teflon/plastic tubing, where to buy?

[tennisxlsdk]

Any idea where I can find the plastic tubing I need for my racquet, it's an old one and the grommets are no longer available. Can I find them in local home depots/Lowes? TW does not have them.

Also, can I use them in grommets where the tie-off's occur?

thanks.

 

[Nuke]

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-TUBING.html

 

[jim e]

You can replace individule grommets. TW sells them. If you are looking for tubing, TW sells the nylon tubing, (where gss sells the tefon tubing, and it comes in clear, or black,) teflon stretches out easier, and seems to be a better quality than the nylon ones that TW sells. Just what I found out from using both.
Easiest thing to do is get the replacement grommet set for your specific racquet,especially if there are a # of them to replace.
The next best thing to do is get a grommet grinder, and replace the individule grommets that need it.
Next in line is to use teflon tubing, and last one to use is the nylon tubing.

 

[tennisxlsdk]

ok thanks guys, very helpful.

 

[athiker]

Curious is this tubing anything special or can it be found at a home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot? Anyone know what size it is?

I have a single broken grommet that I'd like to repair. I have the full replacement set that I bought but now that I've watched the YuLitle tube repair video it seems silly to pull all of them out and replace. It also seems silly to pay shipping for this one item. Shipping is more than the item cost. Unfortunately I just bought some string, full grommet set, awl and some other stuff so don't need to buy anything else right now. I only string for myself.

Thanks for any info.

 

[jim e]

Curious is this tubing anything special or can it be found at a home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot? Anyone know what size it is?

I have a single broken grommet that I'd like to repair. I have the full replacement set that I bought but now that I've watched the YuLitle tube repair video it seems silly to pull all of them out and replace. It also seems silly to pay shipping for this one item. Shipping is more than the item cost. Unfortunately I just bought some string, full grommet set, awl and some other stuff so don't need to buy anything else right now. I only string for myself.

Thanks for any info.

I don't believe that you will find the proper size tubing at a hardware store. If you do decide to tube, I find the teflon tube is the easiest to use.You are correct that shipping for a few individule grommets or tubing reel ,the shipping would cost as much as the tube,but if you need it,it's much better than ruining a set of strings,or worse yet, have them break exactly when you need it.
Since you have a grommet set, it seems it would make the most sense to just replace the entire grommet set as they are cheap enough, and when you place a future order,(order the tubing and an assortment of individule grommets), then order an extra grommet set, and while you are at it, if you really like your racquet and think that you will keep it awhile I would get a few grommet sets as they get discontinued rather fast from the manufacturer and they are relatively cheap.Even if you decide to sell the racquet later, having the extra grommets would make the sale even that much nicer.Just a thought. Good luck.(BTW most increase the tension by approx.2lbs.when the new entire set of grommets are installed to accomodate for the seating of the grommet set).

Also a tip:If you do replace the grommet set, keep the old set, as if needed in future you can cut it up for small grommet repairs in future.This works nice, especially if the set you are replacing is still in decent condition (maybe just a few cracked grommets),and it will give you a variety of sizes .

 

[Toad]

If you are looking for tubing, TW sells the nylon tubing, (where gss sells the tefon tubing, and it comes in clear, or black,) teflon stretches out easier, and seems to be a better quality than the nylon ones that TW sells.

Good to know....I find the nylon tubing to be an absolute bear to get it thin enough to fit through the grommets....the only way I can ever get it to the size I need it is by boiling a glass of water, throwing the tube in there for a minute, and clamping one end of the tubing to my stringing machine and running the other end through the tensioner (which is probably bad for my machine) before it comes back to room temperature. It is impossible to get it thin enough just by using your hands.

 

[jim e]

Good to know....I find the nylon tubing to be an absolute bear to get it thin enough to fit through the grommets....the only way I can ever get it to the size I need it is by boiling a glass of water, throwing the tube in there for a minute, and clamping one end of the tubing to my stringing machine and running the other end through the tensioner (which is probably bad for my machine) before it comes back to room temperature. It is impossible to get it thin enough just by using your hands.

No need to do that boiling water with the teflon tubing.The teflon tubing you can actually pull it too thin with just by pulling on it.I still only use it ocassionally as I normally just replace an individule grommet when it comes up,and then tell the client to get a grommet set,or let me know, and I will order a set for their next string job.I rarely get grommet sets for customers any more as twice I have ordered for customers that asked me to for their next job,and then they decide to get new racquets, and guess who ends up with the grommet sets that are not needed? At least I was able to use them by cutting them up for grommets as needed,as it does work nice.

 

[Toad]

No need to do that boiling water with the teflon tubing.The teflon tubing you can actually pull it too thin with just by pulling on it.

Good to know, thanks. Also, I just checked and TW actually does carry teflon tubing.

 

[jim e]

Good to know, thanks. Also, I just checked and TW actually does carry teflon tubing.

That post I made was 1&1/2 years ago. I see that TW does now have teflon tubing.
The tubing that gss sells can very easily be stretched by hand,(comes in clear and black), and you have to be careful you do not overdo it, as it can get very thin and narrow.
When I have a choice I still rather replace single grommets, as I really don't like tubing, although I have one person with an old obsolete racquet with # of cracked grommets that I do tube.I wish he would stop using it!

 

[athiker]

Thanks for the comments. What do you mean jim e that you "still rather replace single grommets"? How do you do that? Is there some type of "slip in" grommet available that is an alternative to using tubing? Or do you mean you just replace that particular strip of grommets that has the broken one? There would have to be various lengths b/c grommets are various lengths, right?...is there some sort of grommet variety kit? Thanks for any insights.

Sorry I'm a rookie to the whole stringing thing and only have strung my own racket. I watched the YuLitle video on using tubing but haven't seen anything else.

 

[jim e]

Thanks for the comments. What do you mean jim e that you "still rather replace single grommets"? How do you do that? Is there some type of "slip in" grommet available that is an alternative to using tubing? Or do you mean you just replace that particular strip of grommets that has the broken one? There would have to be various lengths b/c grommets are various lengths, right?...is there some sort of grommet variety kit? Thanks for any insights.

Sorry I'm a rookie to the whole stringing thing and only have strung my own racket. I watched the YuLitle video on using tubing but haven't seen anything else.

Yes, there is individule grommets that you can purchase. They come in various sizes as well. TW sells them.They come in packages and each package has one size, so a # of packs need to be purchased to get most of them (different sizes), (they do not have a single variety pack as far as I know, but its been a while since I purchased any),you do this the grommet supply should last you a while. If you go this route, there is a grommet grinder as well, its like an awl, except it has a very rough surface to it, that will efficiently remove the one grommet, and you replace it with a single one.This is fine for a single cracked grommet or two, but if many are broken it is best to replace them all with the grommet set, but manufactures stop producing them early on, and then the choices are limited, and tubing or individule grommets are in order.Like I said earlier, you can also cut up an old grommet set for individule grommets if they are in still decent condition, and that will give you a good supply as well.Sometimes they get flared or worn, but some still can be very usable.Even a new grommet set cut up will give you a lot of individule grommets, as they are cheap enough.

Here is the link to the replacement individule gromments:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-GROMMET.html

 

[athiker]

Thanks again...I somehow skipped right over those when looking in stringing supplies before.