So my fixed clamps have been stored in my toolbox for a while since they are tennis clamps. Tonight I wondered how much tension I lose on the first mains when I use my flying clamps, so I decided to measure the resulting tension in the same way Kwun did for his contest (http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...T-Guess-the-tension-loss-(with-MORE-PRIZE!!!). The tension was measured at A1 while pulling tension at A2. The only difference with Kwun's method is that I did not wait a full minute to take the measure and did an average of 3 pulls, taking the tension after a couple seconds. Here's the result: Pulling tension at A2: 30 lbs Resulting tension at A1: 21,9 lbs! A 27% tension loss! Now, we all knew there was some tension loss, but I never expected it to be so big. Also, this can vary depending on grommet friction. The test was done on a MX80, but on an old Yonex racket, the tension loss was even bigger because the grommet resistance was bigger. I have installed my fixed clamps back until my badminton clamps get here (hopefully tomorrow).
I've actually been using a different method, shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO9qWaom4cg Never really pulled from A2, but I decided to do the test with A2 since it's quite a standard method in badminton. However, when I string one of my rackets and wanna do fast, I just put a starting clamp at b1 and pull B1 (similar to A1 and A2) and I do not repull b1. I don't think I'll ever do that again I don't know why, but I just assumed that the tension loss was small on a pull like that.
I do the following: Lock M1 (slack) at the top; Pull M2 and clamp; Pull M1 and let the WISE reach target tension, release M1's clamp and pluck M1, then clamp M1 at the bottom. M1's pitch rises noticeably when it's plucked a few times - it's the zero inside the clamp being pulled out. Might make sense to try plucking with the flying clamp method as well.
