It’s been a while since I last made a video for my YouTube channel, so I thought it was a good idea to cover the most boring and annoying parts of a stringer’s life: Grommets. And without further ado, here you go: Hope it answers many of the questions concerning grommets that are coming up on a regular basis and goes beyond that for the more experienced stringers around. This thread should be the place to discuss any questions that come up and to go into even more detail if necessary. So let the discussion begin! *Thanks to @speCulatius for continuous consulting and motivation and to @thyrif for providing the soundtrack.
Great stuff! When you said it would probably take long to make I never expected it so soon xD Great to see the different tools and I decided I needed to upgrade my budget removal screw/drill tool and flaring solition to the screwdriver thing and cold press, they seem to work a bit faster than what I have. Only difference between your video and my reality is that sometimes the grommets are super stuck inside the hole, especially rackets that havent been restrung in a while. Those are a pain. It feels like they stick to the inside of the racket sometimes.
Superb Video! Turning grommets with a screwdriver killed me. Why didn't I came up with that idea by myself. It's so easy and obvious.
Copyright for this technique is with @ucantseeme. He mentioned that in some old thread and I loved the idea too.
In an absolute worst case of “stuck-grommet-syndrome”, you can always use a 2 mm drill and a hand drill thingie and just drill out the remaining parts of the grommet. Sometimes it happens with the “screw with handle“ that the head of the grommet breaks off so you end up with only the sleeve that is still in the hole. Either you manage to get it out somehow, or again, the drill is the final option. An interesting alternative the cold press pliers would also be that non-heated version of the flaring clamp that I’ve just found recently: https://aliexpress.com/item/4000057...tedetail&spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.f5c22e0eGfBagj Didn’t manage to get one for the video though. But in general, that cold press pliers are fine and just super easy.
Yeah, good call on the drill bit. I've gone and ordered that one, yeah, looks the most solid and a decent price, thanks for the tip!
Good info and very well presented! I'm definitely going to get some of those cold press pliers, that is a great, inexpensive solution to flaring grommets. One other tool I have that you didn't mention is the grommet grinder - http://www.r-a-b.com/productDetailTools.cfm?name= Grommet Grinder&code=HT-GG3 I use this for turning grommets and also to remove the damaged ones. By using it on the inside of the frame and twisting, it pushes out the broken grommet just enough to be pulled out with pliers on the outside. Not essential, but it is a nice to have, given that grommet removal is tedious at best!
Now that you mention it... funny enough I have a grommet grinder hidden somewhere in a drawer - it was a cheap rip-off of that RAB thing though. But I have to admint that I have only tried it once when I got it back then but haven't used it (needed it?) ever since and completely forgot about it. But yeah, that's also an option to tackle those super-stuck ones.
Here is my new grommet grinder...the old one broke. It’s an cheap 25 watt gule-gun with a self-lathed nozzle from an electrical connector pin, drilled and soldered together into the glue-gun. Works excellent at a cost of 7 euro. Do you guys notice any major difference in the quality of shared flared grommets if you use with or without heat? I’ve only done it with heat, but sometimes think about what gives the best results at the long end.
Hi everyone, am I the only one who doesn't need to flare the removed/changed shared grommets ? I cut them at the right length so they stay in place, protect the frame and the process of stringing (the tension of the string) make them have an optimal shape without ripping. For sure the result is not as esthetic as a flared grommet, but I don't care. And I have no issue when stringing a racquet with shared grommet that have already been replaced this way. They remain in the hole, even without the string, and no issue to pass the string through, even after many stringjobs.
I did this in the beginning but found it to be not optimal. I had several grommets that split at the "stretch area" on the inside once the second string was tensioned. And then you're there with an almost strung racket and -again- a damaged grommet. I also found it easier to thread the strings through flared ones. Add the optics to that and that couple of seconds extra are definitely worth it imo. Darn it, you really are Mr. Handyman of BadmintonCentral. Regarding "heat or no heat?", I don't think there is much difference tbh. At least I could barely tell which ones were flared with the heated pliers and which ones with the cold press version on that racket from the video. If you know what to look for, then you might see that the flared part is a tad more centered with the heated pliers since the other one is forming the shape slightly "off-center" due to the closing mechanics. The Nylon normally is so soft and flexible at room temperature, that it should easily be possible to deform it enough without causing it to break. I find the other extreme and using to much heat to be more concerning. I once tried to do it with a sondering iron and it was so easy to accidentally melt the material.
Used my aliexpress grommet flaring tool today. Prevented a new grommet from pinging out of the frame. Well worth ~£20, thanks @s_mair Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk
The de-grommeting tool is a must for any serious stringer. I was lucky to get one used off eBay for peanuts, but I know it's a serious investment. It takes the process from a complete ball-ache to a barely an annoyance... anybody who's had to slice the base off with a razor blade and then poke the remains through with an awl will know what I'm talking about.
No need to poke when you can pull out. Pun intended. But I’ve learned in the meantime that I was using the tool the wrong way in the video. It works best on shared grommets and in the other direction. So the pin pushes from the outside of the frame, cuts off the ring on the outside on the way and thereby releasing the sleeve to the inside. So the head of the grommet ends up right around the pin when you’re done. Works great, but depends a lot on the number of rackets that you’re dealing with if the investment makes sense or not.
If Paul and I hadn't had that tool in '16 we'd probably still be there now. What amused us was how much the condition of the racket varied - inversely - with the rank of the player; I'd have a professional's racket in my hand and be thinking that most sports centres wouldn't have it as a loaner.
I bought cold press pliers and eyelets grommet remover that we can see on the video. The grommet remover's ok for shared hole, but i can't remove single hole. The tool is too big and the grommet head broke. Other people have this problem ? Have another size (smaller) ?
It happens from time to time with really battered grommets that the head gets ripped off. I agree that it would fit better for single pass grommets if it was a bit smaller in diameter, but it still works fine on 90% of the single grommets imo. You need to be careful not to screw it in too deep into the grommet since that could be the cause of the heads breaking off so easily.
In fact, i tried to remove several small grommets unsuccesfull. Two facts : Spin in the void or head broken if i try more stronger. The first situation brings me to the second... Maybe a grinder can be usefull ?