Reducing grip size for Wilson racquets (can it be done)??

[el sergento]

Hi all,

I'm currently hunting down some HPS 6.1 95's and some NSix-One 95's and I mostly come across L4 size grips and I use an L3. I'm losing patience and I'm thinking of just purchasing the sticks despite the larger grip size.

Here's my question though: If I remove the replacement grips and just use an overgrip on the pallet will that make it a L3 size grip or will it still be larger??

Does anyone have any experience "reducing" grip sizes?? Are there any other more "scientific" ways of reducing the grip sizes of the above racquets, like sanding or whatnot, or does the removing the replacement grip suffice??

Thanks

 

[lawrence]

well, to be honest i just sanded a grip size down yesterday on my n6.1 95 team and the week before on my PS85
i got them both down from a 3/8 to 1/4 by colouring all bevels with a marker, then wrapping sandpaper around a solid block (so its not uneven) and sanding until the marker had disappeared, then repeated until it was comparable to a 1/4 grip size

only problem is the buttcaps, but i dont feel that theyre really that much difference in size. im happy with my results its really easy

 

[iradical18]

Good advice from lawrence. If you are handy and careful then it can be done.

 

[el sergento]

Did you measure?? How did you know how many times to sand, or how many times you had to made the marker disappear??

 

[el sergento]

Also, I can't believe you "butchered" a PS85:shock: I know grown men that would cry if they found out about that

Thanks for the advice though!

 

[lawrence]

Did you measure?? How did you know how many times to sand, or how many times you had to made the marker disappear??

well i had another racket with 1/4 grip size, that i measured up
i did it mostly by feel although i did measure each time i finished sanding all bevels to make sure i hadn't gone too far

as for the PS85, i might have gone overboard, but i like the small gripsize afterall no regrets

 

[Richie Rich]

well, to be honest i just sanded a grip size down yesterday on my n6.1 95 team and the week before on my PS85
i got them both down from a 3/8 to 1/4 by colouring all bevels with a marker, then wrapping sandpaper around a solid block (so its not uneven) and sanding until the marker had disappeared, then repeated until it was comparable to a 1/4 grip size

only problem is the buttcaps, but i dont feel that theyre really that much difference in size. im happy with my results its really easy

that's the method i recommend. once you have taken enough off so you can't see the marker anymore you've pretty much gone down almost a full grip size. you can always sand a little more off if it's still too big.

 

[lawrence]

haha yeah, its quite a fast method
one IMPORTANT piece of advice id give before you start though - which i forgot to really mention - is that you get carried away, i dont know if it was just me or not but i kept thinking "oh it still might be a bit big, ill just do one more"
then 3 sands later i looked and realised my PS85 handle was smaller than i expected, which i guess i didnt mind too much as i dont really have huge hands to begin with

 

[ilanious]

any problem with the balancing? altho i cant imagine that foam weighing more than a gram or two

 

[ilanious]

im just guessing the proper way to accomplish this stuff is to buy the butt cap of the size u want, mold it, then make an outside mold of that. decide how much u need off of each bevel then route.

damn i wish i worked in a wood shop. someone here is eating cream cheese, it smells nasty

 

[jorel]

use a thin leather grip bare.... the TW leather is pretty thin

 

[Blade0324]

It's not the cheapest way to do it but you can send it to **** and have them do it and it won't change the weight or balance of the frame at all. IMO that would be the only way to do so.

 

[m1stuhxsp4rk5]

how about increasing the grip size without adding more overgrips?

 

[Bent]

I did the exact same thing on my friends 2 HPS 6.1 a month ago.

He had 2 size 3 that were perfect and 2 size 4 that were to big.

This is what I did :
1. Measured the size 3 racket grip. All dimensions. And the weight + balance.
2. Used a file and then sand paper. Tough work.
3. Balanced the rackets like the size 3 by adding cutting a hole in the grip and added the appropriate amount of lead at the right place.
4. Covering the hole with platic wood.
5. A little sanding.
6. Two layers of floor varnish.

 

[Blade0324]

^Although you didn't spend too much money on doing things this way how much time did it take and what is that time really worth? **** turns frames around in about 24 hours after they get them and send them back and it truely done the right way. I know I'm beating a dead horse with this but sending them my frames to change the head pallets to Wilson ones was the best money I have spent on frames or on my game to date.

 

[ojingoh]

Yup you can sand down a wilson 4 1/2 to a 4 3/8 -- i did 2 weeks ago, couldn't be happier. Make sure you have a plan before you start go slow and realize you can make a hell of a mess, the foam that wilson uses is pretty gritty stuff.

 

[ojingoh]

Oh yeah, one other thing that helped me a lot was having a 4 3/8 racquet with the grips off that i could compare hand feel and size to while I was sanding. I took the grips off a k90 and compared it to my pro staff while I was working on it.

 

[Bent]

Addition : I installed new size 3 butt caps.

DIY is a lot of fun

Especially when the results are fine.

 

[tata]

By the way is it expensive to get a customised handle?I was told i needed a 4 5/8 size plus at least 2 overgrips ontop of that, but in australia they dont even supply 4 5/8 (except fischer). So now im using a 4 1/2 with overgrip.

 

[Blade0324]

The pallet swap out that I am speaking of is not really too expensive. It's $60 to have them removed whatever old size/shape pallet you have on the frame and put the new one of whatever size/shape you desire. They actually have pallets that are Wilson shaped. If you want a custom molded handle then yes it can get kind of pricey. I still maintain that it is absolutely the best way to get exactly what you are looking for without compromise. That's why so many of the top players do this.

 

[dallastxtennis]

Just contact **** and will cost $55 for a racket.