Prince Double grommets?

[David123]

Hi guys. My friend just brought me his racket to string. It's the Prince Force 3 ice OS. It has double grommets at 7H and 8H. I don't exactly understand what I am supposed to do with it (string differently), or what it means. Could someone please explain it to me what I am supposed to do differently?

I am thinking that they act like main skips but don't really count as them. I am just confused about which hole of the 2 the main goes in, is it the bottom or the top hole of the hole?

[Irvin]

It is a double grommet hole. The main goes in either the top or bottom hole and the cross in the other. Make sure when you string this racket that the two mains (7H and 8H) are both in the top or both in the bottom. That way your will not have your strings crossing over each other on the outside of the racket. You better check the bottom of the racket too to see if there are dual holes in the bottom of the racket.

Irvin

[Irvin]

Here is a helpful link for you. Whenever you have questions about how to string a racket go to the manufacturer's web site and look up the racket stringing instructions if you can.

http://www.princetennis.com/tennis/f...&ProductId=798

Irvin

[Irvin]

I like to tie off the top cross when I am stringing a tennis racket one piece but with this racket that is not a good idea.

Irvin

[GPB]

Yeah the double grommet kinda acts like a shared hole, just split by a little bit of plastic.

[David123]

Thanks Irvin. I am just wondering, is there any way of breaking that barrel in between the hole? What shouldn't I do when stringing these types of rackets? I actually finished stringing one yesterday with no problems. Just wanted to make sure that I am doing it correctly.

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by David123

Thanks Irvin. I am just wondering, is there any way of breaking that barrel in between the hole? What shouldn't I do when stringing these types of rackets? I actually finished stringing one yesterday with no problems. Just wanted to make sure that I am doing it correctly.

Yes you could break it in a heartbeat. When I string one piece I like to string the top cross with the short side and tie off the top cros and not the outside main. If you do that on this racket your outside main on the long side will go through 8H then the second cross will go through 8H (the same hole) and that is not good. You will tear that sliver of plastic out of the grommet hole if you do that. So tie off the outside main in this instance.

Irvin

[David123]

The racket Ice had only 1 piece option as showed in the stringer's digest. I believe I did tie off the main and not go through the top cross. I went through both mains using the bottom hole and then when I was doing the crosses I made sure I went over the first main and not under so there isn't going to be as much pressure pushing the string down to break the barrel. As for the barrel closest to the tension head (since I started going over, it's going to end as under) I used my finger to push the string up until the tensioner is done tensioning so that there is less force. Did this really do anything?

Also, let's say that I do end up breaking the barrel, can't I still string normally? Or do i have to switch the grommets? I find that the double grommet is just convinience as you do not have to go through the pain of trying to fit 2 strings into 1 grommet.

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by David123

The racket Ice had only 1 piece option as showed in the stringer's digest. I believe I did tie off the main and not go through the top cross. I went through both mains using the bottom hole and then when I was doing the crosses I made sure I went over the first main and not under so there isn't going to be as much pressure pushing the string down to break the barrel. As for the barrel closest to the tension head (since I started going over, it's going to end as under) I used my finger to push the string up until the tensioner is done tensioning so that there is less force. Did this really do anything?...

That did not do anything

Originally Posted by David123

...
Also, let's say that I do end up breaking the barrel, can't I still string normally? Or do i have to switch the grommets? I find that the double grommet is just convinience as you do not have to go through the pain of trying to fit 2 strings into 1 grommet.

The barrell just keeps the strings separated and the hole open the worst that could happen is you may have a little trouble getting the second string in the hole.

Irvin

[David123]

Alright thanks Irvin. So no need to replace it if it is broken?

[tbuggle]

Originally Posted by David123

Alright thanks Irvin. So no need to replace it if it is broken?

ya broke it, didn't ya?

it'll be ok.

[David123]

no I didn't just wondering.

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by David123

Alright thanks Irvin. So no need to replace it if it is broken?

Easier said than done. First if it is broken you will have to find a new set of grommets before you can replace them. If you can't find them (and you probably can't) I would not worry about it.

Irvin

[aussie]

I string a Prince TT Scream OS often and it has 2 shared grommets on either side of the head. When stringing the mains, make sure the mains on the left side of the head go through either the upper or lower hole and the mains on the right side of the head go through the holes opposite to the left side.

For example, the mains in the 2 shared grommets on the left side, go into the upper holes and the mains on the right side go into the lower holes of the 2 shared grommets.

When you do the crosses in the above example, make sure the crosses on the left side which will go through the 2 lower holes of the shared grommets go OVER the first main. Those crosses will automatically go UNDER the last main on the right side and into the UPPER holes in the shared grommets.

Sounds complicated to explain, but in practice, it's all elementary.

[Irvin]

^^^ 'aussie' I used to do the same thing too but sort of got out of the habit. Now I do make sure the mains go in either the top or bottom on each side but I have no preference. If the all four of the mains go into the bottom four shared holes it is fine with me as long as that is the easiest path for the string.

The mains thing you want to avoid is putting on main in the top and then routing that same string down to the bottom for the next cross. That will make your string cross over each other like an X on the outside of the racket. Not really terrible but does not look professional.

Irvin

[aussie]

Originally Posted by Irvin

If the all four of the mains go into the bottom four shared holes it is fine with me as long as that is the easiest path for the string. Irvin

Irvin, this is technically regarded as a miss-weave. By that I mean that if you have the main say on the left side in the upper hole of the double grommet, the cross comes out of the lower hole and should go over that second main. When you get to the right side of the frame, the cross will go under the second last main (in a 16 main frame) and then will go through the upper hole of the grommet only if you have strung the main on the right side through the lower hole. If you have strung the mains on the left and right side through the same lower or upper holes, it would be regarded as a miss-weave. The left and right sides of the double grommet must have the mains in opposite holes to avoid this.

Having said this, it doesn't affect playability one iota!! Hope you follow as it's difficult to explain clearly. There was a post once in the GSS forum that probably explained it better than I did.