Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Yeah, the surfing in Austria isn't particularly good, nor is the Australian alpine skiing.

Yet both are fabulous places to live or visit, and both have rich tennis history.
 

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Found a nice, clean specimen of Prince Graphite Series 125 yesterday. Looks like a POG, that was hit with a space-age grow ray! :)

(Prince had a line-up of super-oversize 125's from 1984-1987 or so, with the Graphite, Precision Graphite, and Magnesium getting the growth hormones.
 

Rajan Rackets

New User
THATS CRAZY!!! Nice find

I live in a pretty tennis - centric area so Ill definitely be stopping by any close good will's and checking.
 

frinton

Professional
Nice Prestige 600...not

A while back I found this...nicely packed in its cover

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but then, when taking a closer look, I saw this:

IMG_3367.JPG


... it is still there and everytime I check, it doesn't look any better :shock:
what do you guys think? It looks like a crack, or maybe not?
 
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Nice find! Hope it is not a real crack. String it up, man. Give it a go. Let us know how it goes.

EDIT:

"Tbh, Looks so nice. Lovn that gray/green look on you! Totes adorbs. Gorj bit of thrift shopping there, frinton. U inspire me! Omg, One of the best frames in tennis history. Still such an ameazeng racket!"

- slice's inner sloane stephens
 
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Sarcastic

Rookie
Play it with those strings. Just pretend the ball is saying, "I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

Love mixing in movie quotes.
 

Rorsach

Hall of Fame
A pair of unused Prince Precision 680 for 2 euros each:

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BSVVheI.jpg


No idea if they're any good, haven't had the chance to play with them.
 

frinton

Professional
Found a Wilson Hammer 7.2 95 today:

IMG_4455.JPG


It's in pretty good shape - looks to be a very similar mold to Pro Staff Classic, but with a very different weight distribution and PJ obviously
Does anybody know the racket - how does it play?
What do you guys think of Wilson's Hammer System - basically no weight in the handle.
...I did a little experiment this evening, but you can find that in a new thread, if interested.
 
whats even better is that two of my students gave me a blx blade 98 (16x19), blx ps 95 (2012), blx six one 95 (both '10 & '12 paint jobs) and a (K)Blabe 98 for free in March :D
 

Sweet-Spot

Rookie
Hey guys need your opinion is this frame the Borg Donnay Model? Or a Donnay squash racket? Can't quite tell...

borg.JPG
 
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Now this was an odd one. Even though I don't have that much money left I just felt compelled to shell out the $12 or so it cost. It's a Spalding Powertech 80. Does anyone know anything about it?

WP_20140412_11_37_07_Pro_zps607ab1fa.jpg
 
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frinton

Professional
Cool! 1 racket and 3 sweet spots LOL! I wonder how they tried to market that thing. How does it play? Have you tried?
 
Cool! 1 racket and 3 sweet spots LOL! I wonder how they tried to market that thing. How does it play? Have you tried?

I bought it yesterday and my throat is currently giving me enough incentive to off myself just as a pain relief, so no. I'll try it sometime in the not too distant future, though.

The recommended tension range for it is 20-21 kilograms for nylon and 22-23 kilograms for gut! However, two of my friends have already refused completely to even touch it. Wonder what the local stringer would say... A restring wouldn't do it harm it seems.
 
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struggle

Legend
Doesn't look at all hard to string but I don't see the X mains at H and T doing anything except robbing the frame of consistent tension in the mains. All kinds of extra friction on the 6 center main strings.
 

Sanglier

Professional
Whereas the Rossignol has one inverted bridge, this one has two (D.I.B. stands for Double Inverted Bridge), so it's obviously twice as good! :)

I have the slightly larger PowerTech 100, which weighs 350 g, with a swing weight of 364 (undoubtedly the result of all that extra frame material at the top), and plays wonderfully well in my experience. The PowerTech 80 is probably a little more demanding than the 100, but I would not be surprised at all if it plays much better than it looks.

Whether or not the double inverted bridge truly widens the sweet spot as implied in US patent 4798382 is debatable, but the design is based on the same principle that inspired the Lacoste Equijet shape. However, the Equijet implementation applied this principle to the cross strings rather than the mains; which, while aesthetically pleasing, actually makes even less practical sense than the D.I.B. embodiment.

What is fascinating to me is that while this design and Rossignol's sought to shorten the center mains to improve playability, many more designs went in the exact opposite direction to achieve the same end (e.g., Head Director, Durbin, Sp.In, etc.). I think this is prima facie evidence that the effect of string length on playability is much less significant than these designers had believed - or would have us believe.

$12 is less than 1/10th of what these things would fetch for on the bay nowadays. Nice score!
 
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NickJ

Professional
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Found this Wilson Pro Staff Jack Kramer. Near perfect condition for the princely sum of £10! Sits nicely alongside it's newest cousin, my Pro Staff 95S
 

NickJ

Professional
Putting a rubber band over vertical and horizontal strings? ;)

No. Just wind one band around the bottom horizontal string a couple of times and tie it off. The increase in mass in the one area causes it 'push' outwards against the 2 centre vertical strings giving the damping effect.
 

NickJ

Professional
No. Just wind around the bottom horizontal string a couple of times and tie it off. The increase in mass in the one area causes it 'push' outwards against the 2 centre vertical strings giving the damping effect.

I see what you mean tho. I think its just how it comes across from the photo.
 

struggle

Legend
No. Just wind one band around the bottom horizontal string a couple of times and tie it off. The increase in mass in the one area causes it 'push' outwards against the 2 centre vertical strings giving the damping effect.

that's not "legal" according to the current rules of tennis (ITF?).
 

NickJ

Professional
:twisted:
that's not "legal" according to the current rules of tennis (ITF?).

Good job I'm not on the Tour then eh!! I won't tell Francesco Ricci Bitti if you won't. And if I'm ever drawn against you I'll remove it for something legally approved, can't say fairer than that! I'm not in danger, I AM the danger. I am the one who knocks. :twisted:
 
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struggle

Legend
:twisted:

Good job I'm not on the Tour then eh!! I won't tell Francesco Ricci Bitti if you won't. And if I'm ever drawn against you I'll remove it for something legally approved, can't say fairer than that! I'm not in danger, I AM the danger. I am the one who knocks. :twisted:

Yeah, i don't really care, just stating the facts. i think MOST traditional dampeners actually extend above the bottom cross string just small bit (at least the way that people install them) which is apparently the "crime", heh. I've not read the actual rule specifics and don't care to.
 

NickJ

Professional
Yeah, i don't really care, just stating the facts. i think MOST traditional dampeners actually extend above the bottom cross string just small bit (at least the way that people install them) which is apparently the "crime", heh. I've not read the actual rule specifics and don't care to.

I hadnt got a clue about the rules either! I haven't been pulled up about it for the last 25yrs of league matches so I think I'll be safe for the rest of playing 'career'! :)
I only use a rubberband as they don't fall out, unlike others I've tried that fit inbetween the 2 centre verticals. Anyway, hows about the Jack Kramer eh? For a tenner!!
 

WARPWOODIE

Rookie
Just recently grabbed the following racquets for less than $6 each:

Wilson N-Code 95 Prostaff
Wilso Ultra FPK 95 tapered beam
Wilson Pro-staff 85 (Sampras and Edberg's racquet), Chicago Model
Prince Original Graphite, version 2 (one stripe, single grommets)
and lastly, two (2) Wilson K-factor (Del Potro's stick)

I am continuously surprised and amazed at the quality of racquets being donated.
 

the hack

New User
Got my first POG 1 stripe at Goodwill for $2.99. My lucky day. I couldn't afford this racket when they first came out. Now that I can afford them they aren't made anymore and I am always looking for them in junk shops.
 

struggle

Legend
Just picked up a HEAD Prestige Tour 300 Mid Trysis System (Suspension Grip) at Goodwill.

$5

It's in good shape, but not pristine.

Not sure what to do with it, I don't think it's quite in my "wheelhouse".

Once I get it cleaned up, I'll snap some pics and post 'em up.

I'll at least have to string it up and give a test drive.
 
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