Racquet is Haunted

[LOBALOT]

One of my son's Blade CV 16x19 racquets is haunted.

He has multiple racquets and plays with Lux 4G 16L at 53#s. One of the racquets consistently comes off the machine at around 42#s and feedback is that it is too loose. We are heading out of town shortly and I strung 3 of his racquets and tested with RT and the readings were 53.1#, 42.1#, 53.4#. I didn't realize I was stringing the haunted racquet so that was money down the tube.

I have looked for cracks, grommet issues, etc. and can't see to find any one item that would point to a problem.

I was wondering if you have experienced similar haunted racquets like this and what you think the difficulty is.

We plan to take the racquet out of service and just need to figure out an appropriate ceremony.

 

[jim e]

If you put a match to it , the frame could be one hot racquet.

 

[Rabbit]

Hold a mirror up to it. If it doesn't cast a reflection, get rid of it immediately.

 

[gdeangel]

For my 2c, the reason it would drop 10# coming off the machine has to be related to deformation of the hoop. Are you locking it in tighter maybe than the other 2, because you think, "This is the demon racquet; it won't get the better of me this time!" Then during the string job it might NOT change shape the same as the others, but compress when you take it off the machine. But you did say you weren't aware you were stringing that one and it still happened. But I would pay more attention to how it is mounting up in the machine than trying to hunt for phantoms. It is totally possible that the layup of the materials was done deficiently when they made that one (or it has had more/rougher use than the others, maybe just had some degrading of the lay up due to this or that, e.g., being the unlucky racquet left in the uninsulated part of the bag on a super hot day), and thus, even though you would be mounting them up the same, the hoop is just weaker and collapses more under the tension. The way they make the carbon fibre would support this idea.

In another thread about tension drops when doing a partial restring, there is a post that describes using ordinary pull clamps to measure hoop deflection before and after stringing. I would suggest you do that next time your string this phantom next to one of both of the uncorrupted siblings and report back. Also, out of curiosity, where is the Blade CV manufactured? All I could find online was "imported". For something as space-age as carbon fibre layup, I'm just curious if it was made in China or some other low cost place like Vietnam.

 

[First Serve]

I am guessing you might have an internal crack that cannot be seen.

An exorcism such as an Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) would probably confirm or not-conform this. But assuming such a NDI method is not available maybe you can try a comparative "Tap" test with a metal object on the all frames to see if anything is revealed. Another recommendation is to confirm if the racquet heads are consistent in geometry after doing the same string job.

 

[esgee48]

[1] Compare the strung frames' length and width side by side. Are the dimensions the same?
[2] Measure the haunted frame with strings in it. Get its overall length and hoop width at its widest. It is suppose to be 27" or 68.6 cm long. Cut the strings out and remeasure. Before cutting the strings out, do [3]
[3] Check to see if the string channels are not rounded off. Use good lighting and take your time. [4] is similar but may have you peek under the strip.
[4] Have you checked under the grommet strip near the top of the hoop. See if the string spacing appears to be different in the center compared to the un-haunted racquets. Sometimes the graphite that supports the grommet tubes begin to split or collapse and you cannot see it because they are hidden by the grommets. If you are careful, you can pry the grommet strip up so you can see the graphite channels underneath. If they are rounded off, you have some problems.
[5] Wash the frame in Holy Water.

FWIW, if it is breaking graphite/resin, it can be fixed with super glue and baking soda.

 

[LOBALOT]

For my 2c, the reason it would drop 10# coming off the machine has to be related to deformation of the hoop. Are you locking it in tighter maybe than the other 2, because you think, "This is the demon racquet; it won't get the better of me this time!" Then during the string job it might NOT change shape the same as the others, but compress when you take it off the machine. But you did say you weren't aware you were stringing that one and it still happened. But I would pay more attention to how it is mounting up in the machine than trying to hunt for phantoms. It is totally possible that the layup of the materials was done deficiently when they made that one (or it has had more/rougher use than the others, maybe just had some degrading of the lay up due to this or that, e.g., being the unlucky racquet left in the uninsulated part of the bag on a super hot day), and thus, even though you would be mounting them up the same, the hoop is just weaker and collapses more under the tension. The way they make the carbon fibre would support this idea.

In another thread about tension drops when doing a partial restring, there is a post that describes using ordinary pull clamps to measure hoop deflection before and after stringing. I would suggest you do that next time your string this phantom next to one of both of the uncorrupted siblings and report back. Also, out of curiosity, where is the Blade CV manufactured? All I could find online was "imported". For something as space-age as carbon fibre layup, I'm just curious if it was made in China or some other low cost place like Vietnam.

Thanks but wouldn't that happen with every racquet I string? It is always this racquet which this occurs on. Moreover, I would expect to at least see variability with the others.

All the racquets are assigned a number and tracked for tension in RacquetTune. It is always this specific frame.

 

[LOBALOT]

[1] Compare the strung frames' length and width side by side. Are the dimensions the same?
[2] Measure the haunted frame with strings in it. Get its overall length and hoop width at its widest. It is suppose to be 27" or 68.6 cm long. Cut the strings out and remeasure. Before cutting the strings out, do [3]
[3] Check to see if the string channels are not rounded off. Use good lighting and take your time. [4] is similar but may have you peek under the strip.
[4] Have you checked under the grommet strip near the top of the hoop. See if the string spacing appears to be different in the center compared to the un-haunted racquets. Sometimes the graphite that supports the grommet tubes begin to split or collapse and you cannot see it because they are hidden by the grommets. If you are careful, you can pry the grommet strip up so you can see the graphite channels underneath. If they are rounded off, you have some problems.
[5] Wash the frame in Holy Water.

FWIW, if it is breaking graphite/resin, it can be fixed with super glue and baking soda.

Thank you. I have not checked the channels and will do so. I have also not checked under the grommet strip near the top of the hoop. Thanks I will do that!

 

[LOBALOT]

If you put a match to it , the frame could be one hot racquet.

When I wrote the post I was imagining Jimi Hendrix at Monterey Pop with the lighter fluid...

 

[LOBALOT]

Seriously, I am suspecting a crack someplace I can't locate yet. Several racquets have already been cracked. I just can't seem to find the spot so the suggestion to check under the bumper guard is a good one.

 

[esgee48]

If the collapse is going to happen, it will generally happen between 2 adjacent grommets that are close together, i.e. less than 1 cm apart. I know this from experience. I had a player with old C10 Pros and he asked for 64# tho the frame says max of 60#. I told him, maybe not, it could crack. He said do it please. He had pull thrus on 2 of his frames because they are natural 1 piece top down, but the length from the last main to the 1st cross was pretty short. Would not have helped with 2 piece becuz that section of frame had a lot of closely spaced grommet holes.

 

[Irvin]

One of my son's Blade CV 16x19 racquets is haunted.

He has multiple racquets and plays with Lux 4G 16L at 53#s. One of the racquets consistently comes off the machine at around 42#s and feedback is that it is too loose. We are heading out of town shortly and I strung 3 of his racquets and tested with RT and the readings were 53.1#, 42.1#, 53.4#. I didn't realize I was stringing the haunted racquet so that was money down the tube.

I have looked for cracks, grommet issues, etc. and can't see to find any one item that would point to a problem.

I was wondering if you have experienced similar haunted racquets like this and what you think the difficulty is.

We plan to take the racquet out of service and just need to figure out an appropriate ceremony.

I do not believe in ghosts. If you have one racket that’s coming out 10# lower than 2 other identical rackets, strung on the same machine, by the same person, using the same string, I would change out the grommets no matter what they look like. Has this always happened? If it has why didn’t you send it back when you first got the racket? Do the rackets ping the same off the machine? There must be a logical explanation.

 

[LOBALOT]

[

I do not believe in ghosts. If you have one racket that’s coming out 10# lower than 2 other identical rackets, strung on the same machine, by the same person, using the same string, I would change out the grommets no matter what they look like. Has this always happened? If it has why didn’t you send it back when you first got the racket? Do the rackets ping the same off the machine? There must be a logical explanation.

Hi Irvin, it has not always happened or I would certainly have sent it back. It started 3 restrings ago.

I will change the grommets.

Thanks

 

[jim e]

If racquet at one time was okay, and started 3 restrings ago , then I would assume something happened to the racquet to make that change. Most likely a fracture somewhere, possibly an internal crack of not visible.

If you do decide to change out the grommets, then I would up the tension 2 lbs to compensate for seating of new grommets.

 

[LOBALOT]

If racquet at one time was okay, and started 3 restrings ago , then I would assume something happened to the racquet to make that change. Most likely a fracture somewhere, possibly an internal crack of not visible.

If you do decide to change out the grommets, then I would up the tension 2 lbs to compensate for seating of new grommets.

Thank you Jim. I was thinking that it might be time to retire the racquet. We need to transition to the new blade anyway so will just use up what we have.

The only thing that was bothering me is I can't find anything visibly wrong but know it has to be there. I am going to remove the grommets and bet I will find something.