Besides testing the tension with our highly accurate fingers that can distinguish between 23.2 and 23.5lbs. What else do you check when you pickup your racquet from restringing? Normally, I just check the strings outside of frame for any signs of fraying.
what cheung said above nicks on string nicks on racquets mis-weaving string that u asked for method that u asked for (1,2,3,4,... pieces)
Make sure that the knots are properly tied and have no chance of loosening out. The most important thing you can do after stringing is to softly hit the string against the soft part of your palm. Do it for about 10 seconds. This allows the tension (if there is any uneveness) to even itself out and you will get better performance out of the racket. You should do it immediately after stringing while the string still allow some movement.
Although not "functional" considerations, to add to what's been said, check: -The "neatness" and consistency of the knots (are they all tied systematically and with the same method or do they all look different and bunchy?) -The number of crosses is the number you want (usually it's standard, but stringers sometimes have less crosess... sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it's because they messed up and mismeasured and came up short) -The frame itself for any clamping blemishes -Nicks or discoloration where two strings pass through the same grommet (because i suspect that sometimes when bad stringers are impatient, they use an awl or something to stab into the grommet to shift a string around to try and make space for a second string). Mind you, these are mostly details, but they say loads about the dedication of your stringer. All of these problems that I ran into were from stringing at various Sports Experts franchieses, this being the guys who strung for them in 2003-2004 at the Downtown Montreal, the Fairview and the Atwater branches. Sure, they're details, but if a stringer is supposed to be a professional, all of these things should be perfectly done, after all, you're paying good money for it...
Check for broken or cracked grommets. Your strings will break almost instantaneously upon playing if one of your grommets is busted/missing.
LOL! You're being facetious right? I hope so. I think everyone has covered just about everything else.
Yes, I learned that the hard way after the strings on my brand new AT-800 OFF broke in 10 minutes! Now I know, so I thought I should share that with other noobs.
firstly, i will normally check the shape of the frame. after that i will check the inner surface then the outer surface of the frame to see whether there are cracks.
You should also look for 'crosses' of strings on the side of the racket that share the same grommet hole. Good stringing practice will avoid the crossing of the strings. Another one to note for, if the supports on the stringing machine made any scrates on your racket frame.
There is one very damaging thing often inflicted on your racquet during stringing which you cannot actually see. A lot of damage to the corners of the frame, especially the top two corners, are inflicted by improper use of the awl, causing micro tears and fractures on the inside of the grommet holes that share two string to one grommet. If your racquet suddenly breaks up from a hard shot this could be a possible cause.
Waves I recently had a friend complaining to me about a newly strung racket that felt dead. It was strung with BG80 at 24lbs, so should have felt quite sharp. When you look down the racket from the throat to the top of the frame, you can compare the waves on the cross strings. On a poorly strung racket, you can sometimes see differences in the 'waviness' of the strings. Some strings are straighter, indicating higher tension, while some others are more wavey, indicating lower tension. This is usually more pronounced in newly strung rackets as there will be some evening out when you play with it. That is, unless you have one string that's too tight and breaks early on. I think sometimes when you get strings lasting only a couple of hours, it's not wear and tear, but an unusually tight string taking too much strain and breaking early. The more rackets I string/play with, the more important consistency of tension seems to be, especially for the middle 8 strings.
I think there are way many factors cause the string to snap. Such things including mis-hit, or defect of the string (or string damage during string process). It's not fair just finger pointing to the stringer, after the string snaps in a less than expected period of time. Unless someone uses the racket right after it's been taken off the machine, the quoted statement might be apply. As long as you give it 48-72 hrs of settling period, the tension difference in between each pieces should be very much minimized, unless it's a very poorly done string job.
For those who has a good tuned piano or a keyborad (not computer keyboard), after you get your newly strunged racquet, bounce or tab the string with another racquet frame. If you are not tone deaf, you can pick out a key to match the note generated by the newly strunged racquet on the piano. Repeat this every week, you will see how the tone change from your string. With that you can map a string tension to tone chart. I have mine, go get your own.
Go back to original thread, I would check for any sign of frame 'crack'. I have seen one of my friend's expensive racket has a fracture after stringing! The stringer will not take responsibitly for it no matter what my friend says... This is one of the reasons I like to string my own rackets, take my time to do it right. If you are a serious player, my suggetsion is to take that approach and the investment is not that high, just a little learning curve and patient.
