Cymbal Repair... anyone use Weld?

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Booda

Booda

Master of the Obvious
I've heard of people drilling a hole at the end of a crack that goes from outer edge to inner edge.

I have a K dark custom and it has 2 cracks that are in the middle of the cymbal, 3" and 5" long. Traveling in the circle direction. A friend of mine said I should try welding them. Another friend of mine is a good welder.

I'm thinking it would probably work... just cut way down on the sustain. But it already has very little sustain.

What do you think?
Also, is the hole drilling a myth or does it work?

Thanks,
B.
 
I have a cracked Sabian crash that I drilled..... i stopped using that cymbal, the sound of it is off after the drill. I have since beat the snot out of it with a ball hammer making it sound very dead but bright :-/ good for an effect where a china is too smooth :cool:

bottom line, drilling is a myth, it does slow down the crack and make it playable for a little while longer, but in the long run you will want to buy a new cymbal...

I would assume same goes for the weld, but I have no experience with that
 
Yeah, my Sabian Top Hi Hat has a 1/4" crack at the edge... it hasn't changed for 5 years. I've thought about the drill but just wasn't sure. It still sounds good and I try to tell who ever is playing it to put the crack on the outside. It's funny but it always drifts back to the playing side.

Oh well, I'll stay away from the drill.

Thanks,
B.
 
hey whats up im new!
Im a hard hitter and brake cymbals all the time. Iv tried everything, drilling works for a while but not long. I have sent zildjian A's back because they cracked around the middle of the cymbal and they sent me new ones. They hand cut them and sometimes they go to deep. So maybe try to send it back.
 
I had a K custom dark that cracked. I would recommend you either get it replaced (I've never done that) or play it till it snaps in half. I drilled the the ends on mine and it introduced a nasty grating sound and it didn't stop the crack from widening up.

After that I tried clamping the gaping crack shut with rivets and glue(!), which had the effect of COMPLETELY destroying any resonance the cymbal once had. I think welding would have a similar effect on it. Not worth it unless you want to convert it into an fx cymbal, like this:

sample of my K custom crash after being riveted!
sample of crash being choked (not much difference is there!)
Feel free to use those samples if you want. ;)

I think the next operation for this cymbal is to lathe round just inside the crack to make a 12" splash out of the center. If that doesn't turn out too good I'll just send the bits back to Zildjian and ask for a replacement. :D
 
If I remember correctly, a cymbal should be brazed with silver solder, not welded. Can't weld brass.
 
Slowrider said:
If I remember correctly, a cymbal should be brazed with silver solder, not welded. Can't weld brass.
Click to expand...

Tis correct. You'd need some silver solder a good torch to get it hot enough. I'm not sure how it would hold up to constance hits and vibration. Take it to your local woodwind/brass repair shop and see what they tell you.
 
We had an extensive thread on this subject some months ago. I think we arrived at the consensus that bronze is damned near impossible to braize, that a fix would not last, and any repair you make will kill the sound of the cymbal.

And, yes, drilling can stop the propagation of the crack but you still have a cracked cymbal. :p
 
If you've had it for less than a year, send it in. Zildjian will replace it for free.
 
They're coming up on their 15th Birthday... the cracks are about 3 years old in the K. The small crack on the Sabian Hat is probabaly 5 years old. I can't imagine any Warranty would still be in play.

I keep my eye out for 18" cymbals on Craigslist. :)

B.
 
You can easily weld it if it is made from B8 bronze but b20 requires pre and post heating, and stress relieving not practical it is cheaper to buy a new one. But B8 cymbals are easily TIG welded I have done it many times, brazing requires a torch that will not concentrate the heat enough and will distort the cymbal before the braze is made well enough.
You can drill say a 1/8th inch hole then put a 1/8 inch pop rivet in the holes to cease vibration, you have to use the proper size rivet for such a thin piece of metal though. and also slowly remove the center of the crack that touch each other, this will work for some time, But you should also create a Keyhole in a position that will make the repaired side stay away from the stick when mounted on a cymbal stand, smacking the repaired area is not a good idea when repaired with rivets or drilling. Although if TIG welded on a thick cymbal say a ride or crash the weld will hold up to a normal amount of hitting.
 
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