers to working time before it gels, not totally hard. Packages over state the cure time to make you buy it thinking it'll hold 2 tons in five minutes...which it won't.


----------



## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

just keep filling it with superglue until it won't soak up anymore, once dry sand it smooth and repeat until you can't see anymore glue soaking into the crack.

It would be difficult to cover up or mask the crack once it is there, kind of like putting the toothpaste back in the tube. you could fill the crack in as above then paint it, but that would be a tragedy.

BTW, how is this slingshot finished?


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

I know how you feel, once the crack is there, you will always know it is there. I have gotton rid of stuff because things like this can bug me so much on things I really like.

Ya, I know how you feel !

wll


----------



## GrizG (Dec 24, 2014)

From my woodworking experiences.... If you mix black toner (printer, copier) with thin epoxy you can create black epoxy. You can then either force the epoxy into the crack with a plastic spatula (or coated paper business card), or you may be able to blow it into the crack using compressed air (e.g., blower nozzle on a compressor). Let the epoxy cure and then sand it off. it will look like a natural defect in the wood (e.g., mineral stain).

My woodturning associates regularly use this trick so they can turn cracked/punky/burl wood that would otherwise fall apart (or even explode) on the lathe.

I've used a blower nozzle to force glue into checks and have used a shop vacuum to suck glue into thin through-cracks on furniture projects.


----------

