Dr. Neubauer Pressure Box Review

This article will be interesting to the players who use speed glue. The ITTF has banned all glues containing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which was a primary ingredient of speed glue also. From September 2008, all players won’t be able to use glues containing VOCs.

The players who need more speed are looking for alternatives. Dr.Neubauer has come up with an instrument called Pressure Box is a relief for the table tennis community. I have been using this for 3 months. I really like it. I’m free from the smell of glue, as well as the people who are around me – as the cigarette smoking is dangerous for both the smokers and the people around them.

The Pressure Box is a box as you see in the picture. It weighs close to 2 pounds (750 gm). It has room for one blade. It is very rigid, and can suffer any impact. The Pressure Box has six screws, and an air outlet (or nozzle) to connect to a hand pump. The pressure box comes with a hand pump and a L-style Hex-key. I have not tried any other pump like cycle pump – you require only the hand pump because it is easy to carry around.
The Pressure Box is not effective on all the rubbers that are available on the market. You have to look for rubbers which have speed glue built in. I’ve used Dr.Neubauer Domination Tuned rubber. The speed glue effect that I have seen with that rubber is excellent. I have tried Butterfly Sriver G2 also. The Pressure Box enhanced the speed glue effect of both rubbers. I could not find any enhancement of speed (or control) on rubbers like regular Bryce.

Here is how I use the Pressure Box. I use Pressure Box daily. I keep the paddle - with both the rubbers on - in the Pressure Box for at least 8 hours. You don’t need to glue the rubbers before you place the paddle in the Pressure Box as long as the rubbers are sticky enough on the blade. You have to put the complete paddle inside the box - just the rubbers without the blade in the box will not help.

I tighten all the six screws all the way up to maximum. I tighten the air outlet also. If the air-outlet is not tight, the Pressure Box will not hold the pressure - air will leak through the nozzle. I connect the hand pump to the air outlet. You need to use your hand to inflate the box – very similar to inflating a cycle pump. Look carefully the measure of pressure in the box. I started with a pressure range between 1 and 2. The Speed Glue users who apply many layers of glue can go to an extreme pressure of 2 to have the same effect.

I keep the paddle in the Pressure Box before I go to bed, fill with air as I described above and open it the next day morning. Before I untighten the screws, I loose the nozzle to let the air go. The speed glue effect will last for at least 6 – 8 hours. You do the same next day.

There is no harm in keeping the paddle in the box with pressure or without pressue for longer duration. The speed glue effect will impact only the rubber, not the paddle. I use the Pressure Box also as a paddle case without pressure in it.

Keeping the paddle in the Pressure Box with pressure for longer duration like days is not recommended. If such a thing happens, take the paddle out, keep it outside for a while like 2-3 hours, and allow the effect to diminish.