I was strining and the racket had a crack on the inside of the frame at the 12 o'clock position, properly mounted and distance between the arms adjusted. Should I compensate him for the broken racket?
ouch, that's a tough situation. normally, this is what I suggest: - IF the tension you were doing is OUTSIDE the listed range, no compensation. this should have also been mentioned to your friend before stringing the racket, since this should be a common understanding. - IF racket was damaged or showed damage around, no compensation. well, easy to understand this part. - IF racket is a fake one, no compensation. I always mention "best effort" on fake rackets, since you just don't know what to expect. - IF you know the breakage is definitely caused by you, such as wrongly calibrated machine, accident, etc., you will have to consider some compensation. Very sorry to hear about this.
If there was an existing crack then I'd also say no compensation. No retail stringing shop would cover it either and neither should you. Restringing a cracked racket is always at the owners risk.
mmhm, tensioning was definitely in range, 22x24, properly mounted, real Yonex, but I didn't check for damage machine drop weight so no callibration, no accident, securely mounted.
Lets say everything is done correctly. There will only be too reasons. 1) Racket frame was already damaged prior to stringing. 2) Racket frame cannot take that tension. Try explaining to owner. If owner demands a compensation, try negotiating something with him if you are sure that you have done everything right.
You must ALWAYS CHECK FOR DAMAGE! Cracks, chips, anything! Since you cannot determine whether it was your fault, or his, it's your responsibility to compensate. Before I even accept a racket, I will look it over with the customer, and if there are any chips depending on the severity i will give them fair warning and explain I am confident in my skills, but I will string at their risk, not mine.
since you have no proof that the racket was NOT damaged by you, you are stuck. very unfortunate, hope this won't hurt your friendship!
I've done over 500+ rackets with my m140, with the highest tension in 27-28lb ranges, and so far I am lucky enough did not break anything yet. Under the assumption that you did not do anything incorrectly, you probably should talk with your friend regarding the situation. If s/he trusts you, I do not think they should ask for $$$. If s/he insists, then it's your own judgement call. When I take an order from ppl I do not know, and/or asking for very high tension (e.g. 25 or above) on a fairly poor conditioned racket, I usually explain the situation and let them understand the possible issues. If they decide to go for it, I will not be hold responsbile just in case something going wrong.
Are you 100% sure it is mounted properly? If so, the racquet had a crack prior to string. Why I say so? Because the way M140 mounting is design. The top 6 grommet area is hold down and can not bend. If it is mounted right, even at high tension (ie 31x34lb I have done) it will not crack at 12 o'clock. It might crack at 10, but it will not crack at 12.
yes I'm totally sure that it was mounted correctly as that racket was about the 11th or 12th I've strung at that time and I always use special care to other people's rackets. Also I head the crack when I was a quater way down strining the crosses if that makes any difference
if you cannot prove that the racket was already damage (and you cannot since if there were damage, then you shouldn't have accepted the job in the first place), then it is your liability. sorry to say that.
I dont think I will ever help string a friends racquet unless its at 20lbs. Losing a friend over an old broken racquet isnt worth it. Way back in the 80s/90s, I got a fellow team member to string my new Aerotus and it came back with a crack at 12 O'Clock. He said it was a manufacturing defect. I was in my teens he was in his 30s, not much I could do about it. Maybe my own fault for asking for a higher tension than normal. He charged around £7 for bg65 while our club stringer charged $12+ for some other brand
I believe one important point is whether or not you were charging for stringing (labour cost). If you were not charging money then I would say that you are not liable provided that the person understands that you are relatively inexperienced (why should you lose money trying to help someone?). If you were then it becomes a bit more difficult unfortunately.
