UK TT racquetaholics and tennis bums

[forthegame]

Originally Posted by Dags

Introducing...

Balance Board Mk2!



Improvements are the thicker dowel with fittings, and enough forward planning so that the scale actually fits on the board. The thicker dowel makes a huge difference - I can actually get the racquet to balance rather than having to make do with 'tipping point'. Here's photographic evidence (apologies for the poor quality. I took the first picture in my bathroom as the lighting is good in there, but found that the floor tiles aren't actually flat and it was causing problems getting it to balance. Putting it on carpet was much easier, but the light's not very bright):



To make it I used:

1 x B&Q Value shelf (580 x 300mm): £4.98
1 x Dowel (it says 20mm on it, but...): £1.58
2 x Colorail Cranked Brackets (19mm... but the dowel fits): £5.88

1 x PDF scale sheet which I downloaded from a link somewhere on this forum.
Double-sided tape to fix the scale.
Pencil, tape measure and screwdriver.
I also used my grommet grinder to start the hole before inserting the screws - the board is cheap wood, and would have split quite easily.

I'm very pleased with the results. It looks much better than Mk1, and functions much better. The only enhancement I might consider for Mk3 would be to raise the scale by putting another piece of wood on top, but it's not really necessary.

Only tip - make sure the dowel can turn. You'll never be able to make the micro adjustments required to balance the racquet if you can't move the bar.

Edit: in case you can't find the cranked brackets, tell the assistant you're looking for brackets to fit a wardrobe rail. There's plenty of choice - I opted for these as they were the ones that would give the lowest clearance.

Very nice Dags. Professional looking job!

[jazar]

Trying an Apollo Leisure string, Deviate 3D, this weekend. Have to say I've been quite impressed with it so far. I'd describe it as an anonymous string; by which I mean nothing stands out as being exceptionally good or bad; it's just very solid all-round.

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

Tempted. Have to resist, been too active on the big auction site lately. Have too many disparate racquets. Varying weights, sw, balance. Need to prune.
Resisting the urge to 'watch' the pure storm.

Got a punchy with the mouse this morning (don't you just love that Buy It Now button).......racketaholism returning with a vengence..........

Gonna have to sell my 2 iPrestige Mids............

[forthegame]

^^
You bought it? I salute you sir!

Pls let us know how it hits, give us a mini-review.

After tinkering with the vintage frame and the nblade, i migh sate my PSL wanderlust....

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

^^
You bought it? I salute you sir!

Pls let us know how it hits, give us a mini-review.

After tinkering with the vintage frame and the nblade, i migh sate my PSL wanderlust....

Yeah, it's the only Babolat frame that's ever really interested me. Thought I'd give it a go. Maybe it'll be the one.......lol.

Dusted off the PS 6.0 95's yesterday, maybe I should go back to those. With a bit of lead at 10 & 2 they play great.

My love affair with the iPrestige Mid has been fairly short lived, just can't seem to serve well with them. Shame really cos' they are fantastic rackets in every way. Posting them up on the FB page.........

[forthegame]

Originally Posted by prostaff junkie

Yeah, it's the only Babolat frame that's ever really interested me. Thought I'd give it a go. Maybe it'll be the one.......lol.

Dusted off the PS 6.0 95's yesterday, maybe I should go back to those. With a bit of lead at 10 & 2 they play great.

My love affair with the iPrestige Mid has been fairly short lived, just can't seem to serve well with them. Shame really cos' they are fantastic rackets in every way. Posting them up on the FB page.........

Ooooh, the FB page, I'm fairly anal about my online presence/privacy. I guess I'm missing out on some fun on the UKTRTB FB page. Hmm....

I agree about the Pure Storms, I actually hit with one, either a PSL or PSLGT and I felt it was too much for me.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by forthegame

Ooooh, the FB page, I'm fairly anal about my online presence/privacy. I guess I'm missing out on some fun on the UKTRTB FB page. Hmm....

I agree about the Pure Storms, I actually hit with one, either a PSL or PSLGT and I felt it was too much for me.

I was, then i looked on there one day and was in photos all over the place tagged and put up with friends, i figured it was easier to be involved and keep an eye on it al, then it grew bigger............

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

I agree about the Pure Storms, I actually hit with one, either a PSL or PSLGT and I felt it was too much for me.

In what way was it "too much"? Could you elaborate............?

[forthegame]

Originally Posted by prostaff junkie

In what way was it "too much"? Could you elaborate............?

Read: too demanding!

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

Read: too demanding!

OK, I'll let you know how I get on with it. I've recently been using iPrestige MP's, couldn't hook up my serve so I'm trying something different. Did you find it as demanding as a Prestige (if you've ever used one)?

[forthegame]

^^
Hmm.. never played a prestige.
I think i'm a better player now. Things might be different if I tried it again. My first 'leading up' experiment didn't work but fancy having a go at a lighter pure storm, probably the team.

[forthegame]

Latest acquisitions!



Classic (Head Graphite Tour 660) and longterm wanteds (nBlade 98 ).

The Head is unbelievably solid, heavy balls, no vibration, plush solid feel, pushing my partner back. It's a shame that it's too heavy for me. Will keep it as part of my 'classic' collection and break it out when I'm fresh and can lug it.

The nBlade was good. Will play more with it in the next few weeks. In spite of its relatively light weight, it was good today.

UKTTRTB's bug strikes again!

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

^^
You bought it? I salute you sir!

Pls let us know how it hits, give us a mini-review.

After tinkering with the vintage frame and the nblade, i migh sate my PSL wanderlust....

The Pure Storm arrived today, gonna go and hit with it this evening. Feels nice in the hand, surprisingly light though, bit concerned about stability...........we'll see

Anyone got any thoughts on a string set-up suited to this racket. I'm not a full poly man, but poly/syn gut or multi hybrids are fine. I don't hit loads of spin, like flatten it out (prob the wrong racket lol).

FTG - If I don't like it I'll sell it to you, it's the 295g version.

[forthegame]

Thanks junkie. I'll bear that in mind. I've got my hands full with new raqs too!

Good times.

[origmarm]

Originally Posted by forthegame

Classic (Head Graphite Tour 660)

I really liked this when I hit with it way back when. Someone gave me some Gammas for free at the time or this might have replaced my beloved PSCs. It was that good. Bit of slug on the serve though, definitely a flat/slice serve frame if my memory serves. I like that as I'm a big flat/slice server and rarely put a lot of topspin on but there are limits.

[forthegame]

Originally Posted by origmarm

I really liked this when I hit with it way back when. Someone gave me some Gammas for free at the time or this might have replaced my beloved PSCs. It was that good. Bit of slug on the serve though, definitely a flat/slice serve frame if my memory serves. I like that as I'm a big flat/slice server and rarely put a lot of topspin on but there are limits.

Indeed Orig, a very nice hit but ever so heavy. Only about 340g but feels every ounce of it. On serve, all I have to do is swing!

[jazar]

Off to Montreal in the morning. Hoping to string for the top 20 players (P1 and RPNY clients excluded) that I've not strung for before, though I wouldn't mind avoiding Mikhail Youzhny; nice bloke, but his new "Signum Pro" gut already has a reputation for not being good or even of surviving the stringing process.

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

^^
You bought it? I salute you sir!

Pls let us know how it hits, give us a mini-review.

After tinkering with the vintage frame and the nblade, i migh sate my PSL wanderlust....

OK, just got home after my hit with the Pure Storm Original.

Played 1 set of singles and 1 set of doubles with it.

I've gotta say I'm a bit disappointed by it. I found it to be quite powerful (for a low powered stick?), I was getting good depth with not too much effort, but as I like to swing out at the ball I was hitting long quite often. Too much power for me.

It was OK on punch volleys, but rubbish for touch volleys. That's where my biggest problem was with it, I found it REALLY lacked feel. Touch volleys, drop shots weren't there for me with this stick. I guess I'm too used to playing Prostaffs, POG's and Prestige's (gone but not forgotten).

I did serve well with it, easy power and placement, but I found due to the lack of mass I was starting to muscle the ball rather than just swing. My arm is still telling me so...........

So overall, it's not for me. It felt almost even balance, the beam was too thick for my liking, it felt almost like an even balanced Hyper Hammer (if that makes any sense to anyone). Not nearly enough feel, I play 90% doubles so I an all-courter, lot's of time at the net.

Maybe it's a Players Tweener? Anyway, it's gotta go...............

[origmarm]

Originally Posted by forthegame

On serve, all I have to do is swing!

That's exactly it, no whip to it whatsoever. It's sort of like serving with a large hammer, hard to get moving but once you do

[jazar]

Arrived in Canadia last night. Paid less than $10 for a beer and a pizza, which is like less than £7. In comparison, the first day I was in Paris for RG I paid 10 euros just for a beer.