Just about a month ago I strung my racket at 26x28 lbs. Before The strings would barely move when I smashed, but now both my mains and crosses start to move. I remember having a professional stringer string my racket and the strings would never shift around. What could be the reason for the tension loss? RIght now i'm following the yonex stringing method.
A strung racquet will lose tension gradually. Losing some tension after a month is not unexpected. However, if there has been an abnormally high tension loss from an initial "would hardly move" state, then I suspect your three tie-off and one starting knots could be the source of the problem. Are your knots firmly secured? How do you tie the knots?
Some other factors might also involved: 1. Difference in room/gym temperature. 2. Certain string(s) tend to lose tension faster than others, such as BG65, Gosen B505Ti, etc. 3. String machine type, as the continous pulling type vs non.
As the other posters I would have said the tension creeping is loss over the first few days/weeks mixed in with the changes in temperature from transporting rackets to and from the gym and also the inside temperatures of the gym/halls and your home. Basically your racket will lose tension straight away for no reason, then you take it out in the cold into your warm house into the cold again and into a warm gym. Could it also be that you are stringing with a Ti string whereas before your stringer was not? Ti strings tend to slide about a bit more than non Ti strings.
no reason? and there was me believing in cause and effect extract from Steve Crandall's (of Ashaway) stringing tips www.ashawayusa.com/pages/BadTipINDEX.html A racket loses roughly 10 percent of its tension the day after it’s strung-and that’s if it’s not used. The tension will drop further every time you play it. “Creep,†or loss of tension, is due to stretch at the molecular level, and it’s a fact of life: work with it, don’t fight it. Think of stringing tension in terms of initial, or “reference†tension. Learn what reference tension works best for you over the useful life of the string, and go with that. Checking tension on an already-strung racket can be done with special equipment, but it’s not a very fruitful exercise. When the string becomes too loose (if you haven’t already broken it), that means the molecules have stretched out considerably, and tightening up the string in the racket won’t restore its original resiliency. So don’t even bother trying to measure the tension of a strung racket: just re-string it. P.S. odjn, What strings are you using? Are they the same as when ithe racquet was strung by the pro?
I was using bg 66 at the moment but the strings popped just last night :crying:. Perhaps the thinness of bg 66 could be a reason why it losses tension? I've haven't had my racket strung by a real liscensed pro before so i dunno about that . Back then I had my friends do it. I heard of weaving the crosses diagonally to reduce some of the stress on the mains might work???
Pulling the cross string diagonally reduces friction and hence heat as you straigthen the string for tensioning. BG66 is a thin string and breaks more often than thicker gauge strings. The improper use of the awl to poke at the grommets that allow two strings to pass and the grommets at the 3 tie-off knots is also a major cause. If you are a stringer, try to use BG66 and string without the use of an awl once and then the next time use an awl. You will be surprised at the service life difference between the use of an awl and one without. To minmize tension loss from tension creep pull the string slowly and hold for 30 sec or more before tensioning it. This alone will take between 25 mins to an hour. The shops won't do this for you, as it takes too much time, and time is money to them. To avoid other forms of tension loss, use special techniques for the starting knot and the 3 tie-off knots and employ the "tug-of-war" final cross string tie-off at the bottom grommet 6 if your racquet allows it.
I have finally persuaded Inskysport to make a slight but very important change to the grommet system of their La Fleche racquets, after the suggestion was finally agreed to by the racquet manufacturer. The change involves the bottom grommets 6 and 7 on both sides of the racquet. The two bottom grommet 7 will now be reduced in size to allow only one string to pass. At the same time the two bottom grommet 6 will be enlarged to allow two strings to pass. The idea is to force the finishing cross tie-off knot to switch from using grommet 7 to grommet 6. By doing this, a "tug-of-war" between the cross starting knot and the finishing cross tie-off knot is built in, which will prevent tension leak. This racquet manufacturer in China is a contract manufacturer of La Flech racquets as well as an OEM manufacturer of a well known Japanese sports company.
something that came across my mind the other day.... Would the type of stringing machine be a reason for tension loss? WOuld a crank work better than a drop weight machine?
No, Actually, All the drop weight string machines are constant pull machine and it actuall will have better result than some of the hand crank machine. When you string your racket, pay attention to the flying clamps. in case of thin strings, they do slip sometime. This will give you an inacurate string tension on your racket. Also, some of the strings have oil/silcon applied to them. After a week of smashing, they do come off and string will stick more often. Hope this help. Merry X-mas...
