Weighting in the handle.

[lwto]

I weight my Wilson handles by using fishing weight that come in a coil and maybe 3/16 in diameter simply but shoving them up the foam padding and sometimes, hot glueing them in place.

I have now other racquets that don't have foam and was at a loss of how to weight them. Anyone have ideas or have methods of attaching weight inside the hollow handles.. How about handles that don't even come off like the Volkl handles.


I did actually figure out a way, but it may not be the best. I got some cotten balls and intertwined some lead tape through it and then just jammed the cotton ball pack of cotton and lead up into the handle(babolat) and let it sit there with the staples of the butt cap basically keeping it in place. It seems to work pretty well, I don't feel any vibration and still is tight.

 

[BlueB]

Stick some Bluetac into the handle. If that's not enough, embed some of yur fishing weight in it...

 

[bkfinch]

Stick some Bluetac into the handle. If that's not enough, embed some of yur fishing weight in it...

^Ditto
Pop open the butt cap, go for the blu tac. You can be surprised how much weight you can add just with blu tac/without fishing weight.

 

[Power Player]

I just did blue tac too. My suggestion is to first put cotton balls down each chamber. This will save you if the blue tac comes undone. The second thing I do is spread the blue tac all over the inside of the chamber. This basically ensures that it will not come off, and also doesn't tailweight the fame as aggressively. It is more like adding a leather gip, which I prefer.

 

[Irvin]

A friend of mine said he has some tungsten rods he uses for welding. You could hot glue or silicone those in your handle.

 

[CopolyX]

Think out of the box............
Go out (or online) an buy at least six clay gumbys. open your palms, flat him like a pan cake and then roll him into a ball.
Now one by one, gently jam him up your open butt in one chamber at a time until you achieve your desired weight!
WOW...cost effective, fun, the whole family can be involved.
Also with gumby on your side of the court, no one can beat you "damn it"...

Now have some fun!
damn it...

 

[nvr2old]

Think out of the box............
Go out (or online) an buy at least six clay gumbys. open your palms, flat him like a pan cake and then roll him into a ball.
Now one by one, gently jam him up your open butt in one chamber at a time until you achieve your desired weight!
WOW...cost effective, fun, the whole family can be involved.
Also with gumby on your side of the court, no one can beat you "damn it"...

Now have some fun!
damn it...

That's hilarious!!!!!

 

[BA10S]

As others have suggested, Blutac seems to have worked for lots of forum members although I've not used it myself. In fact I've never added weight on the inside of a handle with any method. If I were to try it I'd go with silicone over Blutac though (I could be wrong but I just can't imagine Blutac staying in place over time) and I'd lightly sand the handle walls and insert cotton balls before adding the silicone. I'd also make sure to add less weight than my target with the silicone so that fine tuning could be done with fishing weights inserted in the silicone once it's set (the 3/16" diameter coil you have would work well) and/or lead tape applied to the outside of the handle.

I don't think I'll ever add weight inside a handle though, it's much less foolproof than lead tape added to the outside and also more permanent. In general up to 2 layers of leads tape under the grip isn't very noticeable unless you're extremely sensitive and can add a significant amount of weight if it spans a large portion of the handle length. If you like the feel of a built up buttcap as I do then perhaps the handle weighting I have on my racquets could work:

Lead tape wrapped around both the buttcap (sand it lightly before appplying the lead) and the top of the handle in a ratio that has the equivalent impact on mass/balance as a single mass at the desired location (technically this results in a slightly higher SW than a single mass but I ignore this because the racquet probably won't play quite as expected if you reduce hoop mass to compensate). Especially if you have to add a large amount of lead tape to the buttcap, it is then a good idea in my opinion to add strips of 1/2" athletic/medical tape to help secure the lead build-up. This technique was used by Thomas Muster (originally to hold his athletic tape build-up in place and later just to help secure the buttcap) and involves adding long strips of athletic tape vertically and horizontally over the buttcap that extend up the handle about 4 inches (see a picture of Muster's racquet for clarification). The only disadvantage is that if your racquet has a trap door you'll no longer be able to open it. I use BSM Leukoplast Waterproof 1.25 cm Tape and also wrap another piece of the tape around the handle twice just under the lead build-up and over the lengthwise strips for extra security. Make sure to factor in the weight of tape; in my case it added close to 3 grams.

By the way, the tape technique above will actually (at least in my experience and I swing hard and hold the racquet very low) secure a buttcap without the need for any staples! I'd still recommend staples or some other sort of mechanical fasteners though.

 

[lwto]

As others have suggested, Blutac seems to have worked for lots of forum members although I've not used it myself. In fact I've never added weight on the inside of a handle with any method. If I were to try it I'd go with silicone over Blutac though (I could be wrong but I just can't imagine Blutac staying in place over time) and I'd lightly sand the handle walls and insert cotton balls before adding the silicone. I'd also make sure to add less weight than my target with the silicone so that fine tuning could be done with fishing weights inserted in the silicone once it's set (the 3/16" diameter coil you have would work well) and/or lead tape applied to the outside of the handle.

I don't think I'll ever add weight inside a handle though, it's much less foolproof than lead tape added to the outside and also more permanent. In general up to 2 layers of leads tape under the grip isn't very noticeable unless you're extremely sensitive and can add a significant amount of weight if it spans a large portion of the handle length. If you like the feel of a built up buttcap as I do then perhaps the handle weighting I have on my racquets could work:

Lead tape wrapped around both the buttcap (sand it lightly before appplying the lead) and the top of the handle in a ratio that has the equivalent impact on mass/balance as a single mass at the desired location (technically this results in a slightly higher SW than a single mass but I ignore this because the racquet probably won't play quite as expected if you reduce hoop mass to compensate). Especially if you have to add a large amount of lead tape to the buttcap, it is then a good idea in my opinion to add strips of 1/2" athletic/medical tape to help secure the lead build-up. This technique was used by Thomas Muster (originally to hold his athletic tape build-up in place and later just to help secure the buttcap) and involves adding long strips of athletic tape vertically and horizontally over the buttcap that extend up the handle about 4 inches (see a picture of Muster's racquet for clarification). The only disadvantage is that if your racquet has a trap door you'll no longer be able to open it. I use BSM Leukoplast Waterproof 1.25 cm Tape and also wrap another piece of the tape around the handle twice just under the lead build-up and over the lengthwise strips for extra security. Make sure to factor in the weight of tape; in my case it added close to 3 grams.

By the way, the tape technique above will actually (at least in my experience and I swing hard and hold the racquet very low) secure a buttcap without the need for any staples! I'd still recommend staples or some other sort of mechanical fasteners though.

I get very light racquets.. about 11 ounces, which means they are not very head light. I like racquets about 11.7 ounces with about 5 pts. HL so, I have to add a lot of handle weight to achieve this. I also don't use normal grips, I use 1 size build up grips and 2 OG's, so I need to compensate to make up the normal weight that a normal grip supplies. In the end, I'm actually adding from .5 to .8 ounces and it has to go somewhere. For my racquets with foam in the handle, my fishing weights work just fine. slips right up and very solid.
This is the fishing weight I use, I just simply cut off the amount I need.. add a some tape on it so I can take it out easy.


For my new Babolat, which doesn't have foam, this worked out very well, like I mentioned above, a wadded up cotton ball with lead tape.. very solid.




I'd try blutac, but I don't have any and I wanted to get it done before I could get it.
When I'm at a place I can purchase it, I'll get it.

Thanks for everyone's reply.. I'll think about gumbo as well.

 

[JOSHL]

What about expandable foam, has anyone tried that?

 

[lwto]

What about expandable foam, has anyone tried that?

I Have.. it was a night mare.. I knew what I did wrong but it was just a bloody mess. It expands and it has a certain amount to expand and before it fills the handle, it will go up into the hoop. What happens then is that it starts to expand through the grommets so you have this gooey sticky mess seeping from your grommets. It's sticky and slimey and hard to clean and then.. when you have cleaned it all off, you realize you just added an ounce to your racquet. It's a no go for me.

 

[JOSHL]

I Have.. it was a night mare.. I knew what I did wrong but it was just a bloody mess. It expands and it has a certain amount to expand and before it fills the handle, it will go up into the hoop. What happens then is that it starts to expand through the grommets so you have this gooey sticky mess seeping from your grommets. It's sticky and slimey and hard to clean and then.. when you have cleaned it all off, you realize you just added an ounce to your racquet. It's a no go for me.

Yeah that sounds horrible!

 

[lwto]

Yeah that sounds horrible!

Not to say, it can't be done and I would probably try again except for the weight, it's pretty heavy actually.

 

[Traffic]

I get very light racquets.. about 11 ounces, which means they are not very head light. I like racquets about 11.7 ounces with about 5 pts. HL so, I have to add a lot of handle weight to achieve this. I also don't use normal grips, I use 1 size build up grips and 2 OG's, so I need to compensate to make up the normal weight that a normal grip supplies. In the end, I'm actually adding from .5 to .8 ounces and it has to go somewhere. For my racquets with foam in the handle, my fishing weights work just fine. slips right up and very solid.
This is the fishing weight I use, I just simply cut off the amount I need.. add a some tape on it so I can take it out easy.


For my new Babolat, which doesn't have foam, this worked out very well, like I mentioned above, a wadded up cotton ball with lead tape.. very solid.




I'd try blutac, but I don't have any and I wanted to get it done before I could get it.
When I'm at a place I can purchase it, I'll get it.

Thanks for everyone's reply.. I'll think about gumbo as well.

Thanks for the pix. I have a hard time visualizing how to install the various materials that folks talk about.

However, I do have a question. Especially with material like cotton balls, wouldn't it compress as it strikes? So some of the inertia is dampened vs something like lead tape or even putty that is stuck to the inner wall and decelerates at same rate as the racquet handle?

 

[THE MAN]

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Tennis_Warehouse_Tungsten_Putty/descpageCNK-TP.html

 

[lwto]

Thanks for the pix. I have a hard time visualizing how to install the various materials that folks talk about.

However, I do have a question. Especially with material like cotton balls, wouldn't it compress as it strikes? So some of the inertia is dampened vs something like lead tape or even putty that is stuck to the inner wall and decelerates at same rate as the racquet handle?

Yes you are absolutely correct, the cotton balls wold definitely compress if struck, lucky for me I know which end to strike the balls, and there is no cotton balls there. Seriously, how the hell do I know, I don't know. all I know is that the cotton balls are very compressed to begin with as I have them jammed solidly into the handles, with the lead tape so there isn't much room for compression or decompression. I imagine it would hold true for foam that Wilson uses.. or that Yonex uses as well if thats the case. Never the less, I'm not to worried about a couple of grams of cotton ball/lead mix. Probably a good question for a physicist..Damm it Jim, I'm a.. never mind.

 

[Power Player]

I used to do lead on the handle but when I want to add 10 grams, that's 20 inches of lead tape, and you are going to feel that on the handle unless you wrap it up top, which results in a different balance. I went with blue tac because it takes 2 seconds and I can get it in the handle more so it doesn't tailweight the frame as much, and has the effect of using a leather grip.

I put half a cotton ball down each chamber first in case the blue tak somehow comes off, but I believe if you smear it all around the inside of the handle and really push it on there, it should be fine.

 

[Irvin]

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Tennis_Warehouse_Tungsten_Putty/descpageCNK-TP.html

Yikes that 32 cent per gram. Scotch band mounting putty is $1.87 for 2 oz at target. That's only 3 cents a gram or about 10 times cheaper. Plumber's putty is cheaper but it dried out. Silicone if you buy it by the big tube is very cheap too. If you take silicone and put it in some water mixed with dish soap you can form it into any shape you want then weight exactly want you want and stuff it up you butt.

 

[THE MAN]

Yikes that 32 cent per gram. Scotch band mounting putty is $1.87 for 2 oz at target. That's only 3 cents a gram or about 10 times cheaper. Plumber's putty is cheaper but it dried out. Silicone if you buy it by the big tube is very cheap too. If you take silicone and put it in some water mixed with dish soap you can form it into any shape you want then weight exactly want you want and stuff it up you butt.

Thanks for the info....but tungsten is much heavier than silicone and you will be using a lot less.

 

[Irvin]

Thanks for the info....but tungsten is much heavier than silicone and you will be using a lot less.

Not only is tungsten heavier than silicone it is heavier than lead. If you take tungsten wire and coil it you can use the silicone to hold the sungsten in place.

I just mentioned silicone because it is cheaper than poster / mounting or other puttys.