Some questions pertaining to my stringing technique and machine.

Discussion in 'Badminton Stringing Techniques & Tools' started by InvincibleAjay, Dec 19, 2012.

  1. InvincibleAjay

    InvincibleAjay Regular Member

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    Hi all,

    I bought a Selay dropweight stringing machine second hand in January (see picture below), I have strung about 30 rackets now, so I am still a novice to stringing and have been using this forum for tips and advice. I would also like to thanks Kwun and Mark A for some very helpful youtube videos and posts here, they have proved to be very informative in my learning process.

    selay1.jpg

    I however have some questions regarding my technique and also how to use the machine to the max (as it didn't come with a manual). From the picture above:

    1) To use this support to the potential should this be placed...
    a) near the top of the frame across 10-2 o'clock position?
    b) near the bottom 8-4 o'clock position?
    c) at the middle so at the 9-3 o'clock position?
    d) taken off as a 2 point support should suffice for tensioning up to 26lbs.

    2) I believe the weight it came with is for tennis/squash rackets, it weighs 2.2kg when taken off. I bought a calibrator and calibrated so using the same weight for badminton rackets but made my own scale as I use the weight further down.
    a) is this safe to do?
    b) what weight would a badminton weight be and how could I make one myself if I need to use it instead?

    3) Using this machine, I have currently been using the 2 knot method and apart from one racket cracking (a cheap racket I was testing on, it being my 4th attempt or so at the time) I have had no problems stringing. Should I be using 2 knots or 4 knot method?

    4) It is taking me 1 hour 20 mins to string a racket. I am not fast and am trying to do things concisely so not to damage the racket. I currently free string the mains and then tension them all. After this I pre-weave 3 crosses and tension one, then keep soft weaving one ahead (as Kwun explained). Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?

    5) I use double hitch knots to finish stringing, is this okay or should I be using another knot?

    All help appreciated.

    Kindest regards,

    -Ajay-

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    #1 InvincibleAjay, Dec 19, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2012
  2. _Rav_

    _Rav_ Regular Member

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    I don't know if it's just an optical illusion of the camera angle, but you might want to centre the mounting towers a little more, so that the middle of the stringbed is roughly over the point that the turntable spins.

    2 knots/4 knots seems to be mostly preference, i prefer 4 since you don't have such long extremes of string flailing around, plus i can never be bothered to work out how much i need for one side, with 4 knots they're the same length on the mains and the crosses take care of themselves.

    If you're comfortable with the double half hitch then stick with them, i used tot use them for everything since i could make them much neater than any other knot, but after stripping the coating off the anchor string a couple of times (when tightening the string with the rocking method) i've switched to kwun/AK's pro wilson knot, with a half hitch to make it look neater, although i do notice they slip sometimes, so i might not be tightening them properly.
     
  3. yan.v

    yan.v Regular Member

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    Hey there!

    This is what I can tell you according to what I know:

    1) This support was made to be placed in the middle (so at 9 and 3 o'clock) position

    2) Provided you use a good calibrator (I recommend using a digital fish scale), you should be fine and there shouldn't be much danger to this. If you were to use a different weight, you would have to make a different scale over the existing one, which isn't an issue but you'd still have to find and buy the new weight.

    3) 2 knots vs 4 knots is a matter of player/stringer preference. Use the one you like best. I prefer 4 knots because there's less string to play around with during the mains. Also easier to measure imo.

    4) Speed is not super important unless you string for a shop or something. Drop Weight machines are the slowest of all, so it's normal that it is taking you more time. I wouldn't know what to tell you for this as I do string in under 25 minutes most of the time, but speed seemed to come from practice. Having an electronic machine also helped speed it up a little. So practice and your times will be better. There are a few reference threads about speed in this post: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/109178-Best-stringing-resources

    5) For the knots, Kwun made a nice video here: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...534-VIDEO-Finishing-knot-with-no-tension-loss

    If you do 2 knots pattern, you only need finishing knots so this one should be good.
     
  4. InvincibleAjay

    InvincibleAjay Regular Member

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    Yes you are right, it is not quite centred, I will adjust the clamps , thanks for noticing that.

    Again I was using it at the 10-2 o'clock position so I will make the adjustment. Yes I have a digital fishing scale so I will always check via that.

    I might try the 4 knot method tonight and I will post my results on how I found it. Thanks both for your advice, I'm sure it will help me improve my stringing.

    Kindest regards,

    -Ajay-

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  5. Rimano

    Rimano Regular Member

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    I'm a bit of a beginner stringer myself, but I wanted to point out that if you're using a tennis weight, then the margin of error you can make is smaller. This is because you're effectively reducing the badminton scale (the whole bar) down the the small range at the bottom.

    If you're managing to consistently pull the same tension using a tennis weight, then no problem. But if you're like me you may occasionally pull slightly more or less and it's this effect that is increased greatly with a tennis weight.
     
  6. yan.v

    yan.v Regular Member

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    If you try 4 knots, make sure you use a starting knot for the first cross knot. If you don't know any, try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT1cXy-6Wz0
     
  7. InvincibleAjay

    InvincibleAjay Regular Member

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    I did the crosses from the middle outwards, is that okay or should I have started from the bottom?

    Kindest regards,

    -Ajay-

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  8. yan.v

    yan.v Regular Member

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    That works :)
     
  9. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Starting from the middle is the safest possible way, actually, but it's a pain in the arse because you need at least one starting clamp (or four flying clamps):).

    If you start from the middle, I would do one up, two down, two up, two down, two up, two down... and keep everything balanced.
     
  10. InvincibleAjay

    InvincibleAjay Regular Member

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    That's what I did, thanks for your advice :)


    Kindest regards,

    -Ajay-

    Quote of the Day
    What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.
     
  11. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    With drop weight machine, you can use 3 flying clamps to get a decent job done, if start from the middle for cross. Just make sure alternate up vs. down, and let the bar sits a bit longer for the 1st and 2nd cross (and readjust if the bar drops way too much below horizontal position), when tension them. Sure, it will result in a bit extra tension loss first, but since you alternate up and down and with the extra pulling period, the loss will be minimized.
     

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