as requested. this video shows how i mount a racket on a 6 point machine. enjoy! [video=youtube;v3PZf-iMqC4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3PZf-iMqC4[/video] as usual, comments are welcome! ps. this time i am using a different editing software which has some more fancy features. i also overdid the lighting a little and it is a bit washed out. next time will pay closer attention.
Pausing at 6.32 (in 720) it looks as though the 2/10 supports catch the racket right at the lower shared hole - difficult to see on a black frame with black grommets! Kwun might want to mention keeping the 2/4/8/10 clear of shared holes in case of awl use etc.
doh. yes. i forgot to mention that. maybe i will do an additional video. what are your thoughts on staying clear of shared holes and also optimal location of side supports? clear of shared holes is easy. the lower shared hole is one of the worse ones as the angle is most acute and hard to get into. so it is desirable to avoid. however, what does that mean to the positioning of the side support? for bottom up stringing, the bottom 1/3 of the frame is pretty strong and has less need to be supported than the top 1/3. that's where all the forces are squeezing the racket, and that's where the racket is the most flimsy. so my gut feeling is that the side support should be leaning toward the top slightly. for top down, the reverse happens but maybe not as much, because while the bottom third is being squeeze, it is also thicker and stronger than the top third.
I always do top-down, and I have my top supports coming in below the lowest shared hole - it'd be between H12 and H13 on a normal racket, or between 15 and 16 on an NSP, or 17 and 18 on a Z pattern. The bottom supports sit between T13 and T14. In short, the closest possible points "outside" the mains. It's not good supporting "inside" the mains because any mains "outside" will cause stress beyond the supports, creating a kind of pivot at the contact point.
Another nice video Kwun I think i get what you mean ... So in these pics the white raquet is about right and the red one should be where the green arrows are?
sorry to ask is a 6 point machine considered a norm in the market? or only certain brands n model comes with 6 points?
Technically, both 2 point and 6 points are "norms". However, 6 points is much much better to prevent racket deformation and from what I've seen, most machines come with 6 supports, except for really old machines or really low end machines.
I've never seen a machine that did not have 2 or 6 supports. So I don't think there are non norms. However, it is possible to buy an external support as an extension to a 2 points machine to support the side of the frame. I guess this would be considered 4 points support
i am still trying to follow what you mean. "inside" the mains - by that you mean when the top supports are too far north and the low supports are too far south, right? mains "outside" - by that you mean mains with end points that sits between the side supports. cause stress beyond the supports, creating a kind of pivot at the contact point. - this is where i am not following. which forces causes the stress? the cross or the main?
I do, i just quickly mounted already strung rackets for the photo. Having said that though, i'm quite happy not to if the need arises, as i've modified my 12/6 supports with plastic so as not to cause damage.
I am, but i don't use the screw down mounts anymore since they would bend the frame if the towers werent exactly level, which is really hard to achieve. with a bit of fiddling i've managed to get it to work nicely as a pure suspension mount that causes minimal racket distotion.
for the side support, is it is V support or a half-K support? ie. is the bottom support surface horizontal or slanted?
Interesting that you mention the screw down would bend the frame if the mounting columns weren't exactly level. That says something about the precision of the manufacturing of the W&D Shuttle Express.