food for thoughts: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...niversal-V-Shape-Side-Supports-product-review
The Pro's Pro shuttle express side supports are a little better in that regard i think, but they are a little too fat so the string pulls against them on a couple of crosses...
With some tweaking, Michal Chudek's custom made supports are near ideal. They are significantly better than the SPT badminton supports (discontinued) which are very good with a little modification. Will post some pictures and detailed info tonight or early tomorrow.
Comment: all these supports, custom or even OEM need better cushioning. Stringing at higher tension, it's ideal to have some cushioning to: 1) help relieve stress off the pressured parts of the frame when tensioning 2) help grip the racket and hold it firmly in place so it does minimal sliding 3) help minimize racket frame surface damage Cutting pieces off of tacky replacement or overgrips is good for a temporary solution but this solution only works for a few rackets before you have to replace. The best solution this Panda has found: Watts Clear Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), Model # SVHF20 (Basically soda dispensing clear tubing) Click HERE for more details and to purchase. It's about 20' long for $6.00; you only need about 8" to 16" total, depending on your supports. The trick is how affix them on your supports to make them non-obtrusive. Images of Panda's set-up tonight. ------------------------------------------- Panda's original posted in another thread:
Although I haven't yet tried stringing a racquet with my new nylon supports - I did tighten them up, and the racquet frame does not move readily. With my previous rubber coated aluminium supports, I found that the rubber would hold the racquet quite firmly without having to tighten up as much. So the consensus is that the support must be firm and handle the high forces involved. The support must not block too many grommets, or ideally be able to fit between grommets. The contact to the frame should have some cushioning and prevent sliding. The contact area should be large enough not to place all the force on a small part of the frame. This part, I have already worked out as I cut 5mm radius top and bottom to match the racquet frame curvature. But if I then need to add some cushioning, I would increase the radius to 6mm radius - which is what I used with the aluminium supports that had the rubber coating. I was thinking of an aluminium frame with a slide-in nylon support with rubber tips. The aluminium frame would give most of the bulk strength, with the nylon providing some elasticity and the rubber tip providing the cushioning. Sounds ideal? One more - the overhang of the support should not intrude into the string area - that is what I did with the nylon support.
well, after some thoughts. here is the solution i have come up with that work and proven strong. here is my current support: - take away the yellow and black padding pieces. - cut a piece of nylon that fits in the current V shape of the support. - that nylon piece will be longer and extends beyond the edge of the support - drilled a hole through the base of the metal support and screws tight the new nylon piece then i have nicely existing, well formed, strong metal support, and then an nylon extension that protrude out give clearance.
Eagnas but its based on the yonex. Points at 12 and 6 o'clock stop the racquet from shortening while the 4 c-clamps clamp down on the racquet. I always damage the paintwork when I clamp.
I would use overgrip strips. I never like metal parts touching the paint. A friend of mine uses leather power pad strips.
Whatever I stick on the top part of the c-clamp comes off easily as its only 4mm wide. I just tried using heatstrink tubing x2 but not sure it will grip the racquet. Wont know until my next restring.
Kwun, After seeing your 'k' shape support on post#180, I can see why you have a problem with clamping the string. I think the side support on my post#179 will help but your side mount only has one hole so can be a little challenging to retrofit to your stringing machine. I think post #182's side support will work for you. Those 'pvc' like material is easy to work with and thread with a screw, assuming you are little handy with tools. You can find them in local woodworking shop for minimal cost.
I think heat shrink tubing will work, it's pretty durable and can conform to the shape of the part you are covering. That's a good idea.
Its a good idea, but the problem with heat shrink tubing IMO is that it often forms a smooth surface, which is NOT ideal for racket stringing, right? You'd want a surface that has at least a little grip to it?
Hmm... I had these - briefly. I don't think they're designed for that particular fitment; there's a lot of play between the supports' studs and the arms' holes. If they were held in with bolts they would work a lot better. In addition, the plastic body twists quite freely on the post, so the racket will move a lot more than usual. Still have to give the blue ribbon to Michal's efforts.
For Panda heat shrink tubing is not good enough, too slippery and no cushioning compared to the Watts PVC tubing.
i still think that a sandcasted part will give us the ideal result. imagine a free-formed shaped part. with a smooth main body that the string won't get caught on, and then a protruding tip that contacts/support the racket frame. the form can be made by hand with wood and then casted. the question is who has the skill to do such a task?
how about something like this. it is a metal cabinet door knob. so it is readily mountable on an arm. and then make an extra groove for some clearance for threading string?
A prototype can be made from clay then copied to wax to make mold. But I would rather make something that can be CNC'd from a billet. You could just replace the stud with a long bolt and nut if you want it secure. Interesting Idea! The you can cover it with pvc tubing or heat shrink tubing, to prevent paint damage.