I've started to try to build up a collection of racquets from the 70's and 80's that either I used back then or were used by my favorite players. I'm trying to find each model in as close to like-new condition as possible. So far I bought a Borg Pro which was used and strung but in excellent condition. I'm now waiting on a Head Vilas that I bought which has never been strung. I am not knowledgeable about stringing in the least and had sort of assumed that I could just bring it to the place I get my current racquets strung, but someone I know who is slightly more knowledgeable said that may not be the case. For those who are familiar with stringing older model wood racquets, what are the challenges with stringing these racquets, and how hard is it likely to be to find some with the right machine or skill set to be able to string one of these for me?
Getting wood racquets strung?
- Thread starter clp34vmp
- Start date
fritzhimself
Hall of Fame
I would ask your stringer if he has experience stringing wooden rackets.
Usually, you need different 6h and 12h attachments (longer ones) for your machine in order to clamp the small frame at all.
Usually, you need different 6h and 12h attachments (longer ones) for your machine in order to clamp the small frame at all.
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It is very easy to string woodies with a simple old dropweight like a Klipper or Gamma etc, some good flying clamps and preferably a starting clamp. I have a boatload of wood racquets and figured there was no way I was going to spend the money to string them all so taught myself, and I believe the learning curve has been fairly rapid especially given that there are pros here like Irvin and others that offer excellent advice as well as make great youtube vids.
If you are going to pay someone to string them and you have really good quality woods, I genuinely would look for an older stringer who has had experience stringing them, or someone who has strung them before, especially if you're going to use gut. And enjoy that Vilas - I think those are in the upper 1% of all-time great woods (and imho, THE greatest! I have 6 or 7 of them and use them often!).
Just my humble amateur opinion.
If you are going to pay someone to string them and you have really good quality woods, I genuinely would look for an older stringer who has had experience stringing them, or someone who has strung them before, especially if you're going to use gut. And enjoy that Vilas - I think those are in the upper 1% of all-time great woods (and imho, THE greatest! I have 6 or 7 of them and use them often!).
Just my humble amateur opinion.
teachingprotx
Legend
It’s not hard but you will be hard pressed to find someone close to you . I would suggest to find a MRT . If you’re here in the states .
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
I'm gearing up to string a couple of my wooden rackets. I've never done it before, so I want to take all the right precautions.
On my trophy from a recent hunt, Donnay Monte Carlo - Björn Borg, I've noticed the strings were pulled through these semi-grommet tubes.
Inserting them, in those 8 holes on the throat, seems like a good idea. Of course, the purpose is to prevent the strings from cutting into the wooden frame.
That's why I would like to place such tubes in my other two wooden rackets. However, a local stringer told me I should improvise and make them my self from some cable wrapping, because I won't be able to buy them here in Serbia.
I'm going to make some more phone calls tomorrow, 'cause maybe there is a better option.
On my trophy from a recent hunt, Donnay Monte Carlo - Björn Borg, I've noticed the strings were pulled through these semi-grommet tubes.
Inserting them, in those 8 holes on the throat, seems like a good idea. Of course, the purpose is to prevent the strings from cutting into the wooden frame.
That's why I would like to place such tubes in my other two wooden rackets. However, a local stringer told me I should improvise and make them my self from some cable wrapping, because I won't be able to buy them here in Serbia.
I'm going to make some more phone calls tomorrow, 'cause maybe there is a better option.
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
So, it protects strings as well.
thenewbig3
Hall of Fame
I have strung up multiple wood rackets on multiple times of string machines and had no issues. I did everything 2 piece - 54-56 lbs with MULTI or SG only. Most woods have staggered stringing holes on the frame for cross - so the entry into the crosses is kinda easy. You can use leather powerpads at strong turns. I would check if racket was not warped just to save the stringing money although slight warping is no issues. Ask the current stringer if they have done wooden rackets before - and if they say yes - I would not worry about it. Some old wooden rackets might not be able to take a stringing even if they were never used before - but I have yet to have an issue.
Just for giggles, I bought an old set of head Syn Gut pps. These should not be prestreched?
Head PPS is a great string... it is/was Head synthetic gut that was MADE IN JAPAN probably by the same company that makes Prince Syngut w/ Duraflex and Gamma SG w/ wearguard. 1.34mm is a little thick BUT most wooden rackets have big holes so it shouldn't be an issue. And wooden rackets don't seem to rely on snapback... its almost like the deader the bed the better as the frame itself "kinda snaps back"
Also using a thick string may not need the "tubing protection" - I have used powerpads and 1.30 sythetic gut and multi in my woodies but honestly they probably all got hit once and stored away....
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Cerbo
Semi-Pro
The old string on my Slazenger Black Dart is even thicker, 1.5mm. When I played with it, putting spin on my shots was not a problem.
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Frankc
Hall of Fame
Yes, simple enough that good technique creates plenty of spin with wood. Topspin, more topspin, hard sidespin, drop shot dead spin, spun controlled volleys - all with wood and good technique.
From memory here, but I remember a report that Raul Ramirez had so, so many grip variations as he "played" with the ball with all his shot and speed variations and control. Wood could do that in very able hands... actually his hands were gifted from out of this world...
From memory here, but I remember a report that Raul Ramirez had so, so many grip variations as he "played" with the ball with all his shot and speed variations and control. Wood could do that in very able hands... actually his hands were gifted from out of this world...
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Ha, ha, I helped identify one of his rackets, yet I've never seen him play before. I'm going to watch some of his matches for sure.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...t-thrift-stores-goodwill.344191/post-19053030
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Made a few more phone calls today. It's going to be improvised 'tubing protection' after all. Tomorrow I'll go to some stores, which might have the suitable cable wrapping. I'll bring Slazenger Black Dart and the syn gut string with me, to check on the spot whether the diameter, of whatever tubes I find, fits them both.I'm gearing up to string a couple of my wooden rackets. I've never done it before, so I want to take all the right precautions.
On my trophy from a recent hunt, Donnay Monte Carlo - Björn Borg, I've noticed the strings were pulled through these semi-grommet tubes.
Inserting them, in those 8 holes on the throat, seems like a good idea. Of course, the purpose is to prevent the strings from cutting into the wooden frame.
That's why I would like to place such tubes in my other two wooden rackets. However, a local stringer told me I should improvise and make them my self from some cable wrapping, because I won't be able to buy them here in Serbia.
I'm going to make some more phone calls tomorrow, 'cause maybe there is a better option.
I think you might be overthinking some of this. I'm stringing most of mine way up in the 60 lb range with gut and as long as you are careul and take your time, wax and lube the string as you're stringing, and use leather pads on the lower two throat main loops on each side, I just don't see the need for the extra work with the tubing. I'm using whatever I can pick up on the cheap for gut - Klip, Babolat, Lux, some old Axis stuff, the NG Prov5 stuff that *was* cheap, two packs of old Victor Imperial, and some really weird Guterman 'sheep gut' from India in the early 80s. Have had no breaks or issues other than one that was entirely my fault. Also of all the old woodies I have, only one of them came to me with the tubing, a Donnay Borg Pro. I restrung that with Babolat 17 ga at 74 lbs (iirc) without tubing and have had no problems whatsoever with it. I don't think it was used hardly at all until maybe the very late 70s and early 80s, but there are guys here that know a lot more than me so I may be wrong.
Some of the Axis gut that I had from the 80s (I think 1980s) was uncoated and I used that in a Bancroft Borg personal and a JKA. I *thought about* using tubing, but just thinking about the time involved in trying to find the right material here in the boonies made me want to grab a few more bottles of beer!
I'm in a very rural area where nobody plays or thinks about tennis.
If you're using modern coated gut, or other modern strings, or even old super-slinky syn gut, I don't think it's hurting anything to use tubing - not at all - but I think it's a lot of added time and work that in my admittedly limited experience doesn't seem to be really necessary. Run some scrap strings w/ a little wax or oil through the lower few sharper-bend holes in a 'shoe shine' fashion to slick them up a little, make sure there aren't any splinters or burrs, and you should be good to go with some leather pads alone.
Caveat, I'm not a pro either as a player or especially as a stringer, but I have been spending a LOT of time with old wood racquets this year.
Some of the Axis gut that I had from the 80s (I think 1980s) was uncoated and I used that in a Bancroft Borg personal and a JKA. I *thought about* using tubing, but just thinking about the time involved in trying to find the right material here in the boonies made me want to grab a few more bottles of beer!
I'm in a very rural area where nobody plays or thinks about tennis.If you're using modern coated gut, or other modern strings, or even old super-slinky syn gut, I don't think it's hurting anything to use tubing - not at all - but I think it's a lot of added time and work that in my admittedly limited experience doesn't seem to be really necessary. Run some scrap strings w/ a little wax or oil through the lower few sharper-bend holes in a 'shoe shine' fashion to slick them up a little, make sure there aren't any splinters or burrs, and you should be good to go with some leather pads alone.
Caveat, I'm not a pro either as a player or especially as a stringer, but I have been spending a LOT of time with old wood racquets this year.
teachingprotx
Legend
I never tube when stringing woods ever. I never use tube on anybody else’s normal racket either .
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
I do agree with what you guys are saying. Partly, it's just that I like fiddling with some technical stuff.
And tubing also serves the purpose of getting those 2 (even 4 or 6) main strings in the middle a bit closer together, there, on the bottom of the head.
On my Donnay the distance between those mains, on the bottom of the head, is much more similar to their distance on the top.
But on my Dunlop (which came strung without tubing) that's not the case (as you can see in the photo).
And tubing also serves the purpose of getting those 2 (even 4 or 6) main strings in the middle a bit closer together, there, on the bottom of the head.
On my Donnay the distance between those mains, on the bottom of the head, is much more similar to their distance on the top.
But on my Dunlop (which came strung without tubing) that's not the case (as you can see in the photo).
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Do those two racquets have identical drill patterns and head shapes? My max mac like yours above is very slightly different than my borg pro, and all of my dunlop maxplys are are slightly different head shape than any of the wilsons. I mean the majority of the old woodies are 18x20 (although head vilas is 18X19) but the actual drill pattern and spacing definitely varies from manufacturer to manufactuer and even racquet to racquet within the same brand and type. One of my stan smiths is downright funky - I think the drill operator was drunk that day!
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Regardless, the tubing would bring them a bit closer together.
Right now, I'm not necessarily looking for a permanent solution. I'm just experimenting, like I did on my Puma Boris Becker Winner.
I've noticed that two middle holes, on the top of the beam, were a bit too much apart.
So I decided to crisscross those two main strings which go through these holes, in order to get them closer together.
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I strung my wood frame with poly at 35lbs IIRC. I figured it would survive longer if I didn't have to restring it very often. So far it's held up fine. I have only hit with it a handful of times over the years though. I will probably not need to restring it again unless I just feel like it.
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Ha, ha, you won't believe what I'm doing. I took my white 5cm wide PVC tape ('cause the string is white), and I've cut 8 pieces of 1cm by 5cm rectangles. Then I wrapped the string with those pieces, on the parts of it which are going through each of those 8 holes on the throat ('cause wrapping the length of 1cm of PVC tape, gives me the right amount of added thickness). Right now, I'm just finishing the mains, and I'm taking a little breather to report on my progress.
I've opted for 45/45lbs with syn gut. I didn't go too low?
I've opted for 45/45lbs with syn gut. I didn't go too low?
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Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Fortunately, without aiming for it, I ended up stringing Slazenger with almost identical tension as on Donnay (I'm pressing with my thumb on the string bed, hitting it against my lower palm, can't tell the difference at all). I'm definitely playtesting both these rackets on Sunday.
Their swingweights are close. Donnay is 20g heavier, but its balance is 18mm more head light, so that evens things out.
My opponent, in the upcoming match, is going to be shocked when I bring out wooden rackets to play against him!
Their swingweights are close. Donnay is 20g heavier, but its balance is 18mm more head light, so that evens things out.
My opponent, in the upcoming match, is going to be shocked when I bring out wooden rackets to play against him!
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onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
I've restrung many of my wood racquets myself using my Stringway ML90, including a racquet that is over 100 years old that I played hit with once (strung with gut at about 27 lbs). I also add pieces of scrap leather to use as "power pads" to protect the racquet in some areas. ( left over from a leather grip that was too long that I installed in another racquet). I started doing this after a few of my wood racquets broke from having the synthetic gut eventually cut thru the wood after playing with them for awhile.
Usually, I take a photo of the racquet with the old strings in it first to help me. If the racquet came unstrung and I don't know the pattern, then I look online for a photo of the same racquet with the strings in it.
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
So, my concerns are valid. My temporary improvisation works (making the string thicker in those sensitive parts of the frame). Although from now on, whenever I'm stringing any of my wooden rackets, I don't need to improvise, I will use the proper tubes for tubing protection.
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onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
I forgot that I also put plastic tubing in some of the holes as a preventative measure. Reminds me that I'm almost out of it and need to buy more.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Yes, string will cut through the wood over time. Like @Kevo I strung my Kramer woodie with poly, in my case Bing Banger Ace (1.12) at 32 pounds. A thin poly string, even at low tension, will eventually start cutting into the 50 year old wood.
I didn’t tube any of the holes but will do it the center mains next time I string up poly in a wood racquet.
I have to say that I have not hit with gut in a wood racquet for probably the last couple of decades but the feel of low tension poly in a wood racquet is pretty amazingly good.
Grafil Injection
Legend
In this picture of mine you can see that all of the late 1970s / early 80s Dunlops and Slazengers had the wide central mains arrangement. In comparison, earlier models had more even string-beds, like the previous version of the Challenge No. 1 that Borg used in the early 1970s. I'm not sure whether this was a performance decision, thinking about launch-angle and spin levels, or whether it was just they changed the string-hole drilling machine's mounting arrangement. If you think about the typical egg-shape, you could argue it makes sense to angle out the strings towards the bottom and spread the tension more evenly too, just like a fan arrangement makes sense for modern tear-drop shaped rackets.
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Grafil Injection
Legend
All great players too. Horbury's finest.
Grafil Injection
Legend
The racket on the far right is the Maxply Graphite, which came out about 1978 I believe. Both Slazenger and Dunlop added graphite plies in the 1970s like in the Super Fort, rather than using graphite overlays which they used later. Not sure whether using graphite in that manner added much over a decent ply of walnut or hickory, but it plays nicely and is dead straight!
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Frankc
Hall of Fame
Yep, Nastase played in prime time with a Maxply Fort - according to his autobiog, they were special made in Belgium a bit short and with a thinner head for feel. If memory serves, he states this was the same craftsman who made Hoad's frames.
In prime time, he could really "play" that frame....
In prime time, he could really "play" that frame....
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Donnay plays like a Stradivarius!
I decided today to play with Donnay even though my Slazenger is freshly strung. I already played twice with Slazenger a couple of months ago, but this would be my first time playing 'Donnay Monte Carlo - Björn Borg'.
It was probably strung at around 45/45lbs about half a century ago, with 1.5mm strings. And still, I feel as if that didn't lessen the racket's performance one little bit. If with this looser tension, I was able to swing so freely and hit the ball with such precision, right now, I'm too overwhelmed to contemplate what will the experience be like once I go higher.
onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
Jack Kramer Pro Staff with Gamma TNT at 52 lbs.
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
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onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
Beware, though. Gamma TNT breaks pretty quickly.You say Gamma, I say gonna.
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
Then I'm going to take notes when I play with it, so I would know for how long it lasted.
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Cerbo
Semi-Pro
From now on, woodies are my main choice in competitive amateur tennis! In my next match, I'll play with Slazenger, mainly to compare the feel of it's freshly strung 1.34mm syn gut with the old 1.5mm strings on Donnay. But I'm definitely expecting Donnay to be the go-to racket for me in the future. Once the old strings are done, I'll probably restring it with 'Gamma TNT Pro Plus 17L'.
teachingprotx
Legend
Heck yeah man I love woods. My all time favorites are all Donnays.
In no certain order :
Donnay Flex pro
Donnay allwood Jr
Donnay borg pro jr
My favorite strings when playing woods is Isospeed professional.. such fun
In no certain order :
Donnay Flex pro
Donnay allwood Jr
Donnay borg pro jr
My favorite strings when playing woods is Isospeed professional.. such fun
Cerbo
Semi-Pro
It's a crazy world we live in. Can't wrap my head around this. I both my gorgeous Donnay for only $20, the same amount as one set of 'Gamma TNT Pro Plus 17L'.
