Tension dropping very quickly! Mistakes made during stringing?

[F-Man]

To all you wise and knowledgeable stringers out there, please share some of your wisdom for I am plagued by an irritating problem that needs to be resolved.

I currently play with the NS8000 2U, BG68-ti strung at 31 pounds. Since there are no reliable stringers who lives a practical distance from where I live, a few months ago, I bought a stringing machine and began to string my own rackets. However, I have already been string rackets for a few years prior to the purchase.

My problem is that after only one session of play, there appears to be a significant drop in tension. This much is obvious from plucking the strings and hearing the difference in pitch. Now I understand that there is always going to be a slight drop in tension after a racket has been freshly restrung.

I suspect than one of the main problems may be that the machine uses floating clamps (x2) rather than those that are fixed in position. Additionally it could be that I use the common “two-knot” method rather than 4 since my string break so often, it can be rather tedious to have to restring rackets all the time. Yet most likely, there is a problem with my technique.

It is immensely irritating for that “fresh” feeling to last only one session, maybe two. In an attempt to resolve the problem myself, I have tried stringing my rackets to 32~33lbs is that it will drop down to 31, which is my ideal tension. I do not wish to keep on doing this unless necessary since there is no point in placing undue stress on my rackets for extra risk of damage.

I will admit that I am a “player” rather than a “stringer”. Any help or comments would be much appreciated. If there is anything that requires further clarification, please let me know.

Thank you.

[taneepak]

I think your problem is probably caused by the use of floating clamps. If your machine has fixed clamps then you shouldn't lose that much tension. If your machine can only use floating clamps, then you will have to use 4 floating clamps on the main strings and two on the crosses if you are talking about 31lbs tension. Also don't forget the starting clamp.

[Neil Nicholls]

do a search for prestretch or pre-stretch
see also
Stringing Techniques/Practices. (http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24862)

[lindanfan]

how many lbs of tension do you reckon you lose?

i expect to lose 1-2 lbs of tension when i first start playing with it. also if your tension is not correct you may just have to calibrate your machine, (i guess you know that though)

[jsunsun]

I find the same problem. I think it depends on the string used as well. bg68 and bg66 loses more tension and faster than strings like bg80 and bg70. i play with bg66 mostly, and i do feel like a loss of ~2lbs after ~30 min of play. futhermore, on the machine, the actual tension may not be as high as the set tension. I regularly set my machine (drop weight, 6 point, 4 fly clamps) to 33x36lbs just to get my desired ~25x27lbs.

[lindanfan]

I find the same problem. I think it depends on the string used as well. bg68 and bg66 loses more tension and faster than strings like bg80 and bg70. i play with bg66 mostly, and i do feel like a loss of ~2lbs after ~30 min of play. futhermore, on the machine, the actual tension may not be as high as the set tension. I regularly set my machine (drop weight, 6 point, 4 fly clamps) to 33x36lbs just to get my desired ~25x27lbs.

that definetely sounds like you need to calibrate it. you just need to buy a calibrater