Increasing Grip Size Using Balsa Wood (with Pictures)

VoodooBoot

VoodooBoot

Semi-Pro
Hey, everyone!

I've been playing for 3-4 months after a 10-year break. Since I started played again, I have been trying to to replace my old Yonex RD-7s, which proved to be quite a venture.

I recently bought a VCORE Tour 89 from TWE to use as an extended demo, but they only had 4 1/2 (L4) grip size, which is too small for me. I don't like using overgrips to build up the size because they round off the bevels. I've bought a heat-shrink sleeve, but haven't used it because I think it's too heavy (the one I have weights 24g uncut):



As you’ll see, I’ve increased the grip size by adding just 3g of weight.


I've seen balsa wood being mentioned quite often on the forum, but couldn't find any instructions on how to do it, let alone pictures. So, I thought I'd share how I did it, hoping that it will be of help to others. In addition, I am certain that my process isn't the best, so any suggestions are more than welcome.

It turns out the forum won’t accept more than 4 images per post, so I am splitting this into multiple posts.


The process I used involves the following steps:
  1. Cut 8 strips of balsa for each side of the bare handle.
  2. Glue them to the handle using very little superglue.
  3. Use mask tape to enlarge the buttcap a bit.
  4. Use varnish to protect the wood.
  5. Put everything back together and go play.

Here's what I used:
  • Sheets of balsa wood
  • Superglue
  • Varnish
  • Small brush for the varnish
  • Mask (paper) tape
  • Knife
  • Ruler





to be continued...
 
1. Balsa Wood Sheets

1. Balsa Wood Sheets
I bought 1mm balsa wood sheets from a local RC/hobby store for like 1 EUR per 1mm/10cm/1m sheet. Here's what they look like:






Balsa sheets are also available on the bay in various thickness.

The wood is very, very fragile and light. The whole sheet weighs just 22g and you'll be using just a fraction of it (3g).



to be continued...
 
2. Measure and Cut the 8 Strips

2. Measure and Cut the 8 Strips

I used a ruler to measure the sides and cut out strips. Don't forget to number them! I then used a knife to fine-cut the strips.

Here are the cut strips:




to be continued...
 
3. Glue the 8 Strips to the Handle

3. Glue the 8 Strips to the Handle

I don't know whether the superglue I used is a special glue for wood or not. The guy at the hobby store recommended it to me for the purpose and it worked well, I think.

I only applied a little glue on the top, in the middle and on the bottom of every strip. I wanted there to be enough glue, but not too much, as I might need to remove the wood in the future.







And the handle after all strips have been glued:


to be continued...
 
4. Cut the Excessive Wood at the Top

4. Cut the Excessive Wood at the Top

After I was done glueing the strips, I cut off some of the wood at the top where the handle gets thinner, and also put some more glue there.






to be continued...
 
5. Put Mask Tape on the Buttcap

5. Put Mask Tape on the Buttcap

I had decided to cut the strips short so they don't extend over the buttcap. My concern was that I wouldn't be able to fix the strips properly to the the plastic and the wood--being so fragile--would break. I may be wrong and will certainly try longer strips next time just to see what will happen.

So, I used mask tape, about 6 layers to build up the buttcap.



The mask tape weighed about 3g itself, so using balsa for the buttcap is probably a good idea.

to be continued...
 
6. Apply Varnish to the Wood

6. Apply Varnish to the Wood

Balsa is really fragile and relatively soft, and I think it needs to be protected from moisture/compression/etc.

I bought this can of varnish from a local store:



And applied it to the handle:



I waited for several hours for it to dry and put everything back together.

to be continued...
 
7. Result

7. Result


As I said in the beginning, I had two objectives while increasing the grip size: preserving the bevels and keeping the weight increase to a minimum. I think I achieved both...

Here’s the weight of the frame before putting the wood on:



after glueing the balsa strips:



and after putting the mask tape to the buttcap:



So, in numbers, the balsa wood (1mm) increased the weight by approx. 3g. A single overgrip is 5-6g, so definitely a huge saving here. Not to mention that the bevels feel great.

On the other hand, the mask tape added about 3g, which is a bit too much. I am too lazy to do that right now, but next time I am going to use balsa for the buttcap, too, perhaps a bit thicker like 2mm.

This is what the handle looks like with a leather grip (hope the bevels can be seen in the photo):



8. Updates

See this post for an update on the condition of the wood after ~10 months.
 
Last edited:
darklore009 said:
wow, this is really impressive method of increasing the grip size. how much grip size will this increase?
Click to expand...

I used 1mm thick sheets and I think it's about a size larger now. Someone on the forum mentioned that 0.8-1mm is about a size, so 3g for 1 size up.

Balsa wood is available in various thickness: 0.8mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, etc. So, if you're patient and experiment, you can end up with the perfect size for you.
 
I had considered doing this, but pulling the butt cap off and running the balsa all the way to the end of the racquet, then putting on a new larger butt cap.

Good job.
 
great job. This is a great way to do it. How did you cut the balsa wood with the knife. It seems like it would split.
 
Shroud said:
great job. This is a great way to do it. How did you cut the balsa wood with the knife. It seems like it would split.
Click to expand...

Thanks, mate!

No, it worked very nice with the knife. I understand your concern and other types of wood that thin would probably split, but balsa wood is very soft and also quite a bit flexible.

Furthermore, I did a lot of trimming on the strips and didn't have any problems with the wood splitting.
 
Great work and a great and detailed post. Thanks for sharing with us!

Norm Abram would be proud (... obscure PBS show reference for those wondering what I'm talking about) :)
 
I did some more experimenting with (or rather to) one of my old RD-7s and wanted to share some insights.

BTW, don't use too much superglue. It's going to be a PITA if you decide to remove it later.

I generally like pronounced buttcaps (like Wilson's) and used 3mm balsa pieces to add flare. It worked mostly nice, but it's ugly you if you're looking at the buttcap, because the wood is easily seen.

Here's the handle before applying the varnish:


And here's the final result, really ugly:


I think one could use epoxy and some paint to make it more pleasant to the eye.

All in all, as someone suggested earlier, removing the buttcap, extending the strips all the way to the bottom, and putting a larger buttcap seems like the best option. The problem is, I couldn't find any Yonex or Wilson buttcaps in size 5 (4 5/8 ).
 
Tennisguy3000 said:
Nicely done sir ;-) I can only imagine what it would look like if I tried that.

How does she play?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I did it a second time and it was much cleaner than the first (lol). Give it a try, but don't use too much glue, so that you can easily remove the strips and redo, if you're not happy with the result or mess up.

I've played just once with the new handle and it was very nice, played like a normal handle.

One thing I could tell immediately though was the improved the feeling on this particular racquet. I had 3 overgrips over the leather before and didn't like the feeling and the rounded bevels. With the wood, leather and a thin overgrip the feeling is absolutely great. Reminds of the time when I played with just a leather grip.
 
I have to echo what others have said. This is a great post.

Thank you very much for taking the effort to share this.

Fantastic effort.
 
Wow, amazing work! :) And what a nice idea to try! I've added sleeves to my rackets and was pretty astonished about the increase in static weight.
 
VoodooBoot said:
All in all, as someone suggested earlier, removing the buttcap, extending the strips all the way to the bottom, and putting a larger buttcap seems like the best option. The problem is, I couldn't find any Yonex or Wilson buttcaps in size 5 (4 5/8 ).
Click to expand...

1. Awesome work VoodooBoot, thanks for sharing. I've put a link to this into the opening post of the grip specs thread.

2. Regarding your search for L5 Buttcaps, looks like TW has them in stock currently. See links provided.

All Butt Caps
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/sea...ts&searchtext=butt+caps&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Yonex Butt Caps
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Yonex_Butt_Cap/descpageYONEX-YBCAP.html

Wilson Butt Caps
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_BLX_61_Butt_Cap__Trap/descpageWILSON-WBLX61B.html

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wil..._95_Butt_Cap__Trap/descpageWILSON-WPSX61.html
 
Last edited:
ChicagoJack said:
1. Awesome work VoodooBoot, thanks for sharing. I've put a link to this into the opening post of the grip specs thread.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jack! Kudos to you for putting together the grip specs thread, it's very, very useful. This reminds me that I wanted to share some recent specs with you.


ChicagoJack said:
2. Regarding your search for L5 Buttcaps, looks like TW has them in stock currently. See links provided.

All Butt Caps
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/sea...ts&searchtext=butt+caps&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Yonex Butt Caps
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Yonex_Butt_Cap/descpageYONEX-YBCAP.html

Wilson Butt Caps
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_BLX_61_Butt_Cap__Trap/descpageWILSON-WBLX61B.html

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wil..._95_Butt_Cap__Trap/descpageWILSON-WPSX61.html
Click to expand...

Since, I am in Europe and I have only looked at TWE's website, where they don't sell 5/8s. I didn't think the TW US would have them.

Thanks for the pointers!
 
This project is quite...ballsy.

eyebrows-gif.gif
 
jonestim said:
VoodooBoot,

Can you come back every now and then and report how it is holding up?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Sure. If I forget to, please, feel free to ask for an update.

For now all I can say is that it's feeling great, just like a regular handle. We'll see how the wood is going to age...
 
Excellent thread - thanks a bunch for the detailed description & excellent pics! Love the fairways to finish, lovely touch. I am currently upgrading my rackets to fairways...they are so pretty. Anyway, I stumbled on this just after finishing a racket I upped one size with a heat shrink sleeve... Was disappointed by the added weight really.
Tonight I upped SV PS 85 using your method, but I will add a new but cap (k90 instead of the old SV one). The varnish is drying right now. I am not 100% happy with my work! Sloppy measurements and or cutting lead to small gaps between some of the sheets of balsa... It should still be ok, I hope. Tomorrow I will finalize it with the but cap and a fresh fairway :-).
One question - should I drive a nail through the but cap, or should it hold up alright without? I will try to post a pic to 2 tomorrow.
 
frinton said:
Excellent thread - thanks a bunch for the detailed description & excellent pics! Love the fairways to finish, lovely touch. I am currently upgrading my rackets to fairways...they are so pretty.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Frinton, glad it's helpful!

I think that Gut + Fairway brings a racquet's feel to another dimension.

frinton said:
Anyway, I stumbled on this just after finishing a racket I upped one size with a heat shrink sleeve... Was disappointed by the added weight really.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, especially when dealing with an otherwise heavy stick, such as the PS85. The added weight makes it useless, IMO.

frinton said:
Tonight I upped SV PS 85 using your method, but I will add a new but cap (k90 instead of the old SV one). The varnish is drying right now. I am not 100% happy with my work! Sloppy measurements and or cutting lead to small gaps between some of the sheets of balsa... It should still be ok, I hope.
Click to expand...

First time I cut the wood, I was on the conservative side: my sheets were much wider than the bevels, so I had to do quite a lot of trimming to make them narrower. The second time I did it to my RD-7, I just rounded down to a 1mm on my measurements and it worked very well. In other words, if you have the patience (I didn't), do it a second time and I am sure it will work out better.

A note from my experience so far: don't overdo it with the glue!

Anyway, I don't think the small gaps are going to be a problem because you're putting a thick leather grip over them.

frinton said:
Tomorrow I will finalize it with the but cap and a fresh fairway :-).
One question - should I drive a nail through the but cap, or should it hold up alright without? I will try to post a pic to 2 tomorrow.
Click to expand...

For holding the buttcap, right? What's your concern here? I think balsa is soft/flexible enough that you can drive a nail/pin through it without splitting it. But it's the foam in the handle that actually holds the nail in place, not the wood.
 
Thanks Voodoo

Great work with the instructions voodoo. Just wanted to share my experience with this method as it was mentioned before in the forums but not as detailed as your instructions.

The balsa wood is great for testing out new grip sizes but eventually it compresses and deforms during long matches and then bounces back to original shape when the racket is sitting at home. I suppose the amount of compression depends on how hard you squeeze the grip, where you squeeze the most and how long your match is. It can be a real pain. The balsa itself is quite spongy and bouces back when compressed.

So just a warning to people trying this out, they might be surprised to find it shrinks during matches. But it's a good way to test out grip sizes and shapes. The balsa is really workable for this prototyping, but I'm yet to find a harder wood or material available in the same thickness ranges that is lighter than the equivalent heat shrinks (boy are those heat shrinks heavy!). The balsa is very, very light for what it does. Anyone have any ideas of a slightly heavier and more solid wood?

With the buttcap problems, just make the balsa strips long enough to fit over the whole length, buttcap and all, or just make separate bits of balsa as you did, no need for tape unless you want to pad it up a bit more.

You did a great job avoiding gaps between strips, but it's always going to happen if you cut straight down. Try cutting the strips with 45 degree slices and you can get fully connected bevels with no gaps. Pretty easy to do with balsa wood, not so easy with other materials.

If you do have gaps, just use a putty or filler to fill 'em up, just makes it look and feel slightly better and prevents strips from collapsing onto each other.

Looking forward to hearing other people's feedback on this method.
 
Don't use glue, you'll regret it.

Another thing, use 2 sided tape, the real thin type, instead of glue, more consistent thickness and you can place it on the whole strip. Also removable with no damage to grip.
 
Rabbit said:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Yonex_Butt_Cap/descpageYONEX-
YBCAP.html

or

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Yonex_Butt_Cap/descpageYONEX-YBCAP08.html

ask and ye shall receive!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links.

They were not available on TW Europe and I had assumed they weren't in the US, either, so hadn't checked.

BTW, I asked TWE and they said they were expecting size 5 buttcaps in January '14.

If I decide to stick with the Yonex, I am going put a larger buttcap and report the results here.
 
Yevgeny2010 said:
Great work with the instructions voodoo. Just wanted to share my experience with this method as it was mentioned before in the forums but not as detailed as your instructions.

The balsa wood is great for testing out new grip sizes but eventually it compresses and deforms during long matches and then bounces back to original shape when the racket is sitting at home. I suppose the amount of compression depends on how hard you squeeze the grip, where you squeeze the most and how long your match is. It can be a real pain. The balsa itself is quite spongy and bouces back when compressed.

So just a warning to people trying this out, they might be surprised to find it shrinks during matches. But it's a good way to test out grip sizes and shapes. The balsa is really workable for this prototyping, but I'm yet to find a harder wood or material available in the same thickness ranges that is lighter than the equivalent heat shrinks (boy are those heat shrinks heavy!). The balsa is very, very light for what it does. Anyone have any ideas of a slightly heavier and more solid wood?

With the buttcap problems, just make the balsa strips long enough to fit over the whole length, buttcap and all, or just make separate bits of balsa as you did, no need for tape unless you want to pad it up a bit more.

You did a great job avoiding gaps between strips, but it's always going to happen if you cut straight down. Try cutting the strips with 45 degree slices and you can get fully connected bevels with no gaps. Pretty easy to do with balsa wood, not so easy with other materials.

If you do have gaps, just use a putty or filler to fill 'em up, just makes it look and feel slightly better and prevents strips from collapsing onto each other.

Looking forward to hearing other people's feedback on this method.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback/info.

I haven't used the racquet long enough to be able to say whether there's any deformation. So far, I haven't noticed anything.

Did you apply varnish? It ought to help protect the wood from deforming, I would expect.

The only other material that I think could come close to the weight of balsa wood is carbon. You can buy carbon and kevlar sheets and apply as many layers as you want. It's going to be much more expensive, though.

I am also considering sanding off the foam on one old stick and installing a head pallet. I just need a calm winter day, LOL.
 
Varnish and polish didn't seem to make much of a difference, but it did keep it a bit firmer for a little while. I also tried a PU varnish which is supposed to harden, just soak the balsa into it, but it makes it heavier and didn't last.
 
Yevgeny2010 said:
Varnish and polish didn't seem to make much of a difference, but it did keep it a bit firmer for a little while. I also tried a PU varnish which is supposed to harden, just soak the balsa into it, but it makes it heavier and didn't last.
Click to expand...

Damn, I was hoping the wood would hold up...

I am going to try sanding off the foam and installing a Head pallet next time, which is going to be happen in the upcoming months. I will report the condition of the balsa then.
 
Rozroz said:
this thread is a great find!
thanks, i might try it.
any new tips? updates? learned lessons?
Click to expand...

Thanks, Rozroz!

I haven't checked underneath the leather grip to check the condition of the
wood, but based on feeling, nothing's changed. I suppose the varnish is
doing its job.

I would recommend buying a larger cap, extending the balsa strips all the
way to the end of the handle and putting the cap over. That's how I would
do it now.

Update (8 September 2014):
Now, ~10 months later, I have removed the leather grip and checked the condition of the wood. It looks exactly the same as when I first put it there. I don't think it has shrunk at all. And the varnish seems to do its job very well.


 
Last edited:
i think i may need to add one more crucial step-
grip_Ai_naked_sm.jpg


i pointed the upper endings of the grip bevels.
in your original OP pictures, you didn't seem to manage cutting some of the bevel endings correctly.. the wider bevel ending is getting a bit wider towards it's end, while the thinner bevel ending gets more pointy...
this will take more delicate measurements to be done precisely.
am i correct? (i am trying this tomorrow, i hope)
 
Seems like a good idea if you want to build the grip up 2 sizes and maintain the bevels. Since you're adding 1 mm all around the diameter increases 2 mm 2*pi is 6+ mm or 1/4". I would definitely replace the butt cap over the bulsa.
 
Irvin said:
Seems like a good idea if you want to build the grip up 2 sizes and maintain the bevels. Since you're adding 1 mm all around the diameter increases 2 mm 2*pi is 6+ mm or 1/4". I would definitely replace the butt cap over the bulsa.
Click to expand...

For me taking out the buttcap and getting a bigger one is too much hassle.
I personally don't need a flared buttcap.
I just wonder If it's OK to just put 2 overgrips over it instead of a base grip+overgrip..
I need to keep the handle weight at a minimum.
 
Two over grips would be too soft for me but that's just me. I would much prefer a single heat shrink sleeve but the will just build up the grip one size.
 
Irvin said:
Two over grips would be too soft for me but that's just me. I would much prefer a single heat shrink sleeve but the will just build up the grip one size.
Click to expand...

how do you mean? only 2 overgrips over the bare balsa handle?
it would be a lot less softer than a replacement grip + overgrip..
i was asking in terms of fluid absorption/deterioration of the balsa wood.
 
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