The Broken Volleyball Nightmare

So my kid’s volleyball split clean down the middle last week. Big crack, dead center. Just cheap wood crap they hand out in school gym class. Looked like goner material.

Then I remembered that rubber tree wood from the neighbor’s yard project scraps. Yeah, the Hevea stuff, supposedly tough. Dug around in the shed behind the old lawnmower. Found a decent piece – rough, but thick enough.

Getting My Hands Dirty

Grabbed my rusty handsaw first. Started hacking at the rubber wood chunk. Man, this stuff is stubborn! Saw teeth kept binding up. Took forever just to get a rough block shape.

• Measured the volleyball crack with a busted tape measure.
• Marked the block with my kid’s crayon.
• Sawed again, sweat dripping. Barely got the angles right.

Used the electric sander next. Wood dust flying everywhere, coated the whole garage. Rubbed the wood smooth against the volleyball’s curve by grinding it down over and over on the belt sander. Took way longer than expected.

The Glue Mess

Bought that two-part epoxy stuff at the hardware store. Mixed it on a cardboard box. Applied it thick inside the volleyball crack and on my rubber wood patch. Shoved the wood piece in hard. Had to tape the whole ball up like a mummy with masking tape to hold it tight. Looked ridiculous. Left it overnight stuck on the basement freezer.

Next morning, peeled off all that tape. The patch wasn’t flush. Too thick in spots. Spent another hour sanding the patch edge down with coarse paper, then fine. Bits of rubbery wood fibers and glue goo stuck to the sandpaper constantly. Annoying.

Does It Work?

Took the patched ball outside. Gave it a good solid whack. Didn’t split. Didn’t crack. The rubber wood held strong. Kid bounced it – seemed fine, maybe a bit heavier on the patched side, but she said it felt okay. Smacked it against the driveway wall a few times myself. Patch held.

So yeah. Fixed a busted volleyball with scrap wood and glue. Waste of a Saturday? Maybe. But it worked. That rubber tree wood takes glue like a champ and doesn’t shatter easy. Kid seems happy it’s not dead. Would I do it again? Only if absolutely desperate. Sanding that stuff was the worst.