String tension varies by different countries?

Discussion in 'Badminton Stringing Techniques & Tools' started by eatan2, Apr 14, 2013.

  1. eatan2

    eatan2 Regular Member

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    Hey guys,

    Can't seems to find any thread on this (or maybe I didn't look hard enough).

    I used to string my racquets at 24lbs in Malaysia. When I came to Australia, strung a racquet at 24lbs, it was nowhere near the 24lbs that I strung in Malaysia (the strings can easily be moved up and down if you get what I mean). So in Australia, I have to string the racquet at least 27 lbs in order to get into the desired tension.

    Has anyone came across with something like this?
     
  2. heroclass

    heroclass Regular Member

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    Maybe in Australia the stringer pre-weaves the racquet before stringing
     
  3. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Could also be top-down vs bottom-up.
     
  4. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    different stringer, different machine, different technique.

    different results.
     
  5. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Good point - it's possible to get "different" tensions from two stringers who live in the same street, never mind different countries:).
     
  6. eatan2

    eatan2 Regular Member

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    Well .. it just seems weird to have such a significant different between stringers from different countries. Especially when the racquet says max tension is 25lbs, when I told the stringer in Australia that I want to string at 28 lbs, he was like "are you sure? @.@ and gave me the shocking look. He even said the racquet might break lol". But when he strung it at 28 lbs, it is still a little bit loose compare to my other racquet strung in Malaysia @ 25 lbs.

    Or maybe its just the different in techniques, who knows..
     
  7. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    You know, sometimes stringers lie to you, in an attempt to protect you from yourself. This can be quite annoying.

    I knew a 12 year old Oxfordshire county junior who boasted about playing at 27 lbs -- because as we all know, playing at pro tensions makes you pro. :rolleyes: I pinged his racket strings, which told me he was actually playing at 22 lbs maximum (probably 21).

    The stringer had lied to him. In this case, it was probably the right thing to do.
     
  8. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    This is possibly dangerous - the next stringer he goes to might actually give him 27...
     
  9. yan.v

    yan.v Regular Member

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    Yup!

    When this happens, I warn the player. If they still want that tension, I do it to prove my point.

    They'll usually come back with broken strings within a few days. If they don't, they come back with shoulder pain.
     
  10. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    That's true.

    I think the most responsible thing might have been to say, "No, you're still a kid and that tension will hurt you. I'll need a letter from your coach before I go above 23."

    Not necessarily good for business, but responsible.
     
  11. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    It's much the easiest way to prove the point. I just hope you can refrain from a very easy "told you!".
     
  12. bsmith

    bsmith Regular Member

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    eatan2, have you just tried one stringer in Australia? Before guessing the issues you are encountering might be from country differences, it would be worthwhile to see if you experienced similar results from yet another Australia stringer. From one stringer to another, there can be large calibration differences on poundage, especially with the ones using crank machines.
     
  13. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    As everyone has said already, even the same stringer can vary on the same day.

    If you want to be sure, you have to check stringbed frequency. There's a few threads on it.
     
  14. Matsumo

    Matsumo Regular Member

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    You could ask him :

    -What machine
    -which string
    -does he ad tension for tie offs and crosses
    -does he pull multiple strings at once(if he pulls 3 at once its not good, it is sad but it happens even at Yonex Dutch open)

    When you know this you could explain the difference. Or his fixed clamps are slipping... then never return:D

    I hope you will find a answer
     
  15. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    as mentioned, depending on the stringer and stringing machine involved, you can have very different results.

    before i got my own machine, i went to a local gym, asked for 24lbs, and i swear it was at most 18lbs when i got it back. that's when i decided it was not worth the gamble everytime with kids and mom at the local gyms doing my stringing.

    so now i string my own and i can guarantee that i have the same tension everytime. and while i cannot tell u my tension is the absolute golden reference, it is closer and more consistent than going elsewhere.
     
  16. Elisha

    Elisha Regular Member

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    So does pre-weaving cause lower than desired tension or just more string movement?
     
  17. tcliang

    tcliang Regular Member

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    Pre-weaving is not the main cause of lower desired tension. The most often cause of lower desired tension is stringing with a non-constant pull machine, crank and without multiple pull of a string, will result lower the setting tension by 3 or 4 Lbs.
    Progressive stringing of main string will reduce string movement. If we can control the tension so that tensions of center mains are higher than the rest mains, the string movement could be minimal or even eliminated. To those who don't have a electronic stringing machine, they are hardly to make progress stringing, just set the tension of central main higher about 1 lb will also result a relatively less movement of main strings.
     
  18. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    [MENTION=106607]tcliang[/MENTION], at what rate do you do progressive/proportional stringing? do you constantly decrease the tension as you move from center mains or is there a particular curve that you follow?
     
  19. tcliang

    tcliang Regular Member

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    Kwun,

    It depends on the shape of racket frame, for ISO shape frame, I do the following,
    the 1st to 4th main I keep the tension user asked.
    the 5th and the 6th, I reduce tension progressively by 0.2 lb, that is, if the original main is set to 27.2, the 5th should be 27.0 and the 6th should be 26.8.
    the 7th to the 9th I progressively reduce by 0.3 lb,
    the 10th goes 0.4 and the 11th goes 0.5. (I employ Gosen professional pattern)
    However, another guy in Taiwan like to do 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 respectively.

    By the way, perhaps I can share my experience to you, the following link is my article about badminton stringing, but in traditional Chinese, I don't have time to translate them in English. It is very much appreciate if you can help.

    ftp://mail.im.tku.edu.tw/Prof_Liang/Stringing/Stringing_as_you_wish.pdf

    also,

    ftp://mail.im.tku.edu.tw/Prof_Liang/Stringing/stringing_by_yourself.pdf

    Thanks in advance,
     
  20. tcliang

    tcliang Regular Member

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    To Kwum,


    It depends on the shape of racket frame. For ISO shape frame, I do the following,


    suppose user ask for 27lb,


    I like to set tension to 27.2 (I found 2086 seems to repull when the tension less than the setting by 0.3), then,
    For the 1st to 4th main, I keep the original tension.
    For the 5th and 6th, I reduce tensions progressively by 0.2 lb, that is, the 5th main should be 27.0 lb and the 6th should be 26.8 lb.
    For the 7th to the 9th main, I reduce tension progressively by 0.3 lb.
    The 10th I reduce by another 0.4 lb, and progressively the 11th by 0.5 lb.
    (I employ the Gosen Professional Stringing Patern with a little modification)
    The reason is when I string a rocket without progressive tension setting, I found that the actual tension of the last main (11th) always higher than center main by around 2 lbs. However, it also depends on string used, different strings may be variate. Another guy in Taiwan like progressively reduce the tensions by 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 respectively.
     

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