This is my first post and hope that you expert stringers out there may be able to offer some help. I purchased an Exthree portable spring tension stringing machine a couple of months ago and have now strung around 15 rackets . The instructions were quite basic so I got advice from 2 friends who have done a lot of stringing and then set about practising on a number of old rackets. I found it took me 2 hours or so to do my first restring but can now string in just under an hour with a very good result, if I try to go faster I find that I end up making mistakes with the cross strings and have to go back to correct them. I have also learnt to overcome earlier problems of getting 2 strings through the same grommet hole and was starting to feel fairly competent. Recently though I have had a problem whilst removing the racket from the clamps I noticed that the inside frame at the 12 o'clock position was pushed in by the post and had weakened the racket with a slight crack. The racket was a muscle power 88 and the odd thing is that I strung 2 identical rackets at 24lbs one was fine the other was damaged. The machine is a six point mount machine and I take care to only adjust each point finger tight, I usually string with BG65 the mains first starting in the middle working outwards evenly left & right then the crosses from the top of the racket to the bottom. The top & bottom posts are convex on the outer surface and the frame is also a little convex, yonex call it " curved archways ! " 1. Have I done anything wrong ? 2. Does anyone know if the MP88 has a weaker frame as it is lighter than some, I have not had a problem with MP77, 99, or Armortec 700 ? 3. Is it a good idea to wrap spare grip or leather around the post to help prevent this ? I know I am still learning my trade so to speak but it has made me very cautious about stringing rackets for anyone else at higher tensions if this could result. I would welcome anyones comments or questions to explain what I may have done wrong ? Fortunately the racket was only 2 months old and Yonex replaced it but offered no suggestions. Maybe someone has some thoughts or ideas ! Sorry for the long post.
I've been using one of these machines for several months and prefer using it to my Eagnas machine. I string about 5 rackets a week at about 30 minutes per racket. I'm happy to help with any problems and will PM with contact details. Jock
Thanks Jock for the offer of help and I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime if there are any others stringers who would like to share their experience with me on rackets, strings, patterns, etc and good sound stringing advice I would love to hear from you all. thanks
Hmmm, from what u described, I can't find anything wrong with my very limited experience (strung about 30-40 rackets so far, using 2 point drop weight system). Is that racket brand new? Or, really used with tons of scratches and paint chips? If used, then, it might just be an "old injury", and triggered by the relatively high tension. Even brand new racket, we still might just "lucky" enough to get a defect item. To avoid trouble, before I strung ppl's racket, I always told them: 1. The higher the tension, the more risk they have to take. 2. Honestly tell them about my "history": how many rackets I strung already, what's my comfortable tension range, ever broke any rackets (so far, none yet) 3. Set my own range to be no more than 24, if they want way higher, go for the pros. 4. Tell them, since the rackets are used, if any sad things happened, I won't take any responsbility. However, I am a very careful person, and always try to take good care of rackets. Then, let them make the decision. If they feel comfortable, I will do it. If not, I will refer them to others.
Your sound advice is very welcome The racket was quite new but with a couple of paint chips but not at the point of damage, I suppose there could have been a fine crack or perhaps just a defect in the frame as you suggest but didn't notice any. Setting a limit of 24lbs is I think a good idea and as you say lots of paint chips & scratches suggests the player may not treat it too well. I had to refuse to do a re string yesterday from a player who likes 28lbs tension in his MP99 as I know he often deliberately hits the floor in frustration when he misses shots, and do not want to take the risk. I went for the 6 point machine to give extra support to the frame whilst stringing and fortunately on the Exthree model I use, it allows easy stringing even around the clamp points. Does anyone feel that machines which have vertical end posts at the 6 & 12 o'clock positions offer more risk to damaging the frame than those which clamp downwards over the frame ? Does anyone else protect these posts with grip or leather ? Thanks
The crack thing at 12 o'clock, also mentioned 'hign noon desease' elsewhere in this forum (i believe Cooler was the first using that name) is seen a lot. Before i did my own stringing, some of my rackets suffered from it. Because i don't want to experience such thing with my own stringing jobs, i use (done +- 40 rackets) a small piece of felt (used for under chairs for wooden floors) and attach that on the inner side of the post. I never see any sign of markings / cracks / paint cracks due to pressure. Another thing that might help is to tighten the top- and bottom post even looser, as stringing the mains will tighten the racket onto the posts a bit.
Thanks Yong useful advice and I will try your suggestion although only happened on a MP 88 once before I want to ensure it could not happen again. I am also trying to pick up any tips in advance to avoid problems rather than risk having to learn from any mistakes. Will also search on " high noon disease " thanks martin
