Didn't say your cymbals sound horrible......that was someone else..

But,I do not think cymbals can be welded for sonic benefits...

I'm not going to get into wleding cymbals, but I have soldered B8 alloy successfully at the bell hole. Personally i wouldn;t heat B20 alloy.

Anyway, I have cut down cymbals, and usually cutting down a cymbal's diameter F$%cks it up good. A cymbals sound depends on many things including the tension, taper from bridge to edge and overall profile throughout the cymbal. Cutting the edge off completely changes the tension and profile. I have never cut down a cymbal that did not also need re-hammering and lathing to re-establish tension and taper/profile.

My best edge crack repair successes are by cutting the crack out of the edge and rounding it all off into really gentle smooth curves. Never had any further problem once this is done, and it does not change the sound/response of the cymbal noticeably at all. However, I have never tried to repair a cymbal with more than 1/2"- 3/4" size crack on the edge. I don't bother if the crack is larger.

YMMV

Cutting a half inch crack out of a 22 is nothin'. I would suggest doing so, then rounding it off real smooth. I don't believe there would be ANY noticeable sonic difference, having owned a cymbal like this before.

I would NOT suggest you welding or soldering such a small crack when a cut-out and smoothing can be done relatively easily and to such great success. That cymbal will sound beautiful and probably already does. If it has a buzz, it may even be a preferrable sizzle type sound (matter of preference). If it has any other ill effect, the cut-out will only relieve it and it will improve the sound. Whatever you are dealing with here - easy success within easy reach.

Actually - I don't think I have shared anything you didn't already know.....the only exception possible is...no, don't weld or solder.

Congrats on a great score.

John

I'm actually more curious about how one goes about cracking a Ride cymbal. I picture a gorilla, with a large tree branch, hitting the cymbal, over and over.

Best of luck with your fix, though. Curious about the tig welding. Do you use rods that are made of the same material (are they even available)? Even so, I would thing welding material into the cymbal would create a dead zone in that area, dampening the original resonance of said cymbal. Much like putting wadding on that area. Maybe that's just me.

I repaired my 17" 2002 thin crash with the cutting and grinding method. I can't hear the diff.

B

Alright so to answer a few questions, I use a bronze filler metal, and dead zones are not an issue that I have witnessed.

Now I started to work on this today, I got the crack welded, the edges smoothed out from whom ever chopped it down, then I cleaned the top, used a 4" grinder and tiger paw on the bottom, and then did some re-hammering to dry it out a bit and make it sound a little more crash like.

Before I started working on it, it sounded to bell like, slow to respond, and did not really make a good ride. I hammered mainly in the center of the bow, to flatten out the body and narrow the frequency slightly , it really helped, this dried it up quite a bit, more focused and usable to me, still not crashing like I want it to though, I may take some more "meat" off the bottom, I want to polish down the top as well but I'm really trying to keep the top logo, just because .

If you look at the pic of the weld area closely you can see my hammer marks, in the weld, beside the weld, with no breaks,and no signs of brittelness. The video is not that great. It really did not capture the sound of the cymbal as well as I thought it would, but still, here it is.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ScYwErgaQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ScYwErgaQ[/ame]

[IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/14pagan88/paisteweld02_zpsd9470083.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/14pagan88/paistetop_zps5b6e500c.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/14pagan88/paistebottom_zps6b94274f.jpg[/IMG]

To be fair, I think what you are doing is great....rescuing cymbals from the ash heap.

I like the fact that you are rehammering and considering re-purposing these cymbals. Bravo to you! Clapping Happy2

At the end of the day, I think these cymbals will be far more value to you than anyone else. If you are looking to repair, turn them around and sell them you might have a harder time than you think. But good luck to you regardless.

I have succesfully cut down cracked cymbals for use in hihats - and only there.

I have a formerly 14" very thin Paiste 602 top cut down to 13" - and it is nice, not clangy or in any way too heavy.

I don't think many cymbals are good for this treatment, though.

A chunk can be removed, as stated above, and if done properly without inducing heat, and with nicely rounded contours to avoid stress, it will be fine.

I have never before heard of anyone welding cymbals with anything remotely seeming as a succes. But complete rehammering might be an answer - i don't know.

Regards

Jon

Jump For Joy This is pretty much correct.

Still trying to wrap my head around "cracked ride". Must have been dropped or similarly abused.

Just by cracking, the cymbal has released it's tension and thus it's sound.

It will NEVER sound like it did before it cracked.

Kudos for trying though.