Ok so today I broke my first racket during stringing. It has a little hairline-crack I believe at 3 o'clock, now I'd just like to know what did I do wrong? I think I adjusted the shoulder supports too tightly. Machine is a six-point mounting with suspension and load spreaders (throat and shoulders). Picture coming up
Cracks at 3/9 could be down to either too-tight crosses or incorrectly-placed shoulder supports (which should contact the racket as close as possible to, but outside, the last shared hole at each corner).
I was stringing the mains at 12 KG with BG80 btw just to get the total picture, it's quite odd to me the racket broke since I have strung the same string at the same tension at a VT70 Picture:
1) I can see you do take good care of your racquet by turning the grommets 2) I think Mark A is right that side supports might have been loose or not supporting as much as it should. May I ask what model machine you have?
can you show us a pic of the racket after it is being mounted on the machine? a top down view will be good. the suspect is the side support not close enough to the center. what racket is it? looks like Ti-?? . is it a real or fake?
It is mine, but it has been a loyal soldier for almost 5 years now, so it is somewhat bearable, have so much good memories with this one though Luckily have another one left Pictures mounting position in attachment. Hope quality is ok, just mobile phone pics.
Pretty good quality for mobile pics! The mounting doesn't look too bad, but I would say the lower supports should be lower (closer to shaft), they look too close together, with the top ones in more or less right position.
i see no obvious reason why it would break. the positioning of the supports are fine and these mounting are not the types that would slid during tensioning either. the only explanation is maybe there was a an existing weakness at the 3 oclock position from a previous clash or something. otherwise, it is rather mysterious to me.
Could be a weakness from a clash, have been using it for 4,5 years rather intense at relatively high tensions (12-13 KG). Could just be some bad luck/weakness, jsut wanted to know for sure that it wasn't my fault. Should I move the lower shoulder support near the shaft down?
Can you take pictures of the 1) top of the racquet 2) top of the racquet from both sides How do you turn the grommets? It seen you have done it at lease 2 time already. The reason i am asking is for me, it is hard to do after 1st time because the grommets usually get stuck. so how do you push them out enough to turn 90 deg?
Kwun thinks it is ok. The first picture it does look ok, the other one (in my eyes) looks like it is a bit high. It may be the angle. 5 years as a main racket strung at those tensions could explain it. Rackets does have a shelf life after all.
yeah. that's high tension. is it a 3U or 4U? AT900T here are all 4U and probably won't survive 4-5 years of high tension.
which brings up an interesting topic for stringers like us. it is a pretty big risk to be stringing for a customer without knowing the history of a racket. the risk is small, but it is a risk for sure.
Almost all people I string for I know personally, so I pretty much know if they are careful with rackets and at what tensions they play.
