question for Thomas Martinez. please help!

[federmann]

hey there! i was just gonna ask you about a customization problem, i think you might be able to help me.

i've got some Head Pro Tour 630 racquets painted to look like the FXP Radical, thus it is a paintjob.
they all have CAP grommets and underneath there's a lot of lead tape, only at the very top (not too much, but around 10-15 grams).
they all came with leather grips.

so and now to the problem: i usually remove the leather grip and just put two overgrips on the racquets. i like that more.
but if i do that, the racquet would be ridiculously head heavy. it would be too much. but it's logical because i remove the 20 grams of weight the leather grip weighs from the handle.
my question now is: what would happen if i remove the 10-15 grams of lead tape from the top as well? would it affect the playability much? i mean are those pro stock racquets made only to customize and if they don't have lead tape on it, they play badly?

maybe it's a stupid question but if i remove the lead tape and the leather grip then the racquet weighs only 300 grams unstrung. strung and with two overgrips it would weigh 330 grams, which is pretty light, don't you think?

i would want them to weigh 345 grams strung without being too head heavy. what should i do?

help would be highly appreciated!

thank you in advance!

 

[Mike Danger]

sell me a couple!

 

[federmann]

sell me a couple!

i'm sorry, no way!

 

[Mike Danger]

ok tell me where to get them

 

[federmann]

ok tell me where to get them

the big auction site

 

[Mike Danger]

how long ago?? I never saw them, not the radical paint anyway

 

[federmann]

how long ago?? I never saw them, not the radical paint anyway

two months. last december

 

[caesar66]

maybe apply lead tape to the bare handle? i have no clue, just an idea.

 

[federmann]

maybe apply lead tape to the bare handle? i have no clue, just an idea.

that would be an option i know. but i don't want to remove the buttcap.

besides my main question was wether those pro stock racquets play bad without the lead tape at the top or not, because maybe they were made just to customize.

 

[federmann]

hey Thomas, did you read my post? or anybody else who can help me?

thanks!

 

[Pro_Tour_630]

they all have CAP grommets and underneath there's a lot of lead tape, only at the very top (not too much, but around 10-15 grams).
they all came with leather grips.

so and now to the problem: i usually remove the leather grip and just put two overgrips on the racquets. i like that more.
but if i do that, the racquet would be ridiculously head heavy. it would be too much. but it's logical because i remove the 20 grams of weight the leather grip weighs from the handle.
my question now is: what would happen if i remove the 10-15 grams of lead tape from the top as well? would it affect the playability much? i mean are those pro stock racquets made only to customize and if they don't have lead tape on it, they play badly?

maybe it's a stupid question but if i remove the lead tape and the leather grip then the racquet weighs only 300 grams unstrung. strung and with two overgrips it would weigh 330 grams, which is pretty light, don't you think?

i would want them to weigh 345 grams strung without being too head heavy. what should i do?

Tom is busy stringing stick for pros, maybe I can help.

Leather grip is around 20-25 grams, depending what kind and how long you go up the grip. You said 20g. Overgrips are very light each weigh around 5-6grams. Strings also add weight anywhere from 12grams to 25grams depending on what type of string.

If you remove 10-15 grams of lead from the top it would make your stick more Head Light. But since you removed the leather grip and added two over grip you probably negated the balance but since you are saying that it is "ridiculously" head heavy you probably have more than 15grams of lead on top and your strings weigh around 20grams ie POLY and/or your two overgrips are very light under 10grams

If you remove the leather grip and lead, you claim your stick is 300g unstrung which means 20grams for leather grip plus 15 grams for lead plus 20grams for string equals 355grams for total weight. I assume your string is 20grams from subtracting 330-300=30-10(for two grips)=20grams

So if you want your stick to be 345g just remove 10grams, i would start to remove 1/2 the amount of lead from the top first and see how it plays. If it is still Head heavy, remove more and wrap the lead amount around the butt cap and see how you like it.

Pro Players add lots of lead on top so they can have a deeper powerful shot. NO if you remove lead from top it will not render the stick useless. It all depends how you like and can handle your swing. You are not going to lose stability if you remove the lead.

My Austrian PT630 are 333g and swing at 326 32cm balance. 330g is not that light IMO, I would recommend wrapping the lead around the butt cap three to four times around 5grams at least.

Check to see if there is any silicone in butt cap, most likely there is not from your measurements. Usually there is a hole that is drilled through the butt cap and the silicone is injected.

I would also recommend using 18g string like tnt18 nrg18g professional 18g etc..

 

[Ronaldo]

If you are satisfied with the balance witht the leather grip, remove the grip, add the two overgrips, then temporarily tape, or blu-tac coins to the butt of the racquet to get the same balance. Once you know how much weight to add, apply the lead on the buttcap or as close to the end of the racquet as possible. Have a PC 600 with gobs of leadtape hidden by the CAP grommets.

 

[federmann]

ok, i see. thank you for your effort and reply!

i think that i've finally got the solution. i took the leather off and replaced the CAP grommets with "open" grommets for the Ti. and i.Radical. they fit very well.
although you told me that removing the lead tape wouldn't affect stability i still left it on the racquet. now with the new grommets the racquet weighs 300 grams, which is 10 grams lighter than with the CAP's. if i string it and put 2 overgrips on it, we're up only to 330 grams, which i thought is pretty light but it feels good. now it's a little more head light (i'm sorry that i don't know how to measure the amount of points head light or balance point).

i don't know if it would have been exactly the same affect if i removed the lead tape and stuck to the CAP's but i always liked the other gromets more on the PT 630.

i string my racquets with BB alu power which i always found is "made for the PT 630". i really think so! i know that you recommended other softer and thinner polys, but anyway they are not what i like.