why wait to dry the glue?

[lodro]

With the wet method its completely flat.

It might be completely flat but this is because you force the excess glue unevenly in to the sponge, which will of course also create a uneven performance of the rubbers depending where the balls hit.

Which one is worse ????
Frankly my dear ............ 🤣
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

[Cadoia]

It might be completely flat but this is because you force the excess glue unevenly in to the sponge, which will of course also create a uneven performance of the rubbers depending where the balls hit.

Which one is worse ????
Frankly my dear ............ 🤣
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

not convinced this is true.
and..... playing the rubber felt fine.

 

[Trevize84]

I'm not entirely convinced either, but I would agree that putting a weight on top of the rubber doesn't seem right to me, because you stress the pimples that are not designed to hold Kg of weight for hours.

 

[dingyibvs]

Perhaps all the suggestions about 5 layers of fully dry strong glue are related to heavily boosted and domed rubbers. BTW, old rubber glue is less strong.

Multiple layers of glue isn't just about sticking the rubber to the blade, it adds some bounciness as well.

 

[Cadoia]

I'm not entirely convinced either, but I would agree that putting a weight on top of the rubber doesn't seem right to me, because you stress the pimples that are not designed to hold Kg of weight for hours.

earlier in this thread you find people doing what i do but with a device putting slight pressure on the rubbers. its a link to some german website.
maybe 1kg is enough? not sure. but some pressure is needed.

 

[lodro]

I'm not entirely convinced either, but I would agree that putting a weight on top of the rubber doesn't seem right to me, because you stress the pimples that are not designed to hold Kg of weight for hours.

Count the pimples then divide the weight by that amount and you will probably find every pimple has to carry sweet f-all 😂

 

[Arkady]

Now I would wet glue from now onwards if it wasnt for the fact some claim the sponge will react negatively to this. And the blade will get moisture and deteriorate over time.

I don't think that the sponge is affected by wet gluing. The blade might be, but varnishing it overcomes this problem.

Frankly after your tests, wet gluing doesn't sound such a bad idea to me. if I wasn't using glue sheets, I would definitely try it.

 

[_ak]

Multiple layers of glue isn't just about sticking the rubber to the blade, it adds some bounciness as well.

And weight. Why not to get just a bouncier rubber?

 

[dingyibvs]

And weight. Why not to get just a bouncier rubber?

Because the bouncier rubber may lack something else. Also, even the bouncier rubber can be made even bouncier, if that's what you're after. Weight to an extent is also desired, as it can also add power to your shot. A study showed that the same racket with the same rubber is faster when there's a rubber glued to the other side compared to no rubber on the other side, meaning that the weight of the setup also contributes to speed independently.

 

[_ak]

Just pick a heavier blade. People just love to overcomplicate things 🤷‍♂️

 

[Arkady]

And weight. Why not to get just a bouncier rubber?

One advantage of multiple glue layers is that the thicker the layer, the easier it is to be removed from the sponge of the rubber if they are to be reused.

 

[_ak]

One advantage of multiple glue layers is that the thicker the layer, the easier it is to be removed from the sponge of the rubber if they are to be reused.

On one side quite thick Chinese factory glue is indeed easy to remove, on another after 3 regluing in my regular way the glue residue is thinner that this factory glue. I just don't bother about removing and keep it simple.

 

[Arkady]

On one side quite thick Chinese factory glue is indeed easy to remove, on another after 3 regluing in my regular way the glue residue is thinner that this factory glue. I just don't bother about removing and keep it simple.

In my club, all players donate their old rubbers to our coach who reuses them to kids who are beginners or intermediates.
So it's really helpful in such cases for the glue to be easily removed.

 

[Trevize84]

Count the pimples then divide the weight by that amount and you will probably find every pimple has to carry sweet f-all 😂

I do understand that, 5kg on 1000 pimples is 5g per pimple. It's the longer time the force is applied compared to a bouncing ball that worries me.

 

[Arkady]

I do understand that, 5kg on 1000 pimples is 5g per pimple. It's the longer time the force is applied compared to a bouncing ball that worries me.

You shouldn't worry about that. Pimples are not so sensitive. I've been using racket press for years and I've left the racket overnight sometimes.
Never had an occurrence of deformed pimple or any other problem.

 

[Metaxa]

I have never wet glued before. What I do is give my rubber and wood a different gluing direction. I glue my rubbers along (from bottom to top) and I glue the wood crosswise (from left to right). That way you get a more homogeneous and flat composition.

 

[Cadoia]

Ok I have now been Wet Gluing many blades including some friends of mines. Several observations and learning lessons:

1) mistake I made was to try wet glue both sides at the same time. including cutting the rubber. You will leave bumps where your fingers where holding the rubber and you got a more uneven problem than if you even did a bad dry glue job. So glue one side and let it dry proper before gluing the other. It took for me a few hours before I could do the other side. It depends on the amount of glue you apply.

2) using too much glue then put pressure and it goes out from the sides. Its a mess to finely cut those blobs off without by accident pulling out some of the glue in between the blade and rubber. For me I needed to use less glue.

3) Once you figure out the small kinks its really easy and I prefer this method as the rubber surface is super smooth. I always had small small little differences on the rubber with dry gluing. I knew there where areas with a littlebit more of less glue than other areas as the sponge left small striations. It bothered me. This is not the case with wet gluing.

4) I am convinced its NOT hurting the wood on the blade now. I have taken off wet glued rubbers many times now. There is no issue. Also it sticks just as well as a dry glued blade. It works.

Basically here is how I do it now:

I dont use much glue anymore. 1 thin layer on blade and 1 on sponge. I still try apply it as evenly as I normally do. I gently put the rubber and very gently roll over it like usual. put the rubber side face down on flat furniture with handle over the edge. I use a extra protective sheet between rubber and furniture. Then I put a book bigger than the rubber on top of the blade itself. Very carefully as the rubber itself can still slide on the blade. Carefully I put weights on the center of the book. I actually use 10kg for about 10 min for it to settle in proper and connect. after that I leave just 5kg for about 1-2 hours. Then I take it off and just let it be. Few hours later I do the same for the other side.

The end result looks like it was done on a factory or something. only giveaway is maybe the visible signs of the cuts with a scissors and not some industrial machine.

It was always bothering me the dry gluing wasn't absolute perfect.

I however must admit I dont really feel a difference when playing. Its not better or worse. same same.

When I detach the rubbers and remove the glue it all goes away. Its not "stuck" inside the sponge. And the blade isnt "soaked" and damaged from the wet glue as it was only wet for a short period of time anyway.

Ill be gluing like this onwards.

 

[Lazer]

Ok I have now been Wet Gluing many blades including some friends of mines. Several observations and learning lessons:

1) mistake I made was to try wet glue both sides at the same time. including cutting the rubber. You will leave bumps where your fingers where holding the rubber and you got a more uneven problem than if you even did a bad dry glue job. So glue one side and let it dry proper before gluing the other. It took for me a few hours before I could do the other side. It depends on the amount of glue you apply.

2) using too much glue then put pressure and it goes out from the sides. Its a mess to finely cut those blobs off without by accident pulling out some of the glue in between the blade and rubber. For me I needed to use less glue.

3) Once you figure out the small kinks its really easy and I prefer this method as the rubber surface is super smooth. I always had small small little differences on the rubber with dry gluing. I knew there where areas with a littlebit more of less glue than other areas as the sponge left small striations. It bothered me. This is not the case with wet gluing.

4) I am convinced its NOT hurting the wood on the blade now. I have taken off wet glued rubbers many times now. There is no issue. Also it sticks just as well as a dry glued blade. It works.

Basically here is how I do it now:

I dont use much glue anymore. 1 thin layer on blade and 1 on sponge. I still try apply it as evenly as I normally do. I gently put the rubber and very gently roll over it like usual. put the rubber side face down on flat furniture with handle over the edge. I use a extra protective sheet between rubber and furniture. Then I put a book bigger than the rubber on top of the blade itself. Very carefully as the rubber itself can still slide on the blade. Carefully I put weights on the center of the book. I actually use 10kg for about 10 min for it to settle in proper and connect. after that I leave just 5kg for about 1-2 hours. Then I take it off and just let it be. Few hours later I do the same for the other side.

The end result looks like it was done on a factory or something. only giveaway is maybe the visible signs of the cuts with a scissors and not some industrial machine.

It was always bothering me the dry gluing wasn't absolute perfect.

I however must admit I dont really feel a difference when playing. Its not better or worse. same same.

When I detach the rubbers and remove the glue it all goes away. Its not "stuck" inside the sponge. And the blade isnt "soaked" and damaged from the wet glue as it was only wet for a short period of time anyway.

Ill be gluing like this onwards.

I used to do it similarly. I find it too slow and too cumbersome so I do it the dry way now.

My biggest problem was that it was really messy.

I won’t go back I’ll stick with the dry method.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[lodro]

I however must admit I dont really feel a difference when playing. Its not better or worse. same same.

this is likely because there is no difference. 😂
when you do the dry method and then later when you "peel" the glue back off the rubber or the blade and see how thin and even these glue-membranes are you will find out why there is no difference.

 

[Sims]

Another glue related question, what does it mean when the glue goes 'grainy' while spreading with the sponge?
Have I left it too long, is the glue old, is it the sponges?
I use DHS 15 glue and have had this happen even after opening a brand new bottle.
Very annoying, I must be doing something wrong...