Ok so let's say you are stringing someone else's racquet and there are a lot of broken grommets but you don't have the time to change all of the broken ones, which holes would be the most important? I assume the first few mains are very important and shared holes too but since I don't really have any stringing experience, I would like your input
at 12, 3 and 9 o'clock and shared ones (if the string cuts into the frame. like this picture in this thread)... what's dirty but helps sometimes (sometimes!) is to rotate the grommets about 90 degree (not the shared!). if i get a racket to string i'm immediately checking the frame and the grommets. if there is anything broken i'm telling him what it costs and what can happen when i don't change the grommets or that the frame can break (if there is a crack on the frame) and ask him what should i do. at home i check the cracks on the frame with a cheap usb-microscope. if i don't have the time to check all these things i don't promise him to string the racket until tommorow or today... here are some pictures from the usb-microscope (it also helps to easily find broken grommets):
These pics are fascinating, Alex82. Would love to know how often you see cracking like this - esp. how often you find it with the scope and not your naked eye. You're setting a new standard for diligence!
I usually change or rotate grommets for free for all my string jobs. After all, these things cost almosts nothing and people are thankful. If I don't have the time to do it, I just do it another time
What tool do you usually use to rotate the grommets? I have a hard time these days rotating grommets from those rackets where ppl string say beyond 28lbs or so...
I use the grommet replacement tool from Eagnas to pop the grommet out, then use a pair of pliers to turn the grommet around and the grommet replacement tool again to push it back in. http://www.eagnas.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=61 That tool is great just for this, because it does not damage the grommets. I hate saying this, because I hate that company, but the tool works well and I'm glad I bought it. I'm sure there are other alternatives though.
i find a crack in the frame every ~15 rackets. often i see a small crack in the paint, but with naked eyes you often can't differ from a crack in the paint or in the frame... yes true... grommets costs almost nothing, but stringing a racket costs also almost nothing... only the time you spend... if you look at the grommets carefully and maybe change them you need a "lot" of time... a replace of the grommets on another time can be the next day you gave the racket back to his owner... if possible i use a (closed) pliers to pop the grommet from inside out. if this don't work i must change the grommet anyway...
This isnt a real story but I really liked your replies, especially yan.v's and Alex82's. Amount of grommets isn't a problem as I ordered in packs of 600 from MBS... I just figured if someone ever brought me a racquet that has A LOT of broken grommets and wanted it for the next day, it could be tricky. I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to order that grommet removing tool next time I order strings from MBS
Yeah if someone is in a hurry, then it might be a good idea to just change the most damaged grommets and the most important ones. But if you're fast this process can really only take a couple of minutes (5ish) with that tool. For those people, you can charge the grommets for the trouble hehe Here, the sports shops who charge for grommets charge 0.25 $ per grommet.
Victor and Yonex also sell grommet replacement tool. Mine is a Yonex one which I purchased two months ago from shuttlehouse for $56. It has both tennis and badminton pins however it does not have the "reserve pin" position on the tool itself like Eagnas. The build quality seems to be better than the Eagnas counterpart and it does save a lot of time when I insert/extract a lot of grommets. Another happy buyer
I guess in some cases BROKEN grommets were better than NO grommets. I once had a guy brought me a racquet with more than half of the grommets missing
The Eagnas one can get rusty and the materials are scrap metal even though it works fine. For the same price, you could have got the Victor one which is better made.
The main problem is to find them for us americans. Took me 5 minutes to find the Yonex one, and it was on a japanese site. Still haven't found a link to Victor's. If you type Grommet Replacement Tool, Eagnas comes first and the price is pretty decent (20$). So far, it's working without any problem (1 year old, probably 2 years considering most of Eagnas' crap is sold used ) I would gladly have bought Victor's or Yonex's, but it's just almost impossible to find. It's not even on their price lists for stores here