What is your opinion on fixing chips? Is it worth it or not, and if so what is your method for fixing your kendama? What glue do you use and do you sand it down?
If I have a 2nd one of the same kendama, I keep 'em chipped, so I can show a fresh vs seshed, but in general, I use CRAGGLE (crazy glue lol) and sand it with medium grit sandpaper.
Had a massive chip on my Cheeseburger Viking (cheese wood) some days after receiving it in the mail. Went to ACE and promptly bought myself wood glue, which did wonders! No sanding or adjustments required. I put a small amount in the centre, so that it’ll not “bleed” to the edges. EDIT : I also tied rubber band to secure the pieces, and just let it sit for 24-ish hours.
@lategreat808 Great title!! Massive chips I would hope are clean enough breaks to fix with glue. Small nicks, I let be. @azleonhart interesting to know ACE hardware exists in Malaysia!!
Mannnnn if not are ACE, i'd be massively annoyed because nobody sells Gorilla Glue, other than ACE! That bottle of glue is soo precious!
I think it is worth it unless the point of having that dama is to thrash it. I reglue 99% of my kendamas that chip, the only one I haven't is an old one that I need to destroy so I can clear my conscience about buying a new one lol. My method for fixing chips is gorilla glue and a mini clamp. I put just a dab of glue on the ken and the chip itself and then clamp it for like an hour or more.
Wood glue will do a better job than crazy glue / super glue. Those types of glues dry hard but brittle, so they can break again in the same spot. Wood glue is made for wood, so it should be no surprise it works really well! The trick is all in getting it clamped in place nicely. Do that, and you'll be back to jamming in no time. (well actually... about 1 day )
What do you people use as clamps? I use rubber bands for the fear of wood warping and/or deformations.
I've been using these for a lot of projects and have had good luck the few times I've used them on a kendama.
Those clamps should work fine, as long as you don't have a sharp clamp edge digging into the wood and leaving a dent, you won't hurt it. I have a lot of clamps, so I usually just use whatever is free. Often it is a 2-3" C clamp does the job. I also have a couple spring clamps like this one: They usually work well, but have on occasion popped off, which is obviously not what you want. I also have some clamps like these: They work very well, since you can adjust the angle on the jaws to match the angle of the cup ridge
For me, I don't fix my chips unless it's a dama 40$ or higher. I use Elmer's Wood Glue and some Slaybands (s/o Stephen) or if you don't have slaybands, use regular rubber bands. After the glue has dried, I sand off the crack area and it should be good to go...