Change my first grip pallet today

[Indy Tennis]

Changed a Volkl grip pallet today going from a 4 3/8 to a 4 5/8 and all I can say is that it’s not quite as easy as I thought it might be.

First of all the factory pallet had tape all the way around and the staples were really hard to get out of the butt cap. There was no hope of saving the original pallet. It came off in about a dozen pieces. I used a narrow putty knife, a utility knife, a narrow standard screw driver, needle-nose pliers and a blow dryer.

The Volkl pallet I bought from TW was an inch too long, but it was easy to mark and cut to size with the utility knife.

Putting the new pallet on was much easier. Simply put the two pieces in place, stapled the new butt cap in place (while squeezing the two sides of the pallet together), and then tightly wrap double-sided tape around the rest of the pallet.

Put on a grip, overwrap and was good to go.

Taking off the old pallet was by far the hardest part of the whole procedure.

I’m sure it would be easier the next time, but anyone who can take off an original pallet without tearing it up is a master.

 

[samster]

Thanks for the information. I almost bought a 4 1/2 grip volkl thinking I would get a pallet to get it up to 4 5/8. I think I will spare myself some serious pain.

 

[NoBadMojo]

Changing a Volkl pallet isnt difficult other than maybe the first time. Removing the staples from the buttcap isnt difficult..you just insert a small screwdriver underthem and pop them off in about 10seconds keeping in mind the buttcap is soft.
As far as removing and reusing the old pallets, i have found that generally they are easier to remove and are more salvageable if the frame you are removing them from is new or newer. They seem to stick on there more tightly and become more brittle with the passing of time. They werent meant to be reused and only cost 8 bucks or so i think.

 

[Richie Rich]

i've found, through experience, that it's easier to remove the pallet if you heat it up with the hair dryer first for a few minutes. this loosens up the glue and while the pallet might break, it won't be in a million little pieces. if you are really careful you can remove the pallet in tact to be used again but i don't have the patience for that.

last volkl pallet i changed took approx 10 minutes from start to finish.

it's also a good idea to give the new replacement pallet a blast from the hair dryer so that it bonds with the glue on the handle.

 

[rich s]

my experinece taught me to score/cut the two sided tape that holds the pallets on the frame by running a utility knife down the slots between the two pallet halves.

head pallets use a spray type adhesive so you are only overcoming the peel strength of the adhesive. Volkl apparantly wraps a two sided tape around the handle of the frame and then apply the pallet halves so you are overcoming the peel strength of the adhesive and the tensile strength of the film that the adhesive is applied to.

my $.02

 

[Indy Tennis]

An update:

I changed my second pallet today and it went much more smoothly. I used a hair dryer for a pretty good time to loosen the glue and a putty knife. First cut down the seems and I actually got one side of the old pallet off in one piece!

Goal for the next time - keeping both sides of the pallet intact.

It gets much easier once you've done this a time or two.

 

[Richie Rich]

good man. we told you it was easy now you are an expert.

 

[nagaul]

how much do theses palletts cost? is $8 a guess of the correct price?

 

[rich s]

how much do theses palletts cost? is $8 a guess of the correct price?

Pretty close.....the Volkl's come with the correct sized buttcap too when you order them from TW

(phone orders only....no online orders for Volkl pallets from TW)

 

[Indy Tennis]

I paid 7.99 per for Volkl pallets.

I wonder if TW carries pallets for other racquet brands?

 

[jonolau]

Can anyone post step-by-step pictures of how it's done? Am thinking of reducing the pallet size of my Catapult 10 from 4 1/4 to 4 1/8 for my wife.

I'm also curious, what did you all use to adhere the pallet to the frame? Double-sided tape? Epoxy?

Also, wondering if TW will accomodate overseas orders for pallets?

 

[jonolau]

Bump......

 

[the well]

jonolau, i'm also interested in getting the volkl grip pallets, maybe we could share the shipping cost as i'm also from singapore?
email me?

 

[jonolau]

jonolau, i'm also interested in getting the volkl grip pallets, maybe we could share the shipping cost as i'm also from singapore?
email me?

Email just sent.

 

[Rabbit]

Tell you the truth, I've had mine changed out, but I take it to my local pro shop to do it. Why? Well as long as you asked:

• It probably won't void the warranty on the frame - whereas if I did it and did it sloppily, Volkl would probably tell me thanks, but no thanks.
• Since the guy is an MRT, it's done by a guy who knows what he's doing. (The whole thing won't come apart and my racket go flying into a crowd of personal injury lawyers.)
• It's too damn easy to let a person who does this for a living do it right.

In all seriousness, something like this should be done by a professional. Where ever you buy your Volkl rackets would be a great place to start. The pro shop here has never charged me for anything but the replacement pallets, labor was free, and I felt better about the whole process. This is one of those things that should be done by someone who does it all the time.

 

[jonolau]

Rabbit,

Thank you and extremely valid points. These are the challenges faced by me:

1. Volkl terminated the distributor in Singapore last year, and the void is still there.
2. Racquet customization is not very developed here, and racquet shops are more keen to sell a new racquet on the back of better margins.

No choice, really.