Fixing snapped strings without stringing the whole racket

Discussion in 'Badminton Stringing Techniques & Tools' started by runerune, Dec 7, 2009.

  1. runerune

    runerune Regular Member

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    How do I do this, and what do I need? I have several rackets with snapped strings I wanna fix.

    I don't wanna buy more equipment than absolutely neccesary, and certainly not a stringing machine. And It's not at all important that the result is perfect, just that the rackets will be somehow useful.

    Perhaps this is mentioned in other threads here, couldn't find any though. I've been searching for videos on the net as well, but all the results I found include a stringing machine.
     
  2. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    It's almost impossible to do this, sadly.

    In the old days, where tensions were lower, you could pull the string back out through the frame and twist it on a stick (which you can still buy as part of the Yonex emergency kit) to get it tight. You would then shove an awl into the frame from the inside to keep it tight and tie onto a neighbouring string. Even when this was possible it was very much an emergency measure (for example if a guy was down to his very last racket). If somebody HAS managed it with a modern racket and tension I do hope they post their procedure:).

    In addition, leaving broken strings in your racket might lead to frame distortion, so I would advise you to cut them out ASAP - they're no good to you broken!
     
  3. runerune

    runerune Regular Member

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    But how about using patch strings? Or was that a part of what you meant in your example?
     
  4. Alom

    Alom Regular Member

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    I think thats what Mark A was referring to. Apologises if I contradict anything below :)

    In regards to patching one or two snapped strings, it is difficult to get it right. Don’t get me wrong, it can be done.
    This is because nowadays the tension is higher than what was used in the old days. And when the string snaps, tension drops quite quickly. And getting the patched strings to match the tension of the other strings is near impossible to do.


    What Mark A was referring to is a Yonex Repair Kit:

    http://www.prosportuk.com/sports/badminton/badminton_accessories/5028/Yonex_String_Repair_Kit.html

    If you dont care about the consistancy of your string tension or racket head warping, you can use that. As Mark said, people only use this as a last method.
     
  5. druss

    druss Regular Member

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    If your rackets had the factory string (under 20 lbs) then it's probably not an issue to patch it with the yonex kit. If you're over that tension though you'd have problems with frame distortion and you won't have the same tension as it began with regardless of what it was.
     
  6. runerune

    runerune Regular Member

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    The thing is... I don't know about anywhere in my local area where I can restring the rackets. So I'll have to send them by mail to a stringer. The price to restring each racket is approx. £20/$35 plus postage. That's about the same as what the rackets did cost (most of them are Forza Fusion Power 200 CF).

    If the tension is different from string to string, how does that influence the play? Will the shuttle come of the racket with different speed depending on where it hit the racket?

    Again... it's not that important really, as long as they will be somehow useful for recreational/amateur play. I am however interested in keeping the costs low, and the Yonex kit looks like a possible solution for me :)
     
  7. druss

    druss Regular Member

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    If your rackets have been sitting there for a while with a broken string and there is no distortion yet then you're probably safe. The fact that they've been sitting for so long will mean they've lost almost all their tension, I would find that unplayable.

    The yonex kit is a small investment so it might be worth a try but it's also 1/4 the cost of an entry level drop weight machine.

    Have you asked the guys you play with what they do with broken strings? Might be worthwhile to combine resources and buy a stringing machine, string itself is cheap if you buy from mbs (or other online store), around $3 - $4 USD each (if bought as a reel or packs of 10 or more).
     
  8. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    in NA, lots of players think repairing 1 or 2 strings is easy and worth only 1 or 2 $. lol
    It is not, a proper repair can cost from 1/2 to almost the full labor of stringing a new racket.
     
  9. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

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    To be honest, patch jobs are a false economy IMO. We see them all too regularly here in the UK and they aren't good for your racket's lifespan or that stringjob's playability. Much better just to cut them out and start afresh.

    The cost of the stringjobs in relation to your frames could be used as a reason to upgrade. Likewise, buying a stringing machine would make financial sense in the long run, especially if you could string for friends as well.
     
  10. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    "False economy" is 100% right - it would be like doing a brake replacement only on one wheel of a car:D.

    I have seen cases where the crosses alone have been replaced - if the racket is mounted properly and stretched back to its original length it's conceivable that the crosess could be cut and then strung as normal. However, it's half a pack of string and you've got the problem of the already-worn mains (when they go you've had it - your fresh crosses will have gone to waste).
     
  11. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    the logic for those people is they (ie, their stringer) could just replace the main if that happen;), of course, i advise against that.
     
  12. runerune

    runerune Regular Member

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    In my case (which I admit is a specail one) it's not really a matter of fixing 1 string vs full stringing, it's more a matter of fixing 1 string versus buying new rackets and throw the old ones. So if fixing 1 string cost 90 % of the price of a new racket, I'm still happy. Lol. The rackets belong to my student badminton club, and is used for lending to the players who are to lazy/stingy/unserious to buy their own rackets. It would actually be an advantage for us if the quality gets worse, then more people would probably buy their own rackets instead of breaking those who belong to the club (which now is an economic problem for us). But, we do wanna have at least a few ones available for lending.

    QUESTIONS: Is there a chance that the tension will be so low that there's a risk that the shuttle will get stuck between the strings? Or is there a (high) risk that the different tension from string to string will cause the frame to brake?


    @druss: Yes, I have asked them, they're the ones who told me about the stringer.
     
  13. silentheart

    silentheart Regular Member

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    Since you are so insisting on doing this and it seen like the only option you have. I will give it a shot on how to properly patch a string with pictures. Yes, i have done it with a stringing machine and with Yonex kit before. Just never take pictures to show how it works. I do not recommend patching string if you can have your racquet restrung.
    Here are the items you need. You need a cylinder object like a pipe. A thick plastic pipe will be ideal. You will need 2 badminton fly clamps. Rest of the instruction will be posted with pictures next week because I just don't have time to mess around this week.
     
  14. johnlowe88

    johnlowe88 Regular Member

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    Hi, I know that this is a very old thread, but I did not see any updates. Yes, repairing just a few strings is what we call an emergency fix, i.e. if you are playing competition and you need your favorite racquet working after breaking a string due to a mishit. Here is my emergency repair kit that I made in 1983. Basically a piece of garden hose, I wrapped some string around it to show the pattern. My home made clamps - this all fits inside a Gosen HySheep string wrapper, and of course some string - usually about 5 main strings in length, because it is more likely for the main string to fail, and we should clamp and pull it back and then tie off and replace 4 strings.
    DSCN4505.jpg
    I turned the clamps around to show how the slot is just made with a hacksaw. DSCN4506.jpg Basically just 3mm thick aluminium - add a small piece of string with tape between the center section and the outers for a see-saw action. Some springs, nuts and bolts and you have a repair kit. Better than the awl - and back in those days, we were only stringing at 14-16 lbs so the rubber hose was fine.
     
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  15. runerune

    runerune Regular Member

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    I like your homemade equipment :)

    As for me, I've now bought the Yonex Repair Kit and it worked OK (using awls) on rackets with "factory string tension". However the tension still decreases very much after fixing the racket. Acceptable for recreational play though, I think..
     
  16. johnlowe88

    johnlowe88 Regular Member

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    Ok. I thought I might add that a lot of the newer racquets have single pass grommets. This means that there is only room for one string to pass through. With the older racquets, most of the grommets were double pass grommets except for the ones near the T joint. What we used to do was if we broke the main string near the middle, we would pull them out and tie off, then put in new string for the middle 4 main strings. With the new racquets - this is no longer possible, hence one of the reasons why a full restring is needed (not disregarding the much higher tensions used today which can warp the racquet if the strings are not cut after a breakage). The best thing is probably to buy a cheap stringing machine - for most loan racquets, you don't need a really high tension. I recently strung an old racquet for someone at 17lb - he liked it, because his concern was that he wanted a durable stringing job. He is not a strong player, yet the other stringers string it for him at 24lb which he breaks too quickly due to mishits. He really did not care about the tension, so the way he swings - he has a slow swing, and this suits a lower tension.

    Just a point for you, I often use long nose pliers to pull the other strings a little when doing a manual repair - you need pliers that are not sharp or those with soft jaws, not to damage the string - so as you tension with one hand, use the other hand to pull a string a little - that way you can get a better tension. Otherwise, you lock the strings to allow you to do a 4 string repair. Anything less is likely to have a discernable change in tension.
     
  17. eudox

    eudox Regular Member

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    hi can u explain step by step how to repair a single main string who snap. thanks
     
  18. Chan1011

    Chan1011 Regular Member

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    I found that the tension might be low enough that birds get stuck in the string-bed, I remember this happening a lot in school since they didn't have a budget to restring rackets.
     

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