Re: Is there any way you can mend a cracked cymbal!!!!
Dependent upon the type of crack it is, you might be able to get a replacement from the company, especially a larger company like Paiste. But they will only send you a replacement if the crack is a result of a manufacturing flaw. Generally, this is when a crack occurs on a lathing line or one of the hammer grooves. And in this case it usually takes very little toll on the sound of the cymbal. This happened with my friend's UFIP (I believe it was UFIP anyways) splash and the thing still rang out beautifully after getting a crack around the lathing line.
One thing I would not recommend trying to do, which about 75% of the drummers I know try first is to solder a cracked cymbal. First of all, the result will look messy and second of all, it will not do a single thing for the sound really (unless there was a buzz or vibration resulting from the crack), but this will not give the cymbal the sustain, volume, and depth it once had. When alloys and metals are cut and sculpted into a defined shape like a cymbal, one of the key factors in producing the sound is based around the concept of stress. It is kind of like a ticking time bomb because sometimes the right hit in the right place will cause all this stress to be released on one concentrated area across the cymbal's surface. The bright side is that the cymbal is 100% less likely to crack again once it is cracked. Thus, if you like the sound of the cymbal post-cracking, chances are you won't have to worry about being delicate with that cymbal and compromising the sound.
Also if the cymbal sounds nothing like it did initially and you hate the sound of it you have two other options. You can sell it. Surprisingly, there are a lot of guys out there in search of cracked cymbals for obscure projects. Like cutting them into weird shapes and using them to piggyback with other cymbals. I've seen some cracked cymbals go for as much as $50! The second option is probably a bit more useful. You can cut down the cymbal into a smaller splash or just use the bell and make your own ice bell (pending that the crack is not on the bell). This way no cracked cymbal goes to waste! If you have hook-ups with someone that works at a machine shop talk you could ask them to do it on their lunch break or if you can find the machinery to do it you can do it yourself. A guy my Dad worked with once made three ice bells out of three cracked cymbals I bought for $5. The result was awesome, The cut was perfectly circular and he even cleaned up the edge where the cut occurred. The cymbal looked like a brand new ice bell and it sounded awesome. This was a temporary fix for me until I saved up about $80 to buy a real Sabian Stage Ice Bell. The best part about this too is how I came up with the money. I ended up selling the three homemade ice bells (two smaller ones for $25 and the bigger one for $30). Thus, in the end I basically got an $80 bell for $5 (initial cost for the cracked cymbals).
Hence you can always profit of what you may think is old junk. All you need is the right skills and tools and sometimes the right perspective.
Best of luck with the cracked cymbal! You have lots of options and directions with it.
-Brent