[koifish]

Hi all, I had the misfortune of a bad virtual boy drop (about 8 feet to hardwood) the other day. Ironically, it was during a heated VR game in which I smashed my hand into a shelf which was holding the unit.

My problem seems to be relatively minor so far however, the internals all look fine, and thankfully everything still turns on, makes noise, displays the game, buttons work, etc. So hardware-wise I feel good about it. There is, however one major issue I can see.

The first thing I noticed when I picked up the VB was that the power port and link port had caved inward. Upon opening, I found that the actual plastic piece which holds both ports in place had snapped. The bit held in by a screw was still attached, but the rest had snapped right off. I was able to realign it and close the system and everything put back together fine, but I’m not thrilled about the idea of keeping it like that for long.

My question is, what is my best option for mending that snapped part? It fits together nicely still, maybe I could superglue it back together? I’ve heard of plastic welding before, but not seen it work for me in practice.

Advice is welcome. Thanks for all replies.

Edit: added picture of issue

• This topic was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by koifish.

Attachments:

1. 

   img_20190415_1806401-scaled.jpg
   

Use an epoxy to fuse the pieces back together. $5 on Amazon, let it cure for 24-36 hours, and you’re sorted.

RetroDan wrote:
Use an epoxy to fuse the pieces back together. $5 on Amazon, let it cure for 24-36 hours, and you’re sorted.

Thanks for the quick response. Is it very difficult to apply cleanly? I know that in this case, the crack is somewhat small, maybe 2cm wide, it is also perpendicular to the ground, and I don’t know that I can easily remove the parts. Will it apply okay if it is still mounted in the system, or will the epoxy possibly leak out of the crack?

Sorry for asking a number of questions, I just don’t have experience using epoxy and want to make sure that I cover all the angles.

If you could provide a picture of the damage, is me able to give more specific advice.

RetroDan wrote:
If you could provide a picture of the damage, is me able to give more specific advice.

I grabbed this picture of the damage. The two pieces fix back together smoothly, but it is also a rough, jagged edge, and not smooth in any way.

Remove the screw and epoxy the parts in a safe place away from the VB. Use a small clamp to apply pressure evenly while the epoxy cures. I cannot stress enough to let the epoxy cure for at least a full day before you touch it.

If not epoxy also loctite makes recent years a super glue gel. It does not run or cause super glue haze. Works with basically any material. Sets in minutes solid in 30 says the package and a day to cure but 30min seems all it needs. Squeeze that around the inside where it caved once you have it flush and leave it until it sets and problem solved. I’ve fixed so much stuff with it even beyond what super glue liquid could ever do.