I love silicone, what about you?

[I Heart Thomas Muster]

Originally Posted by tennissavy

By the way, my racquet was unplayable and I had to throw it out. Thanks to all the great posts on this board about putting silicone in handle- it cost me money, time and a lot of effort for nothing but frustration and anger.

Why is the racquet unplayable? You added too much weight? You're afraid the silicone will move?

[Tmano]

How deep in the handle do you go when you inject the silicon? how do you know the exact weight of silicone you applay? do you weight it before?

[I Heart Thomas Muster]

I was tinkering with silicone this weekend and I tried to keep it as close to the butt cap as possible. I weighed the racquet before adding any silicone and just kept adding and checking on a digital scale until I reached the desired weight. I don't see how the silicone could move higher up the racquet after a drying for a day but I'm gonna give it a week before stringing it up and trying it.

[klementine79]

I was reading that someone had destroyed a racquet installing silicone, this has happened to me in the past as well, luckily it was a cheapo wal-mart special. So if anybody is interested in a quick and easy silicone installation. Here's what I do.

I make little silicone molds. I used this fly fishing tackle box but you can use whatever you find around the house. If you don't have anything, lay down some saran wrap and try to get some uniform shapes and sizes.


These ones are about an inch long and a 1/4 inch deep. They weigh about ~3grams. I usually cut them in half and double them up, like a sandwhich.

Once they dry, I measure how far up the handle I want to go with the silicone, usually around 7-8inches for me. Then I stuff the top with some cotton balls.

Then, I apply a very little amount of silicone to the home made molds, much like a glue, so that they fill the chamber(s) nicely and I start inserting.

I use this method for 3 reasons. 1.) Easier to approximate how much weight in silicone I want to use. 2.) It's not as messy and cuts down on user-errors and 3.) Because the drying time is cut by 90%, it's easier to remove. The center is already dry, the only silicone that dries inside the handle is the little dab I use to apply each mold.

Hope this helps/helped someone.

[Marcus2137]

Originally Posted by tennissavy

I wonder if the buttheads on this board ever tried delving into the silicone after thinking it was dry. .

Originally Posted by tennissavy

I did not trash anyone or call them names so I don't know where you or others came up with this fiction? I think you need to read more carefully and not make up stories, kids.

"buttheads" + "kids" = "did not trash anyone or call them names so I don't know where you or others came up with this fiction" ??

I don't say this to patronize or be sarcastic, but if you don't see the problem here, you might want to do some self-examination.

[amx13]

Hey klementine79, thats a great idea! Thanks a lot...a couple of questions:


1) How do you get the silicon out of the molds without breaking it or loosing the square shape?

2) You mention it would be easier to remove, how can you do that without damaging the racquet handle?

[klementine79]

^Once the mold is completely dry, use a small flat-head screw driver to gently lift them out. They still retain their shape and because it is silicone, is quite pliable.

Removal just involves a wire coat hanger, bent straight and cut. Don't worry you won't damage the handle chamber but you have to wait until the dab of silicone applied to the mold(s) as an adhesive, dries; usually about a day.

If there are some who want a uniform shape, you can wait a day until the molds dry, then remove them. Apply a little bit of silicone back into each container and turn over each silicone block back into mold, pressing ever so slightly. The result, after another 24 hours of drying time, is a completely uniform, cube shape. Just make sure not to make them too thick, as they won't fit into the handle with ease. My molds are 1 and 3/8's inch in length and about 3/8's of an inch deep and weigh approximately 3 grams.

[klementine79]

You can also lay down some saran wrap inside the mold before you pour in the silicone. Makes it that much more easier to remove them.

[swfh]

Bumping this thread as i just found a nice video on the subject

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLQhiNCecKk

Also, using this tackle box method, how could I add 4 or so grams to my buttcap? doesnt the silicon need to touch the whole chamber?
Thanks

[klementine79]

^Here's a more detailed thread I started which explains the mold process better.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=451527

As far as adding just 4-5 grams to the buttcap? It depends which racquet you have. If it's a removable buttcap, you can super-glue a nickel on the trap door, which weighs 5grams. If the trap door is too small, two dimes equal 5grams as well.