headset repair

The speakers on this headset still work great, but the top is broken so it sits heavy on my head.  Also the faux leather is flacking apart.

Any inspiration on how I can give these a new life for under $20 (the cost of new ones from amazonbasic)?

I assume the broken part up top needs to flex? If it didn't a two part epoxy would work great. If it does need to flex, then the only thing that I can think of that might work is, sigh, Gorilla tape.

I've got nothing on the ear cups, I'm afraid.

Unfortunately is seems like a lot of this stuff nowadays is designed to be used for a while and then thrown away when it breaks...

I would use my go-to repair method which is duct tape.  I would wrap the broken part in thin foam or bubble wrap or cloth, then wrap it well with duct tape.  I also recommend the duct tape semi-permanent repair method for the cracked clog in your other post/query.

I had a warm insulated parka that I wore out around the property for various chores, and my over-enthusiastic puppy shredded the sleeves.  She was just trying to get me to throw the ball for her, just wanted to play, but she has jaws like a shark or piranha.  I sewed the material a few times, then started resorting to duct tape when it became clear that the coat was living on borrowed time.   When I finally let the parka go, it was about 30% duct tape and 70% original materials.  I looked like an old homeless woman in that coat, but it continued to keep me warm.  Duct tape can help to extend the life of many things.

Neat ideas.

Duct tape is tempting... but I wonder about my hair.  I have long hair and it gets caught in everything.

The thing that is broken is supposed to cushion my head so the hard arch doesn't hurt me.  I wonder if I could take it off somehow and replace it with an old leather belt.

Similar to your crocs.

Drill a hole on each side and tie it with string.

Or cut an inch or two of a drinking straw and insert both ends in it along with silicone or glue.

Or put 2 staples in it.

Or use heat shrink tubing. Probably make repair invisible.

Or combine 2 of the above.

super glue, baking soda and a paper clip. lightweight and fast setting. use eye and breathing protection for safety as fumes are noxious.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Superglue-Hack

learned it off an old popular mechanics article by one of the mythbusters hosts.

I figured glue would be the easiest option.  I applied it to the broken bit and waited 24 hours before trying it.  No luck.

The instructions on the glue box seem to be in Arabic so I don't know if it actually works on plastics or what the curing time is.  

The more I examine and think about this broken bit, the more I realize that it is too stretched to be of any use.  The hard part rested on my head even before it broke.  It looks like I could make a new one if I could find some leather that would be thick enough but not too thick.  

r ranson wrote:I figured glue would be the easiest option.  I applied it to the broken bit and waited 24 hours before trying it.  No luck.

What kind of glue is it? Cyanoacrylate (krazy, super, mighty bond) isn't as structurally strong as other glues like epoxy but the baking soda acts like mortar and zip-kicker at the same time. Coupled with the paper click acting as a reinforced bridge, you could be up and running with that headset again in half an hour. If you need more structure for the joint, do the paper clip/glue & bicarbonate; then roll some masking tape around the repaired area and color it with a magic marker. Then douse with more cyanoacrylate and treat with a blow dryer or heat gun. I've fixed broken sunglasses, cellphone cases and a toolbox handle with this method.

In the right hands, Cyanoacrylate will also close cuts and wounds:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0142961293900373
https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2187/was-super-glue-invented-to-seal-battle-wounds-in-vietnam

What kind of glue is it?

Yellow package with lots of languages on it, but little of that is English.

I bought it for glueing felt on to metal, and it works for that.  

Because it has stretched over the years, I think fixing the wound would still hurt my head.  It should not be hard to build a new one from leather.  

you could 3D print it... measure it, model it, order a print online and there you go...

I had to repair similar headphones ($40 pair) for my church when the leather started to flake off and got sticky. I got a whole new set of pads, with the overhead pad and extra ear pads from ebay for about $11. Mostly a good fit, because I knew what headphones I had, and included that in my search. The instructions wanted me to completely disassemble, including unsoldering the right speaker, slide the headband pad into place, the reassemble and resolder. Wasn't gonna happen. A local sewing shop slit that pad and sewed velcro into the seam for ~$7.
Not knowing what kind your headphones are, here's google searches for universals. You might want to refine your search with brand and model, unless you sew.
Earpads google search
Headband pad google search

I don't have any great ideas for repairing the break, but maybe you could combine the superglue/ baking soda repair with a section of wire coat hanger (run ON TOP of the band) secured with zip ties with the pokey parts (buckle and cut end) facing up?

Oops... I didn't look at who the original poster was. You have my permission to laugh at me for the "unless you sew" part.

I might try a strip of zip tie held in place with Sugru.
I'd cut off the ends and use the middle as a splice.
There is instructions on making your own Sugru on instructables.com if you don't want to spend the money on Sugru.

I was just about to mention Sugru. I ran across it when looking for how to fix my son's boots. Sugru is a flexible silicone putty that firms into rubber-like consistency after 30 minutes.

I haven't used it yet, but it looks pretty cool.

Found a nice review of it at Consumer Reports

From the Gaelic word súgradh, which means “play,” Sugru can bind to ceramics, glass, metal, wood, and most plastics and fabrics, according to its maker, FormFormForm Limited. (That wasn’t a typo.) It comes in 10 colors, but in the half hour you have before the putty gets too hard to mold, you can mix different-colored Sugru batches together to match, for example, the color of a chipped porcelain vase. Not that you can play to your heart’s content: It costs $12 for 3 packs, $22 for 8, and each pack holds 5 grams, an amount slightly less than a level teaspoon.

Sugru feels like Play-Doh while you’re working it. But once it cures, in about 24 hours, it behaves like what you might expect of silicone. It’s waterproof, will bend a bit, and can handle temperatures from sub-zero to about 350 degrees F. And though you might not be able to get it off a porous material, you can easily remove it from non-porous surfaces by cutting it or even simply rubbing it off.


How we tested
In our tests, we tried it out every way we could come up with. Our favorites included:

Adding protective feet to items whose bottoms weren’t flat enough for adhesive-foam and similar store-bought pads;
Making bumpers for the corners of a cellphone, adding protection and, due to the contrasting color, better visibility;
Fixing items that needed a little extra support, such as a snapped microphone boom on gaming headsets;
Filling in gaps caused by either missing pieces (a chipped ceramic container) or surfaces of different composition, which most adhesives won’t join.
What we found. As we expected, a pack doesn’t go very far. Sugru sticks adequately to non-porous surfaces but not as well as a true adhesive. It isn’t as soft as some other silicones once cured, and it’s not especially strong. And while you can compress it without problems, it didn’t handle stretching well.

Bottom line. We wouldn’t use Sugru where failure of the bond could create a safety or health issue. But in cases where filling a gap is essential, a structure requires some reinforcement, or surfaces don’t align well, we found it fun and useful—there are many situations where the usual adhesives wouldn’t apply. Still, we recommend it for non-critical repair tasks.

Looks like one can make a--much more affordable--Sugru substitute with cornstartch and a tube of silicone caulk!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/

And, here's a video (my internet is too slow to watch it, but it looks like a good one)

Nicole Alderman   That is exactly what I was thinking.  In fact it's the same video I had watched.
I have only tried it with plain corn starch and caulking.  It gives a white putty that cured white.  But, that is fine for what I was doing.

Sugru is what I immediately thought of for the headset part. I fixed a broken camera latch with sugru about 8 years ago and it still works.

I've ordered a three pack of Sugru.

It says that I have to use the whole pack up at once so I'm seeking other things around the house that need some tlc.  

When I fix the headset, I'm going to cut that bit shorter because it stretched too much.