How to Assemble a Table Tennis Racket? (Assembly Instructions)

Last Updated on November 1, 2023 by Sorin Petroj

Step by step on how to assemble a table tennis racket.

You have chosen your blade and rubbers, and now it’s time to glue and prepare the racket for the game. See below how easy it is in a few steps.

In this video, you can see how I assembled a friend’s table tennis racket. Otherwise, I completed many rackets during my career of 25 years of playing table tennis.

Table of Contents

Assembling a Table Tennis Racket – The Used Blade with Rubbers

Step 1: Blade Cleaning

Cleaning the blade is essential because it improves the rubber stick. So, there are no spots that you will see later on the racket. If you have a new blade, clean it a little with sandpaper and later with a sponge because its surface will be smooth, and the rubbers will stick nicely.

With a used table tennis blade or with those where you already had other rubbers and have now changed them, it is additionally essential to clean the table tennis blade because a certain amount of glue remained on it during the last gluing. I know it’s a tedious step but trust me, very important in assembling your racket.

Since rubbers are not cheap, you would not want to skip cleaning the paddle. After a couple of days, it could get bumps on the racket or some dots that will bother you while you play.

Step 2: Apply and Spread The Glue

Here it is important to evenly distribute the glue on the surface of the rubbers and blade. When assembling a table tennis racket, glue and its correct distribution on the surface is an essential step.

Free Chack Pro with eight sponges

Use the sponge that comes with the glue, and you can very easily apply a thin layer of glue by following the white color so that it is even everywhere.

Here you have to pay attention to gluing speed, as shown in the video. Moreover, the glue does not dry out during assembly.

I recommend Butterfly Glues to everyone because I use them myself, and they provide the same effect even after a long time when you again assemble a table tennis racket.

Once you have done that, wait about half an hour for the glue to dry. You will see it slowly lose its white color on the table tennis rubbers. Then you know that it’s ready for assembly.

Step 3: Attach The Rubbers

Here it is essential to pay attention to the bottom of the rubber surface, for new rubbers push them entirely from the beginning of the blade.

If they are used like in the video, look at how many are missing millimeters. This way, you can precisely apply the rubber to the end of the blade top. However, leave as much space at the beginning.

If it happens to be bigger rubber, you will easily cut it at the end when you glue it. When you start gluing the rubber, squeeze it as far forward as possible so there is no room for air during assembling.

The remaining air can damage your rubber and affect you every time you play. That is why it is essential that you smoothly glue the rubber and there is no space in the middle.

Finally, you can squeeze the racket with your fingers to ensure it is well assembled. Repeat the same for the other rubber with one note in mind. If you put new rubbers in the shape of a square when you get them, you should first cut one and then put the other.

Step 4: Cut And Clean The Rubber

When you put the rubbers on your blade, you need to cut them around and to the edge to make the racket look nice and comply with the ITTF rules.

That means the ping-pong rubber won’t be more significant than the blade. You will quickly achieve it with either scissors or a sharp scalpel. If you use scissors, hold the racket firmly in one hand and lightly cut the rubber the whole circle while gently turning the racket.

Butterfly foam cleaner

It would help if you leaned the table tennis racket on a particular surface with a sharp scalpel. After that, make the whole circle around the racket until the rubber is nicely cut in the shape of a blade. When it comes to new rubbers, you must glue them one by one and then cut them.

On the other hand, with used ones, as shown in the video, you can glue both and cut the parts bigger than the racket.

In the end, you must clean the table tennis rubbers and stick side tape if you want to protect the racket. Use a rubber cleaner to put a little foam on the rubber, and then run a smooth sponge over it several times. The foam will dry in a few minutes, and the racket will be ready.

Step 5: Wait 24 hours for full effect

Table tennis players glued the racket before each training session or matched it with earlier fast glues. If you are playing with table tennis robots, the rubbers will consume faster, and you need to glue the racket more often.

The full gluing effect was then immediately after placing the rubbers. However, with modern table tennis glues, which are the only ones now recognized by the ITTF, it takes 24 hours to feel the full effect of the ball bouncing.

You can try the racket right after the gluing is over, but the next day and the next few months, you will feel the natural bounce of the ball and the full potential of the blade and rubbers you bought.

What to Consider When Gluing?

If the glue is as good as we mentioned, the bottle will last you a long. So, you will be able to assemble a table tennis racket again after a few months with the same glue.

Close the glue bottle permanently after use, so it does not dry out. If you accidentally pour more glue than necessary, pour that amount on the next rubber. This happened to me with the first one in the video. The table tennis glue cannot damage the skin or the surface you are sticking to.

It is easy to remove by washing your hands or cleaning the surface where you glued it with an ordinary cloth. These modern table tennis glues are made from liquid natural caoutchouc and contain organic solvents.

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