To Staple or not?
- Thread starter Centryx
- Start date
I know hot glue works all right to prevent damages to the racket.
brownbearfalling
Hall of Fame
I don't staple because i'm afraid it will damage the racquet both when you are putting it in and when you are taking it out. If you don't want to put fresh staples in your racquet you can just remove the staple that is put in with the factory grip, then with your new grip just use a hammer and put the old staple back in place.
Yes the grip is more secure with a staple. I have seen some racquets with grips slipping off the butt cap end. But the owners admit that they have sweaty hands and the grip was not wrapped enough times at the butt cap end to secure the end of the grip in the location. As long as you are wrapping your grips well you shouldn't have a problem.
Yes the grip is more secure with a staple. I have seen some racquets with grips slipping off the butt cap end. But the owners admit that they have sweaty hands and the grip was not wrapped enough times at the butt cap end to secure the end of the grip in the location. As long as you are wrapping your grips well you shouldn't have a problem.
Lakers4Life
Hall of Fame
^^^ I agree. If you wrap the replacement grip right you should not need to staple it. Though USRSA requires a staple be used to secure the grip. My only problem with that is most of the time when I do staple the head sticks out. I either have to remove and try again, or hit it with a tack hammer.
If I can save the staple, I try to reuse it in the same holes. That's where micro pliers and a tack hammer comes in handy.
If I can save the staple, I try to reuse it in the same holes. That's where micro pliers and a tack hammer comes in handy.
dgdawg
Professional
I've never installed a leather grip (my customers don't use them), but every other grip I've installed already has it.
mikeler
Moderator
I've only used Babolat and Wilson leather grips but they both have the double sided tape.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
i use the stanley TR250 staple gun and it drives staples with enough force that it sinks deep enough into the leather so that the wrap is flush.
i, too, try to reuse when i can. most of my racquets are old and often the staples are rusted or break due to old age when i remove them.
mikeler
Moderator
Carolina Racquet
Professional
I don't staple and usually the adhesive works well enough.
IF... you want more adhesion at the starting end OR you're re-wrapping the grip, I use the U-Glu little squares. Work great without stapling. I'm not big on putting new holes in a racquet.
IF... you want more adhesion at the starting end OR you're re-wrapping the grip, I use the U-Glu little squares. Work great without stapling. I'm not big on putting new holes in a racquet.
Irvin
Talk Tennis Guru
With synthetic grips I don't staple. When replacing a leather grip you need to pull a little harder to make sure you get the grip to lay right around the butt cap. If I were replacing a leather grip I'd staple it to keep the tip in place when stretching, but for synthetic grips I wouldn't. The staple will also keep the tip of the leather in better. Synthetic grips with their adhesive backing seem to stay put and stretch out well around the butt cap.
Irvin
Irvin
bcart1991
Professional
If there is no adhesive backing, I staple. If there is adhesive(Gamma leather has it) , I don't staple.
I haven't seen a replacement grip that did not have adhesive in quite some time.
I remember back in college, replacing a leather grip w/o staple or adhesive thinking "It'll be fine." 5 games into my match and it started unraveling from the butt cap. Good times.
I haven't seen a replacement grip that did not have adhesive in quite some time.
I remember back in college, replacing a leather grip w/o staple or adhesive thinking "It'll be fine." 5 games into my match and it started unraveling from the butt cap. Good times.
I don't staple.
I think the reason they staple at the factory is due to the way they wind the grip.....
In a video that was posted on You-Tube showing some of the tennis racquet mfg process, it showed a worker mounting the frame in a rotissery (sp?) that turned the frame while she held and applied the grip.
My thought is that the staple assures that the grip doesn't slide on the butt cap while the frame is being spun to apply the grip.
I think the reason they staple at the factory is due to the way they wind the grip.....
In a video that was posted on You-Tube showing some of the tennis racquet mfg process, it showed a worker mounting the frame in a rotissery (sp?) that turned the frame while she held and applied the grip.
My thought is that the staple assures that the grip doesn't slide on the butt cap while the frame is being spun to apply the grip.
Irvin
Talk Tennis Guru
I always remove it and have never replaced it. I have used double sided tape to replace grips but not staples. I always use staples on the butt cap.
McLovin
Legend
Agree on items 1 & 3. Luckily for me, I've done some home projects that have 'warranted' the purchase of a pneumatic stapler
.On the double sided tape, what do you use? I've wanted to use it, but all I can find are either the Scotch double sided (which seemed useless), or the thick mounting tape.
Same for me.
wings56
Hall of Fame
I was going to say this as well
Irvin
Talk Tennis Guru
I used golf grip tape but the last time I put on pallets for someone the had some double sided tape that was like gum. You put the tape on with the paper then remove the paper. The gum stays on the pallet and it is very thin. Then you place the pallet on. That could work for grips too but it would be harder to get off if you replace the grip.
StringGuruMRT
Semi-Pro
I never staple, and only use two sided tape if I am reapplying a leather grip to a new frame. I've never had a grip fail, except for one time when the buttcap came completely off the grip, and that was because it was old, and the rusty staples failed.
Rabbit
G.O.A.T.
TW used to carry double-sided tape. I use that when I need to regrip anything, even those grips that have a adhesive strip on the back of them. I usually use it down toward the butt of the frame up for about 4 inches.
I've also stopped stapling butt caps when I need to redo them. A friend of mine who owns a pro shoppe turned me on to using crazy glue. It works fine.
I've also stopped stapling butt caps when I need to redo them. A friend of mine who owns a pro shoppe turned me on to using crazy glue. It works fine.
@McLovin Gamma double sided tape. Just the right width and thickness for pallet taping.
I agree with @StringGuruMRT in that double sided tape should be used to assist with a grip you are reusing (leather or synthetic, shouldn't be needed for a fresh one), in this kind of manner. Not as a replacement for that tape on the grip side by itself.
Here's an example, on Marat Safin's old frame:
The only thing is in some buttcaps I've removed the grip staples and the racquet doesn't quite swing the same, feels like not as much reinforcement at the end of the buttcap. Not sure if I'm just imagining.
I'm on the lookout for a Hansen Tacker or an ArrowT18 to see if restapling makes a difference.
I agree with @StringGuruMRT in that double sided tape should be used to assist with a grip you are reusing (leather or synthetic, shouldn't be needed for a fresh one), in this kind of manner. Not as a replacement for that tape on the grip side by itself.
Here's an example, on Marat Safin's old frame:
The only thing is in some buttcaps I've removed the grip staples and the racquet doesn't quite swing the same, feels like not as much reinforcement at the end of the buttcap. Not sure if I'm just imagining.
I'm on the lookout for a Hansen Tacker or an ArrowT18 to see if restapling makes a difference.
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lwto
Hall of Fame
As well, if your staple is to long, there is a chance that it goes through the plastic handle into the frame itself, which could cause it to crack... I'm just not sure why anyone needs anything, other than to wrap it.. never have used tape, glue or anything.. just wrap it, overlap it a bit, all good.
CosmosMpower
Hall of Fame
I use a tiny dot of super glue, holds the grip well enough to tightly wrap the first few but easily removable if I ever want to change the grip.
Yeah, a little spray on the pallet (and the grip itself), slightly more liberal on the buttcap and on the top of the pallet, let it sit for a few minutes, and it sticks like fly paper.
tennytive
Hall of Fame
I'm the opposite, I use saran wrap or the plastic that comes with over grips to wrap the handle first, then install the grip so as not to get the handle so sticky that removing the grip makes it unusable. From time to time I have switched leather from one racket to another when I wanted to stop using the previous racket if that makes any sense. 10 years ago I did the same thing as brownbearfalling, but now with the double adhesive there's no reason to staple anymore for me.
On the staple vs. not staple, I've found the last few days that wrapping the grip a certain way at the bottom makes a pretty big difference.
When one rewraps, it's important to make sure that the replacement grip overlaps very little at the buttcap, otherwise there tends to be a lack of feeling of smoothness through the swing, as most of the response of the racquet is through the handle.
It's also important that the first two to three times taking the new replacement grip around the handle is done very very tautly, while the continuing go around can be done slightly looser.
When gripped this way, I don't feel a difference between staple and no staple.
When one rewraps, it's important to make sure that the replacement grip overlaps very little at the buttcap, otherwise there tends to be a lack of feeling of smoothness through the swing, as most of the response of the racquet is through the handle.
It's also important that the first two to three times taking the new replacement grip around the handle is done very very tautly, while the continuing go around can be done slightly looser.
When gripped this way, I don't feel a difference between staple and no staple.
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