A good tennis' racquet is tested for balance to the merest fraction of an ounce, and any discrepancy must be made good bv planing or by plugging the handle wiih lead. An expert workman's job is the punching of 70-odd holes for the strings. Pie never measures, but he has a keen eye for correct spacing. English sheep provide the best catgut strings, and each racquet requires 30ft. Ibree trees go to the making of a racquet Beech is used for the ''pattern" round which the actual frame of steam-softened ashwood is clamped, until, well shrunken, it slips off like a loose glove. Sycamore or walnut are used for the broadening wedges which are driven into handle and shoulder to give the racquet shape and stability. Before a racquet is put away to season it undergoes "beauty treatment," which consists of rubbing in plaster of Paris to close the wood's pores. It is then given three successive coats of polish. - ......
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 22328, 31 July 1934, Page 3
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160Untitled Otago Daily Times, Issue 22328, 31 July 1934, Page 3
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