This should be done with the butt cap on. FYI the handle end is in some sort of free space with the butt cap, and it is the butt cap that is held on to the handle with 4 staples about 15mm from the handle end. The reinforcement comes from the staples/handle 15mm from the handle end plus the close contact of the inner side of the butt cap with the handle end. The plastic ballast has no role other than as a counter weight. As a matter of fact older Yonex racquets have loose plastic ballasts that were held together by a single staple, and other manufacturers use a rubber ballast that are very loose and are held together by one to two staples. The weakest part of the handle is the other end, the cone/handle end. This is where the greatest force of the stroke is transmitted down the shaft, and the longer the shaft the more vulnerable this part is.
Comparison, top = NS7700, bottom = AT700 : Notice how the hole is much much much deeper on the AT700, compared to the one on the NS7700's handle. Maybe that's why the AT700 is so much head-heavier. MusclePower40 - headlight, so the hole is not deep: I've removed the ballast on both the AT700 and the MP40 to see how much head-heavier they'd become. On the AT700, the balance point increased from 31.0cm ( with grip ) to 31.5cm and on the MP40, the balance point increased from 28.7cm to 29.9cm. ( Both racquets have a single layer of tape from the 9 o'clock position to the 3 o'clock position. ) The MP40 is not even head-light anymore, it's leaning more towards head-heavy~even balanced. I'm worried however that by removing the plastic ballast out of the handle, the handle might have become more fragile.
I have removed the plastic ballast from AT500 handle over a year ago. At the time, I was simply looking for a way to reduce the total weight of the racket, without consideration of the balance. No sign of damage on the butt-end of the handle, but the cone did loosen a few month ago, which was easily fixed with super glue. Unfortunately the frame cracked recently, so I no longer use this racket. I am pretty abusive with this racket, but the handle is fine. I also remove the plastic ballast from my Carbonex 8000 light. Again, it was solely for the purpose of reducing weight, I don't like how heavy it felt, even though it was a 3u racket. But then I always use overgrip, so maybe removing the ballast is good for counteracting the balance change from using overgrip. jhirata, I'm curious as to how you removed the ballast from your rackets. When I removed mine, I did it by drilling down the ballast, and pulling pieces out bit by bit. Seemed impossible to pull the whole piece out at once.
Well... I simply use the point edge of a scissors and dig it out from the edges of the ballast from my Arc Saber 10... The entire ballast is intact. Thanks.
I had put it back, crossed the base with 2 strips of my grip (to prevent it from dropping out), another round of grip at the edge of the handle base (to create a small hump), and stapled all the four side, before applying my grip. I could not transfer my images from my NOKIA to my computer now... Well.... it looks quite adequate, will test it out tomorrow and let you now the result. If the result is acceptable, I will remove the lead strips of the other Arc Saber 10 which I will be using it as a control to test out the result. Thanks.
The ballast initially looks like a very solid, long plastic rod which extends up to the shaft. But oh I was amazed by how short it was.. its length was only about 15mm.
No, they find larger grips give them more power because it's the right grip size for their hand. If I play with the bare wooden handle, then the grip will be far too small for my hand. I'll also risk getting splinters.
I tried adjusting the grip size to the right size for my hand by using 'the formula' to find out the matching grip size. That however didn't work that well for me. I now have just a single layer of overgrip ( prince microtac ) over the wooden handle ( G5 and G4 ) and a thickened buttcap. The thinner handle allows more 'leverage' and I can feel the difference in power ( I think my strokes are better when it's like this ?! ). The thickened buttcap just stops the racquet from flying out of my hand.
By using only one overgrip over the wood you are reducing about 4gr from the handle(and from the racket). After that you have almost 4u racket with solid headheavy impact and fast swing. Am I right?
As a matter of fact, good towel grips give a rate of compression that is quite close to ideal, being firm. However, it loses almost all compression when the towel grip gets too stiff from too much perspiration. You can of course replace with a new one. Towel grips are very good for the competitive player who perspires a lot. For the average Joe who plays in an air-conditioned environment, a pu grip is better as a towel grip would be a bit lacking in friction without some perspiration from your hand.
