Enlarging grommets

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stapletonj

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Hey guys! Strung up a brand new v9 wilson blade 98 for my friend. 17 ga. poly mono string. 50 lbs on the mains, so nothing crazy. It took me FOREVER to finally get the tie offs for the mains through.

wax, tri flow, shaving the string to a fine point with a razor blade. Finally sort of lucked out and got it through.

Next time, I want to enlarge the hole BEFORE the first string job.

I practiced with a dremel tool on an old racket I was going to change out the grommets on anyway. That very quickly resulted in the "shaft" of the grommet breaking off, so I know that won't work.

I tried heating up a needle nose awl with a heat gun, then sticking it in the grommet hole and "wiggling it about" (OK, please let's all get our minds out of the gutter)

That seemed to work best. Anybody else got any other tips?
 
Make sure you have proper tie off grommet located. Most manufacturers have the tie off on a larger grommet, so be sure you are on the proper one, as you don't want to enlarge one if not needed. You can typically look at adjacent grommets for a larger one, as you may have chosen the wrong one for tie off.
Sometimes the listed stringing patterns are not listed accurate as well, so you need to check adjacent grommets if you run into this situation to be sure.

If need to enlarge grommet:
Take an awl. Lube it with chapstick. SLOWLY insert it while twisting the awl.
Be sure you keep twisting awl on insertion and removal and go slow. You don't need to go in too far, just enough to open a little. You don't want heat generated, and minimize friction, so be sure to use enough chapstick.
Don't over do it as it thins out the grommet wall.
 
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IIRC V9 Blade 16x19 MTO is 7H vs v9 Blade 18x20 MTO of 9T. Since you did not mention pattern, which hole did you use for MTO?

Rather than enlarging MTO holes with awl, I rather try fitting 2 strings thru the proposed tie off BEFORE even starting to put a main thru the hole. If 2 17 Ga strings won't go thru that hole, there's something wrong with the selected hole or instruction. You can visually inspect this condition and move on to a different hole perhaps one hole towards center. If inspection of the frame says that it is the proper tie off, ie flared grommet, then use one thick string like a 15 Ga to enlarge the hole until 2 17 Ga can go thru. I just gently run the 2 strings back and forth until the strings have little resistance. Then I leave a string in that hole to establish a channel which is removed when I have to tie off. I haven't used an awl in a long time.
 
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As @jim e said, use chapstick or something similar to lube the awl. If you turn the awl when you push it into the grommet hole, don't turn it too much in one direction, because if the awl sticks to the sides of the inside of the grommet, you could end up separating the grommet from the grommet strip. You should be able to enlarge the hole without needing to turn the awl much.
 
I actually called Wilson myself, spoke to a rep.

He sent me that exact sheet with the diagram and instructions and I followed them to.the.letter. (Even printed it off and kept it for the next string job for this guy...)

I am 100% certain that I used the right holes. I even eyeballed some holes nearby. No Go. There was one slightly larger hole, but that was the one for the cross tie off.

I did NOT try the chap stick method, I'll try that next time.
 
esgee48 said:
IIRC V9 Blade 16x19 MTO is 7H vs v9 Blade 18x20 MTO of 9T. Since you did not mention pattern, which hole did you use for MTO?

Rather than enlarging MTO holes with awl, I rather try fitting 2 strings thru the proposed tie off BEFORE even starting to put a main thru the hole. If 2 17 Ga strings won't go thru that hole, there's something wrong with the selected hole or instruction. You can visually inspect this condition and move on to a different hole perhaps one hole towards center. If inspection of the frame says that it is the proper tie off, ie flared grommet, then use one thick string like a 15 Ga to enlarge the hole until 2 17 Ga can go thru. I just gently run the 2 strings back and forth until the strings have little resistance. Then I leave a string in that hole to establish a channel which is removed when I have to tie off. I haven't used an awl in a long time.
Click to expand...
yep, the Blade 98 V9 16m MTO is 7H... no issues with Wasabi 1.23
 
Can I also check which one I should use to tie off the crosses when doing a 2 piece stringing for the v9 16x19?
Wilson says 5H but I am not sure. They also say to tie off mains at 6H
 
rcesarpacheco said:
Can I also check which one I should use to tie off the crosses when doing a 2 piece stringing for the v9 16x19?
Wilson says 5H but I am not sure. They also say to tie off mains at 6H
Click to expand...
@rcesarpacheco,

See my post/reply over in your other thread...
W

Post in thread 'Wilson Blade 98 v9 15x19 tie offs'

rcesarpacheco said:
I just recently started stringing and got confused about Wilson recommendations for the tie offs here: https://www.wilson.com/sites/default/files/Wilson_Blade_v9_98_16x19_StringingInstructions.pdf

Also when doing a 2 piece stringing. It says to tie off crosses at 5h. But again the closest one is 6H. Does this matter at all? What should I follow?
Click to expand...

@rcesarpacheco,

Although Wilson oftentimes has errors (or simply incorrect copy/pasted info. from older frames :rolleyes:) on their website, those instructions (that you linked) actually are correct.
If/when...
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Cheers, Wes
 
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