Hello, I welcome some feedback about stringing using 6 point mount/support machines. I have started to string my own rackets recently and use a 6 point drop weight machine. I mount the frame and adjust the external supports so that it does not distort the frame and the frame does not move. Stringing the main is OK but when I start stringing the cross (2 string method according to Yonex recommendation), I find that after I get half way down from top to bottm, I have to tighten the supports to the top half of the frame slightly to take up movment that was not there when I first mounted the frame. Has anyone else encountered this? Also, I sometimes have to release one mounting point because it is covering a grommet which I need a pathfinder to help get the string through- off course when I loosen the mount the frame moves! Thanks in advance.
What brand and machine do you have? Have you tried pre-looping before mounting the racquet onto the machine? On some machines, you have to tighten the nuts on the external supports when you do the cross strings.
Ohhhh, interesting. Pleae post close up photos . Pre-looping or pre-stringing is a procedure where you insert the main and cross strings into the frame first before tensioning. You save time and effort in getting the cross strings through the shared grommets. Look up Master Dan (Panda)'s post. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37341&highlight=stringing BTW, is your machine the SAM G-FORCE R1 or R2?
Most machines, even 6-point ones, cannot prevent a slight slackening of the side supports when the cross stringing reaches the middle. This is due to the fact that most machines are not badminton racquet-specific machines but built for tennis racquets, in which the 4 side supports are not at the optimal 4 corners for badminton racquets. Another reason is that even when using a badminton racquet specific-machine, these 4 side supports need to be aligned and positioned at the optimal 4 corners. Any slackening of the supports is a sign that your racquet is distorting. If you have a 2-point machine you do not have the luxury of knowing or actually seeing that the racquet you are stringing is distorting. Modern racquets can withstand some distortion without long term damage.
Thanks Pete, I think I will get confused with pre-looping but it is one way of getting around the problem of support mounts blocking access to the gromet. I will give it a go in the near future. G-Force R2
Thanks Taneepak, I am reassured that slight slackening is not unusual because in my case it is only slight. The SAM stringing machine is designed for Tennis but modified to string badminton rackets. I read your article about stringing without distorting the racket and moved the 4 side supports to as near to your suggestion a I could.
Don't release the support to get to the grommet. When you first mount the racquet you should adjust its position so that shared holes are not blocked by the supports. I find it fairly easy to make this adjustment by moving the 6 and 12 o'clock posts.
Good point, one should never release any of the 4 side supports in the midst of stringing. When mounting the racquet align the frame by using the two N/S posts as Neil has suggested.
Definitely agree. Releasing support/mount during the stringing is very risky to damage a racket. It also might cost the quality of the final job.