Introduction: Fix Broken Discraft Ultra-Star Frisbee/Disc
Do you have any cracked Discraft Ultra-Star lying under your bed because its broken?
Well brush off that dust bunnies and give your dying Frisbee/Disc a second life!
I just want to share this 'ible to my fellow Ultimate players and Frisbee/Disc owners who keep on cracking their Frisbee's/Discs for unknown reasons and are about to throw em away. and another reason for doing this is because of the price of this is too damn high! I live in the Philippines and the city I live in does not sell this kind of brand. So i need to order online add on shipping and etc etc..(I'm a thrifty person by the way)
so here it is. the 'ible hope you share this to your fellow mates! Mabuhay!
(note: repaired disc are only used for drills and exercises and not in the real game)
(note 2: sorry for low quality pictures)
Step 1: Tools
These are the tools used to fix your Frisbee/Disc
1. Modified soldering Iron (or anything that can melt plastic and make a hole (e.g paperclip + fire = hotrod)
2. Forceps
3. Blade/Swiss Knife
4. Marker
5. Blunt head pliers or Scissors (i used blunt head pliers because i had a hard time cutting the nylon/fishing line with ordinary scissors)
6. Nylon/Fishing line (not too thick or too thin, and the resistance must be high
Step 2: Find a Cracked Frisbee/Disc
i found this Frisbee/Discs along with the other broken ones under my bed
Clean it with soap and water, clean the cracks also while your at it.
Step 3: Make Your Mark
Make your marks straight and clear. its to your preference on how near or far the holes are. explore!
Step 4: Heat and Hole
Heat your Iron ( or paperclip ) and make a hole where you place your mark.
hold the iron straight and no sudden movements, it might cause more damage.
Step 5: Scrape
Scrape off the excess molten plastic.
Step 6: Stitching
grab your nylon/fishing line and cut a length to your desire.
in stitching the Frisbee/Disc you could use the given pattern i have attached for your convenience.
Step 7: Now Comes the Fun Part. Tightening the Strings
So your done with the stitching eh?
now we are here to tighten the string, grab your forceps and try to tighten the strings by pulling each section one by one until the end. repeat until there are minimal or no movement/friction on the cracks. to make life more easy, pull the last piece of string while tightening the sections so you can tighten it even more and more and eliminating friction and movement. i might be difficult at first but you'll just get a hang off it.
Step 8: Knotting
knot the end of the string making sure that its really sturdy, secure and wont slip off. cut the excess string. and you are done!
Step 9: End
I have repaired numerous Frisbees/Discs and use it for drills and practices , these are the disc that i repaired for our team, we are currently saving for to buy a brand new Frisbee.
regarding to the "aerodynamics","weight" and others.
they still can fly straight like the real thing
the weight is still the same
they hold up for a quite a long time (or until a new crack has appeared)
so this is the end of my tutorial. comment and share.
this is my first 'Ible by the way. please be kind in the comments section and sorry for some wrong grammars
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30 Comments
9 years ago
Wow! After doing this, my disc flies. It does wobble but beggars can't be choosers!
8 years ago on Step 9
Does the extra weight affect the flight?
I have a cracked yoyo diabolo and I tried gluing it and the weight offset it.
9 years ago on Introduction
Of course one would like to be able to just glue broken stuff together, but plastics are resistant to gluing, and the Polypropylene that the frizzes are made from is probably one of the harder plastics to bond. Hence your clever repair method.
I tried googling on adhesives for Polypropylene and found one site that rated JB Weld PlasticWeld as an adhesive that adheres most plastics "almost perfectly". If I were out to fix frisbees, I would give this a try. It might work well alone, or in combination with your method. I'm getting some of this stuff anyway, just for general plastic bonding.
http://info.craftechind.com/blog/bid/323475/Stick-to-it-A-Guide-to-the-Best-Glue-for-Plastic
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
I have tried the JB Weld on Frisbees and it holds, but when the Frisbee hits something, the epoxy breaks.
9 years ago on Introduction
Have you tried heat welding the plastic? the heating iron that you use to drill the holes can also can be used to weld the plastic. it's a pretty simple process for small projects. Just heat up the edges with the heating iron and fuse the edges back together.
to be honest i've never done anything like a frisbee that takes a lot of abuse so I don't know if the weld is strong enough but it may be worth experimenting with.
from a quick search I found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQxNjCxi4_A
Nice instructable by the way
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
i tried it. but it still opens up. we might say... weld the plastic together and then stitch em.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
I used to fix kayaks, and plastic welding only really works for
linear plastics (i.e. plastics that are not cross-linked). If the weld
failed, it either wasn't hot and well-mixed enough, or the material was a
cross-linked plastic. Also, don't forget to drill out the end of a
crack, even if it's going to be welded.
To return to their
original strength, cross-linked plastics usually have to be fixed by
mechanical means (typically by bonding a patch across the damage). I found
an excellent explanation of
using G/flex epoxy (from West System) to fix cross-linked plastic items
here: http://paddlecalifornia.blogspot.com/2013/05/repa...
Hopefully this will be helpful to someone!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
ok....I have no idea what cross linked plastic is, but since it's part of a kayak i'm guessing that it's stronger than regular palstic. :)
I read your article about the kayak. I'm really interested to know how well your patch holds up over time, not just the abuse on the water but also being subjected to winter freeze thaw cycle.
the plastic welding that i've done has been on purely decorative items that don't take any abuse (other than my kids dropping them).
i did a quick google search and found this article which recommends using plastidip which is the rubber coating you put on tool handles. this is something that I've never tried and never even heard of until now but i thought it was worth throwing out there.
http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Cracked-Frisbee
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Cross-linked means that the polymer chains that make up the plastic object are linked to each other; so the plastic is stronger on a molecular level. When something made of cross-linked plastic is cracked, those additional bonds are destroyed and that strength can't be restored by just melting the plastic back together.
In terms of the uses of the two types of plastics, cross-linked plastics (like ABS) are able to be used in thinner applications because they are stronger and stiffer, while linear plastics need additional thickness for strength and are often more flexible (which can also mean that they are more durable under many conditions).
One clarification, the website that I linked to isn't mine. I've done many similar repairs, but I can't take credit for that specific one!
As to PlastiDip, I use it on tool handles fairly often and it's great stuff, but it has no adhesive properties. I'm not sure why someone would recommend it for filling a crack in plastic.
9 years ago on Step 8
How's the balance when thrown?
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
its unnoticeable so far. but sometimes they flop a little. ( might be because of [A. loose tension or B. weight of the nylon string] i will still run more test with this ) i might post a video about how it performs.
9 years ago on Step 9
Hello . You can get hot glue gun sticks for repairing plastic , auto parts store or go online for a source . They are meant to be used with a plastic welder , but a hot glue gun and a soldering iron will work . I like the idea of stitching the crack , would make it much easier to keep things lined up .
9 years ago on Introduction
Great, clear, and useful. Thank you so much for sharing.
9 years ago on Introduction
If you drill a small hole at the end of the crack/tear (where it starts, not at the edge), it will prevent the crack from spreading further. Like this:
http://www.mechanicsupport.com/image/stopDrillCrack.jpg
9 years ago on Introduction
I very much like this instructable (well done wardog !) -- it is good to know that this method of frisbee repair is tried and tested by your team.
9 years ago on Step 9
You have your soldering iron out, couldn't you just weld the seam up with it?
9 years ago on Introduction
Great fix - excellent idea.
one small tip...
ask any experienced fisherman... either finger nail cutters or toe nail cutters are an essential part of a tackle box for cutting fishing line - makes very easy work of it.
9 years ago on Introduction
Great job!
A method that worked very well for me, is to use unwaxed dental floss and when done stitching, add a drop of thin cyanoacrylate glue on every stitch.
Easier to make tight stitches than fishing line and lower profile!
9 years ago on Introduction
Cool, but you omitted the most important hole of all. Make one at the very end of the crack to prevent it from growing (which it can do even after it is stitched.) This should be done any time a crack appears in anything. Originally used in airplane maintenance.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
I agree. A tiny hole at the end of the crack will eliminate the stresses there and stop if from expanding further. I learned about that when doing a small repair in an F4 aircraft a few of decades ago. (Dang that makes me feel old.) Anyway... yeah... it works.