Extending Grommet life

[Aretium]

My current racket is discontinued. I will try to get grommet sets, but it is awkward and expensive.

I might try using a hairdryer and flaring them but this is risky.

Can i not coat them with superglue before every use? Or something similar? Is there a liquid plastic type thing?

 

[esgee48]

Head protection tape.
FITEX grommets.
To prevent plastic from drying out, clean them with furn. polish.

 

[Irvin]

My current racket is discontinued. I will try to get grommet sets, but it is awkward and expensive.

I might try using a hairdryer and flaring them but this is risky.

Can i not coat them with superglue before every use? Or something similar? Is there a liquid plastic type thing?

You could get a grommet grinder and individual grommets to replace worn grommets.

 

[Aretium]

Head protection tape.
FITEX grommets.
To prevent plastic from drying out, clean them with furn. polish.

You could get a grommet grinder and individual grommets to replace worn grommets.

Looking at fittex, looks promising. Do the grommets include wider grommets for tie offs?

 

[Aretium]

Can anyone help me further with this? There are several grommets available and I am unsure of which to purchase.

The options are:
layflat
grooved
round

 

[jim e]

When you finally order a new racquet in future I would suggest ordering a few grommet sets as they are cheap enough as in short time manuf. do not have them avail any more.
you could go route of tennis meanace dot com as they typically have many discontinued ones but be prepared to pay for this. They can even custom make grommet sets, but is it worth it for many?
I typically tell customers to be sure to order grommets with new racquets, as they go fast.

Fittex grommets come in various sizes and you would need to order most to get size and length needed for various size applications.

If you go with the fittex, get a grommet grinder.
Twist the grinder clockwise to separate and pull off turning counter clockwise to remove but sometimes a piece can break off and go inside frame, then you would need to remove trap door in but cap, or if older but cap it may need to be removed to eliminate piece if it breaks off inside as this does happen once in a while
Best to twist it off, and while inside frame hold grommet and twist counterclockwise and hold onto old grommet to remove, seems to work the best for less chance of remanent piece of grommet going inside frame as that's a pain.

I normally tube a worn grommet and every so often use a fittex, and when that is done I tell the customer to get a new racquet before next stringing as grommet set is at the end of its life span. Just what manuf. like to hear.

Manuf. never tell you what current frame grommets will work with older ones, as I'm sure there is compatability between many, but they rather you just purchase a new racquet.

 

[Irvin]

@Aretium, I assume your tie off grommets are starting to fail and you bumper is fine. I just thought of another idea, Tecnifibre just came out with a new grommet system that employs plastic eyelets for for the tie off locations. It is nothing more than a grommet that is pressed into an enlarged grommet hole and I think they would last much longer than the standard tie off grommets used before. Get you some eyelets, press them in and see how they work. The bad news is you have to buy a complete grommet set to get the eyelets as they do not come separate. The come in red for the T-Fight dynacore rackets and green for the T-Flash dynacore rackets. There are 6 eyelets per grommet set.

 

[Aretium]

@Aretium, I assume your tie off grommets are starting to fail and you bumper is fine. I just thought of another idea, Tecnifibre just came out with a new grommet system that employs plastic eyelets for for the tie off locations. It is nothing more than a grommet that is pressed into an enlarged grommet hole and I think they would last much longer than the standard tie off grommets used before. Get you some eyelets, press them in and see how they work. The bad news is you have to buy a complete grommet set to get the eyelets as they do not come separate. The come in red for the T-Fight dynacore rackets and green for the T-Flash dynacore rackets. There are 6 eyelets per grommet set.

So you are saying that a regular grommet in a tie off hole would work? But who do I get 2 strings through then?

So should i get 2 packs of grommets one being typical width and the other being wide enough for tie offs?

 

[Aretium]

When you finally order a new racquet in future I would suggest ordering a few grommet sets as they are cheap enough as in short time manuf. do not have them avail any more.
you could go route of tennis meanace dot com as they typically have many discontinued ones but be prepared to pay for this. They can even custom make grommet sets, but is it worth it for many?
I typically tell customers to be sure to order grommets with new racquets, as they go fast.

Fittex grommets come in various sizes and you would need to order most to get size and length needed for various size applications.

If you go with the fittex, get a grommet grinder.
Twist the grinder clockwise to separate and pull off turning counter clockwise to remove but sometimes a piece can break off and go inside frame, then you would need to remove trap door in but cap, or if older but cap it may need to be removed to eliminate piece if it breaks off inside as this does happen once in a while
Best to twist it off, and while inside frame hold grommet and twist counterclockwise and hold onto old grommet to remove, seems to work the best for less chance of remanent piece of grommet going inside frame as that's a pain.

I normally tube a worn grommet and every so often use a fittex, and when that is done I tell the customer to get a new racquet before next stringing as grommet set is at the end of its life span. Just what manuf. like to hear.

Manuf. never tell you what current frame grommets will work with older ones, as I'm sure there is compatability between many, but they rather you just purchase a new racquet.

Can I not just snip off the grommet and then sand the area down and glue the new grommet on?

 

[Irvin]

So you are saying that a regular grommet in a tie off hole would work? But who do I get 2 strings through then?

So should i get 2 packs of grommets one being typical width and the other being wide enough for tie offs?

The eyelets in Tecnifibre rackets are tie off grommets. But on second thought it would not work. The grommet that come in from the outside of the frame is shorter. You probably couldn't get the grommets out to cut them off and get them back in.

 

[Irvin]

Can I not just snip off the grommet and then sand the area down and glue the new grommet on?

No

 

[Irvin]

What kind of racket do you have?

 

[jim e]

Can I not just snip off the grommet and then sand the area down and glue the new grommet on?

That would be not impossible, but would be very difficult if not just too much work, as you would need to remove the strip and with grommets getting flared could make removing and reinstalling difficult to say the least.
With a grommet grinder you place it in twist clockwise and it separates, grab the grommet and untwist counter clockwise and it is off.
replace with appropriate size and that done. I can't imagine removing the entire strip and snip and sand smooth and reinstall. very difficult.

Another thing that you can do is save old grommet sets where the say bumper is worn but grommets are good, as you can cut those grommets off the strip and use as single grommets to replace a split one, as that works well.

 

[Aretium]

So.... is tubing the best bet? Can I use tubing for tie offs? Will it extend the life of the tie off hole?

 

[Aretium]

No

Just plain no? As in not possible? Is the trick part removing the old headguard/grommetstrip and putting it back? Why can i not just glue the grommet onto the strip after I remove the old one?

 

[jhupper]

I don't see how super glueing one on would work.

Fittex are the business, especially if the majority of the grommets are OK and the bumper is intact. I frequently replace the tie off grommet on rackets once they flare out and squash. The 4mm grooved one allows the two strings to pass through with ease and is very tidy. The 3.8mm layflat is made for just that purpose. Just depends on string paths and preference I guess.

In theory you need both the 4mm and 3mm grommet grinders which aren't cheap but I think they are a great investment.

Tubing in a tie off hole reduces it's width making it very tough to get two strings through, plus when you lay tubing down and pull tension how do you then get the second string into it for the tie off??

 

[Aretium]

I don't see how super glueing one on would work.

Fittex are the business, especially if the majority of the grommets are OK and the bumper is intact. I frequently replace the tie off grommet on rackets once they flare out and squash. The 4mm grooved one allows the two strings to pass through with ease and is very tidy. The 3.8mm layflat is made for just that purpose. Just depends on string paths and preference I guess.

In theory you need both the 4mm and 3mm grommet grinders which aren't cheap but I think they are a great investment.

Tubing in a tie off hole reduces it's width making it very tough to get two strings through, plus when you lay tubing down and pull tension how do you then get the second string into it for the tie off??

So how do you attach the new grommet? is it the top of the fittex grommet that slides in and then stops because of the circumference?

 

[esgee48]

I have found that most tie off holes can be 3.4, 3.7 or 3.8 mm. Most single holes are > 2.8 mm. Best to just measure the diameter of the hole since that must be greater than the outside diameter of the FITEX. Just make sure the length of the tube comes thru the frame. You can always cut off excess.

As another poster has said, buy spare grommet sets when you get a new frame because you will regret it when you need one and can't buy one. You can always cut up an old set and just reuse the tubes ala FITEX.

Yes, the top of the FITEX will not fit thru the hole. The string tension will keep the grommet in place. No glue needed, certainly not super glue.

 

[Aretium]

I have found that most tie off holes can be 3.4, 3.7 or 3.8 mm. Most single holes are > 2.8 mm. Best to just measure the diameter of the hole since that must be greater than the outside diameter of the FITEX. Just make sure the length of the tube comes thru the frame. You can always cut off excess.

As another poster has said, buy spare grommet sets when you get a new frame because you will regret it when you need one and can't buy one. You can always cut up an old set and just reuse the tubes ala FITEX.

Yes, the top of the FITEX will not fit thru the hole. The string tension will keep the grommet in place. No glue needed, certainly not super glue.

Yeah I would, but I got my rackets super cheap from a shop that is not really a specialist shop (the specialists shops in the UK for tennis have RRP prices) so I couldn't purchase any. I am looking at the moment. In a post from yulittle, he says you don't need a grinder, just lift the part of the grommet strip and cut. I don't see why this is an issue, I just tried it.

 

[Irvin]

Just plain no? As in not possible? Is the trick part removing the old headguard/grommetstrip and putting it back? Why can i not just glue the grommet onto the strip after I remove the old one?

You can I guess glue grommets together but since you sanded down the old grommet to the level of the inside edge of the frame there are too many issues to begin with. Let's assume the old grommet is split, the gram E is now exposed where you sand the old grommet down. Are you going to cut the new grommet down to a point to protect the split grommet in the frame. And that's 1 of many sues you'll have.

 

[Irvin]

So.... is tubing the best bet? Can I use tubing for tie offs? Will it extend the life of the tie off hole?

Say you put tubing of the anchor string in a tie off hole. That increases the diameter of the anchor string to the point where you may not be able to get another string in the hole.

 

[Aretium]

Say you put tubing of the anchor string in a tie off hole. That increases the diameter of the anchor string to the point where you may not be able to get another string in the hole.

Say you put tubing of the anchor string in a tie off hole. That increases the diameter of the anchor string to the point where you may not be able to get another string in the hole.

Ok thanks, so how are fittex grommets fitted? Can i not follow the same procedure but just use cutters instead of a grinder?

 

[Irvin]

Ok thanks, so how are fittex grommets fitted? Can i not follow the same procedure but just use cutters instead of a grinder?

You need to grind the grommet off the strip on the outside of the frame and insert a new one in from the outside.

 

[ricardo]

I don't see how super glueing one on would work.

Fittex are the business, especially if the majority of the grommets are OK and the bumper is intact. I frequently replace the tie off grommet on rackets once they flare out and squash. The 4mm grooved one allows the two strings to pass through with ease and is very tidy. The 3.8mm layflat is made for just that purpose. Just depends on string paths and preference I guess.

In theory you need both the 4mm and 3mm grommet grinders which aren't cheap but I think they are a great investment.

Tubing in a tie off hole reduces it's width making it very tough to get two strings through, plus when you lay tubing down and pull tension how do you then get the second string into it for the tie off??

I was able to do this.

I put tubing in the tie-off grommet.
I agree that you cannot insert two strings into the tubing.
What I did is insert the 2nd string into the grommet but outside of the tubing.
My grommet was wide enought for a tubing and another string.

 

[MathieuR]

little cones that you would slit on top of the tie-off grommet, and would be kept in place by the knot.
I've been on the look-out for these, but only could find cone-shaped beats

 

[Aretium]

Ok just replaced some. Just got fittex grommets, cut out the tie offs at the head guard and neaten out the cut ( can quite easily re insert the head guard as only the tie offs were a bit wonky). Insert the fittex under the headguard and trim the grommet. No problems.

 

[MathieuR]

re insert the head guard

You removed the head-guard??
Normal procedure is to place the fittex-grommets on the OUTSIDE of the grommet-strip. You can remove the defective/worn-out grommet leaving the strip in place, with a grommet-grinder.
See http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/using-fittex-individual-grommets.311216/

I use a square-awl; does the trick for all sizes of grommets, and is much cheaper.

 

[Aretium]

You removed the head-guard??
Normal procedure is to place the fittex-grommets on the OUTSIDE of the grommet-strip. You can remove the defective/worn-out grommet leaving the strip in place, with a grommet-grinder.
See http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/using-fittex-individual-grommets.311216/

I use a square-awl; does the trick for all sizes of grommets, and is much cheaper.

Yes that is normal procedure, but my way works fine and I am a poor student, and can't afford to spend the amount on grommet grinders. That square awl looks interesting...

 

[GS]

I settled on a great racquet years ago, bought plenty of backups, and tons of new grommet sets. Since these groms are discontinued now, should I treat my last 20 sets with furniture polish or something to keep the plastic from drying out? They're still in their closed plastic bags. Thanks.

 

[esgee48]

Store them out of sun light. When installing treat gently and use hot water or heat gun to coax into frame. Then clean with furniture polish or whenever you restring. If you're worried, go ahead and wipe them down. The main issue is keeping them out of the sun since UV can cause enbrittlement.

 

[Vegito]

Really great tips/advices.

 

[eelhc]

Hopefully you can extend the life of the frame and manage until you are able to buy the same frames in better condition or a new frame that plays similar.

Someday... 3D printing with stronger, flexible materials will be commonplace enough so grommets could be printed to order (If the manufacturer does not chose a unique material). In theory, vintage/classic racquet aficionados could get new grommet sets for their frames. One could purchase just the grommets/bumper guards needed and they would be printed to order. Sadly though... the racquet manufacturers probably would have no interest in doing this.